24 Chapter 24

Josh's PoV:

Damn..I didn't think my earlier display would worsen the situation for Zoro. Not only did Mihawk draw out Yoru from the get-go, he's also eyeing me suspiciously and would probably treat Zoro a bit more seriously.

I'm sure Zoro is elated that Mihawk took his challenge with some seriousness, but that is not good for him. Well...I'm sure once they start fighting, Mihawk might consider my earlier "warning" and not just straight up kill him. Fingers crossed.

"What the heck was that earlier!?" Our beautiful navigator asked as her eyes are glued on me. Was she somehow able to tell that I was the one responsible? That's interesting. Maybe it's because Mihawk eyed me suspiciously for a bit.

As the girl asked this, the nearby Luffy, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, and a few nearby cooks listened attentively, even Zeff was paying attention, although his eyes are set on the ongoing match. "You guys remember what I told you about haki?"

With a nod of her head, Nami responded, "Yeah. Was that one of those haki? I don't remember you saying that they could knock out people without even touching them."

With my own sight turned away from Zoro who is rapidly swinging his 3 katanas, I explained, "I didn't tell you what the third type of Haki can do. It's called Haoshoku Haki, and it's the power of intimidation. Those who possess this haki can clash wills with someone else and if the user is stronger, they can take over the opponent's will and knock them out for some time."

It's a bit hard to explain all the properties of Haoshoku haki with words to someone who has never experienced it, but I hope she understood from that.

"Oni...Giri!" With the sudden shout of one of Zoro's favorite technique, our attention was once again brought back to the fight. Johnny and Yosaku were completely stunned when it was stopped dead in its tracks.

Luffy looked like he was holding himself back from interrupting the fight while Nami and Usopp looked fearful. Everyone else just watched with gaped mouths and bated breaths.

"Impossible!" Johnny screamed out. "Nobody has ever stopped that move before!" Yosaku also concurred. They wanted to immediately charge in there when Zoro got slashed on his thigh but Luffy stopped them. Although the cut was pretty shallow, everyone was still seeing red.

Zoro was having a hard time standing up properly anymore, so he readied himself to use his ultimate attack. Luffy watched the match with uncharacteristically unreadable emotions.

I wondered briefly why he didn't use the move that he recently learned— the flying slash. Then the answer came as quickly as the question arose. Zoro hasn't had the chance to see it's effects yet. There can be several problems with testing out a new move, especially on someone like Mihawk.

Zoro must of also figured out that a move like the flying slash wouldn't be any good against his opponent. I'm glad he's using his head properly, although he went on a bit of a rampage at the beginning, he's doing pretty well for himself.

On the little floating wood, about a few feet away from each other, are Zoro and Mihawk. Mihawk has the look of being unimpressed and the indifferent face on him remained. Meanwhile, Zoro was slightly breathing hard and prepared his 3 swords in front of him.

"Why do you still choose to continue?" Hawkeye spoke up for the first time since their fight began, "you already know the difference between our powers." He said. Zoro has a few gashes running along his torso.

"It is my dream to be the world's greatest swordsman. If I back out now, I might never get the chance again in the future." The green-haired swordsman replied without any hesitation. He knew quite well the difference in power, even before they fought.

With some hesitation, he continued. "I..I have a promise to keep with a friend." His determination rose after that. They both locked eyes once more and knew that the next attack would be the last one.

Slightly crouching, the challenger started spinning his katanas in front of him and Mihawk also drew back his sword. Their movements were nothing but a blur for the spectators, but they all heard one thing clearly. It was the secret technique of the santoryu. "Santoryu Ougi: Sanzan Sekai" Zoro screamed out.

After the sound of steel on steel contact, a few things happened. From the eyes of the normal spectators, the two combatants dashed at each other in a frightening speed and the next thing they knew, both swordsman had their backs facing each other, with Mihawk crouching.

Slowly, the two katanas in Zoro's hands crumbled into a heap of metal and only the prized Wado Ichimonji remained. The abilities each of them showcased were awe inspiring. Unknown to them, Mihawk was holding himself back quite a bit. If he truly went out on someone who couldn't even cut steel, let alone use haki...there was no need to continue this line of thought.

With blood trickling down the side of his lips, Zoro turned to face Mihawk and spread his arms wide as if to hug a bear. I hardened my gaze at the inevitable outcome.

With a confused look, Mihawk stood back up to his feet and questioned, "What are you doing?" It wasn't like he didn't have an idea, the man simply wanted to confirm it for himself.

"A wound on the back is a swordsman's greatest shame." The green head replied with a smirk. He admitted his loss and was ready to face the consequences.

"Magnificent!" The world's greatest swordsman exclaimed with a very rare smile on his face. He looked even more devilishly manly as he did so. Truly a smile worth a million.

And then the inevitable happened. With a wide swing, Mihawk swung his renowned Yoru across Zoro's torso, from shoulder to hip. There was so much blood that normally, one would think he should die from blood loss if not from the injuries he had received.

"ZOROOOO.....!!!!" Everyone watched as East Blue's infamous 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro fell into the ocean with a huge splash. No one was able to tell if it was head first or if his back hit the sea surface as they were all too stunned by what just happened.

I quickly checked to confirm if Zoro was still alive, and I gotta give props to the guy, he's as tenacious as a cockroach! Although greatly weakened, his life force was still there. I let out a silent sigh of relief as I confirmed this.

Before I could inform everyone that the man was actually still alive, Luffy slung himself with his 'gomu gomu no rocket' and was literally rocketing himself towards Dracule Mihawk. His expression was absolutely livid as he did so.

"Johnny, Yosaku. Go get Zoro out of the water. He's still alive." With a resigned sigh, I ordered the two of them to quickly rescue Zoro. Upon hearing my words, they didn't even give themselves enough time to be surprised and dove right into the ocean. I am truly amazed by their complete admiration for Zoro.

"He..he's really alive?" Usopp shakily asked. He was rightfully skeptical. With wounds like that, any normal person would keel over within seconds due to the intense pain and blood loss. But who was Roronoa Zoro? He's the future greatest swordsman in the world! I expect nothing less than this if he truly wants to make it there.

I gave a curt nod and summersaulted toward Mihawk and Luffy's location. Spun countless times on the air but landed with unexpected grace.

"You..you killed zoro!!" Luffy shouted furiously. He wanted to immediately rush the man and pounce on him. Luffy didn't care if Mihawk was much stronger than himself. All that mattered was avenging his nakama.

As I slowly examined the scene before me, I saw an outraged Luffy who seems to have bloodshot eyes, and a Mihawk who is way too casual for comfort.

"Are you the comrades of that man? Worry not, for he isn't dead." As I was about to inform a certain hothead, I was interrupted again by Mihawk's unperturbed voice. It seems to be the trend these days.

Hearing his voice up close for the first time was even more awe inspiring than I thought. His tone was sharp and unquestionable. His voice was domineering and had a very authoritative yet natural sound to it. Oh my god...I'm fanboying right now aren't I? Get it together Josh!!

The both of them didn't react at my sudden landing or my fanboying expression. These were Luffy and Mihawk we were talking about, why would they react? Maybe Mihawk is used to admiring gazes from other people and Luffy is...well, just Luffy.

Just then, the shaky voice of Zoro could be heard. "L-Luffy..." he said as he had his only remaining katana raised up. "Can...you hear me?" Johnny and Yosaku had managed to properly rescue him and along with Nami and Usopp, they were all on the boat we used to get to the restaurant before.

A shout of "Yeah!" came from Luffy who had his eyes a bit wider than usual and his expressions were filled with relief. Since Nami didn't betray the crew like in canon, she was also present.

"Baka, stop talking. You'll worsen your injuries." Nami scolded him lightly. A myriad of emotions were running through her along with the events that occurred. The bounty hunter duo were devastated and started crying and shouting "Aniki..!!"

They were running around frantically, trying to patch up Zoro's wounds. The peanut gallery had no choice but to watch everything as it happened. A few of them made some comments and exclamations but were deemed too unimportant for me to care.

"Sorry for worrying you...If I don't become the greatest swordsman in the world, you'll be in trouble right...?" He barely managed to say as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even between sentences, he was panting unusually hard.

"Aniki!"

"Aniki! Please stop talking."

Their tears were rolling down even harder as they desperately urged Zoro to save his strength. But zoro was having none of it as he continued stubbornly.

"I will..." Zoro's tears started to come out as his voice became a bit shaky. "I will never...LOSE AGAIN! Until I defeat him and become the greatest swordsman, I'll never lose again." The injured swordsman could no longer hold it back anymore so he just let his tears flow freely.

At this point Mihawk was showing another one of his ultra rare smiles with his teeth fully shown. From my foggy memory of One Piece, Mihawk only smiled a few times...hey, you try and live 3 years in isolation then come back to judge me!

"ANY PROBLEMS WITH THAT, PIRATE KING!?" He finally finished his tearful vow in a loud voice. All of them listened intently and were shocked by his conviction. How could such a man exist?

"Nope. Shishishishi..." Luffy just smiled in relief. At this point, even I couldn't help but give a toothy grin. If someone had half of Roronoa Zoro's determination, they would surely become world famous as well.

Mihawk turned around to leave. He expertly put his Yoru on his back and was ready to return to the Grandline as he already had enough fun. What was the reason behind Mihawk chasing a bunch of no-name pirates that just entered Paradise you ask? The answer is simple...he was bored and wanted to kill some time.

"Don't be too hasty to leave, Hawkeye. I haven't had my turn yet." I said as I grinned widely. There was no way I as going to pass up the chance to obtain the mission rewards and test myself out against one of the strongest men in the world.