One-Punch Man in the One Piece World

Chapter 131 Eagle Eye

The marriage proposal to BIGMOM was temporarily put on hold because BIGMOM did not agree to marry Pudding to Sanosuke.

The Kingdom of Norton continued to develop peacefully and methodically.

The docks of Nestadt were bustling with people. Porters carried crates of ore across the pier, their boots thumping heavily on the wooden planks, mingling with the sounds of blacksmithing coming from the distant workshops.

The silver skull and crossbones flag fluttered on the flagpole atop the city wall. The intricate pattern of the scepter and the king's chess pieces swelled slightly in the sea breeze, then slowly closed up, like something alive, breathing.

On the sea outside the harbor, several patrol boats flying the flag of the Kingdom of Norton were slowly cruising. The lookouts at the bow leaned against the mast, holding binoculars, idly scanning the horizon.

Suddenly, the lookout's spirits lifted.

A dark dot is appearing on the horizon through the lens of the telescope.

At first, it was just a blurry outline, like a piece of driftwood floating on the sea. But as the dark dot got closer, the outline gradually became clear—it was a ship.

A ship with an unusual shape.

The ship was long and narrow, entirely black, with two enormous candles inserted on either side, their wicks burning with bluish-white flames on the sea.

Swaying gently in the wind.

The lookout's hand trembled slightly.

"Report! Report!" he turned and shouted downwards, "A ship is approaching! An unidentified vessel!"

The message traveled up the chain of command, from the port to the city walls, from the city walls to the streets, and from the streets to the palace.

Kro arrived at the dock first, followed by several squads of men. They stood on the dock, weapons in hand, their eyes fixed on the ship.

"A coffin boat? What's that?" someone asked in a low voice.

"You wouldn't want to know," the other person replied, his voice strained.

The ship stopped less than fifty meters from the dock, the candles went out, and the hull rocked slightly, like some kind of living thing breathing.

A figure stood up from the boat.

The figure was tall and thin, wearing a burgundy long trench coat, beneath which a black vest and a white shirt were visible.

What is most eye-catching is the knife on his back—the blade is wide and as black as ink, with gemstones inlaid on the hilt, gleaming with a cold luster in the sunlight.

The cross-shaped hilt of the knife swayed slightly at the collar of the trench coat.

"That is..."

Someone on the dock gasped.

"Hawkeye!"

"The world's greatest swordsman!"

Whispers spread like a tide across the dock, from the front to the back and back again, like a buzzing swarm of insects swept up by the wind.

Kro watched the figure leap from the bow of the ship and land on the dock. His boots clicked softly on the stone slabs.

"I'm here to see Norton," Hawkeye said, his voice low and calm.

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"May I ask what brings you here?" Kro asked, looking at him.

Eagle Eyes, like those of a hawk, swept over the pirates on the dock who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, and landed on the royal palace built of beast-repelling wood and bluestone on the high ground in the north of the city.

"He's there."

Kro's brow furrowed even more.

Just then, a figure squeezed out from the crowd.

Zoro stood on the dock, less than ten meters away from Hawkeye, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white.

"Hawkeye...Mihawk!"

"You're Roronoa Zoro?" Hawkeye uttered the name calmly. "I've heard of you."

"That would be perfect! I only have one request! Fight me!" Zoro said.

The dock quieted down, and the pirates looked at each other and made room for each other.

Kro adjusted his glasses but did not stop him.

At this moment, Zoro was almost obsessive, determined not to give up until he achieved his goal.

Hawkeye looked at Zoro, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

It wasn't exactly a smile, just a very subtle upward curve at the corner of the mouth.

"It's a good way to pass the time..."

'

He took the black knife from his back, rested the tip on the ground, and the dark blade reflected the color of the sky.

"bring it on."

Seeing this, Zoro didn't waste any words and simultaneously drew his Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri! A layer of jet-black Armament Haki, as thick as ink, was wrapped around the blades and flowed slowly along them.

Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!

Three sword lights slashed out simultaneously! One was aimed at Hawkeye's neck, one at his waist and abdomen, and one at his knee!

It moved so fast that it left three afterimages in the air, and the sharp whistling sound of the blade tearing through the air was short and piercing, like the cry of some kind of raptor.

Hawkeye didn't move. He gently turned the Black Blade Night in his hand, holding the blade horizontally in front of him.

clang!!!

Three slashes struck the black blade simultaneously, sending out a string of blinding sparks! The shockwave exploded from the point of impact, cracking the stone slabs paving the dock in several places, sending debris flying everywhere!

Zoro's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Not bad strength," Hawkeye's voice came from behind the black blade, "but not enough."

Hawkeye then gently pushed the black knife away.

Zoro felt an irresistible force coming from the blade, and he was pushed backward several meters, his boots carving two deep grooves in the stone ground.

But Zoro immediately launched another attack!

Three-Sword Style: Ox Needle!

Zoro lunged forward again, his three swords thrusting out from three different angles, their tips aimed at Mihawk's throat, heart, and abdomen! Each strike was imbued with Armament Haki, each strike powerful enough to pierce steel!

Hawkeye shifted to the side, his black blade slicing an arc along his side. Blade against blade, sparks flew!

Zoro's attacks grew faster and faster, each strike faster than the last! His Three-Sword Style whirled like a windmill, the blades flashing into a silver curtain that enveloped Hawkeye!

Unfortunately... Hawkeye's defense is like an impenetrable, pitch-black iron wall.

Every strike was blocked! Every attack was neutralized!

Those powerful strikes, capable of slicing through steel, landed on the black blade, leaving only a series of fleeting sparks.

"Your moves," Hawkeye said while parrying, "are too varied."

The black blade swung out suddenly!

Before the blade arrives, the wind from it blows first. Like a toppling mountain, like a collapsing sky.

Zoro gritted his teeth and held three swords in front of him at the same time.

clang!!!

The slash struck the point where the three swords intersected, and Zoro felt as if his arms had been broken. His hands were split open, and blood flowed down the hilts of his swords.

He was thrown back several meters by the shock, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground, his knees bent, and he almost knelt down.

Hawkeye looked at him, a very faint, almost imperceptible hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"good."

The black knife was raised again.

"If you can catch this blow..."

The black blade fell.

In Zoro's ears, the moment that sword was slashed, all the sounds on the dock vanished! The sound of the waves, the wind, the clanging of blacksmiths in the distant workshops... everything fell silent in the face of that one strike!

Zoro's eyes reflected the dark glint of the blade.

He raised his three swords, pouring all his strength, will, and life energy into them, and faced the flash of light.

However, all three knives simultaneously groaned under the strain.

The Sandai Kitetsu and Yukishiro flew out of his hands, spinning and tumbling in the air before landing on the stone slab a few meters away, bouncing twice and making a crisp, metallic clanging sound.

Zoro knelt on one knee, biting down on the last remaining blade of Wado Ichimonji, the sword still trembling.

The tiger's mouth split open, and fresh blood dripped down the hilt of the knife, spreading a small dark red patch on the stone floor.

He lowered his head, looking at his disheveled reflection in the snow-covered blade.

"You lost." Hawkeye sheathed his sword, the black blade resting on the ground once more.

Zoro didn't speak, he knelt there, head bowed, motionless.

"Shall we continue?" Hawkeye asked.

"I lost," Zoro said, raising his head in a hoarse voice. "Since I've lost, there's no reason for me to live on in this world... Kill me."

What's the point of living if you can't fulfill your dreams and keep your promise to Kuina?

"What's your name?" Hawkeye's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Roronoa Zoro"

"Roronoa Zoro," Hawkeye repeated the name. "Why did you become a swordsman?"

"To become the world's greatest swordsman. To make my name resound throughout heaven."

Hawkeye stared at him for a long time.

"Live on."

Zoro was stunned.

"You still have a long way to go." Hawkeye slung the black sword back over his shoulder. "Right now, you're not even worthy of my attention. But I can see your potential."

Zoro was taken aback at first, then, as if he had made a momentous decision, he shouted, "Hawkeye, I will... I will definitely defeat you!!"

"interesting."

A voice came from behind the crowd.

The voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it. The crowd parted to make way.

Norton emerged from the road, a black cashmere coat draped over his shoulders, the hem swaying slightly behind him.

Hawkeye's hawk-like eyes instantly pierced through the distance of dozens of meters and landed on Norton.

In that instant, Zoro was completely forgotten.

That's the instinctive disregard for everything around a beast when it discovers a more powerful adversary.

"Norton!" Hawkeye uttered the name.

Norton walked to the edge of the dock and stopped less than twenty meters from Hawkeye.

"Hawkeye Mihawk." Norton's lips curled into a smile. "What brings you here?"

Hawkeye looked at Norton, and something burned in his eyes.

He had stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship for too long, so long that he had forgotten how high the mountains were, how far the sky was, and what else in this world was worth wielding his sword for.

Until Norton appeared.

In the newspapers, in the bounty posters, in the discussions of every tavern, he was universally acknowledged as the strongest.

"My swordsmanship," Hawkeye began slowly, "has not seen a breakthrough in a long time."

His hand rested on the hilt of the black knife.

"That's why I came to find you."

"Challenge me?" Norton looked at him with an expectant smile.

"Yes." Hawkeye gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. "Let me see just how strong this so-called 'world's strongest' really is!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Hawkeye is going to challenge King!"

"This kid, is he looking for death?"

No one thought Norton would lose; in the eyes of the people on Demon Island, Norton was invincible.

Even two naval admirals were driven back!

"Okay." Norton flexed his wrist, his joints making a slight cracking sound.

He jumped off the pier and landed on the smooth, flat sandy beach that had been washed by the tide.

Hawkeye also leaped off the dock and landed on the beach, less than thirty meters from Norton.

The two people were standing face to face.

Zoro stood up from the dock and looked at the two figures on the beach. His hand was still bleeding, and the wound on his hand stung from the wind, but he didn't look down at it.

"king————"

The cadres arrived one after another.

The standoff on the beach did not last long.

Hawkeye gripped his knife with both hands. He stood less than thirty meters from Norton, his boots treading on the wet sand without leaving a footprint.

Because the moment his foot touched the sand, he had already adjusted his body's center of gravity to a near-perfect balance.

Norton looked into those eyes and suddenly remembered that he had seen many people use knives.

Zoro's sword is like that of a wild beast, with its fangs bared, as if it wants to tear its opponent to shreds.

Kro's cat claws were like venomous snakes, cold and cunning, each strike aimed at a vital spot.

Sasuke's ninja sword is like a shadow, silent and stealthy, stabbing from the most unexpected angle.

But Hawkeye's knife is different.

The black knife in Hawkeye's hand didn't feel like a weapon; it felt more like a part of his body.

"Are you ready?" Norton asked.

Hawkeye flicked his wrist, and the black blade traced a faint, almost inaudible hum in the air. The instant that hum sounded, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

It's an instinctive, genetically ingrained fear that arises only when facing a top predator.

"Everyone, stand back!" Norton said, his tone slightly more serious.

No one questioned the order.

The crowd on the dock retreated like the receding tide, from the pier to the stone steps on the shore, from the stone steps to the entrance of the street, and from the entrance of the street to behind the low walls made of animal-repelling wood.

No one wants to miss this battle, but no one wants to get involved.

On the beach, the distance between Norton and Hawkeye rapidly decreased.

Hawkeye lifted the tip of the black knife off the ground, changing the blade's angle from pointing diagonally at the ground to pointing straight ahead.

Norton clenched his fist.

The next second, Hawkeye's knife arrived.

That strike was devoid of any fancy moves, just a basic "straight cut." The blade fell from a height, tracing a straight line...

A near-perfect arc slashed towards Norton's head.

But the speed of that slash was too fast!

Norton turned to the side, the blade grazing his left shoulder and slicing through the wet sand behind him.

The moment the slash landed, a long, straight crack appeared on the beach, its depths unfathomable, stretching from Norton's heel all the way to the sea dozens of meters away.

Seawater surged up from the end of the crack, leaving a small, dark, wet patch on the sand, but it did not fill the crack!

Norton glanced down at the crack, then looked up at Hawkeye.

No wonder Zoro lost...

'

Hawkeye remained silent, twirling the black blade in his hand before unleashing his second strike.

It wasn't a straight slash, it was a sweeping strike. The blade moved from left to right, following a near-horizontal arc, aiming for Norton's waist and abdomen. It was even faster than the first strike!

The blade left a dark afterimage in the air, like a piece of black silk being torn apart, rapidly unfolding in Norton's vision.