“He…
cut our ship in half with one slash…” The surviving pirates were still trying to process what had just happened.
Whatever curses might have been screaming through their heads, not one of them dared resist anymore.
Mihawk subdued the rest with little effort, and soon the entire crew was waiting to be taken prisoner.
That said, only a few of them were actually worth anything.
Quinn jumped into the sea and retrieved Jackal’s body, then captured two other pirates with bounties of 8,000,000 Berries each.
The rest were small fry with bounties below a million.
At most, they were accomplices.
Kael looked over the prisoners.
“You’ve killed plenty of people in the West Blue.” His voice remained calm.
“You were also involved in three major massacres, so calling you accomplices is probably being generous.” The pirates stiffened.
Kael continued, “But that’s not really the issue.” He glanced at Jackal’s corpse.
“I wanted my brother to get some combat experience.” “Then that idiot transformed into a giant beast and scared him.” Kael smiled faintly.
“That was a little excessive.” Quinn’s mouth twitched.
A little excessive…?
Something about that explanation felt very wrong.
Hadn’t Kael been the one who deliberately sent Mihawk over there for real combat experience?
The pirates were just as confused.
Their captain had frightened Mihawk for a moment…
So Kael had split the entire ship in half and killed Jackal on the spot?
That was— Well…
Insane.
Then they met Kael’s gentle gaze.
Every pirate immediately forced a smile.
They had no choice.
Smiling felt safer.
At first glance, Kael looked far less dangerous than the cold young swordsman beside him.
But after witnessing that slash?
Nobody was stupid enough to be fooled anymore.
Just look at the ship.
Even the metal sections had been sliced apart so cleanly that the cut surfaces were almost smooth.
Were their bodies harder than steel?
Obviously not.
This was a man they absolutely could not afford to provoke.
And worse…
He didn’t seem particularly interested in being reasonable.
“Mihawk.” Kael’s tone suddenly hardened.
“You made three mistakes.” Mihawk, who had just finished sheathing Yoru, immediately looked troubled.
He walked over with his head slightly lowered.
Already approaching six feet three despite his age, Mihawk normally carried himself with pride.
Right now, however, he looked remarkably obedient.
“I’m sorry, Brother.” “First.” Kael looked directly at him.
“A swordsman doesn’t put himself in unnecessary danger just to look impressive.” Mihawk lowered his head further.
“Second.” Kael’s gaze shifted toward Yoru.
“A swordsman protects his blade at all times.” “If you allow your partner to be damaged because you were careless, you’ve failed as a swordsman.” Mihawk’s heart tightened.
Kael had told him before.
When using Yoru in battle, he needed to coat it thoroughly with Armament Haki.
The black blade wasn’t something he should allow to take damage through carelessness.
“But if I keep Armament Haki active the whole time, I’ll burn through my stamina much faster…” “Exactly.” Kael nodded.
“Which tells you what you need to improve.” His left hand settled on Requiem’s hilt.
His expression turned colder.
“Third.” “A swordsman cannot let fear, hesitation, or worry control his blade.” “Because in a real battle…” Kael’s eyes sharpened.
“The price won’t be embarrassment.” “It’ll be your life.” Mihawk straightened.
“I understand, Brother!” Kael looked at him for another moment.
“And in that respect, you’re currently worse than Shanks.” “Shanks…” Mihawk immediately remembered the cheerful red-haired boy.
It was true.
Shanks’s stance had been rough.
His movements weren’t polished.
His swordsmanship lacked structure.
But there had been one thing about him that Mihawk couldn’t deny.
He had attacked without fear.
“I understand.” Mihawk nodded firmly.
He committed every mistake from his first true battle to memory.
One day, he might look back on this fight as the lesson that forced him to grow.
Kael’s expression softened.
“Good.” Then he looked toward the remaining pirates.
“As for the rest of you…” Every man froze.
Kael waved a hand.
“Let them go.” “They’re not worth the trouble.” The pirates nearly cried.
Small fry!
For the first time in their lives, they had never been so grateful to be called small fry.
“We’re alive…” “Thank God…” …
The Sabaody Archipelago had numerous ports scattered among its outer groves.
Outside the lawless zones of Groves 1 through 30, most pirate crews lowered their Jolly Rogers before entering port.
Everyone knew what it meant, of course.
A ship suddenly hiding its pirate flag wasn’t exactly subtle.
But as long as the crew behaved themselves, the Marines rarely pushed things too far.
If they tried to arrest every pirate passing through Sabaody, unrest could spread across the archipelago faster than a single Vice Admiral and a few hundred Marines could contain it.
So the arrangement was simple.
Don’t cause trouble.
Don’t provoke the Marines.
And above all— Don’t offend the Celestial Dragons.
As long as those rules were followed, Vice Admiral Borsalino generally didn’t make life too difficult for passing pirates.
Besides, pirates brought money.
Gold.
Jewels.
Rare goods.
Their spending fueled Sabaody’s already thriving economy.
In a strange way, even piracy contributed to local commerce.
At that moment, however, something unusual was happening at the harbor near the Marine base on Grove 66.
Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Zephyr were standing at the docks waiting for someone.
Behind them stood a formation of Marines.
Borsalino, both Zephyr’s former student and Garp’s junior, stood near the front with his usual lazy expression.
He scratched his head.
Who exactly were they waiting for?
Two legends who normally couldn’t be bothered to leave Marine Headquarters unless something serious happened had both come all the way to Sabaody.
Together.
And they weren’t even in uniform.
Borsalino narrowed his eyes slightly.
This had to be someone important.
No matter how badly he and Zephyr disagreed on certain things, Zephyr was still his teacher.
And more importantly, Zephyr was still an Admiral.
If an Admiral personally came out to welcome someone, Borsalino had little choice but to show up as well.
The surrounding Marines were equally curious.
An Admiral and the Hero of the Marines standing at the harbor in civilian clothes waiting for one person?
Whoever was arriving had to be a very big deal.
Necks stretched.
Eyes remained fixed on the sea.
Garp scratched the back of his head.
“This was supposed to be a private welcome.” He grimaced.
“Now we’ve turned it into a whole damn ceremony.” “Sengoku’s going to be a pain about this.” Zephyr burst out laughing.
“Then you explain it to him.” “I’ll be drinking with Kael.” “Absolutely not.” Garp leaned backward dramatically.
“I’m not missing that.” A grin appeared on his face.
“That kid’s too interesting.” Then Zephyr’s eyes shifted toward the horizon.
His eyebrows rose.
“Speak of the devil.” He smiled.
“He’s here.”
Add to library.
Send some Power Stones.