12 - Hawk-Eyes Mihawk! Swordsman Zoro falls in the sea!
After quite a long while, the sea calmed down. We were then able to pull the anguishing Johnny and Yosaku out of the water. Immediately we jumped to question the duo.
"What do you mean?!" Usopp asked.
"Nami ran away with the Going Merry?!" Luffy continued.
"With all our treasure?!" Me too.
"What exactly happened?" Zoro asked as well.
"I don't know, I don't know! Everything happened so fast I can't remember!" Johnny screamed, in desperation, on the verge of sobbing his sorrow down.
He then took a few deep breaths, calmed down and decided to tell us everything that happened.
"We saw Nami looking at a wanted poster list for quite a while… We were worried about her, so we decided to go see what she was doing. We then saw this poster of a pirate known as Arlong… and we advised her not to go after him all by herself."
"Arlong… is he powerful?" I asked.
"Damn straight he is!" Yosaku confirmed. "He has a bounty of 20 million beri! He's so strong we'd be decimated in no seconds flat!"
"Tell only what happened." Zoro went to the point.
"Ah… ok." Johnny said, clearing his throat. "She told us, uh… she wanted to change right there! And then she asked us to turn around…"
As he told that, he started to blush and cover his face.
Somehow, and I don't know why, that doesn't surprise me… Again, women's natural resource: Sensuality! With it they win it all! We men are really stupid…
Ok, come now, that's a thing I do like in women. Find me a man who's not moved by attractive women and we'll talk. But that's the problem: women can use it to their advantage! And I hate to admit… but I don't have the guts to resist! I'm a man, after all and oh great, I'm monologuing about pointless stuff again. Where were we?
"And…" Yosaku continued. "When we turned back again to take a small peek…"
And there we go. We just can't resist the temptation to take a glimpse…
"…she slapped us in the face and threw us outta the ship!" Johnny screamed.
"Then, she ditched us in the sea and said she was only doing business, she was a thief and she was going to take the ship for herself!" Yosaku said.
That story froze us in place…
"She also said she doesn't remember saying she was part of your group… she said it was only an alliance…" Johnny stated.
An alliance… I remember she repeated that time and time again…
"And she told us to tell you that although it wasn't for long, it was fun. And if destiny said so, she could meet you again!" Yosaku concluded.
Oh shit…
Nami took the ship…
…AND BETRAYED US!
I saw her acting somewhat strangely, but I didn't give much thought about it… how stupid of me!
Plugging out the talk, I decided to dive into my thoughts again.
Nami…
Why would she betray us like this? I do remember seeing her grab a poster and trembling with it in her hands… it was that Arlong guy's poster after all! What does she have in mind? Is she going to the place this Arlong guy is… is she… no, no, she's not going to do that… is she? Even though I know people can act like that… and I nearly got killed because of that… but Nami… no, not her!
"Dammit!" Zoro grunted and punched the wall. "That damned woman deceived us!"
"Kaya gave that ship to us!" Usopp growled.
"It cannot be…" I said, disbelievingly.
"Wait a second! Guys, I can still see the ship! It's the Going Merry!" He then turned to Johnny and Yosaku. "Hey, you, where is your ship?"
"We still have it…" Yosaku said weakly.
"Zoro, Usopp, Dan! Leave here with their ship!" Luffy ordered. "Catch Nami as quickly as possible!"
"Forget this woman and let the ship go!" Zoro retorted, angrily. "We have no reason to go after her!"
"Zoro-san!" Annoyed, I glared at him.
Luffy paused for some seconds, also staring at him. He then clenched his fist.
"I cannot go on with my journey without her as my navigator!"
He and Zoro continued staring at each other, as if trying to win this argument by not using words at all.
"Alright…" Zoro sighed and accepted defeat. "You're such a pain in the ass, Captain…"
"Captain's order, it seems." I said.
Nami… she must be doing this for a reason… she has to!
"Usopp! Dan! We're going after her!"
"Right!"
The three of us nodded to each other, deciding to hop in the boat and leave. The pirate hunter duo then brought their ship.
"We're leaving now." Zoro said. "Luffy, what about you?"
"Go without me." Luffy refused. "I still have a debt to pay to the restaurant."
Saying no more, we agreed with his decision.
"Be careful, ok? The atmosphere here's going to get tense soon." I warned.
"Ok, I'll be fine." Luffy stated.
"DON KRIEG! IT'S HIM! IT'S THE MAN THAT DESTROYED OUR ENTIRE FLEET!"
Someone shouted.
What?! Do I believe my ears? The man (or monster) that destroyed fifty ships all by himself is here?
Zoro heard that shout as well and, all of a sudden, he went pale. Is that… Is he the one Zoro's looking for? I don't know if that is a question or a statement anymore… all this commotion is twisting and twirling my mind too much.
"Zoro-san… Zoro-san! We have to do something about Nami! Zo…"
I stopped bothering him as I saw his gaze fixed in a small black boat with a green flame burning atop of it, peacefully approaching the wreckage site. His usually calm and laidback demeanor disappeared at every passing moment and gave way to nervous sweating and a dumbstruck expression in his face.
"Who's that man?" Luffy asked innocently.
"The man I've been looking for my entire life… Hawk-Eyes Mihawk! The world's best swordsman!"
Those words buried my doubt… Zoro's gaze never left his target. The man he's set out to reach and surpass. His goal… is approaching him. His long years wandering the world and gaining fame as a Pirate Hunter weren't for nothing. He left the safety of his home for one reason and one reason only.
Mihawk.
The best of the world.
To honor his friend Kuina… he'll become the best!
"Zoro-san… don't tell me you're…"
Before I realized it… Zoro was long gone. Gunshots abounded, ricocheting around. I decided to sneak my way closer to the action and get a look at what was about happen.
I saw Zoro standing in one of the big chunks of the wrecked ship, close to the small black boat Mihawk was in. The atmosphere started to become tense. I paid attention to nothing else from that moment on… A duel was about to begin… Zoro's decisive duel!
His soon-to-be opponent was dressed in a black, wide-brimmed hat, an open black shirt with purple sleeves, simple light purple pants tucked inside large black boots. He also sported a very menacing cape, black on the outside and purple on the inside. He calmly hopped out of his boat, walking to stand in a chunk of the sunken galleon that will soon turn into a battlefield for the incoming fight.
He's Hawk-Eyes Mihawk. He's the number one swordsman in the world.
And he'll face Zoro, the Pirate Hunter.
My anxiety only built up as I saw Mihawk coolly taking off his necklace. I squinted my eyes and saw it contained a cross… he then removed part of it to reveal a small knife… A knife, approximately five to six inches long. He then prepared a pose, holding his small knife.
What the hell?! He's kidding right? He came all the way from… er, wherever the hell he came from anyway, here simply to face three swords with a five-inch knife?
"Don't fuck with me! Don't regret if you're dead after this!" Zoro, angered by this presumed taunting, immediately unsheathed his three swords, took a quick stance and rushed towards Mihawk.
"Oni Giri!" (Demon Slash!)
He screamed. There was the click-clack of swords clashing and then… silence.
And I stood there, gobsmacked, staring as…
As…
That knife… that puny knife… STOPPED THREE SWORDS!
Impossible… I just can't believe my eyes. That single moment, the moment I saw a five-inch knife stop a full, three-sword attack, led me to rub my eyes in utter disbelief. Of course he's the best swordsman in the world, but this?! Is he at such a level of skill, he can defeat three swords with that?!
There was a short pause.
"THE WORLD CAN'T BE THAT FAR AWAY FROM ME!"
Zoro screamed to the heavens, trying his hardest to deny the cruel reality. As the fight wore on, he didn't land a single scratch on Hawk-Eyes Mihawk, only managing to progressively tire himself out.
He once again started launching slashes after slashes… to no avail.
My anxiety turned into sheer terror as I saw that guy, Mihawk, effortlessly evading all those slashes at an impressive speed… with a knife that looked like a toy. Practically mopping the floor with it and showing Zoro that indeed…
…the world effectively is that far away from him.
His skills buried my doubts for good. That's really the best swordsman in the world!
Before I knew it, Zoro was down on the ground, panting hard… ten minutes into the fight and he's already tired.
Not wanting to let himself go down, he stood up and attacked again, launching another series of slashes. However, Mihawk either defended himself with that toy knife or evaded them with minimal effort. Then, Zoro's sword collided with Mihawk's knife with such a force, the impact sent out a shockwave resounding nearby. Add to that another barrage of quick slashes. It was all so fast… and so terrifying I couldn't follow it properly.
Bit by bit, I couldn't help but let go of all my hopes of Zoro turning the tables… However, at the same time, I prayed for, if he lost… at least for him to come back in one piece.
If it stays like this… his promise with his friend… will… will it all have been for nothing?
Moments later, Zoro kneeled again, being brought down by his own fatigue. He got back up, only to gait around, just going one way and another trying to cut Mihawk.
"You bastard! How dare you call our Big Bro a weakling?!" I turned once I saw Yosaku yell.
"We're gonna pound you!" Johnny and him started to run to the scene and drew their swords out, but Luffy stretched his arms and grabbed the two before they could throw their lives away doing anything stupid.
"Stop! Johnny, Yosaku! Don't interfere! Wait he~~re!" Luffy grunted as he tried to hold the angry duo in place.
"If even Zoro's struggling to even scratch Mihawk… look at you! You'd be killed in a second!" I said, in a mixture of anger and complete terror.
There was a short pause…
Zoro regained himself and prepared another attack.
This time, he had the swords in his hands making a cross with the one in his mouth.
"TORA… GARI!" (Tiger Hunt)
Time seemed to stop in that moment… Will it connect? Will it fail?
My doubts ended… when I heard the sound of Mihawk's knife piercing Zoro's chest!
His body immediately wished to go limp, but he didn't let go of his swords, nor back down a single step.
"Step back or I'll make the knife pierce your heart out." Mihawk threatened. Zoro stayed silent. "Step. Back."
Step. Back. Those two words probably mean disgrace to a swordsman. To any other person, it'd be a perfectly sane piece of advice, but not to him. Not to the swordsman I know and that I learned to respect.
Zoro's reply?
"No. I won't! You… do you think I can just run away? If I take even one step back now, I'll never be able to fulfill my oaths. If I ran now… it'd be impossible to truly be the greatest swordsman in the world!"
He has the spirit of a true swordsman…
"That's called failure." To Zoro's brave statement, Mihawk's only capable of a cold response.
"That's also why I can't step back." Zoro said.
"Then you'll die." Mihawk retorted.
"So be it. In the end, death might be better!"
Mihawk took out the small knife and retreated a few steps.
"Zoro-san…" I could only whisper. I didn't care about the shiver running down my spine. I just wanted it to be over and Zoro to be alive…
"Boy, tell me your name!" Mihawk stated.
"I'm… Roronoa Zoro!" He prepared another stance.
"Understood. I will remember. It's been quite a while since I faced someone with such a strong will. As a reward… As a prize for a fellow swordsman, I shall wield this black sword of mine, the strongest in the world… to end your life for good."
Hawk-Eyes then unsheathed the huge sword he carried on his back. It had an entirely pitch-black blade. It was very cool-looking, with a quite wide, cross-like, flamboyantly decorated hilt. Truly appropriate for the best swordsman of the world.
"A kind offer on your part."
The real fight was about to start.
"Big Bro, it's enough… Stop, please!" Johnny screamed.
"No! If he surrenders now… he will feel guilty and disgraced for the rest of his life!" I didn't even know if it was right to say anything at that moment…
To hell with it. The only thing I felt like doing was to shout with all the air I had in my lungs.
"GOOOOO, ZOOROOOO! GET HIIIIMM!"
"Santouryuu Ougi!" (Three-Sword Style Secret)
He started spinning the swords in his hands.
Mihawk then charged…
"SANZEN SEKAI!" (Three Thousand Worlds)
It l
asted a total of a few seconds. Mihawk slashed past, Zoro slashed as well, staying in place. They stopped a few feet apart, with their backs turned to each other. There was a slight and chilling pause, anxiety building up by the second. Then, right before us…
TWO OF ZORO'S SWORDS SHATTERED!
He kept static in his pose as blood splattered on the ground… Only the sword he had in his mouth remained untouched. But the fact is…
He lost.
He lost to the best swordsman in the world. He tasted the power of the greatest.
He lost and had to face the cruel reality. Sheathing back his now-only sword, he turned to face his opponent, opened his arms and exposed his blood-stained chest… What is he going to do?
"What now?"
"A scar in the back is the shame of a swordsman…"
"Well said."
MIHAWK SLASHED HIM FULL-ON IN THE CHEST!
…
…
I was frozen and utterly terrified as I saw the big sword coming down on Zoro's chest full-force… Blood splattering out of his newly-formed, life-threatening wound…
I wanted to scream my heart out but the fear devoured my voice.
I lost my footing… I ended up kneeling down in the ground… Zoro! Why would you do that…
The slash was so strong he fell backwards… unconscious, probably… dead, probably (!), letting his body fall on the sea!
"ZOROOOOOO!"
"BIG BROOOOOO!"
My ears were bombarded by the screams in terror of those by my side… Usopp… Luffy… Johnny… Yosaku… people I met not long ago…
"WHAT'S THE POINT?! WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO DIE?! IT'S EASIER TO JUST GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS!" Sanji screamed, shocked by Zoro's attitude.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" At that moment, I completely lost my shit.
Sanji turned to me, taken aback by my scream. I decided to stand up one more time.
"Give up his dreams?! What the hell is going through your head to say that shit?! He's a swordsman! Besides… he's a man of will! He won't turn his back to a challenge even for a second! And above it all… he has ambition! AND AMBITION DRIVES LIFE FORWARD!"
I felt my soul screaming at me for a reason I couldn't explain. Once again, I knelt in the ground and felt the surge of scrambled emotion course through my body. But why? Why was it so intense? He's simply a guy I knew not too far long! We didn't have enough time to truly become friends! Why am I feeling this anguished?
I was taken from my thoughts with another scream.
"BASTARD!"
Eyes wet, I raised my head up and saw Luffy stretching to reach Mihawk and try to punch him… fruitlessly. He crashed in one of the ship's chunks…
"Luffy! Control yourself! What good are you doing with that?!" Usopp screamed.
After quite a while, the smoke dispersed and we found him still trying to pull his head off the wreckage.
"So… you're a companion of the swordsman? Thanks for taking care of him." I heard Mihawk say, in his cold monotone.
"Brother! Brother! Are you alright?!" I saw Johnny and Yosaku already rescuing Zoro out of the sea…
And I was paralyzed.
I was simply too scared to try and do anything… everything that just happened left me simply horrified. The power of that man is simply monstruous! Not even Zoro… whose skills I saw and admired… Not even he could defeat him…
If that man was enough to show us how the Grand Line can be scary, what am I even doing here?! I definitely shouldn't have left my hometown…
"Get a hold of yourself!"
At that moment, as I tried to reject everything that happened, a voice at the back of my head screamed at me.
"Stand up and act! Don't let the terror consume you!"
I didn't know who tried to talk to me, but I just know I felt the need to calm down and breathe.
As I recomposed… a still hesitant thought grew inside. I'm afraid. I'm still afraid to go to the Grand Line. What have I thrown myself into?! What if someone as strong as Mihawk wants me dead and I'm not up to the challenge? And there are plenty of people with that thought process in this world!
Also… that's why we need to get to the Grand Line! We can face the world's greatest pirates… get stronger and chase our dreams! The East Blue is not enough. This is the weakest of the four great seas!
"Hey, Dan! Come help me pull Zoro in the boat!" Usopp's simple yell took me out of my thoughts. It's not time to worry, it's time to act!
"Ahn… ah… ok!" I quickly wiped off my tears and rushed to the boat, trying to help Zoro.
"I'm going to get some medicine! I'll be back shortly!"
"Wait! Let me follow you! I'll get bandages!"
I followed him. We hastily returned with medicine and gauze for his wounds. As soon as I took a look at Zoro's torso, I unwittingly recalled the sole reason I never wanted to be a doctor. So much blood… I can't bring myself to stanch a wound this deep…
…but I can't bring myself to just let a friend bleed to death either!
"It's still too soon for you to die."
My ears turned at attention when the familiar voice yelled this.
"My name is Dracule Mihawk! Find your inner self, your inner world! Get stronger! No matter how long it may take… I'll be waiting you with my full power to duel me again!"
He screamed. He screamed for Zoro.
"Surpass this world… Surpass this sword! SURPASS ME! RORONOA ZORO!"
I have to believe my ears again…
Hawk-Eyes Mihawk…
Stating he wants someone to surpass him? Stating he wants to be surpassed by Zoro? These words made me reflect… Zoro's willpower moved him… the willpower that makes a man stand and face death! This determination… I SHALL SHARE IT!
No matter how strong the enemy may be… No matter the danger that may arise… No matter how tough the trip is… No matter how much suffering we may go through… WE WILL MAKE OUR DREAMS COME TRUE!
Zoro… you will become the best swordsman in the world! I'm sure of that! No matter how long it may take… You have the drive for it, because, when Luffy becomes Pirate King, he'll need the world's best swordsman there to protect him! I'll make sure our adventures and achievements will be immortalized! Our name will reach the skies!
"He's alive! He's just unconscious!"
My conviction turned into happiness as Usopp made the statement. My convinced smirk broadened as I could confirm… Zoro is alive! We will go forward with him!
"Zoro…" I whispered softly as I watched for him.
Zoro struggled to raise his sword to the air.
"Luffy… Luffy… can you hear me?"
"Yeah!" Luffy replied.
"Sorry for worrying you… If I don't become a swordsman in the level of the world's best… you'll be in a dilemma, right?" Zoro said weakly, coughing blood.
"Big Bro! Save it! Don't say anything else!" Johnny screamed.
"I… I will not… I will not lose anymore! Until the day… I become the best swordsman in the world… I swear! I will not lose to anyone!"
In the short time we've been together, this is the first time I've seen him cry. And not just a tear or two, but enough tears to drip down his face.
"ANY PROBLEM?! PIRATE KING?!"
Zoro screamed to the heavens, to which Luffy simply smiled.
"Nope!"
"You're a good team. I hope we meet again." Mihawk stated. However, as he was about to hop back in his boat and leave, there was a loud bang that stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey, wait a sec, Hawk-Eyes. Didn't you come to get my head? East Blue's most powerful head, that of pirate Don Krieg?"
Ah, there's still that. The jackass Krieg's butting his ugly head in.
"Indeed, it was my initial goal." Mihawk said, not bothering to face him. "But I had enough fun. I'm going back to my nap."
Krieg cracked his neck. "It might've been fun for you, but I'm still to have my bite of it."
Two words define Don Krieg: Blithering idiot. Why is he going to pick a fight with the best swordsman in the world, when he watched Mihawk show him that he's too far out of his league?! Man, Mihawk destroyed fifty ships! But still, sir Numbskull Krieg thinks he can do anything to him?
"You'll die before you get in that boat!" Yup… he does.
He opened all the weapon-storing compartments in his armor and shot it all at him.
"A true fool…"
Mihawk said calmly before utterly obliterating the remains of Krieg's ship and sending the hundreds of tripulants flying through the air. After the water receded, we saw Luffy sticking in the window-sill of the veranda of the restaurant.
"Usopp! Dan! Leave now! Take care of Nami!"
"Ok, understood!" Usopp shouted. "Zoro, me and Dan will bring Nami back! Focus in making that cook one of us!"
"That's right! Do that and then the six of us can go to the Grand Line!" I yelled.
Usopp threw Luffy's straw hat back to him.
"Ok! Go now!"
As we left the battlefield, I could still hear Krieg going on about…
"Men! Now that the musical interlude's over, our battle's about to start!"
"Good luck, Luffy… Be sure to come back!" I whispered to myself.
Slowly letting what happened sink in, our boat left the Baratie for another, completely different, but just as important mission: Follow the stolen Going Merry and bring Nami back!
Zoro... now he knows that he has a very long road to walk before he's on the level of Hawk-Eyes Mihawk.
Nami... what are her intentions? Why did she act like that?
Our heroes, followed by the Pirate Hunter duo, leave the Baratie on a hot pursuit of the runaway navigator! Where is she going to take them?
Don't miss the next chapter!
