'That man, Kuro... He's still a pirate who's good at making things flow his way,' Mihawk thought, his hand resting on his own blade. That day was the first time they fought. It was the night the sword he held, for the first time since learning Haki, was cracked.
The man led a strange pirate crew, nothing like a group of thugs. He challenged him with a spirit of self-sacrifice, unlike any pirate leader. Now, that same man was about to throw himself into another fight that seemed crazy.
"Hey, Mihawk."
Someone was tugging at his clothes.
It was Nico Robin, an executive of this pirate crew and probably their most important person. She looked a little worried.
"What do you think the Captain plans to do against the Marines and the government?" she asked quietly.
"Aren't you better at using your head, Robin?" Mihawk replied.
"I may know history, but I don't know much about the world." The girl puffed out her cheeks slightly. He couldn't help but chuckle, but he understood her worry was real.
Hancock, standing next to her, quietly placed a hand on Robin's head, petting her lightly to calm her down. Hancock knew that the man who had just stepped back was Robin's enemy. She was on high alert, watching for any trouble. For some reason, she threatened to kick Mihawk in the shin the moment he tried to step forward.
"Who knows," Mihawk said, looking back at Kuro. "I can't guess what he's thinking. In some ways, this is worse than the pirate alliance. I think anything could happen, including a direct fight..."
"But?" Robin pressed.
"Strangely, I feel more at ease now than when I heard the five Marine reinforcement ships were sunk," Mihawk admitted. "This situation might be something he already planned for."
Hearing that, Robin looked at the great pirate's back. She was still a little scared, but her eyes were full of respect. He was facing the government officials, not backing down, and leading the conversation.
That means... a fight is not likely. Or rather, he's trying to end this without fighting.
He felt it every day they crossed swords: this man was truly strange.
Normally, he should be more confident in his own strength. The Great Pirate Era has only just begun. It's a time when having power is enough to earn respect. But he wants to avoid using violence as much as he can. He had his reasons for becoming a pirate, but even so, most people would try to make a name for themselves by defeating famous pirates.
With his skill, he could make it in the New World right now. Even the 'Dark King' thinks you have talent, not to mention me...
During training, even the 'Dark King' fights him almost seriously, except for the strength of his Haki. As for Mihawk, if his Observation Haki wavers for even a second, he can't block 'Black Cat's' strike. The moment his Haki is disturbed, Kuro instantly finds an opening and lands a hit. On top of that, he is a great commander. Under him are many talented men, like Daz, who are both smart and strong.
He has so much skill, but he's still not confident in his fighting power... What is he planning for?
"Whatever happens, I doubt things will get a lot worse," Mihawk said aloud.
"...For us, the 'Black Cat' crew, anyway," Robin added, her voice barely a whisper.
--
Okay. That's one shot of poison, just to annoy them.
The leader of CP9 probably isn't a great fighter, but he must be in charge of the planning. The fact that he stepped back is a strong hidden card for us.
I can feel a faint waver in the presence of a few of the strongest-looking men behind him.
It must be it. My Haki has gotten stronger since Rayleigh started training me. I'm becoming very sensitive to people's presence.
On top of that, forget Rayleigh... Mihawk has been aiming for my neck whenever I show an opening. I can't relax. It's like I've put all my points into dodging. If I focus, my hearing gets sharper, too.
...Why am I modifying my own body like this?
What am I going to do if I can suddenly do a powerful kick like some Kamen Rider? ...Oh, wait. I can already do that.
My kicking power went way up when Hancock and I were training our kicks together. The other day, I tried putting my Haki into a kick and aimed at the sea. It split the water a little. Well, "split" might be too much. But it dug into it.
After those two idiots I spar with saw that, they raised their Haki levels. Now I'm fighting for my life every day.
I'm not superhuman like you two. Please set the difficulty to a normal human level.
Now, the first problem is whether the Five Elders will answer... but...
I want to avoid a fight if I can. I'm sure we all agree on that. If so, then we both know the best way to end this is by talking. I think so. I hope so. Yeah, I made the orders vague on purpose, so that should be the case.
If they agree to talk with me, a pirate, that's a win. The question is whether I can get them to make a deal...
The cards I'm showing right now are:
I am the keeper of Nico Robin, the key to history.
I have top-class fighters like Daz and Mihawk.
I have the power and political skill to keep at least some areas stable.
I have my own farms, outside of government control, that will grow much larger by next winter.
I have strong ties with the Marines, built during the pirate alliance incident.
I haven't shown it yet, but I have a new, faster fleet. I've put Hancock in charge and split the command.
Those are all my cards, except for the hidden ones.
I wish I had been able to improve my farms more... but I can't complain about what I couldn't do.
At worst... if the government and Marines agree to a reset, I could take that "sort-of" Warlord job I thought about before... but that probably won't happen.
Making the 'Black Cat' crew part of the Marines is my last card. I could make it a condition that the government stays out of it. But that would just strengthen the Marines, their potential political enemy. They'd be too scared to do that, both in feeling and strategy.
...I think... I can... dodge their questions and make the CP9 and other government forces pull back. But that's just putting the problem off...
If I just put it off, the 'Black Cat' members and the Marines will feel it. It's not bad, and they'd say it's a good result. But it will affect their spirit.
...Winter started a while ago.
People are already being cut to save food. And there are signs that a terrible number of people will starve to death. Actually, in the nations that were hit first and worst, it's already happening. The non-allied nations, and the allied nations too, want to do something. But everything was burned. They can't do anything. They can only wait for the government's help.
If they want more than that... they have to steal it from others. They'll be more desperate than pirates, risking their lives to attack. This will be a big test for us, the 'Black Cat' crew, and the Marines. We have to deal with them.
I have to give courage to as many soldiers as I can... I know that.
It's one thing to fight a clear enemy like a pirate. But from now on, we'll be fighting the ugly side of human survival.
This could be harder on our hearts than fighting pirates.
So, I need to fix the bad teamwork between the government and the Marines. I need to raise the Marines' spirits.
That means... I just have to win.
I have to get a real result. I have to make them believe that standing up for justice means something.
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