Chapter 479: The World's No. 1 Swordsman's Bet
Chapter 479: The Gamble of the World's Greatest Swordsman
Luffy completely ignored the news about his father, and was simply overwhelmed by the joy of the fact that his brother was still alive, and he hugged him directly, "Sabo!"
"Hahaha, Luffy, I feel relieved to see that you are still so energetic."
Sabo was also very happy to be reunited with his adopted brother, "Is Ace okay?"
"He went back with Father Whitebeard. He should be fine. He may come to see me soon, so that the three of us brothers can be reunited!"
Luffy said happily. Ace had said before that they would meet in the New World, but he probably didn't expect that Luffy would come directly to Wano Country to train.
The Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates are currently in their 'honeymoon period', so there is no reason for Ace not to come to Wano Country after he recovers from his injury.
"Mr. Lu..."
Just as everyone was drinking and eating meat, and the atmosphere was gradually becoming lively because of Luffy, Runti came in from outside with a strange look on his face, "Another visitor has arrived."
"Who is this late at night?"
Lu Li was a little curious. If it were an ordinary person, Runti would definitely not disturb them at this time.
"Shichibukai...Hawkeye Mihawk."
Runti said, "There's a green algae-headed guy following him."
After a while...
"Oh-Zoro, you're okay!"
Luffy smiled even more when he saw the green algae-haired swordsman in front of him, "I'm glad you found this place."
Obviously, after Robin's reminder, he also realized how difficult it would be for Zoro to come back because of his lost nature.
Sanji's situation is actually fine. Lu Li has asked Ivankov to contact the Shemale Island. After confirming that Sanji is there, he directly asked the acting king to send him over. As long as he doesn't cause trouble in the New World, there should be no problem for him to arrive in Wano Country safely.
So what Luffy was most worried about was that Zoro would get lost in the deep sea, but he didn't expect that Zoro would be the second one to arrive, which really surprised Luffy.
"I wanted to go to Kraikana to find you, but I didn't expect you to come here first."
Lu Li greeted Hawkeye, absorbing Luffy's familiarity, "We'll talk about the swordplay later, let's drink first."
"Although I am looking forward to fighting you, I am sailing this time to find Red Hair."
Hawkeye said as he joined Lu Li at the table, "But if there is good wine, it would be a waste not to drink it."
"Where's Zoro?"
Lu Li looked at Zoro who was being pestered by Luffy with questions.
"Roronoa is a shameless guy. He actually bowed to me, his enemy. I really misjudged him."
Hawkeye said in a calm voice as he took the wine that Lu Li poured.
He was referring to the fact that Zoro asked him to take him on a voyage to Wano Country. Originally, Hawkeye just wanted to find Red Hair to drink and discuss the future situation of the world.
After all, after the War of Marineford, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the system of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would most likely not last long.
Precisely because the dignity of the World Government has been severely damaged, they have to further emphasize their justice. Such "official pirates" have a great negative impact on the reputation of the World Government.
"What a duplicity man you are. You taught Zoro swordsmanship on the ship."
The ghost princess Perona complained quietly on the side, exposing Hawkeye's true colors.
But Hawkeye was calm and composed, and was not moved at all. He just drank and clinked glasses with Lu Li as if nothing had happened, causing Perona's punch to hit the air.
After the joy of Luffy's reunion with Zoro and Robin, he also joined the party. Zoro felt relieved to see his captain and companions again, and he drank happily.
"Luffy, I came here mainly to make sure everyone is safe, but I want to practice with Hawkeye."
During the meal, Zoro confided his inner thoughts to Luffy, "Of course, if you decide to set sail now, I will definitely go with you."
After Zoro passed through the Sabaody Archipelago, he deeply felt his own powerlessness. He was even abused by a group of gorillas on Hawkeye's island, and it took a lot of effort to defeat them.
He is willing to put aside his pride and learn swordsmanship from Hawkeye for Luffy and his friends, in order to surpass the world's greatest swordsman and to be able to protect his friends in the future.
So he believes that calm training is necessary, but he always respects Luffy's choice. If the captain asks him to set sail and adventure now, he will not disobey.
"Practice, I thought so too, but unfortunately the code can only convey so little information."
Luffy wrapped his arms in Armament Haki during the feast, showing Zoro his new strength, "I actually wanted everyone to come to Wano Country to train. Look, Zoro, I've become a lot stronger."
Zoro has a sharp eye and can tell at a glance that Luffy's strength is no longer what it used to be. How long has it been since then, but his strength has undergone a qualitative change?
For a moment, he began to understand why Luffy decided to let everyone come here to train. Wano Country is probably the best place to become stronger (cram school) in the New World.
"Roronoa, I didn't say I would teach you swordsmanship forever. Now that you have been sent to Wano Country, we will say goodbye now."
Hawkeye might have been a little interested in teaching Zoro. From the perspective of training a strong swordsman so that he would have a good opponent in the future, he felt that Zoro had great potential.
But he was more interested in Lu Li now. With a ready-made great swordsman in front of him, he had no time to teach Zoro. He just taught Zoro a few tricks during the voyage out of admiration.
Zoro felt a little embarrassed when he heard Hawkeye's words. With his self-esteem, there was no way he would ask Hawkeye to teach him swordsmanship.
If you think about it carefully, Hawkeye only agreed to take him on a sailing trip, but he didn't say he would teach him swordsmanship. On the way, he just showed him some swordsmanship skills like a demonstration.
It would be too shameless for him to beg Hawkeye to teach him again.
"Zoro, don't worry, Brother Lu is also a very strong swordsman."
Luffy put his arm around Zoro's neck, with a hearty smile on his face, and looked at Lu Li, "Brother Lu, can you teach Zoro swordsmanship?"
Lu Li had just clinked glasses with Hawkeye, drank the wine in the glass, and looked at Zoro, "You might die."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sword intent emerged from his body, cut through the void, and headed straight for Zoro's face.
In an instant, Zoro almost felt that he was facing a sword that pierced the sky and the earth, and this sword was coming down at him with endless power. The breath of death made his body stiff and made the blood in his body boil.
Just when he thought he was going to die, that nameless sharp state of mind dissipated in front of his face, only bringing a breeze that blew his green short hair. "Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh..."
Zoro supported himself on the ground with his hands, breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his forehead, but his eyes were filled with excitement of seeing a new world.
After a moment, he raised his head and looked at Lu Li with a determined gaze, "Please give me your guidance in the future!"
There is no doubt that Tianzai Lu Li is a super swordsman who is no less powerful than Hawkeye, and Zoro has also read the newspapers about the war at the top.
However, the war at the top was too complicated, and it was impossible to explain everything clearly. Regarding the confrontation between Lu Li and Hawkeye, the newspaper only briefly mentioned "a confrontation with Hawkeye through air slashing".
Therefore, Zoro was not clear about Lu Li's true swordsmanship level. When he saw in the newspaper that Lu Li killed two admirals, he thought that Lu Li defeated the admirals mainly by relying on the power of the fruit, as well as the unique abilities and domineering power produced by those experiments.
But now it seems that his understanding was extremely wrong. No matter how many abilities Lu Li has, at his core he is a great swordsman.
That kind of indescribable and profound artistic conception is probably the true meaning of swordsmanship!
“That’s what I’m interested in…”
During the meal, Hawkeye also had a burning gaze, and it was obvious that he was very concerned about Lu Li's sword intent.
Although he was known as the world's number one swordsman, he could not bring out the special artistic conception when he drew his sword like Lu Li did, not to mention that Lu Li had no sword in his hand just now and was useless, but he still released an invisible sword intent.
Sensing the curious gazes of Zoro and Sabo, who was also good at using a sword? (Steel Pipe), Hawkeye explained, "I have read in ancient books that the swordsmanship or swordsmanship is divided into several realms..."
He glanced at Lu Li who was tasting wine and continued, "There is a knife in the hand, there is no knife in the hand but there is a knife in the heart, there is a knife in the hand and there is a knife in the heart. I thought these sayings were made up by ancient people, but I didn't expect them to be real realms. If we only talk about the realm of swordsmanship, I'm afraid Mr. Lu is already above me."
"Realm?"
Zoro's eyes were shining, and he felt that doors were constantly being pushed open in front of him. He stood outside the door, feeling the dazzling light, and his blood was boiling.
"It's just a realm, but the level of realm does not represent the whole of swordsmanship strength, who is stronger and who is weaker..."
Hawkeye looked at Lu Li and said, "We still have to fight to find out."
Obviously, he acknowledged that Lu Li's swordsmanship had reached a level that most swordsmen in this world could not understand, but he did not think that he would lose to Lu Li in a swordsmanship contest.
He could not emit the sword intent like Lu Li, but strictly speaking, he believed that this was a question of different research directions in the field of swordsmanship. If Lu Li was pursuing the way of the general trend, then he was the technique.
Lu Li did open another door, but his own path was not bad either. Hawkeye would not belittle himself and easily give up his title of the world's number one swordsman before even fighting.
"Then why not stay for a few days? I'm also interested in learning from you."
Lu Li poured new wine for himself and Hawkeye and invited them.
"Is it just a sparring match?"
The fighting spirit in Mihawk's eyes was not concealed at all, and a sharp feeling was pressing towards Lu Li's brows. That was not the intent of a sword, but a manifestation of the spirit of a top swordsman.
"Why, do you think the prize is not enough?"
Lu Li touched his chin and said, "How about this? I won't use any fancy fruit abilities. I'll just use swordsmanship to decide the outcome. If I lose, the Beasts Pirates can help you once for free in the future."
"Mr. Lu!?"
Runti, who was standing by, was shocked when she heard Lu Li's words and felt that such a promise should not be made casually.
Although Hawkeye doesn't look like a villain, what if he asks the Beasts Pirates to do something embarrassing?
Moreover, although she thinks that Mr. Lu is the strongest in the world, that is his comprehensive ability. If he does not use the Thunder God Fruit and those mysterious powers, and only uses swordsmanship, would Mr. Lu still be one of the strongest masters?
Hawkeye is known as the world's number one swordsman. It seems a bit arrogant to compete with Hawkeye in this field.
Lu Li raised his hand and told Runti to be patient and just look at Hawkeye, waiting for the other party's reaction.
Hawkeye was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter, "What a great prize! What if you win?"
Lu Li smiled, "If I win, Mihawk, you can join our Beasts Pirates. Anyway, I don't think the system of the Seven Warlords of the Sea will last too long."
Hawkeye didn't seem surprised by Lu Li's proposal. Since the other party had put forward such a heavyweight bet, it seemed that he, a lone man, had nothing to offer. Only his reputation as the strongest swordsman was valuable.
Under everyone's surprised gaze, he raised his glass and clinked it with Lu Li's, "Then it's settled."
"Hey, hey, hey... Are we going to see a showdown between the world's strongest swordsmen? This is big news."
Ivankov, who was called to attend the banquet with Sabo, was shocked beyond words when he saw this scene.
Regardless of the outcome of this battle, it will have a profound impact on the world.
If Hawkeye wins, he will not only keep his title as the world's number one swordsman, but also strongly restrain the Beasts Pirates. Even if the Seven Warlords system is abolished in the future and the navy starts looking for Hawkeye again, it will be impossible for the navy to besiege Hawkeye's residence again.
After all, Hawkeye is equivalent to giving the Four Emperors a chance to take action in disguise, and the World Government will also be cautious.
On the other hand, if Hawkeye is defeated, it does not mean that his strength will become weaker. He is a super strong man whose individual strength is not much inferior to the Four Emperors. If he joins the Beasts Pirates, the already invincible Beasts Pirates will be made even more powerful.
By then, not to mention that the other four emperors of the New World will not be able to stop Kaido, even the World Government will start to feel nervous.
There was excitement in Zoro's eyes, and his gaze lingered between Lu Li and Hawkeye.
Regardless of victory or defeat, the two people in front of him will be the ones he aspires to surpass in this lifetime.
Being able to see the strongest swordsmen in the world fighting each other made his heart so excited that it was hard to calm down.
"This is a serious matter, Mr. Lu. Do we really not need to report this to the Governor?"
As Lu Li's temporary secretary, Runti was a little anxious. She felt that even as the military strategist of the Hundred Beasts, Lu Li was overstepping his authority by making such a bet.
"It doesn't matter."
Lu Li had a confident look on his face. "Mr. Kaido will understand me. It would be a good thing if the world's number one swordsman could join us."
Of course Kaido can understand him, because although Kaido is a drunkard and not very smart, he can judge people's strength very accurately.
Teacher Kai is aware of Lu Li's strength, so Kaido would know that the probability of Lu Li failing in this battle is low.
As long as the core leaders of the Beasts Pirates think about it carefully, they will understand that the bet proposed by Lu Li is actually not bad for the Beasts Pirates regardless of the outcome. It is all a kind of binding on Hawkeye, just expressed in different ways.
(End of this chapter)