Speaking of which, this was something that really surprised Luo Lan.
Did Issho know Aramaki even before joining the Navy?
Luo Lan wasn't sure—after all, the original story never mentioned it.
But that didn't matter.
What mattered was that right now…
Issho knew him.
That was enough!
"Uncle Issho, you know him?"
"Yes. I met him once in the South Sea. If he hasn't left the area, he should still be there."
"Where exactly?"
"I should go myself. I doubt you'll be able to convince him."
"Alright. Then I'll trouble you with this, Uncle Issho!"
Since Issho believed he could persuade Aramaki and even volunteered to go, Luo Lan had no objections.
With that settled, the only one left was Hawkeye.
Although he would be the hardest to convince, Luo Lan had something he couldn't refuse.
Since there was time, why not visit Kuraigana Island?
Think it—do it. No hesitation.
After summoning Momousagi and Hima to leave a few instructions, Luo Lan immediately left Rhodes Island.
This time, he didn't bring anyone, so his flight speed was much faster.
---
It took a full five hours.
Following the sea chart, Luo Lan finally arrived at the destination.
The island was small, and except for its center, it was entirely covered in jungle.
Luo Lan landed directly at the island's center.
With a sweep of Observation Haki, he confirmed it—Hawkeye was on the island, inside the central castle.
At the same time, Luo Lan sensed many other life forms on the island. And not weak ones either.
The strongest among them? Roughly at the level of a standard Nav Vice Admiral.
If he guessed correctly, that must be the leader of Humandrills.
Impressive strength—no wonder it gave Zoro such a hard time in the original story.
And now, the creature was rapidly approaching him.
Well then. Already targeted, huh?
So that's why Hawkeye didn't show any reaction. With his strength, there's no way he wouldn't notice Luo Lan's arrival.
Looks like he was sending someone to test him?
That's fine. Luo Lan hadn't had a chance to truly test his telekinesis in battle yet. The leader of Humandrills could serve as a great first opponent...
As Luo Lan was thinking—
A figure suddenly leapt from the jungle and landed behind him.
A blade—identical to the Black Blade "Yoru," but entirely white—came slicing down.
Yet Luo Lan made no move at all, as if he hadn't even noticed.
The next moment, the powerful slash…
Stopped dead in its tracks.
The tip of the blade hovered—
Only one centimeter from the back of Luo Lan's head.
And no matter how much strength the Humandrills leader used, he couldn't push it forward even a millimeter.
Then, with a single thought from Luo Lan—
Over a dozen handle-less throwing knives shot out from under his coat.
They traced graceful arcs through the air, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow, and rained down on the leader of Humandrills.
In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere.
With dozens, maybe hundreds of cuts all over its massive body, the Humandrill fell to the ground with a thud.
Of course, Luo Lan hadn't killed it.
Despite the flurry of blades leaving so many wounds, none of them were deep. All avoided vital areas.
It looked dramatic, but wasn't fatal.
With its physique, the leader of Humandrills would be back on its feet in minutes.
And in a few days, most of the wounds would be healed.
Just then—
The castle gates opened.
A familiar figure stepped out and approached Luo Lan.
"I've seen you before."
Those were the first words Hawkeye said to him.
"That's right. You have."
This time, Luo Lan wasn't wearing a mask.
And there was a good reason for that—
Even though it was years ago, the two of them had indeed met once.
"You… you can cultivate now?"
"Yes. A few months ago, I finally resolved my body's issues."
"A few months ago…?"
Hawkeye was visibly surprised.
He had assumed that Luo Lan had already fixed his body back when they first met, and had spent years training hard to reach this level.
But only months?
Hawkeye found it hard to believe—but when he looked into Luo Lan's eyes, he saw no signs of deception.
If this was true, then Luo Lan's talent was…
Simply unheard of.
"You didn't come to me today for Navy business, did you?"
He glanced at Luo Lan's outfit and asked.
Though he was curious how Sengoku's adoptive son had ended up as the leader of Jun Lin, he wasn't the type to pry.
"I'm here on behalf of Jun Lin, to personally invite you to join us."
"I refuse."
Instant rejection. No hesitation.
"Come on, Mihawk. Even if you plan to refuse, at least hear the conditions first?"
"No need. I won't join any organization."
"Bullshit. Isn't the Seven Warlords of the Sea an organization?"
"That's just a title to keep the Navy off my back. Nothing more."
Fair enough.
Luo Lan knew that much already.
That was just Hawkeye's nature.
When he said "in name only," he really meant it.
Even if there were forced summons, he might go if he felt like it. If not, he'd just ignore them.
If the government didn't like it, they could revoke his title for all he cared.
No choice then.
Luo Lan pulled out his trump card.
From inside his coat, he took out a book and tossed it to Hawkeye.
"Read this first. Then we'll talk."
Hawkeye caught the book.
He opened it—and seconds later, his eyes went wide.
He kept flipping…
Page after page…
And still more pages…
The only sound in the air was the soft turning of paper.
Over ten minutes passed.
Without even acknowledging Luo Lan, Hawkeye closed the book, sat cross-legged on the ground, and laid the Black Blade "Yoru" across his knees.
The posture instantly made Luo Lan think of one word:
Sword Meditation.
Damn. Was this enlightenment?
Leave it to Hawkeye. Just a bit of reading, and he was already in sword meditation?
Wait—what was the title of that book again?
Oh right. Something like "Swordsmanship Insights of XXX"?
He'd grabbed it randomly from the Super Navy Academy library. Luo Lan didn't even remember the exact name—he didn't know swordsmanship anyway.
But clearly, it had left a deep impression on Hawkeye.
With nothing better to do, Luo Lan stepped forward and picked the book up to check the title.
And froze.
What the hell?
Wait, no—how the hell is this here?
Luo Lan's face was full of disbelief.
On the cover, it read:
"Swordsmanship Insights of Gol D. Roger."
---
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