"The plan is punch," Luffy declared.
Rin paled at the Straw Hat teenagers' words.
"And slash," Zoro adds.
"What?" Rin asked as she turned to look at the swordsman.
"I'll hide," Usopp stated as he ducked down.
Rin rolled her eyes at the comment.
Before anything else could be said the sound of cheering pirates could be heard from outside. Rin's eyes grew wide as she turned to look at the doorway because it would seem that the pirates were already going at the restaurant.
"Here they come!" a cook shouts to everyone gathered. "We can hear their war cry!"
"We'll protect the ship to the end! It's our restaurant!"
Only the pirates never seemed to arrive as the sound of air slashing against wood was heard across the area along with the sound of a metal weapon being put away. Then everything turned into pure chaos as Krieg's ship split into two pieces which caused the ocean's waves to raise and launch the ship into the air.
"What the hell is going on?" Rin asked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing… something had hit Krieg's ship and was destroying it.
"What the?" Luffy said in shock.
The Gallen began to fall to pieces into the ocean as the Baratie began to shake because the massive waves from the destroyed Krieg ship were blasting them at full force. The sea restaurant continued to shake as cooks, the Straw Hat crew, and Rin stumbled around the dining room floor while trying to keep their balance.
The wooden tables began to crash onto the floor along with the chairs as they slid around the room. Rin slid into the brick and leaned against the stair case for support as the ship continued to shake and turn with the waves.
"Raise the anchor!" Zeff ordered a cook. "Or we'll be swallowed along with the ship!"
"Yes, sir," the cook shouts before running off to do the task.
Luffy moved forward and began to run outside of the ship. Rin noticed his actions and was about to yell after the Straw Hat teenager to figure out where he was going, but the words that left the swordsman's lips made her figure out why Luffy had run off.
"This is bad! Nami, Yosaku and Johnny are still on our ship out there!" Zoro exclaimed as he quickly leaped off the stairs and began to move outside of the restaurant.
Usopp watches the green haired male for a second before pulling his head back from the railing, which the male ended up hitting with his head, before standing up and cursing, "Dammit! It might be too late!"
Rin shook her head before following after the three pirates and raced to the front door along with the cooks. The waves were beginning to calm down from the half-destroyed ship of Don Krieg began to settle into the water.
"Big Bro!" a male voice sounded from the water. Rin looked down toward the water and noticed two men swimming their way. "Big Bro!"
"Yosaku! Johnny!" Luffy shouts as he moves toward them. "Are you okay?"
"Where's the ship?" Zoro demands.
"Huh?" Rin answered, confused only to look around the area and didn't see the cute little sheep ship with the Straw Hat pirate flag anywhere in sight. "Your right it is gone." How did she not notice the ship being gone sooner? She wanted to believe that the ship that Luffy's crew had would've been able to survive the strong waves better than the restaurant.
"It's gone!" one of the men in the water answered.
"Gone," Rin breathed. "As in destroyed."
"No. Nami took it." The other man explained to the group in tears.
Rin just stared at the two crying men in confusion. Nami decided to take Luffy's ship somewhere for the time being or the female left the group which meant they needed to go find the red-haired female to get the ship back.
Why would Nami take the ship? Where would Nami go? What was Nami even thinking? Rin didn't know much about Nami, only what Luffy had explained to her about the other female and Rin came to the conclusion that Nami wouldn't have left without a reason behind it. The Straw Hat's navigator was getting free meals every day from Sanji and seemed to have been getting money from outwitting customers that stopped by the restaurant.
"She took all the treasure and ran off!" the other male cried even louder.
"She did what?" Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy shouted in shock.
"So, she reached her goal in getting a billion berries," Rin concluded because Luffy had mentioned the fact within his tales about his crew members. She turned to the three other members of the Straw Hat pirates. "She'll be back."
Then Rin turned her attention in the direction of the destroyed pirate ship of Don Krieg and saw a bright green flame glowing brightly within a white fog that was rolling into the area. Her brown eyes went wide when she took notice of a figure sitting down in a small wooden boat that had three large candles on its side with green flames burning all around it. But what kept her eyes transfixed on the scene was the man that calmly sat within the center of the ship.
Zeff suddenly began to speak with fear inching across each of his words, "That man is…"
Zoro quickly stood up straight and stared into the fog.
"No," Don Krige said with fear rolling off his body. "He followed us here."
"Is it possible…" Zoro began to speak which quickly caused Rin to turn his attention toward the Swordsman, who was shaking and sweating. "That's… Hawk-Eye."
"Hawk-Eye," Rin breathed before turning her attention back to the new arrival. Only it was very hard to tell what the man looked like within the fog that had rolled into the area.
"Hey!" the two males within the sea cried out.
Rin turned her attention back to them. "Yeah."
"Is anyone going to get us out of the water!"
Luffy quickly grabbed the two males out of the water and placed them onto the deck. The Straw Hat kid kneeled down beside them while Usopp began to shout at the two males that had nearly drowned from Hawk-Eye's attack on Don Krieg's ship.
"Hey, Zoro," Rin said as she grabbed onto the Swordsman's shoulder.
"Huh?" the green haired male said as he turned to look at her.
"Uh, how about we focus on your friend Nami and what happened with the ship instead of worrying about Hawk-Eye for the time being," Rin suggested to the male.
Zoro gave a small nod. "Good idea."
"What'd you just say about Nami?" Usopp demanded to the two males that laid on the deck soaking wet.
"Nami ran off with the Going Merry!" Luffy shouts at them.
Zoro quickly joins in and demands, "I need a straight answer."
"It happened just a moment ago! Nami had been looking at the Bounty Posters and found Arlong."
"Arlong," Rin said out loud. The name sounded add just leaving her lips because it didn't sound like a name that she's ever heard before. "Never heard of this pirate."
"That's because he stays quiet and out of sight," the male explained as water dripped off him. "Then she wanted us to turn around so she could change clothes."
"And she knocked the both of you off the ship," Rin concluded because that was what clearly happened.
"Yeah. Then she added that she was a thief and targets pirates and was going to take the Going Merry with her. She enjoyed her time with everyone and said to tell you; if we're linked by fate, we'll meet again. Then she took the ship and sailed away. Only for Hawk-Eye to attack Krieg's ship a few seconds later."
"Well, that explains everything," Rin admits to everyone.
Zoro made a fist and slammed it into the restaurant's wall which didn't break. "Dammit! She's making this crisis worse for us!"
"Hey, watch the walls," Rin ordered Zoro with a glare. "I don't want to fix anything else that is broken by another Straw Hat pirate."
"That heartless thief." Usopp shouted, furious. "Kaya gave that ship to us!
Rin frowned at the words Zoro and Usopp were saying about Nami but Rin's mind kept going through the story until she caught something. Nami only left a few seconds before Hawk-Eye had his opening move on Krieg…but that would mean. "Except…the Going Merry should still be around here if it only happened a few minutes ago. We should still be able to see the ship."
Luffy had quickly leaped onto the wood railing and looked out and saw the ship. "Wait! I can still see it! It's the Going Merry!"
Rin turned in the direction the young pirate captain was looking and saw the ship getting smaller the longer it used the wind and the waves to sail away from the place. "Yeah. That is your ship."
Luffy quickly turned to look at the two men that had been in the water. "Where's your ship?" he ordered.
"We still have it here…"
"Zoro! Usopp!" The Straw Hat captain demanded to his two crewmates. "Leave right away! Take that ship and follow Nami!
Zoro scoffed at the order and bluntly replied. "Forget about it. Just give that ship to her. No need to go after that woman."
Luffy looked down for a second with his straw hat blocking his face for a moment before he lifted his head and said, "I won't accept anyone but her as our navigator!"
Silence echoed across the group as Rin looked between the swordsman and Luffy. Both seemed to have an opinion about what to do next and how to handle the situation. The female let out a small breath and had a feeling that Luffy had already won. It would seem whatever Luffy wanted he somehow always got, plus he was the captain of the crew which means his order is final.
Zoro let out a small breath as he pressed his hand toward his face in annoyance. "All right, all right… What a high maintenance captain… you know that? Alright Usopp, let's go!"
"Uh?" Usopp answered nervously before adding, "Okay…"
Rin watched the pirate group for a moment before turning on the heel of her boots and walking away from them. She needed to go to her room and get her staff to fight some of Don Krieg's pirate crew for the fight to come. She doubted that Hawk-Eye's appearance would be able to prevent a fight from happening between the cooks and the pirates.
She quickly ran into the restaurant to go get her own weapon to use. Only her mind wandered to if Luffy was going to leave with Zoro and Usopp to go after Nami. It was up to the Straw Hat teen for what he wanted to choose because Rin didn't want to influence his choice.
"I'm sorry."
Rin paused in her steps the moment she entered the restaurant and turned and looked at Gin who was sitting in the corner. She frowned at the pirate. "It's fine, Gin. You didn't know that your captain was lying."
"I should've…" Gin whispered as he looked down to the ground. "That what he…."
"It's not your fault, Gin," Rin stated once more before turning and walking up the stairs to her room. She didn't know what else to say because Gin was still having a problem handling his guilt about the whole situation.
The female let out a small breath as she ran in the direction of her room and quickly opened the door and grabbed the metal staff that laid against a wooden desk. Rin quickly noticed that her room was a mess from all the shaking from Hawk-Eye's attack but she chose not to think about the mess and grabbed the weapon before closing the door and moving back down the stairs.
She didn't have time to think about Gin. The mess in her bedroom. What was going on with Nami and the Straw Hats. Or what was going on with Hawk-Eye. Her mind needed to stay focused on protecting the restaurant and Zeff's dream.
She quickly arrived back outside and stood next to Sanji. Only for her brown eyes to land on Hawk-Eye's ship that was slowly moving in the water and getting closer to the restaurant and Krieg's ship.
"That's the man who sank Krieg's 50 ships on his own in the Grand Line?" Patty exclaimed with a frightened expression.
Another cook went pale. "Then, the one who destroyed Krieg's ship just now is also…"
"But he looked just like an ordinary human." Another cook stated. "It doesn't look like he has any special weapons."
Zeff stood to the side with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed before explaining, "His weapon is on his back…"
On his back, Rin thought before her brown eyes landed on the sword behind Hawk-Eye. The weapon was ornately-decorated, single-edged, life-sized sword (about 7 feet) shaped like a Latin cross with a shiny black blade, which is curved at the end. "It seems like a normal sword to me."
She couldn't see what was special about one sword, unless it held some strange power inside that barely anyone could understand. Because Hawk-Eye seemed to be able to use it to cut a ship in half and destroy a fleet of 50 ships.
"That…can't be!" Patty exclaimed in shock.
"Did he really slice up that large sailing ship using that sword," another cook shouts.
"He's the master swordsman Hawk-Eye…" Zeff continued to explain. "…the man who stands above all other swordsmen in the world…"
Rin noticed that Hawk-Eye's ship was close enough that the female could finally see what the legendary swordsmen looked like and something about the men screamed otherworldly about him. He is a tall, lean, and muscular man with black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards. He wore black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant that hides a little dagger, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with a red velvet inside with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears light purple pants with a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots.
But what made Rin freeze in place was the moment Hawk-Eye lifted his head and showed that color of his eyes which were a bright golden color that seemed to be like a Hawks. It was the oddest color she had ever seen that had her body scream that he couldn't be human.
Is he some kind of vampire or something, she thought.
"Y-you son of a bitch…" a pirate from Don Krieg's crew shouts toward the swordsmen. "What grudge do you have to come after us?"
Hawk-Eye narrowed his eyes before answering, "Just killing time."
"He's doing this because he's bored." Rin exclaimed in pure shock. This was very unexpected to hear from the world's greatest swordsmen. Shouldn't Hawk-Eye be going to islands and challenging other swordsmen to keep his title?
"Wha?" a Krige pirate said as he took out a pistol. "Don't mock us!"
Hawk-Eye took out his sword which was a black color blade which moved quickly to the side of his ship and was pointed at the Krige pirate that had spoken.
Rin's eyes grew wide. "That sword moves like a ghost."
The Krieg pirate fired his weapons and the two bullets sailed right alongside the sword toward Hawk-Eye. Only the swordsmen curved the sword only a few inches and the two bullets sailed across the air without even touching the swordsmen.
"Wh-what?" the Krige pirate that had shouted the weapons exclaimed in shock. "I'm sure I aimed straight for him!"
"He averted them," Zoro spoke from behind the Krige pirate.
"Huh?" Rin said the moment she notices Zoro standing in the Krige pirate's ship. "How did he get over there? I thought he left to go find Nami."
"He's been over there for the last two minutes," Sanji admits as he puffs smoke into the air from his cigarette. "Did you really just notice?"
"I was more concerned about the vampire swordsman than Zoro," Rin admits.
"Vampire swordsman?" Her older brother questioned with an eyebrow raised in the air before shaking his head. "Really…you're going with a vampire."
Rin paled as she nodded. "Yeah. What kind of nickname would you give him?"
"Hawk-Eye," Sanji answered.
The blonde-haired female turned her attention back to Zoro because she rather not causes a disagreement with Sanji over her vampire comment about Hawk-Eye. The World's Greatest Swordsman really did look like a vampire and had very strange and otherworldly eyes. Plus, Hawk-Eye showed up with a fog that had slowly faded away within a few minutes. Everything about the new arrival screamed something strange about him.
"He gently changed the course of the bullets using the point of his sword," Zoro explained to the frightened and surprised people gathered.
Hawk-Eye placed his sword away once more.
"That can't be true," the pirate that tried to attack Hawk-Eye explained to Zoro, who was moving forward. "Hey! Who are you?"
Another pirate looked at Zoro and commented, "Three swords…could it be…"
Zoro was paying no attention to the pirates' comments with his eyes focused on Hawk-Eye. "I've never seen a sword moved so gently…"
"Huh?" Rin breathed as her brown eyes stayed focused on Hawk-Eye and the sword. She never heard anyone talk about swords like Zoro.
Hawk-Eye drifted his strange color eyes over to Zoro. "There is no strength in swordplay based only on force."
"Did you use that sword to slice up this ship as well?" Zoro asked.
Rin had a feeling that Zoro already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Hawk-Eye. The female didn't understand why Zoro and Hawk-Eye were having small talk in the middle of everything that was going on around them.
"That's right," Hawk-Eye answered bluntly.
Zoro grinned with sweat dripping down his face. "I see… You're the strongest…"
Rin's brown eyes went wide and frowned. Zoro sounds nervous.
Zoro straightened and laid a single hand on his white sword. "I came out to sea to meet you." He declared to Hawk-Eye.
Hawk-Eye was not phased in the slightest. "What's your goal?"
The green haired swordsman began to tie a black bandana across his head. Zoro continued to green with determination as all his nerves seemed to leave his body as a single-minded goal came to mind. "To become the strongest!"
Rin looked at Zoro in confusion. The female didn't understand what Luffy's first mate was getting across in the slightest.
"Hmph…" Hawk-Eye said before smiling at the green haired male. "How foolish…"
"You've got spare time, right?" Zoro asked as he took out a sword and held it in the air. "Let's fight!"
"What?" Rin said in shock at the comment. "Is he insane?"
She had not been expecting those words to leave Zoro's lips. It was rather surprising to hear after all she's heard about Hawk-Eye throughout the last few minutes since the swordsman was brought up by Zeff, Don Krieg, Gin, and several other cooks and pirates. Hawk-Eye had literally destroyed a whole ship with a single sword with only one movement of the blade…How can Zoro even think about challenging someone that could do that?
Only an insane person would challenge Hawk-Eye to a sword fight.
"Yeah," Sanji answered as he puffed out some smoke into the air from his cigarette. "That swordsman has a death wish."
"No kidding," Rin commented to her brother.
"But he's been looking for Hawk-Eye the whole time he's been on sea. So, maybe you're correct about him being insane," Sanji continued to explain to his sister.
Rin listened to her brothers' words for a moment before looking at Sanji in surprise. "This was Zoro's goal from the start!"
"Yeah, did you really just notice?"
Rin looked away from her brother and mumbled, "Maybe."
"Th-This guy is Zoro! Rorona Zoro of the Three Swords Style!" A pirate exclaimed in shock.
"It is," another pirate said.
"Oh," Don Krige answered with his arms crossed. "A pirate hunter, huh?"
"He's a what?" Sanji asked in shock.
Rin blinked for a moment at the words of Zoro being a pirate hunter, but the swordsman had ended up joining Luffy's pirate crew. "Well, I guess the pirate hunter turned into a pirate because of Luffy." It would seem Luffy was able to recruit someone that used to hunt pirates onto his crew was impressive.
"Fight? Hmph!" Hawk-Eye explained to Zoro. "How pitiful, weak one…"
The two-swordsman stare at each other for a minute before Hawk-Eye moved with a quickly agility that it would seem he someone teleported to the broken down where Zoro stood.
"Huh?" Rin said in surprise by the quick movement. He moved so quickly I could barely tell when he moved at all.
Hawk-Eye kept his arms crossed as Zoro turned to look at him. The older swordsman began to explain to the green haired male the differences between them. "If you are a competent enough swordsman, you should be able to see the disparity in our abilities even before we cross swords, is it your courage or ignorance that causes you to turn your sword on me?"
That was a good question which Rin had been wondering the whole time as well. She first thought Zoro had a death wish and was insane to go after someone like Hawk-Eye, but seeing as how the green haired male was not back down there had to be something that was driving Zoro to complete his goal in challenging Hawk-Eye.
"It's my ambition!" Zoro declared as he placed the white handle sword into his mouth and then took out his other two swords. "And it's also because of a promise I made to a dear friend!"
A promise to a friend, Rin thought as her brown eyes focused on Zoro for a moment.
That was an unexpected answer. A promise and ambition were the reason behind Zoro's actions.
"Hawk-Eye Mihawk, the world's strongest swordsman and the pirate hunter Zoro…" Patty explained to everyone as he rested his hands on a wooden railing. "What kind of fight will it be?"
Hopefully not a fight to the death, Rin really didn't want to see Zoro die.
Hawk-Eye had lifted a hand and pulled off his golden cross necklace. Rin just stared at the action in confusion and wondered why he would do that only to realize that the necklace carried a small dagger inside which Mihawk pulled out.
"Hey," Zoro said to Mihawk with narrowed eyes. "What's the meaning of that?"
Hawk-Eye rolled his eyes at the comment before plainly speaking, "I'm no beast that goes all out when hunting a rabbit." Rin paled at the words and realized it was a small insult at Zoro. "Even if you're a swordsman who's earned a bit of a name for himself, this sea, the East Blue, is the weakest among the four seas. Unfortunately, I don't carry any smaller sharp instrument than this one."
"That's enough making fun of me!" Zoro exclaimed before running at him. "Better not regret it when I kill you!"
They're actually going to have a fight to the death! Rin nearly screamed in shock.
Hawk-Eye kept his eyes narrowed and grumbled, "Frog in the well…Know how big the world is."
"Oni…" Zoro said as his swords began to move. "Giri!"
It was a blinding flash with such a quick moment that Rin's brown eyes went wide at the sight as her ears heard the sound of blades connecting. The fight had started but once she realized what had happened her mind concluded that the fight would be short and very one sided because all three of Zoro's blades had been stopped by a small dagger, which was pointed in the center of the three blades.
"Wow," Rin whispered. "A single dagger stopped a three-sword attack."
Everything within the blonde-haired female's mind was screaming that it should be impossible, but Hawk-Eye did seem to have skills that were out of this world. The greatest swordsman had a sword that could destroy ships with a single movement of the blade so seeing a dagger stop three swords screamed that anything was possible.
"Wh-what?" Zoro exclaimed in shock.
"Zoro?" Luffy called out.
Rin turned her head in Luffy's direction and noticed that he was worried for the green haired male.
"Wha…Big bro's Oni Giri was stopped!" a male explained.
While the male in green, said, "Even a big technique that never fails to blow any enemy away was…What's going on?"
"The world's strongest can't be this far!" Zoro yells as he charges at Hawk-Eye once again.
Rin turned her attention back to the fight and it looked completely dumb as her mouth falls opened as she stared as Three swords tried to slash through the tiny dagger, which didn't even break or seemed to move throughout the whole clash.
"This is embarrassing to watch," Rin admits out loud to everyone.
Mihawk moved the dagger upward which sent Zoro flying backwards and to the ground of the destroyed ship's deck.
Zoro stood up with a furious look in his eyes. "We can't be this far apart!"
Then the fight turned into a swirl wind that not even Rin could keep up with. Zoro had launched at Mihawk with all three swords once again as Hawk-Eye just blocked and moved backwards. Zoro's three blade movements were having trouble getting past the dagger as Hawk-Eye leaped onto the ships railing, which Zoro sliced through as Mi Hawk jumped into the air and landed back on the deck. Zoro followed after him with even more insane blade movement which was barely making contact.
Hawk-Eye paused and stopped one of Zoro's swords with his dagger and mumbled, "What ferocity your swordplay has…"
Zoro gave a war cry and moved his sword against Hawk-Eye's dagger which caused the wind and dust to pick up from the force of the attack.
"He's taking Zoro's Three Swords Style attacks with such a small knife…" a pirate explained in awe.
"He's a monster even beyond the monstrous Zoro!" another pirate adds.
The three swords and the dagger continued to clash as Rin continued to watch the fight which seemed to be going in Hawk-Eye's favor because Zoro was clearly becoming exhausted the longer the fight went on. Suddenly, Hawk-Eye moved to the side as Zoro fell forward as Mihawk brought a hand around and karate chopped down onto Zoro's neck, which caught the green haired male off guard.
Zoro was quick on his feet and caught himself and brought a short distance between him and Mihawk. He took a minute of heavy breathing before moving forward and giving a small and weak sword swing at Mihawk, who just stepped to the side once more as Zoro fell over onto the deck.
This is getting hard to watch, Rin admits to herself as Zoro continues to breath heavily on the ground. It's clear that Zoro is not going to stop until he either fulfills the promise or dies trying.
Hawk-Eye looked at Zoro and asked, "What do you bear on your shoulders? What do you desire once you've obtained power, weak one?"
"You called Big Bro a weak one?" the man with the green jacket exclaimed. "You'll pay for that."
Rin turned to see that Zoro's two friends that Luffy had fished out of the ocean because of Nami were looking ready to enter the fight.
"I'll teach you a lesson!" the one in the blue jacket declared.
Those idiots are going to get themselves killed, Rin realized.
Zoro's two friends leaped forward only for Luffy to extend his arms to stop them.
"Stop it! Yosaku! Johnny! Don't intervene!" Straw Hat demands as he pulls the two males back onto the deck of the restaurant. "Be patient!"
Zoro stood. "I can't lose…"
Rin wondered what Zoro was going to do next. It seemed that the green haired swordsman was determined to win even though he had not landed a single hit on Hawk-Eye.
"Tiger," Zoro spoke as he brought two swords behind his back. "Trap!"
Zoro moved forward in a flash only for Hawk-Eye to move his arm forward, the one that held the dagger, and the small blade went right into Zoro's body.
Rin dropped her staff to the ground as her eyes went wide at the small action as her body shook. Is Zoro going to end up dead?
"Are you just going to let me pierce your heart?" Hawk-Eye asked the green haired swordsman. "Why aren't you withdrawing?"
"I don't know…" Zoro explained, still holding his swords with a determined face as blood spilled out of his mouth. This made Rin wonder how the swordsman didn't seem to be phased by the pain in the slightest. "I don't know why, but… if I withdraw even a step, I feel like those various important things such as pledges and promises in the past will be shattered and I won't be able to come back to where I am now…"
"Yes, that's what defeat is about," Hawk-Eye explained.
"Then, all the more reason I can't withdraw…"
"Even if you'll die?"
"I'd rather die," Zoro said with a grin.
"That idiot," Rin whispered the moment she heard Zoro's words.
How was death better than living another day to get stronger and keep the promise you made? Rin didn't know what Zoro was thinking but that might be because she didn't understand or know the swordsman in the slightest. Maybe she was the idiot while Zoro was the smart one…she really didn't know the answer.
But from everything that she was witnessing…it all seemed like a bad idea to challenge Hawk-Eye.
Hawk-Eye removed the dagger and took a few steps back. He placed the weapon back into the cross. "Kid! State your name."
Zoro moved his swords in a ready position and declared. "Roronoa Zoro."
"I'll remember it," Hawk-Eye said as he placed a hand on his real sword.
"They're actually going to…" Rin said as her mouth fell open in shock. She was not expecting that they would be fighting to the death.
"I haven't seen anyone like you in a while, strong one. Thus…" Hawk-Eye took out the large sword. "As a swordsman's courtesy, I'll sink you using the world's strongest black sword."
"I appreciate it." Zoro stated.
How can you be so calm talking about death? Rin wondered with wide eyes.
"He took it out." A pirate exclaimed at Hawk-Eye's sword.
"That's the sword that sliced up the ship!"
Everyone was on edge as the two swordsmen took their positions and got ready to strike. Rin could feel her heart beating faster than a butterfly's wing as she bit her lip with wide brown eyes as she felt her hands shake and sweat at the sight. The atmosphere seemed to have changed within that moment as everyone watched the fight come to an end.
"Three Swords Style Secret Technique!" Zoro shouted as he moved the two words within his hands in circles.
Hawk-Eye launched forward. "Fall!"
"Three Thousand Worlds!"
The blades met, but Rin was positive that Hawk-Eye had been faster before Zoro could land a single blow.
The two-swordsman stood back-to-back.
Silence echoed across the area.
Then the sound of two swords shattering to pieces and blood gushing from Zoro's wounds hit the floor of the broken-down ship.
He's still alive, Rin thought with a small smile on her face. She actually thought that Hawk-Eye was going to kill him.
Zoro took out his remaining sword from his mouth and put the sword back into its holster. Then he stood up straight and turned to back Hawk-Eye with his arms extended out in front of him. This surprised Mihawk and caught him off guard.
"What is Zoro doing?" Rin wandered as her was heart beating fast within her chest. "Why isn't he just walking away?"
"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame…" Zoro explained with a smile.
"Admirable!" Hawk-Eye answered with a grin.
"What?" the blonde-haired female said.
Hawk-Eye's black sword did one large slash in front of Zoro as a large stream of blood came out and sailed into the open air.
"Zoro!" Luffy shouted.
Zoro's white sword went flying in the air as blood drops danced in the air around him. Rin felt her mouth fall open as her mind feared for the worst. Zoro could be dead because Luffy's screams and shouts for his friends only made the female fear that might end up becoming reality.
"Don't live so hastily, young man," Hawk-Eye explained.
"Zoro!" Usopp shouts.
"Big bro!" The two males in the green and blue jackets shout with tears in their eyes.
"No!" Luffy screamed.
Zoro fell backwards with blood spilling everywhere.
Sanji stares with wide eyes and mumbled, "Why?"
"Huh?" Rin said as she turned her attention to her brother.
"It should be easy…" Sanji shouted at Zoro with fury in his eyes. "To give up your ambition, right?"
Zoro landed into the open ocean.
"So, this is the power of the Grand Line…the power of the world!" a pirate explained with wide eyes.
"To think the pirate hunter Zoro is as helpless as a new-born baby!" another pirate mumbled.
"Damn you, damn you…" Luffy mumbled as he gripped onto a wooden railing. "Damn you!" He threw back his arm and looked ready to punch the worlds greatest swordsman in the face.
"Luffy, what are you doing?" Rin shouts at the Straw Hat teen.
"Big bro!" The green jacket and blue jacket males shout as they jump into the ocean after Zoro.
Luffy stretched his arm toward Mihawk, who quickly moved out of the way, but Luffy grabbed onto the broken-down ship's wood railing and launched himself over.
"Wh-what's that?"
Rin looked around and saw the shock reactions about Luffy's strange abilities. Sure, she's seen Luffy use his rubber body before. But she actually thought the kid had those gifts because of his genes being altered through science. Considering how her other siblings back home had powers, she originally thought that Luffy had a similar experiment done on him.
That's why she didn't bat an eye when the Straw Hat kid stretched his arms or legs inhumanity into the air.
Sanji dropped his cigarette from his mouth as he watched Luffy.
"So that brat…has the power of a devil fruit!" Don Krige exclaimed.
Devil Fruit, Rin thought with an eyebrow raised.
So Luffy must have eaten some kind of magical fruit to gain the power. Rin guessed her theory about Luffy having his body being altered through science had been innocent.
"Bastard!" Luffy shouts at Mihawk, who moves out of the rubber teens' way which causes the kid to crash land into the already broken-down ship as wood and dust splintered everywhere. Once everything cleared Luffy's head and stuck in a small hole on the ship and he used his rubber hands and legs to pull himself free.
"Are you that young swordsman's comrade?" Hawk-Eye asked Straw hat. "You also impressed me for watching it to the very end!" Luffy got free from the hole and landed onto the wooden deck. "Don't worry. I didn't kill that man."
"What?" Rin whispered in shock as she felt a smile form on her lips. "Zoro's alive."
"Big bro! Say something!"
"Zoro?" Luffy asked as he looked out to the ocean.
Rin's eyes drift toward the three people within the sea and Zoro was being helped by his two friends as he coughed up blood.
"He's alive," Rin said with some relief.
Usopp arrived quickly on a small wooden sailboat to help the three males in the ocean onboard.
"Now, hurry up and get him up on the ship!"
Within seconds Zoro was on the ship and they seemed to quickly get to work on taking care of his wounds.
"It's still too early for you to die," Hawk-Eye grumbled with his arms crossed before looking at Zoro. "My name is Dracule Mihawk!"
Rin paled at the name. "Dracule…like Dracula."
Maybe calling him a vampire really was the perfect nickname for the greatest swordsman.
Sanji just shook his head. "He's not a vampire, soeur."
"Learn about yourself. Learn about the world," Mihawk tells Zoro. "And become strong! No matter how many years it takes, I will hold this seat of the strongest and wait for you. Surpass this sword! Try to surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!"
Zeff was impressed from what he saw and said, "To think that he got Hawk-Eye Mihawk to say this much…"
Hawk-Eye turned his attention to Luffy with only a small eye movement and asked, "Kid, what is your goal?"
Luffy looked at Mihawk before answering, "King of the Pirates!"
Hawk-Eye gives the teen a smirk and adds, "It'll be even harder than surpassing me!"
"How would I know when I haven't done it yet?" Luffy asked with a determined expression before sticking his tongue out at Hawk-Eye.
"He's alive!" The green jacket and blue jacket male's shout with tears running down their faces.
"He's just unconscious!" Usopp tells them.
"Big bro," he green jacket male whispered.
The blue jacket male began to beg. "Big Bro! Say something!"
"Zoro?" Luffy asked.
Rin heard the sound of a metal sword and turned to the noise and saw that Zoro was awake and holding his white handled sword in the air. What was Zoro doing? She didn't know only to hear the words that seemed to be a vow.
"L…Luffy…" Zoro choked out. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said with a small yell.
"Did I worry you? You need no less than the world's greatest swordsman, right? I…I will not be defeated ever again!" Zoro vowed with tears streaming down his face as his sword was held high within the air. "Until the day I defeat him and become a master swordsman… I'll never…be defeated! Got any problems with that…King of the Pirates?"
Rin smiled at the words. It would seem that Zoro's old promise about defeating Hawk-Eye was still there along with another lifetime promise made to Luffy.
The Straw Hat teen grinned and gave a joy filled laugh. "Nope!"
"You're a good team," Hawk-Eye admits with a small praise to Zoro and Luffy. "I want to see you guys again." With that the world's greatest swordsman began to walk back to his ship.
Rin frowned at the action. Really? He shows up and destroys Don Krieg's ship and now he leaves.
Then a loud noise of someone landing on a wooden deck sounded as Don Krige began to shout, "Hey, Hawk-Eye! Didn't you come to take my life… the life of the East Blue's ruler, Don Krieg?"
Hawk-Eye narrowed his eyes before giving a blunt reply, "I was going to, but I had enough fun. So, I'm going home to get some rest."
Don Krige grinned at the words before cracking his neck. "You may have had enough, but I'm tired of getting beaten."
Rin just stared at Don Krige in shock because this pirate that ruled over the East Blue was an idiot. Hawk-Eye clearly just wanted to leave and now Don was not going to let him. Only the swordsman was much stronger than the pirate.
"D-Don?" a pirate said to his captain. "Why are you trying to keep him here?"
Don Krieg quickly pulled out all his weapons that were hidden with his golden armor and pointed them at Mihawk and shouted, "Die before you leave!" Then the bullets began to fire at the swordsman.
Hawk-Eye quickly removed his sword and mumbled. "As I expected…he never learns a lesson…"
Then a loud explosion sounded as water raised upward and the pirate ship began to break to even more pieces as the pirate crew began to be sent flying within the air. The water and smoke began to clear after the attack.
"Damn!" Krieg cursed. "He escaped…"
"Huh?" Rin said as her brown eyes looked around the place to find Hawk-Eye. "He left. Seriously, he could've dealt with Don." That vampire swordsman could've helped them out in keeping the restaurant safe because some of this was his fault.
"Usopp!" Luffy shouts from the safety of the restaurant. He'd launched himself back over to them during the attack.
"Luffy!" Usopp answered.
"Go! I'll leave Nami to you," the Straw Hat captain ordered.
"Got it!" Usopp shouts with Luffy's Straw Hat in his hands because it had blown over to the small ship during Mihawk's attack. "Zoro and I will bring Nami back for sure! Make sure you get that cook and his sister to join us! When all six of us are reunited, let's go to…" he throws the Straw Hat to his captain. "The Grand Line!"
Luffy quickly grabs his hat and shouts back, "Yeah! Let's do that!"
Rin smile a little at the comment and said, "That sounds like- "
"Guys!" Don Krieg shouts. "We ran into some interference, but the real fight starts now! We'll take that ship!"
"Yeah!" the pirate's yell.
"Pops, can I stop doing chores if I drive them away?" Luffy asked Zeff.
"Suit yourself," Zeff commented to the Straw Hat teen.
Rin looked at the pirates as she stood beside Sanji and the other cooks.
Now the real fight was about to begin.