"Why are you still confused?"
Hawkeye's voice struck Jerry like thunder.
"A swordsman lost in doubt is weak."
"What went through your mind when you realized you couldn't defeat me?"
Jerry fell into deep thought.
What was I thinking the moment I was defeated? The moment I knew I couldn't win?
Call for backup?
Yes... my first thought was to call my cousin.
And Uncle Pest, the magician's second cousin, the fairy sister, and my little nephew Taffy.
Jerry and Tom were different.
Tom is the strongest cat in their family, and Jerry is the weakest mouse.
So when faced with difficulties, relatives often come to help Jerry solve the problem, while Tom can only deal with it alone.
Over time, Tom has become accustomed to facing it bravely by himself no matter how difficult it is.
Jerry, however, immediately thought of asking someone to help.
Now Jerry understands that if he thinks about getting help from others when he encounters setbacks, he will never be able to grow.
After thinking about everything, Jerry's aura changed completely, and he bowed seriously to Hawkeye.
People often grow up only in an instant, even for a mouse.
"Good understanding." Hawkeye inserted the sword back into the necklace.
"You can realize your mistakes in a short period of time and find your own swordsman's heart. Mouse, you are worthy of my full strength."
He reached behind his back and drew the legendary black blade, Yoru.
"Next, I will use this weapon to defeat you."
Jerry calmly raised a sign: [I will fight with my full strength this time. Be careful.]
That's right, after finding the Swordsman's Heart, Jerry regained his fighting spirit!
It's Jerry and he doesn't need any help from any mouse anymore!
It is the swordsman!
Jerry pulled out a tiny firecracker from his tail fur, no bigger than a fingernail.
Hawkeye recognized it—it was the same type Tom had used before.
It's just that the firecrackers used by Tom are more than ten times the size of Jerry's firecrackers.
"Mouse, these firecrackers can't hurt me." Hawkeye kindly reminded.
Tom's firecracker was ten times as big as this one, but it couldn't do anything to Hawkeye, let alone such a small one in Jerry's hand.
Jerry didn't say anything, but lit up the small firecracker with a determined look and threw it at Hawkeye's feet.
"Haha." Hawkeye was slightly disappointed. Is he still a mouse after all?
He thought that this mouse could bring him some surprises.
It seems like that's all.
He doubted whether the black powder stuffed in this firecracker could kill a praying mantis.
With a flick of the long sword, the small firecracker on the ground drew a graceful arc in the air and fell into Hawkeye's hands.
Hawkeye held the small firecracker with two fingers, held it in front of his eyes and watched quietly as the fuse burned.
"Meow, meow, meow! Meow, meow!" Tom said in a hurry.
He was trying to warn Hawkeye, those firecrackers are not ordinary firecrackers.
The firecrackers it threw last time were downgraded firecrackers from Little Taffy.
But the key point is that what Jerry has in his hands is real!
It was given to me personally by his little nephew Taffy.
That power can blow up the castle with one shot.
Zzzzz—
The moment before the fuse burned and exploded, Tom gave a frantic warning, and Hawkeye's expression changed.
"BOOM!!!"
A mushroom cloud rose from the ground, and Hawkeye was submerged in center of the blast.
Thud~
The two bears watching the battle were so frightened that their bodies shook, the honey in their hands fell to the ground, and the firelight reflected in their pupils.
"Gulp~" Jerry looked anxiously at the center of the mushroom cloud.
Did he go too far? Did he actually blow up Hawkeye?
"Boss J-J-J-J... you killed Hawkeye!" The mice were in shock.
Such a small firecracker can actually produce as much power as a hundred artillery shells exploding together.
Whack!
Tom couldn't say anything nice when he punched the mice on the head.
In the blazing fire, under the gaze of countless eyes, a figure as black as carbon was slowly walking out, dragging Hei Daoye.
"It's Hawkeye! He's not dead!" The mice were shocked.
He is worthy of being the greatest swordsman in the world. He can withstand explosions at close range without any problem.
[But it's so dark, as black as coal, hahaha~]
Seeing Hawkeye look, Tom laughed so hard that he lay on the ground and slapped his thighs.
Black Hawkeye grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"Jerry, you are really good at playing!"
Somehow, those firecrackers were infused with Devil Fruit power—Jerry had almost fooled him.
Who would've thought this little mouse, with his innocent face, could be so tricky?
With a thought, Hawkeye withdrew his Armament Haki, causing the soot on his body to fade away, restoring his usual pale complexion.
But the coldness radiating from Hawkeye made Jerry shiver.
[Taffy's Special Firecrackers: Firecracker Barrage!]
In an instant, Jerry threw twelve tiny firecrackers at Hawkeye.
"You really think the same trick will work on me twice!?"
With a single swing of his blade, a powerful gust of wind sent all twelve firecrackers soaring into the sky.
BOOM!~
The shock wave generated by the explosion of firecrackers in mid-air blew down countless large trees on the island.
"Dead~ We're all gonna die~"
The mouse and the two bears clung tightly to Tom's leg, trying not to be blown away by the powerful shockwave.
Jerry was about to throw another firecracker when—swish!—his vision went dark. His body was still on the ground, but his head had already flown into the sky.
Hawkeye stood firm, swinging his black sword effortlessly. With several swift slashes, he diced Jerry into hundreds of pieces.
Hawkeye didn't believe in creatures that couldn't be killed.
Like Tom and Jerry, there should be an upper limit. Hawkeye has been experimenting with where Jerry's limit is.
The first time, he cut Jerry into 500 pieces—the mouse still came back.
The second time, he increased it to 800 pieces—Jerry regenerated again in seconds.
The third time, Jerry couldn't stand it anymore.
He found a bottle of invisibility potion and poured it on himself. Jerry's figure disappeared from sight.
"Interesting… The power of the Invisibility Fruit," Hawkeye mused, his excitement growing.
"Mouse, what other tricks do you have? Bring them all out!"
The arrival of Jerry and Tom brought a different kind of fun to the lonely Hawkeye.
Jerry hid in the dark and smiled evilly.
Now that Hawkeye couldn't see him, he could do whatever he wanted, right?
He opened his military coat, revealing an arsenal of weapons—pistols, throwing axes, grenades...
After carefully considering his options, Jerry grabbed two grenades.
But then—wait...
Why did it feel like Hawkeye was still looking right at him?
Can he see me?!
The next moment, Hawkeye answered that question with action.
A flying slash was coming at high speed.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Jerry's face turned purple with terror, and his mouse ears shot two feet into the air.
.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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