23 Chapter 23

Third Person's PoV:

Outside the Baratie, an explosion unlike that of a cannon sounded. This explosion was followed by the sound of debris flying everywhere and the Krieg Pirate ship could be seen, slowly sinking.

"Wha-what's happening!?"

"The..the ship..!"

"Who..?"

As everyone inside the restaurant heard and saw what they can only assume was the pirate ship sinking, some couldn't help but voice out their doubts.

Don Krieg had left the Baratie after proclaiming that he would be back for the ship and the captain's logbook in possession of Zeff from his adventures on the Grandline. With that, every cook prepared themselves to defend their home and workplace with their lives.

As they were ready to march out of the restaurant and confront the coming pirates, it suddenly happened. A deafening sound that startled all of them, followed by the Galleon being cut clean in half and now it only remain as scraps of dead wood floating on the sea.

This prompted everyone to take a closer look at what exactly happened. There was no way in hell that anyone would believe someone could cut a giant ship like that in half, so none of them even humored the thought.

As they stepped out on the raised platform of the Baratie, Zoro, Luffy, and Josh also followed along. A little while back, Johnny mentioned that the man Zoro had been looking for all this time— the reason for his departure out on the sea, was rumored to appear near the Baratie.

The piece of information elated and slightly frightened him. From what Josh told him, he wouldn't even be able to touch Mihawk, much less defeat him. Even with that revelation, he affirmed his resolve and decided to proceed anyway.

"The hawk-eyed man" was the one he journeyed for over a year on the sea in search of. There was no way he would let this opportunity go. There was also his promise with a certain blue haired girl that passed away long ago. Zoro would do it! He has to do it. His every being demanded him to confront his target and face him in combat.

As everyone was now out on the platform, the hazel green light of two candle slowly came in to view. The first thing everyone noticed is the extremely panicked state of the Krieg pirates that didn't sink from the attack.

Strewn about on the sides of the broken pieces of rubble, fearful exclamations of "I-it's him!" Or "The man who sank all of our ships..!" Could be heard. However, Josh didn't pay attention to any of that.

The same as Zoro, his eyes were dead set on the small raft like structure that slowly became more visible. Josh instantly recognized the unsafely looking raft as the 'Coffin Boat', Dracule Mihawk's personal vessel.

The Coffin Boat is a very small raft that is shaped like a coffin, hence the name. On both sides of the boat are candles that oddly burns green light. The mast of the boat is a giant cross shaped object with a pitch black sail.

On the Coffin Boat, sitting as casually as to even cross his legs, is 'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk. He looked extremely intimidating as he slowly approached closer. Behind him is his prized weapon— Yoru. At this point, Josh's heart was beating erratically and he didn't know why.

The blonde's plight was nothing when compared to Zoro's reaction. Although he knew in advance that this man might show up, he couldn't control his heart beat. Zoro's eyes widen in slight awe and followed by his rapidly beating heart, he started sweating on the side of his face.

Josh could even feel the anxiety coming off of Zoro. From a distance, Mihawk masked his presence, however, when he was within reach of the pirate ship, everyone could feel it...the presence of the strong.

"That...man." Zoro started quietly. This didn't go unheard by several people and Luffy was one of them.

"Who is that guy, Zoro?" He asked.

"That man is..'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk.." he started, "The strongest swordsman in the world. And the reason I set out to sea." He finished with conviction.

Just then, Johnny and Yosaku arrived at their side from a dingy and came onboard the restaurant. Not long after, Nami and Usopp also joined and they were filled in on the situation.

As Josh was contemplating on what to do with the current events, he suddenly heard a voice from within his head...and it shocked him greatly.

[Ding! Host has unlocked a mission.

Mission: Fight and defeat 'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk— the strongest swordsman in the world.

Rewards: 100 Billion System Points, Random Infinity Stone x 1, Saiyan Bloodline, Free Pass x 1]

'What the heck are these!?' The man raged in his mind. He was too shocked to even form sentences. He didn't feel the initial excitement that he got whenever he stumbled upon a mission, instead there was only incomparable shock!

With rewards like that, nobody in the One Piece world would be able to do anything to him! He was certain of that as if it was already an established fact.

In his state of shock, Josh missed the actions of Mihawk. Mihawk got on a floating broken bark of a ship and deflected bullets shot at him with such grace and ease. This stirred another great commotion among everyone present.

Unknowingly, Zoro took a step closer. Step by step, his heart beat became faster and faster. He put on his serious face, strapped his bandana on his head, and drew all of his swords.

Zoro jumped on the floating piece of ship that the other swordsman was on and issued a challenge. Some of the Krieg Pirates even recognized him as the 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro.

Josh finally snapped out of his own stunned state when he heard the worried shouts of his comrades beside him. He looked around to see that Zoro was no longer with them. The man sent his sight towards Mihawk, and there he was....already challenging the world's best.

Josh almost panicked when he remembered the scene of Zoro's cut up body. There was no guarantee that this time, the man would make it out alive. All the straw hats had a very powerful weapon called 'Plot Armor' on their side in the anime...but Josh was unsure about that here.

He did the only thing he could do in this situation and took a breath to calm himself. With a glare, he sent his Haoshoku Haki...concentrated it as best he could, and mixed it with the wild killing intent he has honed for the past 3 years.

As he did this, some people began to slowly roll their eyes backward and fell flat on their faces. It wasn't everyone in the area as Josh concentrated most of it towards Hawkeye. As Josh doesn't have perfect control over his Haoshoku Haki, when he went full out, it couldn't be help that some could leak out.

Everyone in the area felt a shiver down their spines...none more so than the man who the mental attack was directed towards. The only person who seemed to be unaffected by this is Luffy as he looked around curiously.

"Wha..what's going on...?" A cook asked as he shook his companion who had suddenly collapsed. Similar situations can be seen happening in several different places.

Although only a few actually fainted, most of them felt the unknown power that invaded their minds and made some even weak kneed. As the blast of haki was more or less controlled, there were only a few casualties.

Earlier, Mihawk had been talking down on the foolish swordsman who couldn't even tell the difference between their strength.

Suddenly, he felt a sensation he felt many times before. The world's greatest swordsman opened his eyes a bit wider than before, and nearly took a step back. As soon as he felt the Haki invade his mind, he drew Yoru at lightning speed, got in a fighting stance, and glared daggers at the one responsible.

As Dracule Mihawk wasn't expecting such a strong blast of will, or any at all from the weakest blue out of all of them, he was slightly unprepared and was caught off guard. However, his title of greatest isn't just for show as he immediately got into battle stance.

The only other person who was gazing Josh before Mihawk was the man who was much closer, therefore, felt it first. Owner Zeff has his suspicions when the brat mentioned the name of Whitebeard himself, and called the first half of the Grandline as Paradise...but now, there was no doubt.

The kid before him was definitely from the Grandline, maybe even the New World! "You..." he muttered too quietly for anyone to hear.

Once Mihawk sent his gaze towards Josh and totally ignored Zoro, everyone couldn't help but satisfy their curiosity and turn their heads the same way as well.

When they looked, they could see a young man with bright blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, an open vest, and a strange cape over his shoulders. The man never took his eyes off of Mihawk as he slowly opened his mouth.

"I'd appreciate it.." he started quietly...but loud enough to be heard, "if you didn't kill our swordsman..." he finished in a threatening tone. This sent shivers down everyone's spines and Mihawk now knew that his earlier attack was a warning.

The world's best swordsman couldn't help but appraise Zoro once again. The companion of someone of that caliber would surely be at least somewhat powerful as well. He started to doubt if he actually misjudged his challenger. With Yoru fully drawn, their match was about to start.