One Piece : Winged Dragons of the Beast Pirates

"Good! Good! Excellent!!"

The old man seemed to get excited on his own. "Then let me fix it!"

"Besides repairing it, I will also do everything I can to make it even stronger!"

"After that, you can use it to fight that enemy!"

The old man was practically dancing with joy. "Hahaha! Such an opponent, even I'm fired up!"

"Is that so?"

Mihawk smirked. "Then I'll leave it to you."

Ian chuckled lightly.

It's not that Ian doubted Shimotsuki Kouzaburou's skills; he knew very well that the old man was one of the top swordsmiths in the world. He was the one who forged the Enma and the Wado Ichimonji.

It's just meaningless.

Only Haki can stop his destructive flames.

No matter how sturdy something is, it's just a matter of how quickly it can be destroyed.

Shimotsuki Kouzaburou happily returned to his small hut, which was also his workshop. He would begin his repairs there that night. He said it would take a week.

"A week?"

Outside the hut, Mihawk said seriously to Ian, "It seems I'll have to stay here a little longer. You can go ahead and leave."

However, Ian, being very loyal, replied, "A week? That's nothing. Besides, we won't find Shiki for a while. Let's stay here and keep you company."

"By the way," He raised his chin with a smile. "Our training isn't over yet."

Mihawk pursed his lips. It was because he didn't want to continue that damn training with Ian that he hoped they'd leave quickly.

In any case, the Golden Dragon ship temporarily docked at Shimotsuki Village's harbor.

Its presence made all the villagers on the small island too scared to approach.

Ian didn't mind, though. The island was tiny, with only two villages and a small mountain. There was nothing worth sightseeing.

He spent all his free time training with Mihawk.

Every day, they would clash passionately by the coast of Shimotsuki Village, with Ian taking the beating.

After this period of tough training, Ian indeed gained something. He had a deeper understanding of the application of Conqueror's Haki.

It shouldn't be long now.

Ian evaluated himself.

He aimed to master Conqueror's Haki before his sixteenth birthday.

Three days later.

Afternoon.

After a whole afternoon of intense clashes, Ian and Mihawk sat by the shore to take a break.

At this point, Ian had entered his Sphere Human-Beast Form.

Even he, after being repeatedly punched by Mihawk for the entire afternoon, had accumulated quite a few injuries and needed to recover.

Mihawk was also somewhat tired.

After all, Ian only needed to take the blows, but Mihawk had to consider much more.

Using the Conqueror's Haki in such a manner was quite draining.

"Those two brats have been coming to watch for three days straight," Ian glanced towards some nearby bushes on the shore. "How about we give them a chance?"

"Hmph."

Mihawk only let out a soft grunt, showing no interest in answering.

This is exactly it. I'm afraid if I say it, you won't believe me, Mihawk. That green-haired kid is the one who will surpass you in the future.

But for now, Mihawk hasn't even reached his peak, so he probably isn't thinking about being surpassed by anyone yet.

Ian stood up and turned around. "Stop staring at the kids, just come over."

Mihawk furrowed his brows. "What do you want to do?"

"Fulfill their simple wish."

Ian said indifferently, "That's all."

The bushes over there rustled slightly.

Then...

"Hey! Kuina!"

Accompanied by the somewhat restrained voice of a boy, a blue-haired girl stepped out, walking decisively toward them.

Then, a green-haired boy followed, gritting his teeth.

Oh, so it's Kuina who's more reckless? Among the two, Zoro actually played the role of the brake.

"Mihawk!"

Kuina swung her sword, "Come and duel me!!"

Mihawk acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing to silently gaze at the horizon.

"Hey! You jerk!"

Seeing his childhood friend being ignored, Zoro couldn't hold back his anger. "Isn't this a bit too disrespectful?"

Disrespectful?

No, no, no.

It was more like not even bothering to look.

Mihawk didn't even have the slightest interest in glancing at them. He just kept resting as if they didn't exist.

Kuina, unwilling to accept this, placed her right hand on her chest and loudly introduced herself. "I know you look down on us country swordsmen! But the adults in our dojo are no match for us! Our swordsmanship is way stronger than you think."

Impressive!

Ian silently thought to himself.

But, that was directed at Mihawk.

Hearing the girl's words almost made him burst out laughing. Yet, Mihawk still maintained his cold expression as if he hadn't heard a thing.

The restraint Mihawk had wasn't something Ian could even compare to.

"Let's do this!!"

Zoro could no longer hold back and immediately drew his sword, charging at Mihawk.

But...

Ian casually reached out and grabbed Zoro's wrist, chuckling lightly. "Calm down, kid. Mihawk's already annoyed."

If they really pissed him off, Mihawk might just beat these two kids into the ground. Mihawk wasn't the type to show respect to the elderly or the young.

"Let go of Zoro!!"

Kuina instantly drew her sword and pointed it at Ian.

She didn't know much about Ian, only that he was a powerful pirate.

However, over the past three days of spying, she had seen Ian getting beaten by Mihawk. This clearly showed that Ian was far weaker than Mihawk.

Since she had already decided to challenge Mihawk, there was no way she'd be scared of someone weaker than him!

A perfect logical chain.

Ian's mouth curled into a smile as he lightly tossed the seaweed head back, "Since Mihawk isn't willing to duel with you, let me play with you instead."

Mihawk snorted.

This guy really was bored.

"What?"

Kuina was stunned.

Zoro, who had barely managed to steady himself, spoke with clear disdain, "Who wants to fight a former subordinate of Mihawk? We're aiming to become the world's greatest swordsman!"

"Former subordinate?"

Ian tilted his head, "Mihawk, they say I'm your former subordinate. What do you think?"

"Don't get too smug, Ian."

Mihawk finally spoke, "When I forge the black blade, that's when I'll surpass you."

Indeed.

The black blade is forged with Haki. Its strength might be exaggerated, and even destructive flames might not be able to break it directly.

"Surpass?"

Kuina was stunned, staring blankly at Ian.

Mihawk said he would surpass him, meaning he wasn't stronger than Ian yet?

This man was even stronger than the strongest swordsman?

"Anyway, as long as I beat you, I can challenge Mihawk, right?"

Zoro didn't really understand everything, but his face was full of excitement.

"No, no, no," Ian shook his head lightly, "If you manage to defeat me, then Mihawk will be the one to challenge you."

"Then make sure you lose!!"

Zoro charged forward without a second thought.

At this moment, he hadn't even started using his two-sword style. Holding his swords in both hands, his body moved with agility.

And then...

Ian casually flicked his finger, and it landed on the forehead of the green-haired boy, sending him flying like a cannonball.

"Zoro??"

Kuina turned her head back in disbelief.

A single finger?

"What's wrong?"

Ian chuckled lightly, "Aren't you going to attack?"

Kuina gritted her teeth.

"Ha!"

She shouted loudly, gripping her swords with both hands, raising them high in a perfect upper stance, aiming to give Ian a heavy New Year sword technique.

Ian simply extended a finger, easily blocking Kuina's blade with the tip of his finger.

"How is this possible??"

The genius swordswoman's face twisted in disbelief.

The Wadō Ichimonji is a famous sword on the level of a great sword!

With her strike, how could it be blocked by a single finger?

Is his finger made of iron?

Iron block!

Young lady, I used an iron block.

Ian, who advocates for gender equality, figured that since he had already sent Zoro flying, he couldn't be biased toward this girl.

Before Kuina could react, the finger that blocked her sword's blade had already tapped her forehead.

Then, she too was sent flying.

"Hmph,"

Mihawk sneered coldly, "Utterly boring."

"Boring?"

Ian merely smiled lightly, "I find it quite interesting."

**********

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