"The chinks? Who are those?" Mihawk asked. This is the first time he heard of this type of race from the North Blue.
"Oh, them? They all live in the past. Their culture and the citizens there are good people, but their rulers are just like the Celestial Dragons," Raeven said with a smile.
"Hmm, so they are from the past. That's why this is the first time I've heard about them." Mihawk accepted it just like that; after all, Raeven isn't lying.
"Let's go and search for a place to camp. Remember, we have bounties right now, and the boss of the Happo Navy is not a pushover," Raeven said.
After two hours of flying around, the two brothers finally found a secluded area near a waterfall in the mountains of the Kano Country. The two of them set up their camp, and then they talked about their plan for this country.
Like usual, Mihawk's plan is to challenge every swordsman here, while Raeven is just like what he did before: profile the whole island, buy their specialties, and learn their farming techniques.
Happo Navy Headquarters
Office of the 12th Leader
Don Chinjao sat quietly on a chair while he was drinking tea; in front of him are his subordinates. Currently, they are talking about what happened on the sea.
"Also, these are new bounties released by the Marines: the Dracule twins, Shinigami and Hawk-Eyes, 120 million and 100 million. Both are proficient in Haki," a man said while he passed the wanted posters around.
"The merchants of our Happo Navy were saved by these twins twice; the first time was near Ballywood Kingdom, and the other time was near Ohara," a man holding an abacus said.
"So they are the ones who saved our merchant ships before. Where are they now? Hawk-Eyes is currently challenging every swordsman here in West Blue, right? Then sooner or later they will arrive here. If they don't do anything stupid, then just don't mind them," Don Chinjao said as he laughed.
"Yes, Don Chinjao," everyone in the room said.
While this is happening, Raeven is already inside Pumpkin Town; he is currently looking around the town for some specialties here, and he finally found it: a special breed of chilis called Kano Peppers. He bought a lot of it because it tasted familiar, and he loved to eat spicy foods too.
After profiling the town, he headed back to the campsite, where he found Mihawk currently cleaning his sword.
"The coast is clear, and they have a lot of swordsmen here; you'll probably have a lot of fun here," Raeven said as he gave a bunch of stir-fried hawthorn to Mihawk.
"This is delicious," Mihawk said as he bit one.
"You said before that they use observation and Armament Haki here, right? Then these swordsmen are not pushovers; I'll fight them seriously," he added as he continued eating.
Raeven just nodded; right now he was eating some spicy sticks. He bought a lot of them in the future he'll make a lot of these things. They pair well with booze.
The next day Mihawk started knocking on the dojos of the island; he was determined to get stronger while Raeven was at a local library in Pumpkin Town, them; reading their farming techniques.
After he read some books and wrote important things in his notebook, he stepped outside and headed to the local market to explore new things again.
The appearance of Mihawk challenging the swordsmen of Kamo country reached the Happo Navy very quickly, but they did nothing about it; after all, what Mihawk is doing is a formal challenge, and he didn't do anything against their law.
A few weeks later
Happo Navy Headquarters
Inside a meeting room, a lot of important officers and the leader of the Happo Navy are hurrying here.
"Have you found where this man is?" A Happo Navy officer asked.
"Sorry, Boss Doo, we can track the movement of Hawk-Eyes after he appears inside the town and cities, but we can't track him outside, especially his elder brother, the Shinigami. We only caught a silhouette of him once. The citizens, especially those who sell spicy foods and sweets, told us that he buys a lot every day," a man said.
"If he didn't want to be discovered by you, you won't be able to catch this kid at all; your observation Haki is too weak," Don Chinjao said.
"The two of them did not do anything bad at all; even the king of our country said, 'Just let them do what they want,'" he added.
"But Hawk-Eyes have already defeated 47 swordsmen in the span of four weeks; only the swordsmen of our Happo Navy are left," a Happo Navy officer said.
"Then they'll arrive here soon. Tell every swordsman member of our Happo Navy that we welcome that brat's challenge," Don Chinjao said. He was not afraid of them losing; after all, he isn't the one who lost.
"Yes, Don Chinjao."
Raeven is the first one to return to their campsite today; he didn't prepare dinner because he already bought enough food for them.
After a few hours, Mihawk returned, and he sat down near the table and placed a letter on it. Raeven read it, and he just nodded.
"Then tomorrow let's go to the Happo Navy Headquarters; I heard that Don Chinjao's son Doo is an elite swordsman like you who can use flying slashes too," Raeven said.
"I can feel it, brother; soon I'll break through to the Sword Master realm," Mihawk said.
"My combat skills are currently on the Grand Master level; I can already send out a 12-kilometer-long flying slash," Raeven said in his mind. He tried using a sword before, and he still can send some flying slashes, but they won't slice the target; the flying slash will just explode on contact, not slice through the target.
"A sword master, balanced in both speed and strength, has already achieved the status of 'Cutting Steel' by hearing the breath of all things and can use flying slashes as an attack, right?" Raeven asked.
"That's right, brother. What divides the group between swordsmen and sword wielders is the ability to cut steel, and to become an elite swordsman, you should know how to attack and send Flying Slash, and if you master all those things, you'll become a sword master. After that realm, Sword Master duels are between those who have the better technique, speed, strength, and Haki. That's what I read in the Ohara," Mihawk said.
"I'll perfect all of those things, and as I promised before, I'll be the strongest swordsman of this world's history," he added.
"Okay, then we should eat and rest early. Tomorrow I'll accompany you to the Happo Navy Headquarters," Raeven said with a smile. After eating and cleaning up, both of them called it a night.
The next day, after eating and preparing, the two of them appeared at the gates of the Happo Navy Headquarters. The guards were surprised when they saw the brothers at their gate, which they reported to their higher-up very quickly.
After a while an officer of the Happo Navy arrived to welcome them, and the two were quickly escorted to the training field, where sparring sessions take place on the Happo Navy.
"Hiyahoho, welcome to the Happo Navy, Dracule brothers," Don Chinjao said as the two walked in.
"I'm here to challenge everyone who entered the realm of Swordsman to a formal duel. My name is Dracule Mihawk." As usual, Mihawk started with why he is here.
"What a straightforward brat," Chinjao said, and then he looked at his officers.
"Go and don't disgrace the Happo Navy," he added. Then the formal challenge began. Raeven has already detected that no one here surpasses Mihawk at all, but he will have a hard time if he fights that man standing near Chinjao.
Raeven sat down on the stands, then he took out a pack of spicy strips, and then he started eating while watching the match. The side of Don Chinjao is watching intently at the match; currently Mihawk has already defeated 6 swordsmen easily, no sweat at all. When the Happo Navy saw Raeven chilling there while enjoying his spicy strips, they became annoyed.
"Father, let me have a sparring match with him," Doo said on the stands.
"Hiyahoho, you're not his match, son. I don't want you to disgrace our family here; just wait, you're a swordsman. Your fight is against that kid Hawk-Eyes," Chinjao said.
He can see it; Raeven is not faking his relaxing here. He's not even looking at the match anymore; he's more interested in eating those spicy strips. Doo didn't believe it at all; in his mind he is thinking, "How is it possible that a kid can defeat him?"
During the afternoon, Raeven stood up as Mihawk finished his 16th win.
"Don Chinjao, we'll call it a day. Mihawk is too tired. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow. What do you say about that?" He said as he looked at Don Chinjao.
"HIYAHOHO HIYAHOHO, fine with me," Chinjao said. Luckily, he still got his drill head; if he had already lost it, he wouldn't accept such a thing, Raeven said in his mind.
After that the two brothers walked out, and they headed back to the camp. Mihawk is tired; using Haki in 16 fights against swordsmen drained him a lot. Raeven began cooking after they returned.
"How is it?" Raeven asked after he finished cooking the food.
"Their technique, Hasshoken, is very strong; my arms are still trembling right now."
"Also their swordsmen are strong and swift too, as expected from the strongest nation here at West Blue," Mihawk said as he ate.
"The Happo Navy is a regular pirate crew who sails the new world; being an officer of that crew without knowing how to use Haki is surprising," Raeven said.
"So they come from that sea; that's why they are so strong. I used everything on those 16 fights; only Rokushiki is left for me. Luckily, no one wants an aerial battle," Mihawk said.
Yes, the two brothers now know how to use Rokushiki. Mihawk focused on Gepo, Rankyaku, Soru, and Shigan; the same goes for Raeven. They didn't need Tekkai and Kami-e because they already have their Observation and Armament Haki.
"Eat more and replenish your strength; I'll go sleep first. I'm getting sleepy," Raeven said, then he took out his newly bought hammock, tied both ends, and lay down to sleep.