I'm in One Piece, and I'm Luffy's childhood friend.

"When I learned that Hawkeye was on the Grand Line," Zoro said.

"Since his trail leads to the Grand Line, then I can lock my target onto the Grand Line."

Upon hearing this, Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke.

"What a bunch of idiots, you guys are the kind of people who would easily get yourself killed."

Zoro nodded. "That's right, but take back the word 'idiot'."

"Since I set my sights on becoming the greatest swordsman in the world, I have long since disregarded life and death."

"The only one who can call me stupid is myself, the one who made this decision."

"Me too, me too!"

"Of course, it's the same for men."

Luffy and Usopp took over the conversation.

Bai Yun patted Zoro on the shoulder, "Damn it, you got tricked again."

"But, to see Hawkeye, you don't need to..."

Before Bai Yun could finish speaking, a tremendous cracking sound exploded in everyone's ears.

Outside, just as some of Creek's men swam out of the restaurant.

The massive Delidor Nord Saberu was broken in two vertically from the middle.

Crick's eyes widened. "What happened?!"

Luffy and his crew are worried about Nami, Johnny, and Yossa outside the house.

He rushed out and saw Yoza and Johnny splashing around in the water, paddling towards the restaurant.

"Johnny, Yosar! What's wrong? Where's the ship?"

Zoro pulled them up and immediately asked.

Yossa and Johnny immediately accused Nami of stealing the Going Merry.

Bai Yun recalled what Nami had just told him: "I'm just going to rest for a bit, trust me."

"As expected, you still can't trust the witch's words."

"However, Nami, I'm not so easy to shake off."

Looking at the Going Merry, whose silhouette could still be seen, Bai Yun said that he had a lot of trump cards he hadn't used yet.

As Bai Yun said, Luffy has decided that Nami is his partner and that he needs her.

Hawkeye, having passed through the crack in the Delidor Nord Saberu, also came into full view of both sides.

Chapter 76 Hawkeye vs. Zoro

Hawkeye sat in his small boat, legs crossed, and passed between the two groups of people, appearing before them.

When Creek saw that it was this god of death, his heart skipped a beat, and his face turned deathly pale. He didn't understand.

Why are you still bothering us?!

"They're even going to cross the Grand Line to hunt us down!!"

Hawkeye raised his head slightly, one eye hidden by the brim of his hat, while the other eye glanced disdainfully at Creek.

"To kill time."

This is the truth behind the destruction of the Krieg fleet, and as I've said, the truth is even more farcical.

Those who are strong have the ability; they don't need a reason to attack you.

However, Bai Yun still maintained that it was a reasonable guess that Krieg and his group were being chased because they saw Hawkeye rowing the boat with the black knife.

........

Hearing Hawkeye say that he was passing the time felt like an insult, no, it was an insulting and contemptuous response.

Enraged, one of Creek's men drew his gun and fired at him, a feat that Bai Yun admired.

Hawkeye simply swung his black knife lightly, and the bullet changed direction, flying to the right and killing a lucky spectator.

Watching Hawkeye's move from the seaside restaurant, Bai Yun silently thought to himself, "Stop pretending. Even if you don't use the blade to change the bullet's trajectory, the bullet will still hit you without any consequences."

The lucky audience members who died were ignored, but the fact that the bullets turned in front of Hawkeye surprised them.

"Missed! Missed!"

Zoro suddenly appeared behind the surprised people.

Upon seeing Hawkeye, he abandoned his pursuit of Nami and went to the deck of the Delidomod Saber, which was floating on the sea after being cut in half, and approached his lifelong rival.

"No matter how many times you try, you won't hit."

"He changed the trajectory of the bullet with the blade."

Zoro's sudden appearance startled everyone.

"Who...who are you?!"

Zoro didn't have time to pay attention to these guys right now and continued talking to himself.

"I've never seen such a supple sword before..."

Hawkeye did respond to that.

"A sword that is not supple is not strong."

This comes from the experience of a great Kendo master.

"To cut this ship in half with that sword, truly worthy of being... the strongest!"

Zoro's expression was a mixture of excitement and nervousness, and his smile had froze a little.

"I set sail so that I could meet you."

After saying this, Zoro placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

It was only when they noticed the three swords at Zoro's waist that Krieg and his men recognized him. In the East Blue, Zoro's title as the Pirate Hunter was quite well-known.

"...What is your purpose?"

Hawkeye turned to the side, glancing at Zoro out of the corner of his eye, still with his legs crossed and arms folded, looking completely unconcerned.

Zoro put on his bandana, steadied himself, and revealed a battle-ready smile, replying with only two words.

"The strongest!"

In response to Zoro's answer, Hawkeye stood up and slowly walked onto the deck, replying, "Arrogant."

“Pathetic...weaklings.”

The difference between you and me is obvious.

"Does your challenge to me stem from ambition or ignorance?"

Zoro drew his three swords, and as he bit down on the last one, he replied.

"This is my dream, and also a promise I made to a close friend."

Since Zoro has drawn his sword, Hawkeye, as a swordsman, has no reason to refuse.

He took out his smallest knife, which was the cross he always wore around his neck.

Zoro's eyes darkened. "Hey, what do you mean by this?"

"I'm not the kind of stupid beast that would use all its strength to catch a hare."

"You're just a swordsman with a minor reputation."

"In this weakest of the [Eastern Blue Sea]."

"Excuse me, this is my smallest knife."

Zoro felt increasingly insulted. "There's a limit to underestimating people. Don't regret it when you die."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro launched an attack.

"Ghost Slayer!"

Hawkeye remained unfazed and took a step forward in response to Zoro's attack.

"The frog at the bottom of the well."

"Let him teach you about the vastness of the world."

"when!"

With a casual, straight thrust, Hawkeye blocked Zoro's attack.

"Joseph!" Johnny exclaimed in disbelief.

No matter how hard Zoro tried, he couldn't advance any further and couldn't fight against Hawkeye's childish toy sword.

Bai Yun watched from the seaside restaurant, tapping his fingers on the top of the railing. "You're panicking, Zoro."

No matter how Zoro wielded his three swords, Hawkeye blocked them all with just one arm and a small knife.

Hawkeye's only comment on this was, "What a brutal sword."

However, the overwhelming difference in strength made Zoro even more unstable. Recalling the events at the dojo when he was a child, he realized that he had set sail to defeat Mihawk, but the current gap in strength weighed on him like a giant mountain, filling him with despair.

"What are you carrying on your shoulders!? What do you want to do after becoming strong?"

"The weak!"

A lecture from a future mentor.

Hawkeye swung his sword, and Zoro was knocked back to the ground.

Johnny and Yossa couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to get down, but Luffy held them back.

Luckily, Luffy held them off, otherwise, if the Sword God and the Sword Saint had unleashed their power, Hawkeye might have met his end in the East Blue (?ω?).

Despite being knocked down, Zoro instantly got back up. In his mind were his childhood memories, his vow to Kuina, the scene when Luffy invited him to join the crew, and Bai Yun's words: "There's not even a one in ten thousand chance; it's impossible to win."

He understands now, but the swordsman's blade, the glory—even without a chance of winning, he cannot back down now!

"Tiger Hunt!"