In the New World, within the raging seas of the first half of the Grand Line.
Inside the exclusive training cabin of the xuanjin ark, the dark metal bulkheads gleamed with a cold, hard luster, and various super-heavy training equipment were arranged throughout the space.
Bullet was shirtless, his bronze muscles taut and bulging as if cast from steel, and sweat had long since soaked his clothes.
He was performing five-hundred-kilogram weighted push-ups, and as soon as one set ended, he immediately switched to single-arm pull-ups, his body rising and falling straight, every exertion pushing his limits.
The cabin door clicked, and Dar, having just woken up and finished a simple wash, strolled slowly into the training room.
He looked up and glanced at the frantically training Bullet, secretly grumbling to himself: “This guy is completely hopeless; all he has in his eyes is training or fighting, he’s a pure, late-stage case of hyperactivity.”
After doing a few simple warm-up exercises, he said: “Do you want to take a break?
I’ve already told you that your top priority right now is to master Conquerors Haki Infusion; only Conquerors Haki Infusion is the true god.”
Bullet didn’t even turn his head.
It was easy for him to say, but Conquerors Haki Infusion wasn’t something so easily mastered; even now, he didn’t have a clue.
He replied in a muffled voice: “No need.”
Dar was already accustomed to Bullet’s indifference; the kid had been rude since he was little, so he wouldn’t lower himself to his level.
He walked straight to the giant barbell rack, lifted it with one hand, and steadily shouldered the multi-ton barbell.
With his legs spread shoulder-width apart, he lowered his waist and rose, performing weighted squats with steady, standard form.
From beginning to end, Dar only focused on the squat, repeating the motion as if he had a special fondness for it.
Bullet had been glancing over for a long time and finally couldn’t suppress his confusion.
He stopped training and asked: “Hey, Dar!
Why do you only practice squats every day?”
He had been following Dar for so long and had never seen him practice any other exercises.
This behavior left him, a devotee of all-around training, completely baffled.
Dar didn’t stop his movement.
He glanced at Bullet’s legs and said in an indifferent tone: “It’s nothing, I just don’t want to be like you, with thighs not even as thick as your forearms.”
Bullet looked down at his thighs, which were noticeably thinner compared to his upper body, then looked at Dar’s golden-ratio physique.
He immediately snorted in annoyance, turned around, and buried himself in training.
Just then, a sweet yet mature, commanding voice echoed in the training cabin; it was Angela, the intelligent assistant of the xuanjin ark:
“Master!
Ahead is Qike Town island; the radar has detected a super-high energy reaction, suspected to be the aura of a top-tier powerhouse!”
Dar instantly stopped his squat, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes.
He had been piloting the xuanjin ark around the New World for over a month, relying on the ship-mounted scanning radar to search everywhere for the Sand Crocodile, Crocodile.
But the New World’s seas were boundless; finding someone based on vague information was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Now that he had run into a high-energy individual, whoever it was, he would go join the fun first!
Moreover, the ship’s supplies were running low, and with a new big-eater member recently, consumption had doubled, so it was the perfect time to land and resupply.
“Let’s go, let’s take a look!” Dar ordered without a second thought.
The xuanjin ark turned its course, breaking through the towering waves, and sped toward Qike Town.
Qike Town was situated on a tropical island.
The back mountain had towering ancient trees and an open meadow, but at this moment, it was being stirred up by fierce sword energy, sending leaves and branches flying.
In the center of the meadow stood a handsome young man two meters tall: wearing a white-furred black top hat, draped in a black coat fluttering in the wind, his posture as straight as a pine, and in his hand, he held a long, pitch-black blade—it was none other than black blade yoru, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords.
This person was none other than Hawkeye Mihawk, who was traveling the New World in search of top-tier swordsmen to spar with.
He was the future World’s Greatest Swordsman, and he exuded an aloof aura that kept people at a distance.
His opponent was the uncrowned king of Qike Town, a renowned swordsman whose fame echoed throughout the surrounding seas.
Hawkeye had specifically sought him out to spar, but after only a moment of exchanging blows, he lost interest.
To Hawkeye, seeking swordsmen to spar with was like tasting wine: some wines were unknown but had a rich, lingering flavor, while others had a thunderous reputation but were bland and tasteless.
The swordsman before him was clearly the latter; he didn’t even have the interest to swing his blade again.
Hawkeye turned his wrist slightly and swung black blade yoru casually.
A plain, unremarkable slash flew out, directly knocking the opponent’s longsword away and forcing him to retreat repeatedly, completely losing his ability to fight.
The moment he sheathed his blade, Hawkeye’s indifferent gaze turned toward the shadows of the trees, looking at Dar and Bullet, who had been standing there watching for a while.
“You two have been watching for so long; surely you’ve seen enough, right?” Hawkeye’s voice was cold and detached, carrying no emotion.
Having his presence exposed, Dar felt no embarrassment at all.
He strode forward with a warm smile: “Hawkeye Mihawk!
Your swordsmanship is truly extraordinary.
We heard news of your whereabouts and came specifically to invite you to join our Blast Pirates!”
Hawkeye raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone indifferent: “Blasting Dar with a bounty of 1.28 billion Berries, and ‘Demon Heir’ Bullet with 1 billion Berries—for two Great Pirates to come and invite me personally, I must have quite a lot of face.”
He paused and then refused directly: “It’s just a pity, I have no interest in joining anyone else’s pirate crew.”
He was worthy of being the future World’s Greatest Swordsman; facing two billion-level Great Pirates, his expression remained calm, with not a shred of fear in his eyes, and his aloof aura remained undiminished.
Beside him, Bullet had been bursting with pent-up energy.
Having been idle on the ship for over a month, and now encountering a top-tier powerhouse like Hawkeye, his battle intent instantly hit the ceiling; he clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward and fight.
Just as he took a step, Dar reached out and stopped him firmly.
Dar glanced at him sideways, thinking to himself: “Such a good opportunity to show off, how could I let you have it?”
Bullet snorted in annoyance, forcibly holding back his steps, standing to the side with his battle intent surging, staring fixedly at Hawkeye.
Dar stepped forward, and instantly, jet-black Armament Haki surged around him, wrapping tightly around his fists, and his aura suddenly skyrocketed.
He looked up, provoking him: “Don’t you want to try and see if you can cut through my fists wrapped in Haki?”
“Let’s make a bet.
If you beat me, you can leave as you please; if you lose, you join my pirate crew.
How about it?”
Hawkeye did not answer, but a fierce battle intent ignited in his eyes.
He could clearly feel the powerful Haki on Dar; this was an opponent worth taking seriously!
The next second, Hawkeye swung his blade violently.
A massive, silver flying slash tore through the air, ripping the ground as it headed straight for Dar with overwhelming force!
Dar did not change his expression, his right fist, wrapped in Armament Haki, slammed out, smashing hard against the slash!
“Boom—!”
A thunderous roar shook the sky.
The powerful flying slash was actually shattered by his punch, turning into waves of air that dissipated into nothingness!
Hawkeye’s pupils shrank suddenly.
He hadn’t expected his slash to be shattered so easily!
The strength of a billion-level Great Pirate was indeed terrifying!
The battle intent in his heart was completely ignited.
Hawkeye gripped black blade yoru tightly, his figure flashed into a black shadow, and he thrust his blade straight at Dar!
Dar stood where he was, not moving an inch, his fists covered in jet-black Haki, precisely batting away every one of Hawkeye’s slashes.
“Clang, clang, clang—!”
The sound of metal clashing rang out continuously in the air.