The air around the Baratie thickened, heavy with the tension of legends crossing paths.
Waves slapped against the hull like a warning.
Cooks held their breath.
Pirates froze mid-step.
On the deck—
Zoro stood face-to-face with the man at the top of the sword world.
Dracule Mihawk.
The greatest swordsman alive.
Even Mihawk's smallest movement felt like an executioner raising his blade. His presence alone bent the space around him. Eyes sharp, cold, and impossibly calm—he looked at Zoro as one would inspect a minor curiosity.
Then, almost lazily, Mihawk reached under his cloak…
and drew out the tiny crucifix knife that dangled from his neck chain.
A blade barely big enough to be called a weapon.
An insult more cutting than any wound.
"This," Mihawk said, voice smooth as still water, "is enough for you."
Zoro's breath caught.
Then heat exploded in his chest.
"Don't—"
His eye twitched.
The veins in his neck bulged.
"DON'T MOCK ME!!!"
He lunged half a step before stopping himself, teeth grinding so hard his jaw trembled.
"You think I've come all this way… trained all these years… risked everything—just to be treated like some BUG!?"
Mihawk didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Instead… he gave Zoro a look that was almost pitying.
"You are angry because you misunderstand your place," Mihawk said. "You are a frog in a well… who mistakes the sky for the entire world."
Zoro froze, chest heaving.
Mihawk lowered the tiny blade, its edge catching the sunlight.
"The sea is far vaster than you can comprehend. And until you witness its depths, you cannot fathom the distance between us."
He tilted his head—
a teacher correcting an overeager student.
"I do not hunt rabbits with my full strength."
Zoro's hands tightened around his hilts, knuckles white.
A tremor ran through him—
Rage.
Humiliation.
Determination burning so hot it shook the air.
"Then I'll make you," Zoro growled. "I'll force you to take me seriously."
Mihawk's eyes gleamed. "We shall see."
Perona hovered a little behind Mihawk, arms crossed, pretending she wasn't interested.
"Mihawk's gonna finish this in ten seconds, tops—"
Luffy didn't even look at her. He grinned, eyes blazing with certainty. "No way. Zoro's gonna give that swordsman guy something he'll never forget."
Perona blinked in disbelief. "…Huh? Are you stupid? Mihawk's on a completely different—"
But her voice trailed off.
Because her eyes had drifted…to him.
He stood at the railing, leaning forward, eyes burning with pure faith as he watched Zoro fight. There was nothing cautious in his gaze—only belief. Fierce, reckless, almost stupid belief.
Perona blinked. "…Huh?"
Something stirred in her chest.
Unwelcome.
Uncomfortable.
Familiar.
Why does that face… feel like I've seen it before?
Her brows drew together as she studied him closer.
The carefree grin.
The fire in his eyes.
The stubborn refusal to look away from the blades clashing before him.
She felt a faint prickle crawl up her spine.
No way.
No. That's impossible.
And yet—
The warmth in his expression.
The fearless tilt of his chin.
That wild, unbreakable spirit.
It reminded her of someone.
Someone she had sworn her loyalty to.
Why does he remind me of… her?
She floated a little lower unconsciously, staring, searching his face for an answer that refused to come.
Perona frowned harder, clutching her umbrella. "Tch… what is this feeling…?"
But she couldn't place it.
Not yet.
—————————
The duel began with no warning.
One moment, Mihawk stood still.
The next—
CLANG!
Wind exploded outward as steel met steel.
Zoro skidded back, boots carving into the deck, barely holding against Mihawk's crucifix dagger.
Sanji's cigarette fell from his lips. "…He blocked that?"
Usopp dove behind a barrel, shaking violently. "He's using a CELEBRATION-SIZED DAGGER—How the hell can he block all of Zoro's attacks?!!"
Johnny fainted again.
Yosaku shook him violently. "WAKE UP, ANIKI! YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS LEGENDARY MOMENT!"
The restaurant staff trembled.
Krieg froze mid-breath.
Even Zeff narrowed his eyes. "That boy… he's still standing?"
"Zoro…" Luffy whispered. "Give it everything."
Zoro roared, charging forward.
Three blades spun like a storm—
"TORA GIRI!"
—but Mihawk deflected it with a flick.
Just a flick.
Perona leaned closer to Luffy without meaning to.
Luffy stared at the duel, hands clenched, jaw tight, eyes burning.
He's worried… She realized.
Just like her.
Perona shivered.
No. No, it can't be.
Still… that spirit… that look…
She floated closer, whispering. "…Hey."
Luffy blinked at her. "Hm?"
"What's your name?"
He opened his mouth—
but the deck exploded in screams as Zoro charged with all three swords roaring.
"ONI GIRI—!!!"
He lunged with everything he had.
Dreams.
Promise.
Pride.
Steel sang, roaring toward Mihawk—
—and Mihawk met it with calm disappointment.
"A wonderful technique…"
SHING.
The tiny dagger pierced Zoro's chest.
For a moment, silence.
The world froze.
Luffy's breath trembled.
Sanji flinched.
Usopp squeaked like a dying mouse.
Zoro staggered, blood running down his torso…
But he did not fall.
He grinned. "Not done yet—"
Mihawk sighed. "You have skill. And talent. But you are far too weak."
Zoro tried again—
Mihawk exhaled.
Then—
SCHWING.
He drew Yoru.
The ocean felt smaller.
The world felt smaller.
Everyone's knees weakened.
Zoro's eyes widened, breath catching—
Not in fear.
In awe.
"That… that sword…"
Mihawk lifted Yoru with only one hand. "Come. Show me the strength of your convictions."
Zoro's grip tightened.
"SANTORYU OGI"
He spun forward.
A hurricane of steel.
A storm of resolve.
"SANZEN…..
SEIKAI—!!"
Three spinning blades met the world's greatest sword.
BOOOOOOM!!
Air cracked.
The deck shattered.
Johnny and Yosaku were blown into the restaurant.
Usopp lost consciousness without anyone touching him.
Perona grabbed the railing.
And—
CRACK.
Two swords shattered.
Only one remained.
Wado Ichimonji.
The sword Kuina left behind.
His promise.
His breath hitched. His vision blurred.
The world's greatest blade loomed above him like a mountain he could never hope to carve.
Yoru.
A black sword vast as the horizon.
For a heartbeat, time froze.
And inside Zoro's mind—
A voice. His own voice.
Shaking. Cracking. Raw.
I… lost.
The words tasted like blood.
I lost… and the gap… it's still this wide…
His fists clenched the broken pieces until the edges bit into his palms.
So this… this is the summit? This is the world's strongest swordsman…?
His knees wavered, but he forced himself upright.
I'm still… so far behind.
So small.
So weak.
He thought of Kuina.
Of their promise.
Of every day he swung a sword until he couldn't feel his hands.
All of it… and I'm still not even close.
But instead of stepping back—
He turned around.
His chest forward.
Exposed.
Perona's eyes widened. "W–What is he doing?! That's suicide!"
Luffy didn't breathe.
Mihawk froze for the first time.
"…What are you doing?" he asked softly.
Zoro stood tall.
Steady.
Unshaking.
"A scar on a swordsman's back…"
He inhaled sharply.
"…is a shame."
The ocean fell silent.
Mihawk looked at him, truly looked—and his eyes softened for a heartbeat.
"…Magnificent."
Inside his mind, unheard by all. Don't rush too far ahead yet, young man.There is much in the world you must learn… before you grow into the man you're meant to be.
Then—
Yoru fell.
SLASH.
A clean, merciful strike.
Zoro didn't scream.
He didn't even flinch.
He simply fell.
Silent.
Into the sea.
——————
"ZORO!!!" Luffy screamed, voice cracking with fury.
He lunged at Mihawk, fist outstretched—
"Gomu Gomu no—!!"
Mihawk sidestepped with the grace of a man stepping around a puddle. "You cannot afford to attack me now… Straw Hat."
Johnny and Yosaku dove into the sea, dragging Zoro's unconscious body back onto their small boat.
Luffy ran to the railing. "ZORO!!! DON'T DIE!!!"
Mihawk turned back toward Zoro's limp form.
Mihawk truly looked at him.
Not at an annoyance.
Not at a child.
Not at a frog in a well.
But at a swordsman.
A future rival.
A man who could one day reach him.
Mihawk lowered Yoru, expression unreadable… until the faintest shadow of respect flickered in his golden eyes.
"You have a strong will," he said quietly.
The words fell like thunder.
Zoro's breath caught.
Everyone froze.
Perona jerked upright — stunned.
"Mihawk… praised someone?" she whispered, voice cracking. "He actually said something NICE? Did he hit his head!?"
Zeff's pipe nearly fell from his mouth.
Sanji blinked in disbelief.
Even Luffy stopped shouting for a moment.
Mihawk stepped closer, boots tapping against the splintered deck.
"Live," he commanded. "Live… and grow stronger."
Zoro trembled.
The words hit deeper than any blade.
Mihawk straightened, raising Yoru until its edge glinted against the sun.
His aura surged—
vast, crushing, regal—
and when he spoke again, it wasn't calm.
It was a challenge.
A decree to the world.
"Seek me again."
His voice rose.
"Surpass this blade!"
And with one final, ringing shout that shook every soul present—
"SURPASS ME, RORONOA ZORO!!!"
Silence swallowed the Baratie.
Waves crashed.
Birds scattered.
Perona stared at Mihawk as if he'd grown a second head. "…He… he acknowledged somebody…? What world are we living in!?"
Gasps spread across the Baratie.
Even Zeff's brows lifted.
Mihawk never said things like that.
Not to anyone.
The wind quieted as Mihawk shifted his attention from Zoro's defeated form…
…to the boy staring fiercely at him from across the deck.
"You," Mihawk said, voice sharp as drawn steel. "What is your name? And for what dream do you bare your teeth at me?"
Luffy paused mid-step.
The wind tugged gently at his hat, lifting the brim just enough for his eyes to gleam beneath it.
He grinned.
"Monkey D. Luffy," he said proudly, loudly, as if the world needed to hear it.
The name struck the deck like cannon fire.
Perona blinked. "…Monkey… D…?"
The world seemed to tilt.
Her gaze sharpened.
Her breath hitched.
She looked at his wide grin—
his fearless eyes—
the warmth blazing off him in waves—
and something old clicked.
Something she had seen for years aboard the Oro Jackson.
Something she never expected to see in the East Blue.
Her heart lurched. "He—he looks like— No… it can't be…"
Luffy lifted his chin. "And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."
The declaration rang across the ocean like destiny itself.
And in that moment—
Perona froze completely.
Her eyes widened to their limits.
Her jaw dropped.
Her umbrella slipped from her hand.
"Oh my god…"
Her voice cracked.
"That smile—
that stubborn aura—
that stupid courage—"
Her eyes darted to Mihawk in shock.
"…He's—
He's the captain's—"
A hand landed on her shoulder.
Firm.
Cold.
Commanding.
She jerked around.
Mihawk's stare pinned her in place — a silent warning sharper than Yoru itself.
Do. Not. Speak.
Perona swallowed hard and snapped her mouth shut, trembling.
Her mind raced.
Ada's son.
Standing right there.
Completely unaware.
Her heart thumped so hard she thought Mihawk could hear it.
Mihawk turned away from her and back to Luffy. There was a flicker of something — respect? amusement? destiny? — in his eyes.
"…I see."
Then he faced Luffy fully, expression unreadable.
"Monkey D. Luffy," he said. "Follow your dream. I will not stand in your way today."
Luffy blinked. "Eh? Why not?"
Mihawk's gaze softened — the faintest flicker. "Because fate has plans for you."
With that, he turned his gaze toward the ocean.
But before he could take a step—
A shout tore through the Baratie.
"LUFFYYYY!!"
Mihawk paused without turning.
Zoro's body shook, pain screaming through every nerve.
But his voice did not waver.
"I swear…
from this moment on…"
He raised Wado Ichimonji with trembling hands.
"…I WILL NEVER—
BE DEFEATED—
AGAIN!!!"
Blood dripped.
His chest covered in blood.
But his vow split the sky.
Sanji's cigarette almost fell from his lips.
Usopp clutched his heart.
Even Zeff's eyes widened.
The raw pain in his voice made even Perona flinch.
His chest heaved.
"IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU…
PIRATE KING?!"
The words hit Luffy like a cannon.
Luffy grinned—proud, bright, fierce. "Yeah… it's okay."
His voice softened, but carried across the sea. "I'm counting on you, Zoro."
Silence.
Even the waves listened.
Mihawk finally turned—just slightly.
A grin — small, sharp, and rare — cut across his face. "Magnificent."
His cloak billowed as he walked toward his coffin boat.
Perona blinked rapidly, stunned. "Mihawk—did you just—acknowledge someone twice?"
Her voice cracked. "I didn't know you were capable of that!"
Mihawk ignored her entirely.
He stepped into his tiny coffin-shaped boat.
Perona floated after him in a flustered rush.
"W-Wait! Slow down! I'm not done being shocked!"
Mihawk sat, crossed his arms, and said simply. "We are leaving."
Perona threw one last lingering look back at Luffy—
and that feeling slammed into her chest again.
Familiar.
Warm.
Undeniable.
Ada's eyes.
Ada's spirit.
Ada's reckless, blazing fire.
She hugged her umbrella tight, heart flipping.
"I knew it—" she whispered under her breath. "I knew it. He really is—"
"Perona."
Mihawk's voice cut in, sharp as Yoru.
She froze instantly.
He didn't even look at her—just kept pacing toward the coffin boat as if nothing in the world could rattle him.
The craft drifted from the Baratie, carried by the gentle pull of the sea.
Perona huffed, floating beside him, but her eyes stayed glued to the shrinking figure of the straw-hat boy on the deck.
"I never expected Captain's son to be sailing already…" she muttered, half awed, half annoyed. "Tch. He's even got her fierce look."
Mihawk exhaled through his nose — the closest thing he had to irritation. "We will discuss it later."
"But—!"
"Later."
His tone brooked no argument.
Perona puffed her cheeks, pouting dramatically.
"Fine," she grumbled. "But I knew that brat felt familiar…"
She crossed her arms, floating down onto the coffin boat with a sulky thud.
The horizon swallowed them piece by piece—
and just like that,
the strongest swordsman in the world and Ada's right hand drifted away…leaving destiny burning on the deck of the Baratie.
—————-
Luffy knelt beside Zoro, gripping his shoulder.
"We're gonna finish this journey," Luffy whispered.
Zoro exhaled shakily. "I'll follow you… captain."
The era had begun.
And fate had awakened.