Mihawk traveled around the seas freely, without any worries about the navy. As long as he didn't betray the navy, the navy didn't really near him. It was peaceful, but also boring. He wanted thrill in his life. The only way to enjoy his time traveling was to fight other swordsmen, but everyone was too weak for him. He now had to wait for Shanks in order to have a legitimate fight.

Meanwhile, Shanks and his crew were busy running from the navy here an there. It was as if they were stalking him. Well, technically they were. Ever since his reputation grew, the navy had been trying harder and harder to capture him. But since Shanks was out of their league, he always managed to beat every single one of them. At least they usually get whatever was on the warships.

Shanks and his crew finally reached the East Blue. Just as he expected, even the rumors of his power spread through this part of the sea. Every pirate crew that he saw ran off, and even the navy didn't even try to approach them. It didn't really matter to him. He had someone to meet, and nothing was going to get in his way.

Shanks landed on an island, the place where he was supposed to meet his friend. He walked around, familiarizing himself to the island. As always, people whispered his name as he walked by, clearly afraid of the man.

"Hey idiot what are you, lost?"

Shanks turned around at the familiar voice, and his face turned bright with a smile.

"Buggy! It's so nice to see you again!" Shanks playfully punched Buggy on the arm and laughed. He was one of the closest friend back on Roger's ship, and Shanks wanted to meet up to have a chat.

"Ow damn it watch yourself! Anyways, let's go grab a drink." And at that, both men left to talk about their journey and their crew members.

Shanks and Buggy talked for the whole day, and finally walked out of the bar as it turned night time. They both wished each other well and parted ways. Shanks finally felt alive again, knowing that his friend was alive and well, and just as lively as he was. He made his way to his ship, and was greeted by the crew. After talking over with Buggy, Shanks finally made his decision.

"Boys, we're chasing after Mihawk. Set sail straight away!"

Mihawk returned back to the place where Shanks and Mihawk trained. He somehow had the feeling that Shanks was coming for him, so he wanted to make their first duel special. He traveled using the log pose, and set sail on his coffin boat.

Meanwhile, Shanks managed to pass over to the New World quicker than he thought. It wouldn't be long before he saw Mihawk again.

Shanks followed the vivre card, and by halfway, he knew where Mihawk was. At the thought of meeting him back on the island, he smiled. This time, he'll make sure to beat Mihawk.

After a few days, Shanks finally saw the island in sight. His crew promised not to get in the way, so he had the freedom to duel Mihawk with all his power. He saw Mihawk's coffin boat on the shore, and smiled. He's here, and ready to duel.

Even before the ship fully reached the shore, Shanks jumped off. He was eager to see Mihawk again, and to battle him one on one. He landed on the water, and walked onto the sand. He looked around, and saw footsteps leading into the jungle. He knew where Mihawk was definitely.

Shanks walked into the jungle, and reached the hut that Mihawk built when he first arrived. Just as he expected, Mihawk was in there.

"Are you going to sit around and be rude to your guest, or are you going to greet me?" Shanks knocked on the door, waking Mihawk up from his nap.

"You took your sweet time Shanks. Really it took you this long to reach me? Pathetic."

"You won't be calling me pathetic when you'll be on the ground begging for your life Mihawk." Shanks replied back with confidence.

At that Mihawk smirked. He glanced up at Shanks, and laughed. "I'd love to see you try. No one has beaten me so far in a duel."

"Then I'll be your first."

Both men walked out of the hut, and walked out back onto the beach. It was the ideal place. Open, and free from distractions and obstacles. They readied themselves, and drew their swords. From the distance, Shanks's crew cheered on for both the men.

At the same time, both Shanks and Mihawk ran at each other. The impact of the swords was so tense, that even from a distance the clashing of the metals could be heard clearly.

Again and again, they swung their swords at each other, but was unable to even leave a scratch. Both used haki and was equal in power, so the battle was dragged out for a long time.

At some point, both swordsmen fell to their knees, panting from exhaustion. They did finally manage to leave a scratch here and there, but nothing to severe. They called truce, and left the battle as a tie.

Mihawk managed to gather up his energy to make a comment. "Not bad. You're the first to actually survive my blows."

Out of breath, all Shanks could do was nod and smile. He lied down on the sand, and noticed the burning red color of the sky. They battled for so long, that the day was already setting.

Both Shanks and Mihawk stayed still on the beach, not saying a word. Some time passed, when finally Mihawk stood up and walked over to Shanks. He offered his hand to help Shanks stand up. Shanks gladly took his hand and stood up from the beach.

"Looks like we're going to have to spend a night here." Shanks said as he stared at the stars starting to appear from behind the clouds.

"Yeah. Are you going back to your ship?"

"No. I'm planning on staying in the hut for old times sake."

"I'm getting the bed. You can take the floor."

"Fine. But I'm going to go tell my crew that I'm staying on the island."

Shanks walked over to where his ship was, and yelled at Ben about the situation. Ben sighed, then nodded his approval. At that, Shanks happily walked back to Mihawk.

He nudged Mihawk to go, and both men started for the hut.

"Wait. I want to wash my sweat off. I'm going to the lake first."

Mihawk turned to walk in the direction of the lake. He knew the island well enough, even if time has passed. He started to walk, when Shanks yelled from behind.

"Wait! I want to go too. I don't want to sleep in this condition."

Shanks quickly ran up to catch up to Mihawk. He grabbed his hands, and wrapped it with his own. Mihawk just kept on walking, but smiled at Shanks holding his hands.

After taking a dip in the lake, both men returned to the hut and got ready to sleep.

"Hey. You know we should meet up every now and then to have more duels." Shanks said to Mihawk as he lied on the floor.

"It wouldn't be so bad. We could show off our skills often then." Mihawk replied back as he yawned.

The two swordsmen quickly fell asleep, while listening to the sounds of nature.

The two men parted ways, and promised each other to meet again for a duel. From then on, they met every once in a while on the same island, each battle rising in intensity. It was great, since they got to show off their skills and see each other. But it threw Mihawk off, when he met up with Shanks one day, to see that he was missing an arm.