Sailing: His comprehension is against the sky, and he comprehends the Eight Gates at the beginning.

"Sister Uta, please apologize to him quickly! We don't want to die!"

The members of the Krieg Pirates looked at Uta with a gloating expression.

"That woman, daring to speak to Hawkeye like that, is definitely dead now."

Sanji, Zeff, and the others stared at Uta in shock.

They had only heard Uta say that she had seen Hawkeye dueling with someone, but they didn't know Uta's identity and assumed she was just an ordinary pirate.

But now it seems that this woman is definitely not ordinary.

When Hawkeye heard someone angrily accusing him, the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Upon looking, he saw the person with half red and half white hair.

"Uta?!"

Hawkeye recognized Uta at a glance.

Even though it's been ten years, Uta's hair and style are still very recognizable.

At that moment, Uta also leaped to Luffy's side, angrily accusing Mihawk.

"You idiot Hawkeye, how dare you bully the swordsmen on our ship like this! I'll tell Shanks later, and he'll teach you a lesson."

Hawkeye remained unmoved by these words and said calmly.

"He challenged me, and I did this out of respect for him."

"And he's not dead yet."

As he spoke, Hawkeye looked at Zoro, who was lying motionless on the ground.

“My name is Jorah Mihawk! You won’t die so soon.”

"Whoever can beat me is the strongest in the world."

"No matter how many years it takes, I will be waiting for you on the throne of the world's strongest."

"So you must fight bravely against death, and I'll be waiting for you to challenge me again."

"Surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!"

Just then, Zoro, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly drew his Wado Ichimonji, pointed it at the sky, and said weakly.

"Luffy...Luffy, can you hear me?"

Luffy looked at Zoro.

"I heard it!"

Zoro, his face covered in blood, gritted his teeth and said.

I made you worry, didn't I!

"If I...can't...become the world's strongest swordsman..."

"It will only increase your burden, right?"

"Cough cough..."

Zoro coughed up some blood, but didn't seem to mind.

He held his forehead with one hand, tears streaming down his face, his eyes more resolute than ever before. With all his might, he gritted his teeth and made a heart-wrenching vow.

"So... I won't lose again!"

Zoro finished speaking.

The next second, Hawkeye's pupils suddenly contracted.

Luffy's body also trembled.

Suddenly, an unparalleled aura erupted from Zoro.

The purplish-black lightning bolts, like roaring beasts, crackled and spread outwards from the tip of his sword, which pointed straight to the sky.

Centered on Zoro, a purple-black lightning bolt tore through the air and spread for thousands of meters.

In an instant, all the pirates of the Krieg Pirates and everyone on Baratie rolled their eyes back and fainted.

Currently, only Hawkeye, Luffy, and Uta remain on the field.

In the weakest region of the East Sea, the rest of them were not strong enough to withstand the power of Conqueror's Haki.

"It's... Conqueror's Haki?!"

Hawkeye was deeply impressed by Zoro.

Unexpectedly, he encountered such a swordsman in the weakest of the East Seas.

If one day he grows up, he will surely leave his mark on this world.

Luffy was also very happy for Zoro.

This battle allowed Zoro's strength to leap to another level, and it's believed that his growth rate will only accelerate in the future.

"Uta, let's take Zoro to get treatment quickly."

Zoro had exhausted all his strength to awaken Conqueror's Haki and had lost consciousness.

"Wait a moment!"

Just then, Hawkeye suddenly spoke up to stop Luffy.

Luffy looked at him in confusion, and then Hawkeye continued.

"Speaking of which, you must be the man Shanks mentioned to me!"

"That... a born king!!!"

Chapter 38 Gear Fourth Luffy vs. Hawkeye

"Uta, take Zoro to get treatment first."

Luffy gave Uta a brief instruction before answering Hawkeye.

"If Shanks has only ever met one born king, it would be me."

Hawkeye's eyes flickered, and he looked somewhat excited as he spoke.

"Red-haired Shanks told me about you. You were only seven years old when you were able to master Conqueror's Haki."

"You are indeed a rare genius."

"His high praise for you has made me interested in you as well."

"Kid, what's your name...?"

Luffy replied.

"Monkey D. Luffy!"

"D?"

Hawkeye muttered something.

Suddenly, he drew the black knife from his back once more.

He looked at Luffy with a serious expression and said...

"Monkey D. Luffy! Come on!"

"Let me see what kind of genius this red-haired man admires so much."

When Uta saw Hawkeye suddenly draw his sword at Luffy, he panicked.

"Hawkeye, what are you doing?"

"Luffy is my...my captain. If you dare to hurt him, I won't let you get away with it."

Hawkeye's gaze remained fixed on Luffy as he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I'm just testing the level of the man Shanks has his eye on; I won't kill him."

Uta was about to say something when Luffy interrupted her.

"Okay, Uta, I'm fine."

"You should take Zoro to get treatment right away!"

In fact, Luffy also really wants to fight Hawkeye.

Hawkeye is one of the world's top combatants.

The improvement one would gain from fighting someone like that with all their might would be enormous.

Furthermore, since Luffy's strength and physique have become increasingly powerful, he hasn't been able to unleash the [Limit Enhancement] ability for a long time.

[Extreme Enhancement: When your physical functions reach their limit, after sufficient rest, your physical fitness will experience a breakthrough and significant improvement.]

Because he hasn't encountered a suitable opponent, and because his current strength can no longer be pushed to its limit through training alone, Luffy hasn't been able to use this skill for many years.

If Luffy were to unleash this ability now, the resulting boost might allow him to break through and leapfrog a new level of strength.

Seeing that Luffy had already said that, Uta couldn't stop him anymore, but only gave him some advice.

"Then you need to be careful, this guy is very strong."

In fact, even Uta didn't know how strong Luffy was when he fought at full strength, but the impression she got from Hawkeye's sparring with Shanks was too deep, so she was still worried about Luffy.

After Uta brought Zoro back to Baratie, he searched for medicine and bandages on the ship and gave him some simple treatment.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Mihawk...

Hawkeye raised his black sword, pointed it directly at Luffy, and said.

"Make your move, Straw Hat Boy!"

Luffy didn't waste any words upon hearing this.

He approached the match with the mindset of using Hawkeye as a sparring partner.

Therefore, in addition to training and improving Armament Haki and Observation Haki, one must also fully develop one's limits and completely exhaust all physical strength and Haki.

In this way, once he recovers, his strength will experience a qualitative leap.

Then Luffy raised his right hand, and a black smudge appeared on it.

Then, he brought his arm, which was enhanced with Armament Haki, to his mouth.

"Fourth gear!"

Luffy's deep voice rang out.

Immediately afterwards, Luffy's arm, enhanced by Armament Haki, rapidly expanded in a twisted shape like a balloon.

Like air flowing through his body, the distorted expansion spread throughout his entire body, and his whole body swelled up as well.

The next second, a Gear Fourth Luffy with a huge upper body like a giant, slender legs like springs, and a face full of evil appeared in front of Hawkeye.

His arms were as black and red as burning iron, and his sweat evaporated as if turning into white auspicious clouds, like ribbons swirling around his body.

Fourth Gear is a state resulting from the extreme development and application of Armament Haki.

In this state, Luffy can rapidly improve and strengthen his Armament Haki through his extraordinary comprehension.

Seeing Luffy's sudden burst of power, Hawkeye's eyes visibly brightened.

"Impressive Haki. Your Armament Haki already puts you among the strongest."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hawkeye unleashed an extremely powerful aura.

His sword seemed to ripple with wisps of green mist, and his aura suddenly soared to an unparalleled height.

"rubber..."

Luffy said in a deep, soft voice.

The giant fist retracts into the body like a spring, using the powerful elasticity to double the attack power generated by the fist.

Next, she compressed and ejected air using her slender legs.

With the help of the jet, his entire body surged forward, instantly covering the distance between him and Hawkeye.

"...King Ape Spear!"