The instant Renn Hawk touched down on the shattered remains of Thriller Bark's deck, the battlefield had already shifted. The lingering dust from Wayne's clash with the transformed Gecko Moria still drifted like smoke after a cannon barrage, and the air remained thick with the metallic scent of Haki-laced blows.
Hawk narrowed his eyes.
Those two brats were still trading punches nearby Keith and Dane and judging from the gouges carved across the stone and the lightning-scorched craters, they had clearly become much stronger than when he saw them last.
Way too strong.
Hawk clicked his tongue.
"Seriously… you brats. I take one day off, and suddenly you're trying to steal my spotlight?"
Keith froze mid-strike, sweat dripping off his chin. "Hawk?! When did you get here?!"
Dane whipped his head around, panting hard. "We weren't stealing anything. He attacked first!"
Hawk crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Moria attacked first, Keith's showing off second, Dane overthinking third. And the three of you still managed to turn this whole island into rubble. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."
He wasn't actually angry. If anything, he felt a strange warmth in his chest seeing his juniors tearing through enemies that once terrified millions. Their power had grown. Their instincts had sharpened. Their fighting spirit was unmistakable.
But he was not about to say that out loud.
"Move aside," Hawk said, stepping forward. "I'll finish what's left of Moria before Wayne comes back and gloats about it for the next ten chapters."
Keith blinked. "Wait, you're fighting Moria too?!"
Dane sighed. "Of course he is. He can't stand being left out."
Hawk shot them both a look that could silence an entire Marine platoon. "You two do realize I trained you, right? If you shine too brightly, everyone thinks the old man's fading."
Keith coughed. "You're… you're only in your thirties."
"Old man in spirit," Hawk corrected.
The battlefield trembled Moria, still massive and buffed by his years of secret training, lurched upright again. His shadow writhed behind him like a living storm.
"You pests… all of you… you just keep coming!"
Hawk rolled his shoulders, loosening his joints. The air around him sharpened, as though the atmosphere itself understood a predator had finally entered the arena.
Keith whispered, "He's using the stance."
Dane nodded. "Yeah. The real stance."
Renn Hawk took one more step forward. The ground cracked.
"Listen closely, you brats," he said calmly. "When you get this strong, there's one rule you better remember."
Keith and Dane leaned in unconsciously.
Hawk smirked.
"No matter how strong you become… don't ever forget whose shadow you grew under."
A faint ripple of Haki snapped through the air like the tremor before a lightning strike.
"Now watch," Hawk said, raising his sword. "And learn how a real swordsman finishes a fight quickly."
Moria roared and charged.
Hawk vanished.
A single stroke of light carved across the sky.
A shockwave thundered outward, splitting the deck, slicing through the layers of Moria's shadow armor, and extinguishing the monstrous bulk he had built through years of training. The impact echoed like a tidal wave breaking against a cliff.
By the time the dust settled, Hawk stood with his blade sheathed.
Moria collapsed behind him.
Silence. Then
Keith's jaw dropped. "That was… way too clean."
Dane exhaled. "I hate that he makes it look effortless."
Hawk flicked his coat back with a practiced motion. "Effortless because I'm better."
Keith puffed his cheeks. "I'll catch up one day."
Dane adjusted his glasses. "Same."
Hawk snorted. "Then hurry it up. At this rate, I'll die of boredom before any of you surpass me."
He didn't say it, but he was proud.
Proud enough that even he couldn't hide the tiny upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.
The battle for Thriller Bark was over.
But the rivalry mentor versus disciple was only heating up.
"Come on," Hawk said. "Let's go find Wayne before he starts bragging again."
Keith groaned. "He's definitely bragging already."
Dane nodded. "He was bragging before the fight even started."
Hawk sighed. "Exactly why we need to interrupt him."
And just like that, the three walked off together arguing, complaining, teasing, but standing side by side.
A swordsman and his two rising stars.
A trio heading straight into the next storm.
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