Time is the fairest thing on this sea.
A month had passed since the storm that ended with Golden Lion's fall.
Life at the G-17 Branch had returned to normal in a strange kind of peace. As the Reaper's name spread across the sea, the Golden Route, which used to be full of pirates, had almost become empty of them.
Any pirate with half a brain would rather take a long detour and rob somewhere else than come anywhere near the cold steel fortress of G-17 Branch.
"Sigh..."
At the sentry post by the fortress's main gate, a young soldier held his rifle and looked at the empty sea. He let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong? Missing home?" An older soldier beside him glanced at him and handed him a cheap cigarette.
"No."
The recruit took the cigarette but did not light it. He looked troubled. "I want to make money! It's been a whole month, and I haven't even seen the shadow of a pirate! My new gun is about to rust. At this rate, when am I ever going to save enough to get married?"
The older soldier laughed and tapped the recruit's helmet. "Be glad things are like this. Back when Nelson was here, we didn't get our full pay. He skimmed more than half of it off into his own vault. Now, even if there's no extra money to grab, Captain Aiden gives us double pay! Even Marines at Headquarters would be jealous."
"But..." the recruit tried to say more.
"No buts," the older soldier cut him off. "The current G-17 is called a forbidden zone. Unless someone is a complete idiot, who would dare make trouble here?"
However,
before he could finish his words,
"What is that?"
The recruit suddenly pointed toward the distant sea, confusion filling his eyes.
The older soldier looked where he was pointing.
Inside the morning mist that had not fully cleared, a strange little boat was silently moving through the waves toward them.
It was a small black boat shaped like a coffin.
The boat was narrow, with only enough room for one person. On both sides of it, two candles burned with eerie green flames. They flickered inside the mist like ghost lights. Its mast was a giant black cross with a black sail hanging from it.
"A coffin?! Who sails out on a coffin?" the recruit said, his eyes wide.
"Something's wrong!" The older soldier had experience. He immediately grabbed a megaphone and shouted across the water, "Stop! This is the G-17 Marine Branch restricted military zone! Stop your boat and prepare for inspection immediately! Otherwise, we will use force!"
The warning echoed across the sea.
But the coffin boat did not slow down at all. It kept moving toward the port at the same steady speed.
"Do you have a death wish?"
The older soldier's eyes turned cold. He gestured to the others behind him. "Show him we mean it. Fire a warning shot!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several bullets shot out and struck the water in front of the small boat, splashing up the surface.
It was only a warning.
However, the man sitting on the boat acted as if he had not heard the shots at all.
He wore a wine-red patterned shirt, a black overcoat, and a wide-brimmed hat decorated with white fluff. He sat with his legs crossed and his arms folded. The giant cross-shaped sword on his back could be partly seen through the mist.
Even with the warning shots in front of him, he did not blink.
Only his golden eyes, sharp as a hawk's, shifted slightly toward the sentry post on shore.
"I've arrived."
The man murmured to himself.
The next second,
under the shocked eyes of every soldier, the figure sitting on the boat suddenly vanished!
"Where did he go?!"
"Up there!!"
Someone screamed.
A black figure leaped up from the sea dozens of meters away. He traced a sharp arc through the air and landed directly in the plaza before the main gate of the G-17 fortress!
Thud.
With a heavy sound,
the man slowly straightened up. He looked to be in his early twenties. Though he had a short beard, his face still had the sharp pride of a young man. In his golden eyes, there was no fear of the Marine base, only the heat and excitement of a hunter who had finally found prey.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Close the gate! Hurry, close the gate!!"
The Chief Petty Officer guarding the gate did not know who the man was, but he could tell he was dangerous. He also did not know why the captain had not shown up yet, but as the highest-ranking man present, he made his choice at once.
With a harsh grinding sound, the main gate, which Aiden had personally reinforced with lightning-forged metal, began to close slowly as the machinery roared.
The heavy metal noise was deafening, trying to lock this uninvited guest outside.
The man looked at the huge iron gate closing before him. His face showed no emotion at all. He did not seem to care about the heavy door.
"You think this can stop me?"
He slowly raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the giant weapon on his back.
Clang.
The long blade left its sheath.
It was a giant cross-shaped sword with a unique design.
The blade flashed with a cold metallic light and looked unbelievably sharp.
Facing the steel wall that was said to be strong enough to stop cannonballs, the man simply flicked his wrist and swung once.
A green slash flashed silently across the thick steel gate.
The next second,
Rumble...
the steel gate that had been closing suddenly stopped.
Then,
under the soldiers' horrified eyes, the two alloy doors, each weighing several tons, began to slide down along a perfectly straight diagonal line!
Boom!!!
The cut pieces of steel slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror, and heat still rose from it.
"This... this is the gate the Captain made..."
The Chief Petty Officer dropped to the ground. Looking at the unbelievable sight before him, he even forgot to breathe. "It was cut open... that easily?!"
The dust slowly cleared.
The man held his sword and stepped over the broken gate, walking into the fortress one step at a time.
"Stop!!"
"Don't move!!"
A squad of patrolling soldiers finally reacted and rushed forward. More than a dozen rifles were aimed at the intruder at the same time.
The man ignored the warnings completely and kept walking, as if he were just taking a quiet stroll.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Fire!!"
At that moment, the situation exploded. The soldiers did not hesitate and pulled their triggers.
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!
Dense gunfire rang through the port. Dozens of bullets flew toward the man like rain. At that distance, even a man made of iron would have been turned into a sieve.
But the man did not even pause. He simply raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the giant cross sword.
Clang.
Facing the rain of bullets, he only flicked his wrist.
Whoosh.
The giant cross sword felt as light as a feather in his hand. The blade left behind several afterimages, moving so fast it made people dizzy.
Ding ding ding ding ding!!!
A dense series of sharp metallic sounds exploded.
Every bullet, whether from the front or the side, was either knocked away by the back of his blade or cut cleanly in two!
Bullet fragments rained down around his feet and covered the ground.
He did not take a single step back.
Even his clothes stayed neat.
The whole place went silent.
All the soldiers stared at the man like he was a monster. They had seen bullets cut before, but to use such a huge sword to deal with dozens of bullets that easily... was he even human?
"Too weak."
The man shook his head, disappointment clear in his voice.
"Is this really the force that killed Golden Lion? It seems the rumors were exaggerated."
He did not keep attacking the ordinary soldiers. Instead, he lifted his head and looked toward the very top of the cold steel fortress, as if he could already sense a powerful presence there.
"You bastard! How dare you cause trouble at G-17?!"
At that moment, a roar came from above.
A great mass of white smoke dropped from the sky like a giant snake, instantly trying to wrap around Mihawk's limbs.
Smoker appeared from inside the smoke, wearing his Justice coat and holding his Seastone weapon. His face was full of anger as he rushed forward.
"A Logia user?"
At last, a trace of interest appeared in Mihawk's eyes.
Facing Smoker's attempt to bind him, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The sword Yoru was instantly covered in pitch-black Armament Haki.
He made one simple downward slash.
Slash!
Ripppp—!!!
The white smoke in the air was cut perfectly in two, like a curtain being split apart!
The elemental body Smoker was so proud of was completely useless against that strike.
Clang!!
The giant cross sword slammed into the Seastone weapon.
A massive force that could not be resisted crashed into Smoker.
"Ugh!"
Smoker groaned. A sharp pain shot through his hand, and the force from the blow sent him flying backward!
Boom!!
He crashed hard into the fortress's steel wall, leaving a dent behind. Even though the other man had clearly held back and had no intention of killing him, a shallow line of blood still appeared on Smoker's chest.
"Armament Haki?! And this kind of swordsmanship..."
Smoker slid down the wall, clutching his chest, and stared at the man in shock. "Who are you?!"
The man returned his sword to its sheath and did not answer Smoker's question.
He stood in the center of the plaza. His golden hawk eyes pierced straight through the distance and locked onto the very top of the fortress.
"I heard that the base commander here, Aiden, defeated Golden Lion."
His voice echoed through the silent port. It was a challenge.
"I am Dracule Mihawk."
"I have come to challenge you... and become the World's Greatest Swordsman."
Dracule Mihawk.
This name still meant nothing to most of the Marines present.
But the sharp presence coming from him, as if a sword itself had taken human form, made everyone understand one thing at once.
This was a monster.
Just as everyone was struggling to breathe under Mihawk's pressure,
Zzzzt—
the sharp sound of electricity suddenly exploded in front of him without warning!
The light faded.
And Aiden appeared.
However,
the moment everyone saw what Aiden was wearing, Mihawk, Smoker, who had just forced himself back up, and even the soldiers around them all froze.
The Reaper, the Marine captain who had become famous across the sea, was not wearing his imposing uniform.
Instead, he was wearing a loose pair of silk pajamas and slippers.
In his left hand, he held a silver fork with half a bitten sausage still stuck on it.
In his right hand, he held a steak knife.
The most ridiculous part was that a white napkin was still tucked into his collar.
It was obvious he had just been in the middle of a good breakfast.
Mihawk: ( 0 _ 0 )
To Be Continued
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