A/N: Tell me what you think!
Fourth Letter – Mihawk.
'To: Strawhat Luffy.
From: H.
Addressing me as 'Swordsman' is acceptable. Addressing me as your 'friend' is not. One letter is hardly enough to classify any person as 'friend'. And while I am on the subject of your language usage: you cannot eat a 'juvenile'. The word means 'childish', a descriptor that appears most accurate when given to you.
I had suspected your identity, and my suspicions were confirmed when you wrote about Red Hair: you are the anchor whom Shanks claimed was worth giving up his arm for.
You certainly possess the audacity that the insolent man seems to appreciate. He may have found a kindred spirit, though he has never gone into detail on you when we spoke.
I am curious where your path will lead, and if it will cross his again. I am certain I will hear all about it once such occasion occurs – Red Hair seemed ecstatic to be informed of your first bounty poster.
Dare I even inquire as to how one could attend their own execution, yet walk away from it unscathed? I had heard rumors, the likes of which travel faster than fire in a dry savannah, of a lightning strike in the plaza, of the presence of a certain person wanted by the World Government. Were I to even mention his name, surely this letter would be confiscated, so I shall hereby refrain from continuing with the subject.
I am… pleased that you have made it into the Grand Line. Paradise shall surely test you thoroughly. Know that I will track your progress, as well as that of your swordsman.
Your clear loyalty to your nakama is commendable. Not many pirates hold their crew in such obviously high regard. I will admit that I find your attitude in that area… refreshing. On my part, perhaps, that is merely an old man reminiscing his past mistakes, made in a bygone era.
I no longer have nakama in the traditional sense. It is a long and, surely to one such as you, dull story. We merely decided to part ways shortly before I joined a project of the World Government, as a way of keeping my crew away from their clutches. My bounty was also frozen at that point, so I actually do not know how much my head is worth, should I turn my back on the marines and roam the seas freely once more. It is irrelevant.
You have proven yourself interesting so far, Straw-hat Luffy.
As for other relations, I have no remaining living family members. I do not have 'friends', either. Even though… A certain persistent redhead, my old rival, has certainly been trying to worm his way into my good graces. I am not opposed to the free drinks and food he curries favor with. I have no pets, but perhaps, a hawk might be considered. If they are not eaten or killed by the other occupants that reside on my island, that is.
On my old ship, while I was sailing with my crew, I was the swordsman. On occasion, I provided aid in the kitchen, though I would never dare call myself a chef. The aforementioned ship remains in the capable hands of my former first mate. The Rosetta was as fast as she was graceful, and I could not have asked for a better vessel, back in the day.
My dream is to find an equal that can do more than challenge me in mere combat. Something which I expect you do not understand. You are fairly young.
Even so, it appears you have succeeded in giving me a sense of nostalgia I do not often encounter. But the past is not something I find worth dwelling on.
I suppose I might give you, if not an explanation worthy of the phenomena, a basal explanation of what 'Haki' is:
Haki is a form of energy all living things possess. Most fail to ever awaken it at all.
However, with sufficient training, one can learn to utilize, even weaponize, two out of the three types of Haki, Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku. The third is granted to a small percentage of the population, and is called Haoshoku. In simpler terms, these abilities are to sense spiritual energy of other beings, use your life force as weapon, and overpower your enemies, respectively.
Though I feel I should not aid you with this at all, Haki is commonly used by higher level foes you will undoubtedly encounter, and even being aware of it might give you the upper hand.
It would be a pity if you were to die before I have seen what you are capable of.
As for Roronoa's challenge, we shall see. It is too soon to make assumptions, let alone that he may prove to be a worthy opponent one day.
H.'
The messenger bird sat atop the crow's nest, quietly and patiently observing his target. It had not received a letter yet, but the Intended Recipient for his previous cargo had asked it to wait, dangling coins in front of it. And so, it stayed put, being cautiously observed by a newcomer on the Going Merry.
"You are aware that messenger birds are often intercepted?" She asks carefully, fully aware of her shaky standing with this particular crew, who had not given in to her charms as fast as she'd anticipated.
"Yep." Luffy called happily, smoothing out the heavy paper as he carefully read the neat scripts, not taking much note of the way letters such as the 'p' and 'v' had been carved almost as if the writer had been attempting to cut the paper, all sharp edges and narrow lines. "He told me last time. I asked him if he had a pet bird or something like a messenger since Nami said the birds were expensive but it's just letters so why would the marines want to read them, anyway? We're not sharing secrets! Moo… He says he's not even my friend yet."
A short time is spend in relative silence as the captain reads the remainder of the message. Then: "Hey, Robin, you're smart right? How do you train Haki?"
Shock rippled through the normally unflappable woman at the word. For the Strawhat to be asking, it must be mentioned in the letter… "What?"
"My penpal tells me that a lot of strong people use it and if I'm gonna be Pirate King I gotta be strong! So I got to learn Haki!"
"Your… Pen-pal… What is their name, if I may ask?"
To her surprise, the boy merely shrugs. "Dunno. It's a mystery name! He's really cool though!" All that meets her blank face is a familiar, D-shaped grin.
He doesn't know his Pen-pal…Huh? That bears looking into. For the captain's safety, of course… Robin gives the teen a Mona Lisa smile. "Of course."
She would have to see what was written, and draw conclusions from there.