Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

By steering hard to starboard in advance, the Red Fox narrowly avoided a breathtakingly powerful strike to the bullseye—on land, the force transmitted through the surface would have been enough to severely damage the Red Fox. But here on land, the surface tension dissolved all the force into a raging torrent. Though the waves remained turbulent, the impact was channeled in all directions, and the sea kings that had come to investigate were struck by the force before they could react, their bones broken and many maimed.

Having undergone modifications and reinforcements early on to prepare for the harsh weather of the New World, the Red Fosse stubbornly persevered despite making creaking noises!

Even more so, riding on these surging waves, the Red Falcon's speed increased more than threefold as it sailed away from this place!

"You damn redhead!! You'll definitely get a taste of your own medicine when you come to the West Sea next time!!!!!"

Behind him came Sett's furious, impotent roar. Shanks simply wiped away his cold sweat, calmly observed for a moment, and confirmed that his Observation Haki had not triggered any sense of danger. He also confirmed that Sett had been held back by the Sea Kings who had come after smelling the blood. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and collapse onto the deck like a corpse.

"Damn it... I finally got rid of him!"

76. Mihawk

boom!!!

On the azure sea, it was as if a torpedo had exploded in the depths, sending a massive column of water shooting skyward. The carcasses of the sea kings instantly stained a large area of ​​the ocean crimson.

But this had no effect whatsoever on the Sea Kings. Sensing the bloodshed in the ocean, more Sea Kings rushed from afar, eager to get a piece of the carnage. Initially, their target was Sett, but later it essentially devolved into a aimless brawl.

Being submerged in seawater, Sett's stamina was already being depleted several times faster than usual. Coupled with the entanglement of the Sea Kings, Sett's stamina was visibly draining away.

"Damn it!" He blurted out a nationalistic curse, knowing this couldn't go on. Just as Sett was about to find a sea king's belly to sleep in, a series of "whoosh whoosh whoosh!" sounds suddenly rang out beside him. Immediately following were two dark flashes of light.

The blade's sharpness was even greater than that of the hawk wielded by Shanks, leaving a deep scar even on the sea.

Within it, the Sea Kings were instantly severed. Turning his head, at the end of his vision was a solitary, single-person sailboat. Standing on the sailboat, a man holding a black katana radiating domineering power gazed at Sett from afar. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and had his hair slicked back. Even from a distance, Sett could still sense the hawk-like sharpness in his eyes.

Without saying much, the eagle-eyed man simply tilted his head at the sailboat beneath his feet, gesturing for Sett to hurry up and get on.

Seeing this, Sett didn't bother with formalities, simultaneously activating Shave and Moonwalk with a burst of power from his feet. The seawater beneath his feet was blasted open by the immense force, creating a vacuum. And under the reaction force, Sett's body flashed a few times before arriving on the small sail.

Sett landed on the ship with a thud and immediately lay down in the cabin, practically dead. Before the man could say anything, he was already snoring away.

Hawkeye: "..."

Hawkeye stared at Sett in front of him, his sharp eyes filled with scrutiny.

His physique was robust, radiating a vibrant life force even in his sleep. His right arm was clearly overused; the skin had been burned away during punches, exposing the red muscles and white tendons to the air. Judging from its shape, there were likely internal fractures, and coupled with prolonged immersion in the salty seawater, even a passing breeze would have inflicted excruciating torment.

A huge scar ran across his chest and abdomen. Judging from the shape of the incision, it was definitely caused by Shanks' Griffin—after countless encounters, Hawkeye had a deep understanding of Shanks' swordsmanship.

Is he completely unaffected by the pain? Hawkeye stared at the sleeping Sett without making any further moves—his intuition told him that the moment he made a move, the man in front of him would wake up immediately.

That beast-like intuition could be easily detected even by an eagle eye, who was merely observing the battle... But even so, it was still surprising that he dared to go into hibernation under such circumstances.

Putting aside the blow to the chest, shouldn't the broken arm be immobilized first?

Thinking this, Hawkeye shook his head indifferently. He simply steered the sails towards the distance with a touch of pleasant contentment.

By the time Sett arrived, it was already evening. The small sailboat was moored at the edge of an island. Sett yawned and stepped off with a relaxed expression.

Although the result was less than satisfactory, it must be said that the fight with that arrogant red-haired guy was indeed the most enjoyable fight Sett had had in a while—it's just a pity that the guy got away!

Scratching his head and looking around, Sett casually strolled over after spotting a rising campfire. Under Hawkeye's watchful eye, he unceremoniously grabbed a bottle of beer and chugged it down before collapsing onto the beach with a thud.

"Where are you from, young man? Your swordsmanship looks quite impressive!"

Having spent a year with the elite naval personnel, Sett had gained some knowledge of swordsmanship—at least, whether it was Hawkeye or Red Hair, their swordsmanship skills far surpassed those of the naval elites.

They call themselves a "regular army"? What a disgrace! Thank goodness I didn't join them!!

Lost in thought, Hawkeye glanced at Sett beside him, cut a piece of flesh with the cross dagger in his chest, and said while eating, "My name is Mihawk, a West Blue... I went to chase Shanks, but I didn't expect to discover such an interesting scene."

His sharp, hawk-like eyes were filled with scrutiny and amusement; "This is the first time I've seen anyone in the West Blue besides myself who could fight Shanks to such an extent!"

"Shanks?" Sett raised an eyebrow upon hearing this; "Ah, that redhead, right? You know him?"

"Of course, his swordsmanship is good."

As he spoke, Mihawk drew a knife from his waist and threw it at Sett.

Anyone else would probably be terrified, right? But Sett didn't even bother to look. He didn't sense any killing intent, not even a hint of hostility.

The blade sank into the sand in front of Sett, and Mihawk raised his chin, indicating that Sett should cut off his own flesh and eat it.

77. Purpose

Through their brief exchange, Sett gained a general understanding of Mihawk's personality.

“I am from the West Blue, and professionally I’d say I’m a part-time bounty hunter,” Mihawk said in a calm voice. “Shanks is my prey… his swordsmanship is quite good, and he’s worth defeating.”

Hearing Mihawk's words, Sett nodded in understanding—indeed, Shanks' strength was something worth pursuing for anyone with dreams and aspirations. And this Hawkeye in front of him, putting everything else aside, just the sharp, hawk-like glint in his eyes proved that he was definitely not the kind of person who would just laze around and wait to die.

"Haha! Looks like we're on the same page!" Sett said. "That redhead is also my prey, but considering you gave me a ride, I've decided to compete with you fairly!"

"..." After a moment of silence, Mihawk raised an eyebrow slightly; "Considering I gave you a ride... so you've decided to compete fairly with me?"

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

"...Isn't fair competition the bare minimum?"

"Why would you think that?" Sett's face was also full of surprise; "If you hadn't given me a ride, why would I be competing with you fairly?"

With a look of surprise, Mihawk raised his head and looked at Sett. He quickly nodded, then lowered his head again to eat his meat—yes, Sett's face was filled with incomprehension. And more importantly, Sett found Mihawk utterly incomprehensible.

Clearly, this guy never considered fairness or justice in competition… No wonder Shanks ran away in such a hurry. Mihawk thought, “Being entangled with this kind of guy is definitely not a good thing…”

A guy who takes illegal competition for granted...

Mihawk, however, paid no heed, for this sea was inherently fraught with danger. Countless individuals wore masks of sincerity while secretly plotting treachery. In contrast, such arrogant individuals who never concealed their inner thoughts and desires were far more worthy of friendship.

Having had some interaction with Shanks, Hawkeye realized that the guy, though powerful, was incredibly pure at heart and never concealed his impulsiveness… Recalling his previous encounter with Shanks, Hawkeye instinctively rubbed his temples—even to the point of being an idiot. In comparison, Sett had merely transformed that impulsiveness into rage and arrogance.

An arrogant guy who's too lazy to lie or use tricks. He might not be likable, but he's not that annoying either... At worst, you can just stay away from him. It's better than someone who plays dirty tricks behind your back.

Having figured this out, Mihawk nodded indifferently; "Do as you please, I won't hold back anyway."

Upon hearing Mihawk's words, Sett was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and nodded, saying, "You said it yourself! So it's settled then! Speaking of which, you don't seem weak either. Interested in becoming my underling?"

"……No."

Although no one knew where Sett got the courage, Mihawk still responded indifferently.

Seeing that Mihawk showed no interest, Sett didn't say much this time. Instead, he asked, "Where are you planning to go next?"

“…Let’s go to the North Sea or the South Sea,” Mihawk said. “Although Shanks has escaped, your attack has indeed affected the ship. With such severe damage, even if we enter the Grand Line, we won’t be able to cope with the unpredictable weather.”

"The South China Sea has the strongest technological capabilities, while the North China Sea is the hometown of Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates... and it also has the largest number of naval branches."

"Beckman prefers to play it safe, and with the help of the Red-Haired Pirates, 'borrowing' a few warships won't be a problem."

Having been through a long illness, Mihawk, a bounty hunter himself, and with years of targeted pursuit, could roughly guess Shanks' personality and his next move.

"What about the East China Sea?"

"Ser asked," Mihawk replied calmly. "They came from the East Sea..."

Sett nodded in satisfaction. "Alright! We'll do as you say. I've got nothing else to do lately, so I might as well check out the other seas for any powerful individuals!"

Over the past year, Sett has been training with Zephyr. Their journey has taken them all over the world—but on that basis, they have only focused on training in each place, knowing nothing about the culture and characteristics of each region. Now that he has achieved some success in his training, it would be a waste of his muscles not to take the time to see them for himself!

Looking at Sett, whose eyes were burning with the desire to pursue, Mihawk paused for a moment before asking, "Why do you want to pursue him?...Is it simply to defeat him?"

Upon hearing the question, Sett, unusually, calmed down. Mihawk remained silent, not daring to interrupt. Only after a moment did Sett extend his still-dark red right arm.

A suppressed spark seemed to flicker in his eyes—

"Because it's not enough!"

78·Voyage

In reality, given Sett's regenerative abilities, this level of damage isn't particularly serious. The only problem is that after the skin on his arm was rubbed raw by Hao Yi, it immediately came into contact with seawater and the blood of a Sea King—Sea Kings with corrosive and toxic blood are ubiquitous in the Calm Belt.

Even so, in the time it took to sleep, Sett's arm had almost fully recovered. The subcutaneous tissue and dermis had already healed, and the healing of the remaining epidermis was only a matter of time.

When Hawkeye asked him a question, Sett clenched his fists, his eyes showing a hint of agitation.

"Conqueror's Haki!"

"..." Upon hearing Sett's words, Hawkeye picked up his water bottle, took a sip of his drink, and then asked with a hint of doubt in his eyes, "Shanks does have Conqueror's Haki... but what does your pursuit of him have to do with Conqueror's Haki?"

Sett didn't hide his thoughts, stating bluntly, "Conqueror's Haki, Observation Haki, and Armament Haki are all different and cannot be acquired through training. They rely on King Shroud's inherent talent..."

"I don't believe in any of that bullshit about being a king!" Sett said earnestly, bottle in hand. "What I want, I must have! That's the greatest truth in the world!"

"And what was the result?" Hawkeye didn't scoff at Sett's arrogance, which was less confidence and more conceit. In fact, he found it rather amusing—in this chaotic era, only such arrogant fools could become the strong of the seas!

Or rather, Mihawk himself is an arrogant guy—from beginning to end, he never doubted that he would become the world's greatest swordsman! However, unlike Sett, Mihawk does not express his arrogance directly.

"I've never heard of anyone being able to master Conqueror's Haki through training."

In response to Mihawk's question, Sett nonchalantly replied, "It doesn't matter, I've already experienced it. Since I know the form of Conqueror's Haki, I can definitely master it too!"

"...I hope so."

The two men exchanged a glance, then clinked glasses in tacit agreement before eating meat and going to sleep.

The next day.

I arrived at the office and was busy when suddenly, my Den Den Mushi (snail phone) started ringing loudly.

As soon as Tina picked up the phone, before she could even speak, a rude and casual voice came from the other end: "Hello! Zaia?!"

"Not here, get out!!!"

Even after hearing just one sentence, Tina instantly recognized that the voice belonged to Sett, whom she hated the most. Upon hearing Tina's voice, Sett didn't get angry. Instead, he lay on the sailboat like a king, holding the military-grade portable Den Den Mushi he had taken from Zeff before leaving, and said, "Good to hear! Um, tell Robin and the others that I might be a little late getting back."

Hearing that Sett was actually talking about serious matters, Tina raised a slight brow. She then asked, "What happened? Where are you? Do you need any help? I can help you calm things down with Robin."

"Nothing much, just chasing down some damn redhead."

"..." Tina took a drag of her slender cigarette and said, "You'd better tell me clearly who you're hunting down..." In the West Blue, Shanks isn't the only red-haired guy.

Tina and Sett both have red hair.

In response, Sett casually described Shanks's features. Having some knowledge of the recently rising pirate crew, and confirming it was indeed the Shanks from the intelligence reports, Tina frowned and asked, "Is the Shanks you're talking about named Shanks? And the one who wears a straw hat?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Sett nodded quickly; "How did you know?!"

“…” A hint of seriousness appeared between Tina’s brows as she said, “That’s a pirate the World Government is particularly concerned about… He might have some secrets. You’re not a member of the Navy, so try not to get involved… Never mind, just pretend I didn’t say anything…”

As she spoke, Tina covered her face with one hand—sure enough, upon hearing that Shanks, that arrogant red-haired guy, was actually a pirate of special concern to the World Government, Sett's interest in chasing him increased dramatically!