Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

"He clearly started it!"

"Liar! It's you who are disrespectful to Mr. Hawkeye!"

They were blaming each other, and now Kuina had discovered that Sanji wasn't a student at the dojo. Hearing Sanji's words, her expression towards Zoro became even more hostile. But before she could speak, Sett walked over and forcefully shoved Zoro and the others aside to make way.

"Go away, go away, the adults are here, little kids go play somewhere else."

"I'm not a child!!" Zoro said, somewhat displeased. In response, Kuina picked up her bamboo sword and struck again.

"Listen to me properly! Your master has important things to do!!"

After saying that, she looked at Sanji—since he was brought by Sett and the others, Kuina didn't know what to do for a moment.

In response, Sett raised his chin and said, "Don't worry about us, just teach Sanji the same lesson you taught this green-haired brat!"

"May I?"

“Sure!” Sett said, giving Sanji a thumbs-up that showed he had nothing to worry about, despite Sanji’s bewildered look.

Although Sett agreed, Kuina ultimately didn't reprimand Sanji in front of Sett and the others—after all, she wasn't very familiar with Sanji. Instead, she apologized to Sett and the others, then turned around, grabbed Zoro's pant leg, and beckoned Sanji to go outside and play.

The little brat is gone, and the rest is just a topic for adults to discuss.

Koushirou appeared to be a very gentle person, wearing a grey kimono robe. He had a slightly high forehead, and his long black hair was tied back. Behind his round-framed glasses were a pair of gentle, slightly narrowed eyes. He gave off the feeling of a patient and encouraging teacher in a classroom, exuding a warm and welcoming aura.

Looking at Kuina's retreating figure, Koushirou said somewhat embarrassedly, "Please excuse my rudeness, my daughter Kuina is just naturally strong-willed. She always pesters me to teach her kendo. Although she looks like a tomboy, she is actually very sensitive."

"You're welcome. It's normal for kids to fight each other."

Sett seemed unconcerned, while Ryu greeted Koushirou instead.

"Master, we meet again."

"Hmm...you must be Mr. Long? It's been a while. It seems you haven't been doing very well."

His voice carried a hint of teasing. He took off his hat, and the bruises on his face didn't lie.

Long shook his head helplessly. "There's nothing I can do. That's just my old man's personality... I'm here to exchange for some food supplies. As for these two... they're here to challenge you."

Upon hearing the dragon's words, Koushirou once again turned his gaze to Sett. But he only lingered for a moment before looking away—because Sett's face was full of nonchalance and showed no hostility towards him.

In contrast, even Koushirou couldn't help but narrow his eyes the moment he saw Hawkeye.

Especially in the instant their eyes met, their swordsmanship clashed head-on. Even with just a cursory glance, Koushirou could sense Hawkeye's undisguised strength and fighting spirit as a swordsman.

Compared to actual combat, the real battles for swordsmen often begin before they even draw their swords.

His gaze fell upon the long sword at Hawkeye's waist. His slender hand rested on the black hilt, seemingly gripping but not quite. Though not fully in control, Koushirou could sense the sharpness hidden within the scabbard.

“A sharp sword…” Koushirou said, raising his head to meet Hawkeye’s eyes. The instant his gaze met those hawk-like, sharp eyes, Koushirou knew one thing: the man before him was no ordinary opponent he had ever encountered here before—“Sharp Eyes!”

Shaking his head with a slight chuckle, Koushirou said, "I chose to live in seclusion in the East Sea because it was more peaceful... but now it seems that the strong still exist."

“I crave worthy opponents.” Hawkeye didn’t say much more, drawing his sword, the blade faintly shimmering with a dark hue.

Sensing that undisguised fighting spirit, Koushirou's face showed a bitter smile - he didn't want to fight, but his swordsman's intuition told him that the man in front of him had no intention of ending things easily!

With this thought in mind, he sighed softly, and wearing wooden clogs, Koushirou walked slowly to the center of the dojo. With a flash of white light, a sharp longsword, pure white as snow in both its hilt and blade, came into view.

With a slight smile, Koushirou said, "Although my daughter's weapon is somewhat out of place, it's probably sufficient for the moment..."

The moment Mihawk saw the clear, water-like blade, he narrowed his eyes. Swordsmen pursue very few things; aside from opponents, battles, and training, only the sword and its blade matter.

As a pure swordsman, Mihawk immediately recognized the long sword in Koushirou's hand—the blade had no forging marks, was as smooth as an autumn pool, was incomparably sharp, and its light was dazzling.

The Great Sword, also known as the Great Karma Blade, can easily slice through 70% of a human body, even for someone without any training.

The 21 Great Swords, Wado Ichimonji!

"Wait! Master has drawn his sword!"

Zoro, who had been being held back by Kuina, suddenly felt the headache on his head disappear the moment he saw Koushirou draw his sword. His spirits lifted, and he looked towards Koushirou and Mihawk with a mixture of curiosity and admiration.

Compared to Zoro's excitement, Kuina frowned hesitantly as she tested the sword—her father rarely drew his sword like that.

Kuina knew that her father was a powerful swordsman, so powerful that he could handle any enemy with ease. In fact, he didn't even need iron weapons to face challenges; he could easily defeat them with just a bamboo sword.

Now, although he was still smiling gently, Kuina could sense that her father's entire spirit and energy had undergone a tremendous transformation. And the weapon he was wielding was his own sword—Wado Ichimonji!

Kuina knew better than anyone that her father possessed many swords. Among them were many sharper blades than the Wado Ichimonji. The reason Kuina chose the Wado Ichimonji was because it was the most beautiful of all the swords, and it was also Kuina's favorite color—white.

According to her father, the value of Wado Ichimonji lies not in the sharpness of its blade or its understated appearance, but in the meaning it represents. Kuina doesn't know exactly what that meaning is, but one thing she's certain of is that Wado Ichimonji is the most precious sword in the Shimotsuki family.

This was the first time he had ever seen his father draw his sword—Wado Ichimonji!

Compared to Zoro and Kuina's shock, having never heard of Koushirou before, Sanji simply shouted, "Hmph! Even if he's your master, it's useless! Mr. Hawkeye can easily cut through warships! He can even slice through steel with a single stroke!"

"Liar! How can steel be cut?" Zoro immediately questioned. His displeasure with Sanji prevailed, and Zoro even tried to win over Kuina, saying, "Right, Kuina? Our master is the strongest!"

"Slicing through steel..." Ignoring Zoro's words, Kuina, biting her nails, muttered, "Is he a great swordsman who can cut through iron...?"

"What? That sharp-eyed guy is also a great swordsman?!" Zoro was a little confused—he was currently just training his strength, and his understanding of swordsmanship was far less than what Kuina had learned from her.

"I'm not really sure... I just heard my father say it." Kuina remembered it was when she was very young, jokingly asking her father if he could cut through steel. Her father simply replied, "If you can hear the breath of all things, then you can cut through even steel!"

"Huh?! You can really do that?" Zoro asked incredulously. Sanji seized the opportunity to add insult to injury: "Of course you can! Only you, you green-haired idiot, could never do it!"

"You curly-browed bastard!"

"Green algae head, hehehe~~"

Compared to the children's playful fighting, Hawkeye was clearly impatient.

"The Twenty-One Great Swords... that's really exciting."

Gazing at the gleaming blade in Koushirou's hand, Hawkeye showed no fear whatsoever. On the contrary, his face was filled with a smile.

He drew the long sword from his waist—unlike ordinary swords, the blade in Hawkeye's hand, though a knife, bore some resemblance to a Western sword. Just like his clothing, the intricate patterns exuded an air of inexplicable nobility.

His sharp eyes held an unspoken fighting spirit. However, unlike Sett's rage, even in this state of excitement, Hawkeye remained impeccably composed—his other hand seemed to be clutching a glass of red wine.

"Want to come?" Koushirou asked somewhat embarrassedly; "I have the advantage of better weaponry."

"It's alright!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hawkeye entered the fray. His longsword, to Zoro and the others' astonishment, was stained with ink. The next moment, he unleashed a series of aerial slashes. X-shaped flying strikes tore through the air, hurtling towards Koushirou!

This time, not only Zoro but even Kuina's mouth dropped open—because of her gender, Koushirou rarely talked to Kuina about swordsmanship. And in a small place like the East Blue, the guys who had fought Koushirou before might be considered somewhat strong in the eyes of Kuina and the others. But in the eyes of Hawkeye and Sett, frankly speaking, they were all worthless trash!

153·Broken

With a whooshing sound, the X-shaped flying slash left a fleeting afterimage in the air. To the three little girls beside them, all that accompanied the sound of the blade being drawn was a swift white light cutting through the air.

Where the white light passed, it caused pain to the eyes—the power of a flying slash would gradually decrease due to distance, but now, even though it had flown a distance, the power of its edge had not diminished in the slightest.

Faced with this strike, Koushirou frowned deeply—a true expert's skill is immediately apparent. Although it was just a simple strike, Koushirou could sense through it that Hawkeye's solid fundamentals were something that opportunists could never possess!

The snow-white Wado Ichimonji in his hand swung in the wind, and on that nimble wrist, the cool, water-like blade seemed to transform into a bright, full moon in that instant.

Frosty Moon!

The instant the flying slash touched the moon, the unyielding sharpness that had been attached to the sword energy seemed to be twisted—using the flowing force of the slash to neutralize and distort the opponent's attack trajectory. The strong blade swung along the direction of the slash, and in the next instant, it swiftly swung the long sword horizontally. Immediately afterwards, the sharp sword energy grazed past Koushirou's sides, leaving slash marks on the ground.

The moment the strike landed, Koushirou's slightly thin body transformed into a white afterimage.

The Wado Ichimonji in his hand transformed into a flash of white light in that instant—Clang!

With a crisp sound, Hawkeye deflected Koushirou's thrust with a single sword stroke. The immense force made Koushirou realize that Hawkeye wasn't just a force to be reckoned with; he had also never slacked off in his physical training.

In close combat, Hawkeye's ornate longsword with its intricate patterns turned pitch black in an instant—seeing this, Koushirou's eyes narrowed once again.

The Black Blade—a type of samurai sword from the legends of Wano Country, characterized by its black color and patterns; also known as the Mukō-tō (Mukō-tō) or the Kenmu-tō (Kenmu-tō). Forging a Black Blade can be considered the ultimate goal of all craftsmen. According to Kōshirō's knowledge, the only person in the entire Wano Country who possessed a Black Blade was Ryūma, the dragon-slaying samurai from four hundred years ago.

The legendary swordsman Ryuma, back when Wano Country was still known as the Golden Country, single-handedly blocked countless pirates and world nobles heading there. Even after his death, he was enshrined in the Temple of the Sword God by the people of Wano!

To completely unite one's will with the blade in one's hand, allowing an aura of dominance to permeate every corner of the blade, giving it a sharpness and resilience that surpasses the limits of steel—this requires not only a skilled craftsman, but also an extremely high standard from the wielder!

But now—no! It's not the Black Knife!

As if sensing something, in the instant of Koushirou's surprise, he felt a surge of Haki emanating from it—Armament Haki enveloping it. Although it had reached the pinnacle, it hadn't yet reached the level of a black sword!

Upon realizing this, Koushirou understood and also felt immense pressure—based solely on the level of domineering aura revealed, Koushirou was certain that even in the face of the New World, this Hawkeye Swordsman was rarely matched!

That really... gets the blood pumping!

Opening his eyes, he realized that after spending so much time in the East China Sea, he was finally experiencing that exhilarating feeling again!

"Since that's the case, then I can no longer hide my abilities!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the long sword in Koushirou's hand seemed to cleave through the air, its movements utterly silent. Only afterimages flickered in the air.

The two were as white as snow and as black as ink. Their attacks felt like a raging storm colliding, both intense and chilling.

Black and white ink splashed across the space, far exceeding their own level. In the sight of Kuina and the others, they couldn't even see Koushirou and Hawkeye's arms, only the black and white afterimages around the two colliding and clashing.

The blades clashed, sparks flew constantly, and streaks of sword energy flew out from time to time. Although it was just the aftermath of the battle, the entire dojo was disintegrating at a visible speed due to this splash!

"W-Is that really a sword?" Zoro stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Why does it feel faster than a gun?!"

Zoro didn't know that it wasn't a feeling, but that it was indeed faster than a gun!

Not only Zoro, but even Kuina was seeing her father at full power for the first time. Sanji, standing to the side, was also experiencing the world of swordsmen for the first time, staring wide-eyed, even forgetting to retort to that annoying green-haired guy.

Just as they were still pondering this, in the next instant, in Zoro and the others' sight, Koushirou and Mihawk seemed to have agreed beforehand. The clear, water-like Wado Ichimonji slashed upwards horizontally. And Mihawk's longsword slashed down vertically—BOOM!!!

The sword energy and sword intent clashed fiercely, and the straw mats on the dojo floor were affected, bursting into countless pieces of straw.

The next moment, the sword intent of both sides seemed to have reached its peak. Accompanied by a shattering sword light, the entire dojo was completely cleaved apart by the cross-shaped slash—*clang!*

Accompanied by the clang of swords, a horizontal and a vertical slash, each tens of meters long, landed on the ground, and the sword energy that spread out easily cleaved the entire pavilion in two.

In the center, Hawkeye and Koushirou remained standing. They were breathing slightly, feeling the fighting spirit hidden within the sharp sword aura. Even Koushirou felt an unprecedented shock.

Born in Wano Country in the New World, Koushirou never imagined he would encounter such a formidable opponent in such a place!

In contrast, Hawkeye was filled with excitement—he could feel every cell in his body cheering and leaping with joy. The long-awaited formidable foe had awakened his dormant sword intent, and as long as he maintained this will, Hawkeye believed that it wouldn't be long before he reached that legendary realm—the Black Blade!

With this thought in mind, Hawkeye took a deep breath, his eyes tightening once more as he looked at Koushirou. Those hawk-like eyes exuded an indescribable sense of oppression, like thorns in one's back, as if being stared at by some ferocious beast.

In response, Koushirou gripped his Wado Ichimonji tightly—as a swordsman, he had no reason to back down in the face of a challenge!

But just as they were about to charge forward, the magnificent Western longsword in Hawkeye's hand suddenly emitted a crisp sound—clang!

Although it was subtle, it still attracted everyone's attention in that instant.

A crack had appeared on the jet-black blade at some point. The next moment, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure of the sword, a bullet-like but much sharper fragment shot out from the crack.