Chapter 420: The Sword
Among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Hawk-Eye Mihawk might be the most unforgettable, because of his eyes. Anyone who has seen them would likely have a deep impression of him.
Clearly, even Ace, Reiju, and Robin knew of Hawk-Eye’s great reputation, so when Mihawk leaped onto the ship, everyone couldn’t help but stand up, staring at him in surprise.
Like Ian, they were all astonished that Mihawk had appeared here.
After jumping aboard, Mihawk first glanced at Ace, Reiju, and Robin, his gaze pausing briefly, but then he turned to Ian.
“You’re Ian, right? A pleasure to meet you!” Mihawk said, his large sword strapped to his back, spreading his hands as he addressed Ian. “I’m Dracule Mihawk. You’ve probably heard of me.”
“Hawk-Eye Mihawk, the world’s greatest swordsman!” Ian nodded solemnly to him. “I’ve long admired your name!”
Then, slightly puzzled, Ian asked him, “Lord Mihawk, why are you here?”
Since boarding, Mihawk had shown little expression. He didn’t respond to Ian’s greeting but continued, “To be honest, I didn’t expect to run into you here. I’ve been bored lately, and when I saw your ship, I thought you might help me pass the time, so I came over.”
Ian felt a bit speechless as he suddenly realized what was going on.
Because if you looked at the original timeline, Hawk-Eye Mihawk had been wandering aimlessly around the Grand Line during this period and the month before, out of boredom. It was this boredom that led him to encounter the Krieg Pirates as they entered the Grand Line. Perhaps Krieg’s arrogance and ignorance angered him, prompting him to crush the Krieg Pirates and then follow their remnants all the way to the East Blue.
But… but because over two years ago, when Ian set sail, he had taken out the Krieg Pirates early, even cutting their leader, Pirate Admiral Krieg, in half with a single slash, the Krieg Pirates no longer existed in this world.
Without the Krieg Pirates, Hawk-Eye never met them, so naturally, he never went to the East Blue.
This was the so-called butterfly effect. Not only did Hawk-Eye not go to the East Blue, but he also lingered in the first half of the Grand Line. That meant Zoro and the others never encountered Hawk-Eye at the Baratie restaurant, nor did they take that slash from him.
Ian scratched his head in frustration. *What the hell? Zoro doesn’t meet Hawk-Eye, but I do!?*
Shaking off that thought, Ian asked Mihawk curiously, “Pass the time? You don’t mean you want to spar with me, do you?”
To Ian’s surprise, Mihawk glanced at him and shook his head. “No. I know a bit about your fighting style. I saw your battle with Kizaru on Salamis Island. You carry a sword, but in my eyes, you’re not a true swordsman.”
As the world’s greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye’s swordsmanship represented the pinnacle of the art. He was the ultimate goal for every swordsman.
Perhaps because so many sought to challenge him, Hawk-Eye wasn’t very enthusiastic about such duels. In his view, many swordsmen lacked the strength to earn his recognition; they were small fry who couldn’t spark his interest.
As for Hawk-Eye initiating a challenge himself, that was even less likely.
He knew Ian was formidable, but Ian wasn’t yet on the level of someone like Whitebeard. So Mihawk had no desire to fight him at the moment.
*Well, I guess I was being a bit presumptuous,* Ian thought. *As long as he’s not here to pick a fight, it’s fine. Running into a Warlord out of nowhere and then having a duel with Mihawk would feel pretty strange.*
Though Ian was actually curious to test his swordsmanship against Mihawk’s, to see how big the gap between them really was.
Ian’s current swordsmanship level was only Master-level, far from the highest Grandmaster level. But that was just a system-given skill rating. What Master-level swordsmanship actually meant in practice, Ian wasn’t entirely sure.
Still, as Mihawk said, Ian couldn’t really be considered a pure swordsman anymore. His swordsmanship was his main attack method, but not his only one. In technical terms, Ian wasn’t a swordsmanship specialist. He understood that he might be able to hold his own against a swordsman of Vista’s caliber, but against someone called the world’s greatest swordsman, his sword skills probably wouldn’t cut it.
Of course, if it came to a real fight using every trick in the book, the outcome between him and Hawk-Eye wasn’t certain.
So Ian asked Mihawk curiously, “Then what do you want from me?”
“I’m interested in that sword of yours. Can I take a look?” Mihawk finally stated his purpose. “Actually, ever since I saw your fight with Kizaru, I’ve wanted to see that blade.”
*He wants to see my Thousand Cherry Blossoms?* Ian was surprised. He hadn’t expected Mihawk to just want to look at his sword.
“I can show you, but won’t you sit down for a drink first?” Ian suggested. “I’ve got some chilled beer here.”
Mihawk glanced at him, said nothing, but nodded and walked over to the table to sit down.
As he turned, Ian noticed the black blade, Yoru, on his back. This sword had a jet-black, glossy blade and unique patterns. What stood out most was its unusually long tsuba, which, combined with the hilt, formed a massive cross. When Hawk-Eye carried it on his back, it looked like he was bearing a cross.
Combined with the golden cross hanging from Hawk-Eye’s neck, Ian wondered if Hawk-Eye was a believer.
This world had many religions, with various races holding their own beliefs. For instance, Sardin from Ian’s crew often invoked the God of Elbaf.
After sitting down, Ian poured Mihawk a glass of beer and handed it to him. Mihawk raised it and downed it in one gulp.
With a clink, he set the glass down, wiped the foam from his mouth, and said, “Good drink.”
Ian refilled his glass before handing his sword over to Mihawk.
Although it was a weapon manifested by the system, it was still real. As long as it was within ten meters, Ian could let others examine his weapon.
Mihawk took it, held it in his hand, and gently drew it, studying Ian’s blade carefully.
“Fine blade,” Mihawk said. “Does it have a name?”
“Yeah, it’s called Thousand Cherry Blossoms now,” Ian nodded.
“Now?” Mihawk was puzzled, unsure what Ian meant.
Ian shrugged and didn’t explain. The reason he said that was because he knew his so-called exclusive weapon was always changing. For now, he was using Thousand Cherry Blossoms, but who knew if he’d swap it out later? After all, while the petals of Thousand Cherry Blossoms were beautiful, their killing power was relatively low. Ian had other options, like Flowing Blade Like Fire. And as a Zanpakutō, its initial release and final release had the same attributes, both greatly boosting his stats.
Seeing that Ian wasn’t willing to explain, Mihawk didn’t press further. After examining Thousand Cherry Blossoms for a while, he frowned. “Why can’t I tell its origin? I thought it was a famous blade, but now I see it’s not one of the Supreme Grade Blades or Great Grade Blades.”
Hearing this, Ian scratched his head. Dealing with someone so knowledgeable about swords was troublesome, so he had to say, “It’s not really a famous blade. It was born from my abilities.”
Ian’s explanation was vague, but Mihawk seemed to understand. He looked somewhat disappointed. “Is that so? I thought I might get to appreciate another famous blade from you.”