Finn felt remarkably pleased with himself after blowing Shanks's ship to splinters.
Under the bewildered stare of the Marine lieutenant commander, he returned to his small stool and resumed fishing as if nothing had happened.
"Admiral, that guy..." The lieutenant commander stood behind Finn, hesitating before finally speaking.
"That guy will become a pirate sooner or later. I'm just saying hello first." Finn paused, tapping his fishing rod thoughtfully against the deck. "Send a note to Headquarters. If he does turn pirate, call him 'Straw Hat' Shanks. Forget the red-haired nonsense. I doubt he'll ever give that hat away. He'll wear it himself."
The lieutenant commander could parse the words individually, but together they made no sense. What was this about straw hats?
He kept his complaints internal, however, and responded with crisp professionalism. "Yes, Admiral."
His job was to relay the Admiral's orders, not to understand them.
After a while, Finn settled back into his fishing rhythm, his mind wandering. How had he run into Shanks in a place like this?
Then it clicked. Right, according to the timeline, Shanks should be here looking for Yasopp.
That reminded him: he'd completely forgotten about the great sniper god Usopp from beginning to end.
If nothing had gone sideways, Usopp should have just been born, right?
Come to think of it, Yasopp really was a scumbag. His wife had just given birth, and the man ran off to sea to become a pirate with that bastard Shanks.
The result? His son Usopp grew up practically an orphan, and his wife never saw Yasopp again before she died.
Damn it. If Dragon, whose wife had just died, ever learned about this, he'd probably be furious enough to beat Yasopp to death himself.
It just goes to show: pirates really aren't good people.
As for Usopp himself... Finn smiled faintly at the thought.
That kid was clearly a natural-born dark horse, someone who could always turn the tide in desperate situations.
Since his father was a pirate, Usopp naturally aspired to be one from childhood. So unless someone raised and trained him from the cradle, there was no chance he'd join the Marines.
But thinking it over more carefully, there was no real need. If Usopp never met Luffy, he might never rush out to sea at all. He could just stay in his little village, play pirate games with his crew of kids, and spend his life happily with his childhood sweetheart, Kaya.
That would be pretty good, actually. Much better than his deadbeat father.
Even if Usopp did eventually go to sea, it wasn't really a big deal.
With that settled in his mind, Finn stopped worrying about the little guy.
As for Yasopp? Finn couldn't be bothered to care about him either.
After the warship sailed for a while longer, Gion emerged from the cabin, a glass of juice in hand and a dazed look in her eyes.
"I thought I heard a cannon just now? What happened?" Gion rubbed her eyes, still drowsy.
Finn glanced back at her. She radiated a lazy, languid energy, almost feline in its contentment. He smiled. "Nothing much. Just ran into a little punk."
He paused, then laughed and teased, "You've been sleeping way too much lately, haven't you? Do you still consider yourself a swordsman? You're not diligent at all."
Gion didn't even bother asking about the 'little punk' Finn had mentioned. Instead, she rolled her eyes at him. "If you can't sleep until you wake up naturally during a vacation, then what's the point of having one?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she set the juice down and placed one hand on the hilt of Konpira at her waist. In a single fluid motion, she stepped forward and unsheathed the golden blade.
Thunder crackled. Dazzling lightning enveloped Konpira in an instant. At the same time, an indigo-blue slash tore across the calm sea in the distance.
When the slash struck the water, it didn't slow. It carved straight through the flat surface, and a torrent of electricity collapsed into the seawater, stirring up massive waves.
"Do you think I'm not a swordsman?" Gion twirled Konpira in a flourish of crackling light before sliding it smoothly back into its scabbard. She raised an eyebrow at Finn.
"Fair enough, fair enough." Finn nodded seriously.
However, at that same moment, both Finn and Gion turned their heads simultaneously, gazing toward the invisible horizon beyond the sea.
Then, as if in answer, the sea surface split open. A dark green slash erupted through the water and hurtled toward the warship with unstoppable momentum.
"What is this?" Finn didn't panic. Instead, he touched his chin, as though pondering something.
This thing looked so familiar.
A gleam lit up Gion's eyes. "It's him."
"Who?" Finn asked instinctively.
"Dracule Mihawk, the man they call 'Hawk Eyes.' Come to think of it, he's considered the greatest swordsman right now, isn't he?" Gion murmured.
"The greatest swordsman?" Finn repeated, surprised. "Shouldn't it be the world's greatest swordsman? The world's strongest swordsman?"
"No, he hasn't reached that point yet. But he's close. I heard not long ago that after he challenged the master of the Shinkage-ryu, he started calling himself the best in swordsmanship. I think it's a strategic shift." Gion smiled knowingly.
At that moment, the slash had already closed the distance to the warship.
Finn casually swung his fishing rod. Powerful gravitational force whipped along the line, and the thin cord, reinforced by gravity, abruptly altered the trajectory of the green slash, sending it spiraling harmlessly into the sky.
"Before, he constantly challenged swordsmen around the world to build his reputation," Finn said calmly, shaking the rod again. "Now he's calling himself the best in swordsmanship. I'd guess he wants to draw out everyone who disagrees and challenge them. Once he's done that, he'll truly be the best in swordsmanship, and he'll be able to claim the title of 'world's greatest swordsman.'"
Gion didn't seem surprised that Finn had easily deflected Mihawk's attack with a fishing rod.
As a veteran swordswoman herself, she could tell at a glance that Mihawk's strike had been more flash than substance. It looked impressive, but it didn't contain much real power.
To be more precise, Mihawk was greeting them.
Of course, if someone had been killed by that flashy slash, Mihawk would probably have lost all interest in the area immediately.
It also revealed Mihawk's particular brand of madness. He didn't care whether it was a ship, who was aboard, or what the situation was. He simply acted.
"That's right." Gion nodded, then continued. "I'd guess my earlier slash drew his attention. What a hassle."
"I could clearly see the competitive glint in your eyes just now," Finn said, looking at Gion with mock surprise.
Gion touched Konpira at her waist, then shook her head. "If I hadn't eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, I might have considered fighting him again. But now, I'm no longer a pure swordsman. And..." She paused, a faint smile on her lips. "He can't beat me."
She took a sip of juice to moisten her throat before continuing. "This victory would be somewhat unfair."
"Good grief, are you seriously showing off right now?" Finn glanced at Gion and muttered.
Soon, at the far edge of the horizon, a small boat appeared in Finn and Gion's line of sight, riding the waves. A man sat aboard, dressed in a nobleman's suit with a top hat perched on his head. Behind him, what appeared to be a massive cross was strapped to his back. He sat with his legs crossed, the very picture of a untouchable boss.
That cross was his sword.
What made it even more absurd were the candles lit on both sides of his tiny boat, as if the man had been born solely to show off.
"What an arrogant bastard..." Finn muttered, then continued. "He doesn't even have an oar. I bet when we couldn't see him, he was rowing with that sword strapped to his back. Only once he got close enough did he switch to this whole 'mysterious swordsman' act..."
Gion had been observing Mihawk carefully, but after hearing Finn's comment, she paused. Her mind conjured an image of Mihawk frantically paddling through the night with the Black Blade Yoru, one of the Supreme Grade swords, like some kind of glorified oar.
She couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Finn, still watching the ridiculously theatrical Mihawk, murmured to himself with a hint of emotion. "First Shanks, now Mihawk. The East Blue is so vast. How could this be such a coincidence?"
But he quickly put the pieces together, and a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes. If it weren't for him, perhaps this would have been the moment Mihawk and Shanks formed their fateful rivalry.
Two men, both sailing alone in tiny boats, meeting by chance on the vast ocean. Both swordsmen. Both impossibly proud.
Maybe they would have clashed, and from that clash, become friends through combat.
After all, before this point, there had been no news of Mihawk and Shanks ever fighting.
It probably would have started right here, wouldn't it?
"What a shame, though." Finn's smile turned sharp. "I've already blown up your friend Shanks's ship. I doubt you two will meet in the East Blue now."
Then, watching Mihawk still posing dramatically on his little boat, Finn turned to the Marine lieutenant commander nearby. "Go push a cannon over here for me."
The Marine lieutenant commander froze for a moment, then quickly nodded and hurried off.
Unlike Shanks, Mihawk's behavior was far too reckless. Although he hadn't committed any explicit pirate acts, he'd caused significant harm and losses. As a result, the Marines had forcibly classified him as a pirate and issued a bounty on his head.
Finn had never bothered checking how much the bounty was, but there was no doubt the man counted as a pirate. So there'd be no problem with killing him.
What Finn didn't know was that Mihawk was panicking slightly at that very moment.
To be honest, he'd come to the East Blue out of sheer boredom. He'd heard there was an Isshin Dojo here with a great swordsman living in seclusion, so he'd wanted to take a look.
Then, suddenly, he'd sensed a sharp, cutting aura slicing across the sea surface in the direction he was heading, as if a swordsman were greeting him.
Mihawk naturally hadn't expected that someone was just casually cutting the sea for no reason. That would be absurd.
So, following standard swordsman etiquette, he'd responded in the direction the aura had come from with a slash of his own.
Then he'd rowed his little boat toward the source.
As a result, a Marine Headquarters warship had been sitting there. Mihawk was utterly baffled. Wasn't this a sting operation?
But he couldn't exactly turn around and flee. After all, he was a man who cared deeply about his reputation.
So he could only maintain his composure, adopt the demeanor of an aloof boss, and sit motionless on his tiny boat.
But the closer he got, the more confused he became. Oh my God, a Marine Admiral?
That's right. Mihawk was called Hawk Eyes for a reason. His eyesight was exceptionally sharp. He could see Finn clearly from a considerable distance.
At the same time, he also recognized the Vice Admiral standing beside Finn. He had a decent impression of that woman, Gion. He'd fought her a few years ago. Although he'd won, there was no doubt she was strong.
As for Finn? He was even more famous. How many pirates had fallen at his hands?
Just as Mihawk was mentally calculating his options, he suddenly saw a cannon being wheeled toward the side of the Marine Admiral.
Then the man used his absurd brute strength to heft the heavy artillery piece into his arms.
And then he aimed it directly at Mihawk.
Before Mihawk could even process what was happening, there was a deafening boom.
A black cannonball, wreathed in flame and smoke, rocketed straight toward him.