In the dim bar, the lights were faint and gloomy, and the atmosphere was somewhat desolate.
The moment Alvin pushed open the door, he sensed the unusualness of the night.
The bar, usually bustling and crowded with people, was exceptionally deserted at the moment, with only a few scattered customers hanging their heads low, the oppressive atmosphere making it hard to breathe.
Alvin muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping around the bar before finally landing on the familiar figure at the bar counter.
"No wonder there are so few people in the bar today; it turns out Mihawk is here," Alvin thought to himself, yet his steps didn't falter in the slightest as he walked casually towards the bar counter.
"Stet, the usual: 50 servings to eat here, 20 servings to go," Alvin's voice broke the silence in the bar; his tone was calm, as if this was just a perfectly normal order.
"Ye-yes, Red Hawk Alvin," Bar Owner Stet's face showed a hint of nervousness; he quickly gave Alvin a look, then subtly gestured towards Mihawk with his chin, as if to say, "He's here for you." Then, he hurried into the back kitchen.
Alvin's brow furrowed imperceptibly; Stet's hint deepened his confusion.
But soon, he roughly guessed Mihawk's intention.
At this moment, hearing Stet call out Alvin's title, Mihawk finally slowly turned his head.
His golden eyes, sharp as a hawk's, carried a chilling deterrence as they looked directly at Alvin.
In an instant, an invisible yet extremely terrifying aura permeated the bar.
The air seemed to solidify instantly, and the entire bar fell into a deathly silence.
The customers' breathing became rapid and heavy, cold sweat constantly breaking out on their foreheads, yet no one dared to make a sound, not even a swallow, which was stifled by the terrifying oppressive feeling.
Alvin also felt this powerful pressure, feeling as if all the blood in his body had stopped flowing, and his hair stood on end.
He marveled inwardly, "Is this the strength of the Worlds Strongest Swordsman? Just a pair of eyes can make everyone lose the courage to resist!"
However, Alvin was not someone who would be easily intimidated.
"Mihawk, judging by your look, you didn't specially come to bully a rookie like me, did you?" Alvin raised his head, his fiery red eyes fearlessly meeting Mihawk's gaze, a hint of teasing in his voice, breaking the suffocating silence.
Mihawk didn't respond immediately, only staring at Alvin with an indifferent gaze, his eyes like torches, not even blinking.
That gaze seemed to pierce through one's soul, sending chills down one's spine.
Alvin also didn't back down, staring straight back at Mihawk; the two of them just stared at each other, and invisible sparks seemed to fill the air.
Time passed second by second, each second feeling incredibly long. After nearly a minute, Mihawk finally spoke slowly, his voice deep and hoarse: "Good eyes!"
Those simple four words, however, seemed to carry a thousand pounds of weight.
After speaking, Mihawk actually stood up and walked towards the bar door without hesitation.
Just as he was about to reach the door, his steps suddenly stopped.
"I hope your blade is forged soon," his voice echoed in the bar, and then he strode out of the bar and headed towards the port.
His purpose for coming to West Blue this time had been achieved; Red Hawk Alvin was indeed a junior worth paying attention to.
In his heart, there was even a faint sense of anticipation, looking forward to the day he would cross swords with Alvin in the future.
No one expected that Mihawk's thought at this moment would truly come to fruition in the future.
However, he never expected that the momentary anticipation back then would become a long-standing source of vexation for him.
It was only long after Mihawk left that the customers in the bar seemed to suddenly awaken from a nightmare, all letting out long sighs of relief, instantly slumping down as if they had just undergone a life-or-death trial.
The kitchen curtain was lifted, and Stet, drenched in sweat, hurried out, steadily carrying a tray laden with food.
He had expected to still see Mihawk's stern figure, but the seat where Mihawk had been sitting in the bar was now empty.
Stet was first stunned, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, but soon, his gaze fell on Alvin, and the admiration in his eyes deepened.
This guy, so young, could actually attract the Worlds Strongest Swordsman Mihawk to come all the way to West Blue to meet him; no matter how you looked at it, this matter seemed incredible.
Once Mihawk left, the bar seemed to be re-energized.
People who had been cowering by the door, scared by Mihawk's aura and daring not to enter, now surged in like an invisible force pulling them, swarming in.
They whispered to each other, their eyes occasionally glancing at Alvin, full of curiosity.
In this Flame Country, the appearance of the globally recognized Worlds Strongest Swordsman Mihawk was simply a bombshell; they were eager to know what secret was hidden behind it.
Alvin, having become assistant to the master blacksmith Rex, often frequented this bar.
As time went on, people discovered that Alvin was not quite like the intimidating reports in the newspapers; he had no airs, so some people dared to approach him and try to strike up a conversation.
Suddenly, the bar was filled with noise and laughter, as if the oppressive atmosphere from just now had never existed.
On the other side, Mihawk strode towards the port. The moment his figure appeared, the previously noisy and bustling port instantly quieted down, as if a mute button had been pressed.
The gangsters put away their usual arrogance, the Marine soldiers straightened their backs, and even the lawless pirates held their breath, not daring to make the slightest move.
Mihawk's iconic attire, the Supreme Grade Black Blade strapped to his back, and those sharp golden eyes that seemed to see through everything.
For anyone who paid attention to the situation of the sea, any one of these things on him was enough to identify him at a glance.
Mihawk paid no attention to the reactions of those around him; he walked directly onto his unique coffin-shaped small boat.
However, he did not immediately set off from the port, but stood silently on the boat, recalling the scene of his gaze meeting Alvin's.
The more he thought about it, the more interesting he found it, and an indescribable sense of excitement quietly grew in his heart.
As he thought, he subconsciously took the black blade from his back and used it as an oar, beginning to paddle the seawater, preparing to leave.
The people around the port saw this scene and couldn't help but widen their eyes; some even almost burst out laughing.
The esteemed Worlds Strongest Swordsman actually used his beloved Supreme Grade Black Blade as an oar, and his serious manner of rowing was truly somewhat comical.
However, none of them dared to actually laugh out loud. After all, everyone knew Mihawk's strength, and the consequences of provoking him were definitely not something they could bear.
However, just then, a "pfft" of laughter suddenly came from a Marine warship.
The laughter was particularly abrupt in the quiet port, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, instantly breaking the original tranquility.
Mihawk's face instantly turned cold, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Almost in the blink of an eye, a terrifying dark green slash, with lightning speed, crashed down towards that warship!
With a "whoosh," that warship, along with more than a dozen ships behind it, was instantly cut in half by Mihawk's slash, as if by a giant pair of scissors.
Seawater surged into the cabins, the ships sank rapidly, and the sea surface immediately became chaotic, with cries and shouts for help rising one after another.
And Mihawk, merely glanced coldly at the chaotic scene, then continued to paddle with his "oar," slowly disappearing into the vast sea.
Flame Island's so-called prohibition of fighting also became a joke in front of true powerhouses...
...
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