Chapter 13 The Broken Sword Summons the World's Greatest SwordsmanAnd he, Luffy, only wanted to live a carefree life as a second-generation Marine in this chaotic world.
With Garp protecting him, as long as he wore the Marine's skin, he could do whatever he wanted within the bounds of the law!
In the original story, Luffy was forced to stay and work to pay off his debts after accidentally launching a cannonball into Zeff's room.
But in this life, Luffy has beautiful women in his arms, delicious food on the table, and leisurely watches a play—this is the life a transmigrator should have!
"Hey, Luffy, are you sure the Krieg Pirates are really coming to rob us?"
Usopp looked out at the increasingly thick fog and asked listlessly, "It's been a whole day already! If they really went to call for reinforcements, they should have arrived by now, right?"
"What's the rush? Didn't I already send Hobbdy out as a scout? As righteous Marines, we absolutely cannot stand by and watch evil pirates endanger the lives and property of the people of the East Blue!"
Luffy spoke righteously, then turned to the blonde beauty with a gentle smile: "Darling, don't you think so?"
"Captain Luffy is so righteous! So cool!"
The blonde beauty clapped her hands admiringly, then casually put her arm around Luffy's neck and fed him a sip of wine.
Usopp: "..."
"Damn it! You're definitely not leaving because you want to pick up girls! Such a high-sounding excuse!"
"How can you think so shallowly of me? I'm a Marine Headquarters Captain! For justice!"
"Then take your hand off her waist before you speak, you jerk!"
"Ahem... I'm just... okay, I can't keep this up."
Usopp: "...Boo!"
Luffy ignored Usopp's tirade, silently looking at the attribute panel in his mind, his brow furrowing slightly.
At this moment, the Li Jing template was in its final countdown; it would be a waste not to use it.
Luffy silently drew the broken sword, slowly stood up, and an unfathomable aura emanated from him.
He said to Zoro, who was pouring himself a drink:
"Zoro, in the art of swordsmanship, I think I've reached the pinnacle, invincible under heaven. Since I'm bored anyway, I'll show you the ultimate secrets of swordsmanship!"
Zoro, completely bewildered, put down his drink, staring at him like he was an idiot: "Huh? Are you drunk?"
Luffy calmly walked to the center of the hall, and everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing, looking over curiously.
Even Zeff and the chefs in the kitchen came out to watch the spectacle.
Luffy raised his broken sword with both hands, slowly bringing it down, forcing a few beads of cold sweat onto his forehead with his inner strength, and shouted: "Come on!"
With this shout, an invisible, eerie wave instantly spread out.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared out of thin air as if teleporting, precisely catching Luffy's harmless broken sword with both hands.
"What?!"
Zoro stared in utter shock at the scene before him, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
Zeff slapped himself hard, as if trying to confirm if he was hallucinating.
Luffy also gasped, inwardly exclaiming: Holy crap! It actually worked?!
The newcomer had short black hair, piercing yellow eyes like an eagle's, and a meticulously styled short beard.
He wore a black top hat adorned with white fur, a burgundy patterned shirt, and a black trench coat, with a small cross-shaped knife hanging from his chest.
Most importantly, he carried the world-renowned strongest black sword, Yoru, on his back!
At this moment, this man standing at the pinnacle of world swordsmanship—Hawkeye Mihawk—was kneeling on one knee, his hands tightly gripping Luffy's broken sword, his face filled with bewilderment.
"Hawkeye?!"
Zoro felt an overwhelming, terrifying sword aura emanating from the man, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
Zep couldn't believe his eyes. This was a Shichibukai! How could he suddenly appear on this dilapidated ship? And kneeling to catch a sword?
Only Luffy's lips twitched wildly, barely suppressing a laugh.
100% guaranteed to catch a blade barehanded (Targeted Version)!
As long as they're within the skill's range, someone can be designated to ignore space and causality, appearing directly beneath the sword to catch the strike!
Luffy initially knew that Hawkeye might have come to the East Blue to kill time, but he had no idea how wide the skill's range was.
Thinking that the template time was almost up, he figured he might as well give it a try.
Unexpectedly… it was incredibly useful!
It was jaw-dropping; Hawkeye was actually summoned!
This was utterly outrageous, terrifyingly powerful!
No wonder it was hailed as a causality-level divine skill capable of ignoring the laws of physics and forcibly crossing black holes to pull people out.
At this moment, the world-renowned "World's Greatest Swordsman" stood blankly on the deck, his sharp, hawk-like yellow eyes now filled with dazed disbelief.
His neck stiffly turned, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar surroundings, and three philosophical questions immediately popped into his mind:
Who am I?
Where am I?
Wasn't I sleeping?
It wasn't until his gaze focused and he caught sight of Luffy's iconic straw hat that the memory of his initial purpose for this trip jolted him back to reality.
He had simply been bored and wanted to kill time, and also see for himself what kind of three-headed, six-armed creature the "future Pirate King," whom Shanks had risked his arm for in the East Blue, actually looked like.
The problem was, he had completely blacked out and had no idea how he had teleported here.
However, his instincts as a top swordsman sent chills down his spine. He sensed an unfathomable depth emanating from the young man before him, a feeling akin to facing the greatest swordsman of the Shang Dynasty.
"Who are you?"
Hawkeye, completely unaware that he was kneeling on one knee, his posture humble like a subject, instinctively asked.
Luffy's lips curled into a playful smile, and he nodded slightly: "Luffy, Marine Headquarters Captain."
Upon hearing this, Hawkeye's perpetually icy face finally crumbled, revealing a face full of question marks.
Holy crap?
Red-Haired Shanks, you bastard! You practically gave your arm away as a snack to the Lord of the Coast!
He never even considered becoming a pirate; he'd donned the coat of justice and gone to live off the government!
Recalling Shanks's frenzied attempt to hijack the Celestial Dragons' transport ship and steal the Gum-Gum Fruit, and considering Shanks's grief-stricken reaction after Luffy accidentally ate the fruit, the truth was already obvious.
Initially, Shanks never intended to feed this god-tier fruit to Luffy.
His frequent visits to Windmill Village suggest only one possibility:
Shanks's original plan was to present this fruit—which even the World Government feared and had to rename to conceal—as a gift to his old captain—the posthumous son of the Pirate King, Roger!
Portgas D. Ace!
Unfortunately, fate intervened. At the time, Ace was well hidden by the cunning Garp. Shanks only knew that his captain had entrusted the child to Garp, but couldn't find him, so he frequently visited Windmill Village, subtly trying to gather information.
Who could have imagined that this carefully planned advantage, specifically prepared for Ace, would be snatched away and eaten by Luffy!
The rarity of this Devil Fruit meant that Shanks couldn't possibly kill Luffy to reset his power level just to retrieve it, especially since Luffy had incredibly powerful connections—he was Garp's grandson and Dragon's son, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Even a Yonko wouldn't fight two such formidable figures simultaneously; that would be suicidal.
Left with no other choice, Shanks used the bandit incident to stage a self-inflicted wound, sacrificing his left arm to forcefully plant the seed of "I will become the Pirate King" in young Luffy's heart.
This is why, when Shanks apologized for accidentally letting the bandits escape, the first mate, Beckman, retorted with a helpless smile, "You're overdoing it, aren't you?"
However, what's making Hawkeye's worldview crumble is that this seed seems to have gone astray, ridiculously so.
This isn't just not becoming a pirate; this guy has directly become a full-fledged Marine, and even risen to the rank of Captain!
Hawkeye's mind is a complete mess; he has absolutely no idea what expression to wear when facing Luffy.
To ease the awkwardness, he can only grit his teeth and continue pretending to be a complete stranger. After Luffy withdrew his oppressive aura, he forced himself to stand up, dusting off the dust from his trousers.
"Where exactly is this place?"
"You...could it be...could it be that you are the legendary...Hawkeye Man?!"
Zoro, standing beside him, is trembling violently, not with fear, but with extreme excitement, staring intently at the man carrying the black sword.
"His full name is Dracule Mihawk, 'Hawkeye Man,' what an awful name."
Luffy casually explained, "See? I told you, follow me, and you'll eventually meet the world's greatest swordsman."
Although Zoro could clearly feel the suffocatingly terrifying aura emanating from Mihawk, as if the air itself were being sliced by sharp blades.
However, seeing Mihawk kneeling before Luffy just moments before, he felt his aura of superiority shatter.
Where did the aloofness of the world's greatest swordsman go?
Why would he perform such a grand gesture before a Marine captain like Luffy?
"Your Conqueror's Haki... has it reached such a terrifying level? Even he was suppressed?"
Zoro swallowed hard, unable to resist turning to Luffy for confirmation.
Luffy chuckled, offering no direct answer, maintaining his enigmatic persona.
The well-informed Zeff, not daring to slight this formidable figure, quickly interjected:
"This is the man who truly stands at the pinnacle of all swordsmen in the world."
Zeff looked at Hawkeye, his gaze as solemn as if looking at a prehistoric behemoth. "This is the East Blue, the Baratie."
Hawkeye appeared calm, but inwardly he was cursing furiously.
"I was clearly sitting in my coffin-like boat, killing those trash like Krieg to pass the time, aimlessly wandering the East Blue looking for Luffy, and then, in the blink of an eye, I'm teleported here?"
What frustrated Hawkeye even more was that Luffy, the one who caused his old friend Shanks to lose an arm, was completely deviating from the script.
Moreover, his swordsman's intuition told him that Luffy seemed to possess an extremely powerful swordsmanship force.
"Conqueror's Haki? What kind of new term is that?"
Even Hawkeye, a man standing at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, was completely baffled by the term Zoro uttered.
Zoro, his blood boiling, gripped the Wado Ichimonji at his waist, his knuckles white with effort, and roared at Mihawk:
"I set sail to see you!"
Mihawk glanced at him listlessly, his tone flat: "What's your purpose?"
Zoro ripped off his dark green bandana and tied it tightly around his head, his eyes resolute:
"Only the strongest!"
Sensing the fearless determination in Zoro, a hint of interest finally appeared on Mihawk's lips:
"Hmph, what a foolish and impatient wish."
Zoro stopped talking, drawing the Wado Ichimonji with a swift motion, the blade humming as if sensing its master's fighting spirit:
"Enough talk, let's have a fair fight!"
"A fight?"
Hawkeye glanced disdainfully at Zoro, then turned his gaze to Luffy. "If it were this kid, perhaps he'd be qualified to spar with me. Since you call yourself a first-rate swordsman, can't you even see the insurmountable gap between us?"
"Dare to draw your sword against me? Should I say you have commendable courage, or is it just ignorance?"
Zoro glanced at Luffy beside him. Kenshin remained unmoved by Hawkeye's belittling; instead, he grinned wildly:
"Because of my ambition, and the promise I made to my best friend that I must fulfill, I will never allow myself to retreat even a single step before you!"
"The difference in skill, of course I can see it, but I have reasons why I absolutely cannot lose!"
With that, Zoro bit his third sword, assuming his signature three-sword style stance.
Usopp, hiding behind a pillar, was drenched in cold sweat and whispered tremblingly to Luffy:
"Hey, Luffy, are you sure you don't want to stop this? People could die!"
Luffy seemed to snap out of his daze and waved his hand at the two men who were about to clash:
"Um, if you want to fight, please go outside. If you break any tables or chairs in the restaurant, I don't have the money to pay old man Zeff."
Usopp almost fell over: "Is this the time to worry about paying for things?!"
Zeff, the ship's owner, finally realized that this was his prized creation, Baratie.
He hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "There's a special fighting platform outside the restaurant. If you want to fight, I can raise it, and you can go outside and do whatever you want."
Luffy, however, shook his head, pointing to the distant sea, and said, "No need for that. A ready-made fighting arena has been delivered right to our doorstep."
Zeff looked at Luffy with astonishment, not understanding what he was talking about.
However, when everyone curiously went to the outer deck and looked up, they gasped in shock.
A gigantic pirate ship, ten times larger than Baratie, like a dying beast, slowly approached.