"Wait... an enormous sword?" Michael's frown deepened.
'Why is Hawkeye already teamed up with Crocodile at this point?'
Though Michael had questions about the current situation, it wasn't entirely impossible.
It was perfectly normal for these powerful pirates to have crossed paths—or even formed some camaraderie—in their younger days sailing the seas.
Otherwise, in the original story, the two wouldn't have hit it off so well, teaming up to kidnap Buggy the Clown and co-found the Cross Guild.
Michael just hadn't expected them to have already met at this point in time.
But since Issho had already sensed it, coupled with Gion informing him before departure that Hawkeye had appeared near Alabasta, Michael was now certain that these two future Warlords of the Sea had temporarily allied.
If his strength had remained the same as two years ago, this situation would have been difficult to handle. However, with time, his power and Haki had continuously improved over the past two years.
Alongside his development of the Seraph Fruit, Michael's strength was now on an entirely different level.
Especially in his application of Holy Light and Holy Flame—Michael now resembled nothing short of a Holy Light mage.
And most importantly... he had Issho by his side.
"Even if Hawkeye and Crocodile have joined forces, the difficulty of this mission isn't too high," Michael nodded and replied.
"The real challenge lies in making them willingly submit as my lackey... I mean, as Warlords of the Sea."
Issho nodded silently but quickened his pace slightly, adjusting the direction he was leading them in.
By now, the members of the SWORD were well aware of Issho's formidable strength and his terrifying Observation Haki.
Seeing his reaction, they understood he had located their targets and promptly followed his lead without hesitation.
The group sped through the bustling city of Rainbase exited the oasis, and once again entered the desert on the other side—northwest of Rainbase, the direction where the "living sandstorm" from the intel had reportedly appeared.
"There!"
Stella, hovering mid-air, immediately spotted the vast sandstorm obscuring most of their vision.
Following her lead, the SWORD forces led by Michael, arrived at the outermost edge of the sandstorm.
Michael tilted his head slightly, observing the clearly unnatural phenomenon and chuckled softly.
"Not coming out?"
His quiet inquiry was met with no response from the sandstorm.
Shaking his head, Michael drew the straight crucifix sword at his waist—the Supreme Grade Sword "Morning Star."
With an upward swing, a Flying Slash completely enveloped in pure white Holy Flame was unleashed.
Its sheer sharpness and the terrifying heat of the Holy Flame instantly melted the sand it touched, turning it into a turbid, semi-transparent mass that fell onto the yellow desert.
After this single slash, the "living sandstorm" gradually ceased before dissipating entirely, revealing its true form to everyone present.
Crocodile sat composedly on his "sand" throne, while Hawkeye standing beside him, had already drawn his black blade, gripping its hilt with both hands.
Crocodile's expression darkened—he hadn't expected the Marines to track him down so soon after hiding in Alabasta for just a few days.
Moreover, judging by that slash, their visitor was no pushover.
Hawkeye, however, showed no surprise at Michael's ability to find them.
Instead, upon witnessing the pure white Flying Slash, his eyes blazed with unparalleled excitement.
"Pure and holy white... You must be that legendary Marine officer leading the mysterious marine force!"
"Hawkeye, you actually found some clues... truly impressive." Michael couldn't help but give Hawkeye another glance.
"In that case, shouldn't we settle the score from a few years ago when you sank my subordinate's ship?"
"...You mean that ship belonged to your subordinates? Those mysterious marines?" Hawkeye eyes widened slightly—a rare display of emotional fluctuation from him.
"I'd already encountered you all back then?"
"Not just encountered—you nearly slaughtered us all!" Smoker recalled the humiliation with lingering anger, though he bore no real hatred.
After all, they'd fallen into the sea due to their own shortcomings.
But Hawkeye ignored Smoker entirely, his piercing gaze fixed solely on Michael.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"I want... a test."
"A trial to determine whether you're worthy or not, if you are i'll gladly join your unit."
The moment Hawkeye finished speaking, the entire area fell silent.
A gust of wind sent tumbleweeds rolling past the group, their rustling unnaturally loud in the heavy quiet athmosphere.
"Uh, Issho, I'm only twenty-three, but are my ears already failing me?" Michael scratched his head in confusion.
"Did I just hear this guy say he wants to join us? Join our Secret Special Forces?"
Issho stroked his sword—a blind man's cane in appearance but one of the Supreme Grade Swords in reality—and chuckled softly.
"Michael, you heard correctly. He wants to join, and he wants to test whether you're worthy of him."
More than a member of SWORD, Issho currently served as their advisor.
The team's initial skepticism towards him had long since transformed into absolute trust—not just due to his Observation Haki, but also his even more terrifying Devil Fruit abilities.
During their pre-deployment training, they'd endured relentless torment from his Gravity powers.
Thus, when Issho confirmed Hawkeye's words, the entire SWORD unit erupted.
"What nonsense is this guy spouting!? Testing OUR qualifications!?"
"Who asked you to join, you weird-eyed bastard!?"
"Don't think you can beat us as easily as you did back then!"
"My temper's good, so I'm not angry—just want to give you a special 'gift.'"
"Hina's still young, but Hina thinks you're full of shit."
The sudden racket of voices bordered on psychological torture.
Even Crocodile—a man who prided himself on composure—glared at the SWORD members with visible irritation.
Yet Michael remained unfazed, casually flipping his Morning Star.
"You want to become my subordinate?"
"And test ME?"
"Tch. Fine, you two come at me together. I'm pressed for time."
------------------------------
I release a new One Piece fic, One Piece : Uncle Your Justice is Not Absolute enough!
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator