At this stage, Hawkeye Mihawk was already one of the top swordsmen on the high seas.
But in front of the current Dar, he was still a cut below.
After all, Dar was a monster who had gone head-to-head with Garp in his prime.
When Mihawk’s black blade yoru slashed over again with a fierce strike, Dar pulled his fist to his chest and leaned back slightly.
“Explosion Fist!”
He smashed his fist hard against the incoming blade!
A terrifying explosive shockwave burst forth, and the violent blast of air sent Mihawk stumbling backward, his hands tingling numbly.
Seizing this split-second opening, Dar instantly lunged forward, unleashing a storm of combo Explosion Fists.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Each punch carried explosive power; Mihawk couldn’t block in time and was slammed into the ground, sprawling out in a spread-eagle position, panting heavily.
Even in such a pathetic state, he still gripped his black blade yoru tightly, refusing to let go.
Seeing that Mihawk had no intention of continuing the fight, Dar walked up to him, extended his right hand, and smiled heartily:
“How about it?
Join our Blast Pirates.
You can challenge me anytime, until you defeat me.”
Mihawk’s heart was already in turmoil.
While fighting Dar, he felt like he wasn’t battling a person, but slashing against a mountain of cast steel that would never collapse.
This was the first time in his life he had such a thought—
It felt like…
no matter what, he couldn’t cut down the man in front of him.
His reason frantically denied this absurd idea, but his body’s intuition could not be fooled.
Looking at Dar’s extended hand, Mihawk fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grabbed it.
He wanted to defeat this man, and for that, he was willing to set aside his pride and become someone else’s crew member.
Dar pulled him up and laughed loudly:
“Hahaha!
Mihawk, welcome to the Blast Pirates!”
Mihawk calmly withdrew his hand, his expression remaining cold and serious:
“I will continue to challenge you.
The day I defeat you will be the day I leave the ship.”
Dar was amused.
He was very familiar with this routine; it was exactly the same as Bullet’s.
He reached out and threw an arm around Mihawk’s shoulder, saying casually:
“No problem, I’ll be waiting for your challenge anytime.”
Mihawk frowned slightly, shifted to the side without a word to create some distance, and asked:
“Since I’ve joined, what do I need to do from now on?”
He had never joined any pirate crew before and had no idea about the rules of being a crew member.
Dar was stunned for a moment, then said offhandedly:
“It’s very simple.
From now on, you’re only responsible for cutting people; leave the rest to me.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Dar brought Mihawk over to Bullet, patted Bullet on the shoulder, and introduced him:
“This is our crew’s combatant.
I asked him to be the first mate before, but he wouldn’t do it.
How about you?”
“Not interested.” Mihawk refused decisively.
His pursuit was simple: he only wanted to cut people or be cut by them.
Being rejected instantly left Dar a bit depressed; wasn’t being a first mate supposed to be great?
Having refused Dar, Mihawk extended his hand toward Bullet:
“I’ve heard a lot about you.
Let’s spar when we have time.”
Bullet grinned and reached out to shake his hand:
“I’d be happy to.”
After that fight just now, he already acknowledged Mihawk’s strength; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so easygoing.
Dar clapped his hands, full of high spirits:
“Let’s go!
We’re heading to the town below to resupply.
Today—we’re having a banquet!”
“Come on, guys, I’ll have a drink first!”
Inside the spacious hall of the xuanjin ark.
Dar, Bullet, and Mihawk drank from noon until the early hours of the morning, all of them completely sloshed, having long since cast their usual aloofness and seriousness to the winds.
Dar raised a large bowl of beer and downed it in one go.
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Bullet and Mihawk also followed suit and downed their drinks.
The three of them refilled their drinks.
Dar looked at Bullet and said with a smile:
“Little Ba, when you first came, it was just the two of us, and we didn’t throw a welcome banquet for you.
Today is the perfect time to make up for it.
Let’s have one.”
Bullet was a straightforward guy; without another word, he downed another cup.
Putting down his glass, he couldn’t help but ask:
“Captain, how exactly did you train your Armament Haki?
How can the range be so exaggerated?”
Beside him, Mihawk also quietly pricked up his ears.
He was also curious; Dar’s Armament Haki was simply not at a level a human should possess.
Dar slammed his empty bowl onto the table and said proudly:
“I’m not bragging, but my Armament Haki has been different from ordinary people since I was a child.
I’ve never actually trained it properly.”
Anyway, even if he told them about the system, they wouldn’t understand, so it was better to just say it was innate.
Bullet was a bit disappointed.
So it was a special constitution; he had hoped to learn something.
He nodded:
“That’s normal.
There are some natural-born freaks on the high seas.
For example, Charlotte Linlin’s ‘Iron Balloon’—her defense is heaven-defying by nature.
And then there’s the Red Earl, Redfield, whose Observation Haki was also ridiculously strong from birth.”
Dar didn’t expect Bullet to rationalize it for him, so he immediately raised his glass:
“The three of us, none of us have bad constitutions.
Come on!
Another drink!”
Putting down his glass, Mihawk suddenly looked at Dar and asked seriously:
“During the fight earlier, I noticed that you…
seem to lack Observation Haki?”
Dar paused while pouring the wine and sighed helplessly:
“Not just Observation Haki; I don’t have Haoshoku either.
I don’t know what’s going on.”
He complained silently in his heart: it was just that the system wasn’t doing its job.
His Armament Haki was maxed out, but he hadn’t received a single reward for Observation Haki or Haoshoku.
“No Haoshoku?”
Bullet and Mihawk were stunned at the same time, their faces full of disbelief.
In the pirate world, Haoshoku was tied to spirit and ambition.
In their view, how could a ruthless man like Dar not have Haoshoku?
Seeing Dar looking depressed, though it wasn’t visible on the surface, the two of them felt a secret sense of satisfaction.
So what if he’s the Captain?
He still doesn’t know Observation Haki or Haoshoku.
This round, they won.
But they couldn’t keep making the Captain feel awkward, so Mihawk proactively changed the subject:
“Captain, what are our plans next?”
As soon as this was mentioned, Dar instantly perked up, his eyes gleaming:
“We’re not looking for the Sand Crocodile anymore.”
“Next stop, the Sky Island above Jaya in the East Blue!
The legendary City of Gold, there’s countless gold there!
When we get there, we’re going to take it all!”
He turned to look at Bullet and asked curiously:
“Did you ever go there back when you were with the Pirate King Roger?”
Bullet shook his head:
“Never been there; I wasn’t on the ship at that time.”
“That’s perfect, then we’ll go together this time and see the sights of the Sky Island!”
Dar waved his hand grandly, “Enough talk, let’s drink!”
“Drink!”
The three of them toasted and drank again until dawn broke, before finally passing out in a drunken stupor.