It took four days for things to finally get moving.
With Don Krieg showing up, and Mihawk showing off, that is.
"He cut this entire ship in half," whispered Nami, aghast.
"He is known as the strongest swordsman in the world for a reason," mused Brynlee, hanging a bit in the back. "Alright, who's up for a plan?"
"Me! Me!" cried out Usopp, flailing his arm around.
"Aww, but it's boring," pouted Luffy.
"No it's not. Listen to this! Zoro will fight Mihawk, then you will go and beat up Don Krieg while Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and I defend the Baratie from the rest of his men. And Johnny and Yosaku will take care of Zoro once he's down for the count. Zoro gets to pursue his goal, you get to fight the baddie, and hopefully we'll impress Sanji enough to finally make him give in and become our cook. Sounds good?"
"Not happening," deadpanned Sanji.
"Oh, okay! I like that plan!" laughed Luffy.
Zoro's eye twitched. "You have zero faith, don't you?"
She shrugged. "I believe in your will, so that'll have to do. Just don't give up, alright?"
"As if."
Her words did seem to boost his confidence, somehow, and he finally set off to challenge the greatest swordsman in the world. And, since Don Krieg and his men were currently preoccupied with trying not to drown after Mihawk's attack, well, they were free to watch it all unfold.
Brynlee silently prayed things wouldn't go south.
Much to Brynlee's relief, Zoro's fight went exactly as expected. He managed to impress Mihawk and was thus left alive, and the bounty hunters were quick to drag him to safety onto the Going Merry – though not before Zoro made his oath.
"I swear… I'll never lose again! Until I become the World's Greatest Swordsman… I'll never lose again…!"
And now, with this particular fight over and done with, the others were finally free to go and help out the Baratie cooks currently engaged in battle with Krieg's men. As they all quickly got a move on, though, Brynlee couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine, and she froze in place, glancing back.
Her eyes clashed with Mihawk's, his own almost as sharp as his blade.
After a moment of heavy silence, he gave her the slightest nod, then spun around with a twirl of his cape, and she let out a shaky breath. Of course a Grand line savvy pirate on the payroll of the World Government would notice her. Though, she supposed that if he wanted to give Zoro a fair chance to grow stronger, he wouldn't sell her out – a Buster Call on a rookie pirate crew definitely wouldn't help his own goals of grooming a future swordsman who could potentially beat him, after all.
So, reassured, she quickly went to help the rest of her crew.
Luffy beat Don Krieg, and Sanji officially agreed to join the crew.
"Though, did you have to send him after me? His incessant nagging will haunt me for weeks. When Sabo said his little brother was stubborn, I didn't expect this…"
Brynlee spared the cook an unapologetic smile. "What can I say? I figured we needed to take drastic measures if we wanted to drag your stubborn ass at sea."
Sanji rolled his eyes, before glancing to the tied-up heap of flesh and metal he'd helped Brynlee carry down into the hold. "And him?"
Brynlee nudged Krieg's unresponsive body with her foot. "Oh, he's just a gift."
"A gift?"
"Hmm. I've got some friends who'll be very interested in his weaponry."
"Oh, right. But you know it'll only make them even more stubborn about recruiting you, right?"
"We both know they couldn't handle me," she chuckled. "I just like helping out where I can, so they'll have to be satisfied with that."
"Fair enough. Smoothie?"
"Ooh, absolutely!"
Alright people, only Cocoyashi and Loguetown left before the East Blue Saga is officially over and done with. Next chapter is a bit longer, so look forward to it!