The small ship Mihawk was riding resembled a black coffin meant for holding corpses.
Its lid removed, the coffin's center housed the mast, and Mihawk stood up from the chair before it.
Perched atop the wreckage of the broken vessel, Clik glared at him and spoke.
"Why... why are you targeting me, Mihawk!"
"My crew and I haven't done a thing to you!"
"...For my amusement."
"D-Don't get cocky!!!"
Clik raised the pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger at Mihawk.
Bang!
At the same instant, Mihawk spun his massive black blade in one smooth arc.
"What... what just happened?"
"C-Clik...!"
As Mihawk swung his sword, Clik's body jerked backward.
A small hole appeared in the center of his forehead, and the chefs who witnessed it wore stunned expressions.
Among them, Patty, who had regained consciousness, looked at Jeff and asked,
"Chef, what on earth was that?!"
"You've woken up, Patty. Here's the situation..."
"Never mind that—why did Clik, who fired the gun, die as if he'd been shot?!"
"The blade reversed the bullet's path."
"That makes no sense!"
"I've seen bullets deflected to the side like that before."
"But I've never witnessed a stunt where the attacker's own bullet is sent back to strike him in the forehead. Only the world's strongest swordsman could pull that off."
"Then that guy must be..."
"Yes. The world's strongest swordsman, nicknamed 'Hawk's Eye.'"
"Dracule Mihawk."
"...!"
While the chefs reacted in shock at Jeff's words, Zoro's face remained calm.
Still, sweat trickled down his brow, and Luffy turned to him and asked,
"Are you going to fight?"
"...I have to."
Sanji, standing beside Zoro, chimed in,
"Are you out of your mind? He's the world's strongest."
"You'd be asking to die if you took him on."
"I hear I sound like an idiot a lot..."
Zoro fixed Sanji with a determined gaze and said,
"The moment I set my goal to become the world's strongest swordsman, I gave up my life."
"The only one who could call that foolish is the man who risked his life for it."
"...So I'm an idiot, huh."
"Luffy."
"Yeah?"
"I made a promise with a friend—to become the world's strongest swordsman."
Zoro tied his black bandana around his head and recalled his childhood memories of Kuina.
"Promise me! That one day, either you or I will be the world's strongest swordsman!"
"I promise, Zoro."
"That promise is my dream... and my duty!"
"...Is that so."
With that, Zoro stepped forward toward Mihawk.
Sanji inhaled deeply on a cigarette, and Luffy watched Zoro's back with a grave expression.
Mihawk glanced briefly at Luffy behind Zoro, then fixed his gaze on his rightful opponent.
Standing at the edge of the Baratie's deck, Zoro addressed Mihawk.
"Mihawk, I came out to sea just to meet you."
"And what about you? I had planned to return after catching the rabbit I'd let slip."
"You look bored—so let's have a match."
"...What's your aim?"
"To be the strongest."
As Zoro spoke, Mihawk slashed his sword with one hand.
A faint crescent shape flared from the blade, cutting through Clik's ship deck.
Foong!
The severed deck plummeted between Zoro's and Mihawk's vessels, sending seawater spraying everywhere as Zoro leapt onto the newly created platform.
Mihawk too stepped onto it, drew the small, palm-sized cross he wore around his neck, and gripped it in his hand.
"Why switch from your black blade to that?"
"I'm not stupid enough to go all out hunting a rabbit."
Mihawk grasped the long section of the cross and pulled; a dagger blade slid free.
With the cross-shaped dagger in hand, Mihawk continued,
"A swordsman as strong as I can gauge the gap in skill."
"Sadly, the only thing suitable for hunting rabbits of your caliber is this."
"...Don't regret it after you die!"
"[Demon Decapitation]!"
Zoro, holding one sword in his teeth, drew both arms back and lunged at Mihawk.
Ching!
"How... how?! "
"You frog in a well—there's a whole world out there."
Zoro narrowed his eyes at the single point where his three swords converged.
Mihawk's dagger was fixed at that same point, and from afar, the chefs and Sanji watching cried out,
"No way! How can you hold off three swords with that little dagger?!"
"It doesn't matter whether it's a long blade or a short one."
"What do you mean, Luffy?"
"Look over there."
Luffy pointed toward Zoro and Mihawk.
Zoro's swords trembled along with his body, but Mihawk's stance and his dagger did not waver at all.
'The force Zoro applies to his swords fluctuates by the second.'
'But Mihawk's dagger doesn't shake; he adjusts the force holding three swords against a dagger every second.'
"Is that... even possible?"
"If you're the world's strongest swordsman, yes."
'That's the realm I must achieve to get stronger.'
'To have the force of a mountain yet wield only a grain of sand...!'
Through Luffy's wide eyes, Zoro saw Mihawk shrug off the impact, and then he attacked, slashing with all three blades.
But Mihawk casually parried all three with his lone dagger.
'He's not that far away...!'
'The world's strongest... is not that far off!'
Zoro recalled a memory from his past as he swung his swords.
*****
"Zoro, Kuina went up the mountain yesterday...!"
Young Zoro stood before Kuina's body, her face covered with a white cloth.
"What are you doing, Kuina? We promised to become the world's strongest swordsmen yesterday!"
"Why are you lying there after making that promise?!!!"
"Stop it, Zoro! This is Kuina's funeral!"
Zoro shook off the boys holding his arms and picked up Kuina's white-handled sword and its scabbard.
He looked up at the man standing nearest Kuina—her father and Zoro's sensei, Koushirou.
Zoro knelt, sword in both hands, and said,
"Master, please give me Kuina's sword."
"Zoro..."
"In return, I will become the world's strongest swordsman!"
"I'll make you so famous that Kuina will hear about it in heaven!!!"
*****
Back in the present, Zoro continued his assault on Mihawk's dagger.
Kuina's sword and Zoro's fierce resolve swung together.
'I haven't swung my sword all this time to play with toys like this!'
"I promise, Zoro."
'I promised!'
"Become my crew, Zoro."
Memories of Kuina and Luffy filled Zoro's mind as he pressed his attack.
Pook!
Mihawk thrust his dagger into the center of Zoro's chest.
"Ugh...!"
"That was needlessly brutal."
"A blade with no softness can never be truly strong."
As everyone—especially Luffy with his eyes agape—reacted in shock, Mihawk spoke.
"If I'd gone in any deeper, I'd have reached your heart. So why don't you step back?"
"...I don't know."
"If you back down now... nothing will ever be the same."
"Yes, that's defeat."
"So you can't step back."
"Even if you die?"
Zoro clenched the sword in his teeth, a faint smile on his lips, and replied,
"I'd rather die."
"...Is that so."
'Choosing death over defeat... impressive willpower.'
Mihawk withdrew his dagger from Zoro's chest, closed the scabbard, and took a step back.
Then he drew his black blade with both hands and spoke,
"Kid, name yourself."
"Roronoa Zoro."
"A formidable swordsman after a long time—I'll remember you."
"And as a courtesy among swordsmen, I'll end this with my black blade."
"Come face me, Roronoa!"
"The final blow—miss, and you die."
"World's best, or death...!"
Backing up, Zoro spun the two swords in his hands like a windmill.
Seeing this, Mihawk angled his blade diagonally, and Zoro, utilizing the centrifugal force, charged at him.
"[Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds]!!!"
The clash of Zoro's swords and Mihawk's blade rang out.
Kaaang!
Zoro's two hand swords shattered into pieces.
At the same moment, blood spurted from the wound in his chest.
'I lost—this is the might of the world's strongest...'
Zoro sheathed the sword from his mouth into its white scabbard.
Then he grasped his remaining sword in one hand and turned his body away.
Mihawk addressed him,
"What are you doing?"
"A wound in the back is the shame of a swordsman."
"Well done."
Shwaaak!
Mihawk raised the black blade and brought it down diagonally across Zoro's body.
Once again, blood spurted from Zoro's body, and he collapsed backward over the deck's edge.
"Are you all right?"
"Luffy..."
Suddenly, Luffy, who had been hovering in the air, caught Zoro under one shoulder and arm.
"Long time no see. That one your crewmate?"
"Yeah, he's our first mate."
At Luffy's words, Zoro lay on the deck, still holding his sword, and Mihawk said,
"Do not hasten death, young swordsman."
"You're not ready to die yet. Learn the world, learn yourself."
"Get stronger. I will remain here at the pinnacle, waiting for you."
"Climb over me and take my place, Roronoa!"
Mihawk shouted toward the fallen Zoro, and Luffy looked down at him and said,
"You heard him, Zoro—he's waiting for you... you awake?"
"Luffy..."
"You're awake."
Zoro, trembling, drew the sword he'd been clutching while lying down.
He raised it vertically toward the sky, and this time, the sword showed no tremor.
"Were you... worried because of me?"
'I was worried you might die.'
"But if you weren't heading toward world's strongest swordsman... you'd be in trouble, right?"
'I'm not asking that much.'
"So I swear from now on, I will never lose again!"
"Not until the day I become the world's strongest swordsman!"
"Never! Ever again! I will not be defeated!!!"
"Got a problem with that... Pirate King!"
"...No."
'I couldn't say it. Just having you by my side is enough.'
'Then you'd get mad at me.'
Just as Zoro shouted this, unable to convey his sincerity, Jeff called out to the chefs around him.
"Everyone, bring medicine—everything you've got."
"Yes, Chef, but where was it again..."
"Did you forget? The medicine's in the third-floor storeroom... No, four of you stay here!"
"Move the patient to the third floor, then start treating him there as soon as you find the medicine!"
"He must not die while you're searching!"
"Yes, Chef!!!"
At Jeff's command, Patty and most of the chefs ran back into the restaurant.
The remaining four carefully lifted Zoro and carried him inside as well.
"Sanji, what are you doing?"
"Phew~ haven't finished this cigarette yet."
"Did I raise you wrong?"
"It's just a few people upstairs—do you have to comment on everything?"
While Sanji spoke to Jeff, Luffy at the edge of the first deck called out to Mihawk,
"I didn't think you'd remember. We've only had one real conversation."
"But I can't forget—it was about the owner of the straw hat you wore."
"By the way, when I cut Roronoa you didn't seem too surprised. Didn't you say he was your crewmate?"
"I saw your expression earlier—you looked like you liked him a lot."
"I don't think I'm one to show emotion on my face."
"But you spared him—able to split anyone in half, sea or land—because you liked him."
"That's true."
Luffy continued as he watched Mihawk raise his black blade with both hands.
"I'm not looking for a challenge."
"Red-Haired Shanks and I once fought, throwing our Haki and lives on the line."
"But you caused Shanks to lose his arm, so I can't fight him properly anymore."
"...If I have to take responsibility, I won't argue."
"Responsibility? Do you think someone like you is worthy of bearing responsibility for our duel?"
"Then what do you want me to do?"
The two glared at each other fiercely.
After a brief silence, Mihawk let a small smile appear and said,
"I merely wished to test the legendary bloodline, and the bud of a new era he left behind."
"With that reason, I cannot refuse."
The golden aura around Luffy flared as he spoke,
"Let's not fight here. Instead, on that broken ship over there..."
"I refuse. Beg me from there."
"Hey! If you fight here, this ship...!"
"Don't care. If you want to protect it, do better."
"Even if your body were cut in half, the old man behind you could stop it."
'Crazy bastard... and none of this was in the original story!'
"Wait, what are you two trying to do?!"
"Get out of the way, Sanji. You can't handle this."
"Old man!"
"Hmm, if it's about three times stronger than when I cut the ship earlier..."
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
'[Armament Haki]!'
Luffy's arms turned black as the golden aura surged around him.
Immediately after, a ten-meter-tall beastlike form began to take shape,
'A dragon...?'
In Sanji's eyes, it looked like a legendary dragon's head with a long snout, sharp teeth, and curved horns, and the golden aura fluttered around like a lion's mane.
'Now I must go all out!'
The moment Mihawk swung his black blade to unleash a slashing strike, Luffy's world split in two.
The colossal cut, enough to slice the Baratie in half, streaked diagonally through Luffy's sight,
Klang!!!
The golden dragon head reared back and met the slash head-on.