"That Island Whale is called Laboon. A few months ago, the Marine dragged it all the way here from deep within the Grand Line."
Kuro spoke up at the right moment to explain, but as he did, his voice carried an almost imperceptible tremor born from genuine fear.
"The one who brought these white bones here as a public display was the current Marine Headquarters Admiral..."
"'Flame Emperor' Ace."
"Ace? Him again?", Luffy jumped down from the bow, grumbling with anger.
"That guy who stepped on my face! Are Admirals really that strong? Once I get stronger, I'll definitely send him flying!"
Hearing that, Kuro let out a bitter smile, as if he were looking at an infant who didn't know the danger he was in.
"Captain Luffy, I think you have the wrong idea about what an Admiral is. Every Marine Admiral stands at the very peak of this sea. They are the ultimate military force."
"If this were the East Blue, beings like them would be monsters we'd spend our entire lives looking up to. Not to mention..."
Kuro took a deep breath and stopped himself from saying what shouldn't be said. His tone became incomparably serious.
"Marine Admirals are all monsters rated at least S-Class under the World Government's evaluation system. And every single one of them is among the very best of the S-Class."
"S-Class? What's that supposed to mean?"
Luffy asked blankly, having no concept of it at all.
"Simply put, they're walking natural disasters."
Zoro's expression also turned serious. If he remembered correctly, Mihawk's evaluation was S-Class.
And Kuina, who could fight Mihawk, should be at that level as well.
S-Class was the goal he absolutely had to reach in the near future.
"Exactly."
Kuro nodded in agreement, his eyes full of reverence.
"This Island Whale was over a thousand meters long, with vitality even greater than that of giants. It's said that when it resisted, Admiral Ace didn't even draw his blade. He used just one move..."
"After that one move, this thousand-meter beast was instantly burned into the charred skeleton you're looking at now, swallowed by a sea of flames."
Silence fell over the deck once more.
Only the mournful howling of the wind passing through the whale's enormous ribs remained.
"And that's not all..."
Kuro adjusted his glasses and dropped one final bombshell.
"Standing beside the whale at the time was Crocus, the former ship's doctor of the Pirate King Roger's crew. He and the whale were both erased by Admiral Ace."
"And when Admiral Ace made his move, there was another person present as well, the former Supreme Leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon."
"Dragon? The World's Most Heinous Criminal wanted by the World Government?", Nami exclaimed.
"That's right. Him."
Kuro didn't bother hiding the contempt in his voice for the former leader.
"But what shocked everyone was that after seeing Admiral Ace's strength, the famous former leader of the Revolutionary Army didn't even have the courage to fight. He abandoned the friend who had helped him all those years ago and avoided the confrontation..."
"Or to put it more bluntly, he simply ran."
"Tch! That Dragon really is as spineless as ever."
Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile.
As Rosse's son, he knew quite a few inside stories.
Besides, Dragon's reputation across the seas was indeed famous, but not in a good way.
To crush the morale of the old era, the World Government had deliberately published countless examples in the World Economic News of Dragon fleeing whenever things got dangerous.
None of them were fabricated. Every one of them had actually happened.
Over time, being the first to run whenever danger appeared had become Dragon's established image in the eyes of the world.
"Exactly!"
Usopp joined in as well. Since this was just free discussion time, he spoke without restraint.
"I heard the new Revolutionary Army led by Leader Moa has grown completely fed up with their founder. The only people still following Dragon around and hiding everywhere are probably just a handful."
"Can't blame them."
Sanji let out a laugh.
"Whether it's Whitebeard, the NEO Marine, or Red-Haired Shanks, who'd want someone like that as an ally? The moment a World Government Admiral shows up, your alliance is still fighting while he runs first! Who could put up with that? He's the definition of a terrible teammate."
Everyone chimed in one after another, repeating the common opinion of Dragon that had spread across the seas.
Listening to everyone criticize the man, Luffy sat on the deck with his arms crossed, lips puffed out in disdain and anger.
"Hmph! That Dragon guy is the worst!"
"He's the leader, but he abandoned his friends and ran away by himself. What a coward!"
"I'd never do something like that! Even if I died, I'd never abandon my friends!"
Luffy spoke with complete conviction.
But when Sanji, who was smoking nearby, heard this righteous words, he suddenly started coughing violently, nearly swallowing his cigarette.
Usopp immediately turned around and clamped both hands over his mouth, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
The two of them, who knew Luffy's true background, were turning purple from trying not to laugh.
After all, the Dragon Luffy kept calling a coward over and over again was his own biological father.
Amid laughter and endless anticipation for the unknown, the Going Merry rode the waves deeper into the Grand Line.
———
Meanwhile, at the highest point in the world, the true summit of the Red Line, the absolute core of the World Government.
[The Holy Land, Mary Geoise]
Kuina, dressed in a fitted white military uniform with her Zanpakuto at her waist, quietly stepped onto this land with Mihawk, who wore a black coat and carried the Black Blade Yoru on his back.
"So this is the Holy Land?"
The hawk-like eyes of Mihawk narrowed slightly the instant he entered Mary Geoise.
If Reverse City represented the peak of humanity's modern civilization and commercial prosperity, then Mary Geoise was a divine realm stripped of all worldly noise.
There were no bustling crowds and no roaring machinery.
Beneath their feet lay flawless white jade paving without the slightest seam. On both sides stood towering palace complexes carved with ancient, intricate totems.
The air itself carried an overwhelming solemnity, so profound it felt capable of forcing a mortal's soul to its knees.
Walking here felt like entering a majestic divine kingdom hidden high above the clouds.
Every pillar and every breeze silently proclaimed the absolute authority and untouchable dignity of its rulers.
Led by Kuina, Mihawk passed through several magnificent white jade corridors before arriving at an open-air training ground on the edge of Mary Geoise.
This was the military department's training grounds.
By the time they arrived, quite a few people were already scattered around the edge of the enormous arena, which looked large enough to hold a hundred thousand people.
Mihawk's attention was immediately drawn to the battle taking place in the center.
There, an incomparably beautiful woman with long green hair wore a gorgeous kimono.
Holding a gleaming katana, she darted across the field like a butterfly dancing among flowers.
Her movements were impossibly light, yet every swing carried enough sharpness to split mountains.
With each attack, crescent-shaped green sword slashes tore through the air, leaving brilliant trails that lingered in the sky.
"What beautiful swordsmanship."
Mihawk stopped instinctively, sincerely voicing his admiration.
The way her swordsmanship perfectly fused ultimate beauty with ultimate killing intent was flawless even in the eyes of a great swordsman like him.
However, because his attention had initially been focused on the green-haired woman's swordsmanship, it wasn't until several seconds later, after he slowly spread out his Observation Haki, that he realized a terrifying truth that sent a chill down his spine.
Everyone present felt wrong.
Other than the kimono-clad woman wielding the sword, whose strength he could vaguely sense as being slightly above his own, everyone else felt like a bottomless void under his Observation Haki.
He saw Fleet Admiral Sakazuki standing nearby with his arms crossed.
He saw the World Government's eldest princess, Shirahoshi, floating in midair like a fairy from myth.
He also saw Rosse standing beside her.
And naturally, he saw the tall figure calmly exchanging moves with the green-haired woman in the middle of the arena.
Mihawk couldn't sense the slightest aura of a swordsman from her.
She hadn't even drawn the blade at her waist. She simply used two gloved fingers to casually neutralize the green sword slashes that could have split the sea.
Mihawk knew who she was.
Jaygarcia Gion.
The woman personally acknowledged by the supreme ruler Rosse as his legal wife.
The undisputed World's Greatest Swordsman.
The legendary strongest combatant of the World Government.
She was also the ultimate goal Mihawk had devoted his entire life to surpassing.
Just then, the two people in the arena seemed to notice the newcomers and stopped at the same time.
The green-haired girl turned around.
When she saw Mihawk standing beside Kuina, a hint of interest flashed through her previously calm eyes.
She lightly raised an eyebrow and parted her lips, her voice as clear as a songbird.
"Vice Minister of the World Government Military Department, Kozuki Hiyori, requests... instruction from Senior Mihawk."
The moment the final word left her lips, Kozuki Hiyori's figure dissolved into a green afterimage.
Without any warning.
She seemed to teleport directly in front of Mihawk.
The eyes that had just been smiling were now filled with the cold indifference of a supreme swordsman.
A dazzling iaijutsu slash screamed through the air as though cutting space itself, instantly filling Mihawk's vision.
'So fast!'
Mihawk's signature hawk eyes contracted to pinpoints.
It was too fast.
So fast that his body didn't even have time to draw his sword.
At that critical instant, relying on the instincts forged through countless brushes with death, Mihawk twisted his body, instinctively trying to block the fatal strike with the broad blade of Yoru strapped across his back.
But seeing every one of Mihawk's movements, the corners of Hiyori's lips curved up ever so slightly.
Faced with Mihawk's backhand defense, her originally overwhelming slash suddenly changed direction in midair as though it had lost all momentum.
Rip!
Accompanied by the soft sound of cloth tearing and flesh being cut, Hiyori drifted past Mihawk like a green breeze.
She came to a stop two meters behind him and slowly, elegantly sheathed her sword.
Click!
The guard slid into the scabbard.
At the same time, the back of Mihawk's coat split neatly apart, and a brilliant streak of blood burst forth, staining the lining beneath.
"Senior Mihawk."
With her back to him, Hiyori chuckled softly, her voice carrying a hint of a young girl's playful mischief.
"I've left a scar on your back too. What do you think of my blade?"
"A very fast blade. Kozuki Hiyori... I won't forget that name."
Mihawk ignored the burning pain across his back.
Taking a deep breath, his expression became more serious than ever as he slowly reached behind him and drew the massive Black Blade Yoru.
Turning around, he gripped the sword with both hands and faced Hiyori as if confronting a great enemy.
That unbelievable speed, and the ability to alter her attack a second time in the blink of an eye, could only mean one thing.
The speed she had just displayed wasn't even her limit.
A storm raged in Mihawk's heart.
It was hard to imagine that a swordsman whose skill and speed had both reached such monstrous levels could be so young.
'Is this the depth of the World Government's power?'
But blazing fighting spirit ignited in Mihawk's eyes.
Before challenging his ultimate goal, crossing blades with a supreme swordsman like this was enough to set any swordsman's blood on fire.
Then, just as Mihawk compressed all of his spirit and will together, his aura about to reach its peak...
"Hehe~"
A clear, bell-like laugh suddenly rang out.
To Mihawk's astonishment, Hiyori, who moments ago had been as cold and deadly as an asura, suddenly dissolved into countless pink cherry blossom petals and vanished without warning.
In an instant, Mihawk caught sight of where she had gone.
She had crossed hundreds of meters and thrown herself straight into Rosse's arms.
Like a girl newly in love and eager for praise, she tightly hugged his chest, rubbing her head against him in a spoiled manner. There wasn't the slightest trace of the cold, murderous master swordsman she had been only moments before.
The overwhelming aura Mihawk had built up, enough to split the heavens, froze in place.
It could neither rise nor fall, leaving him looking utterly awkward.
"That's just how Sister Hiyori is. She does whatever she pleases."
Watching Mihawk's stiff back, Kuina sighed softly and broke the awkward silence.
"But the fact that she was willing to draw her sword against you means she's acknowledged your strength. Otherwise, she wouldn't even spare you a glance."
With that, Kuina made a welcoming gesture, signaling for Mihawk to continue forward.
Because in the center of the training ground, Gion was already standing there quietly, waiting for his challenge.
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