Chapter 112: The Seven Warlords Board the Ship

Top-tier powerhouses each possess their own unique temperaments: some are as fickle and tempestuous as Big Mom, others as steady and cautious as Sengoku, and some as free-spirited and unconstrained as Garp.

Dracule Mihawk’s personality, however, is a textbook example of the "hermit master" archetype—innately arrogant and driven by his own whims.

In simple terms:
If he likes you, that’s one thing; if he doesn’t, he kills without hesitation.

Had Garen acted cowardly in front of Mihawk or confessed that he was merely using clever tricks to force a stalemate, Mihawk would undoubtedly have been incensed by the deception and insult. But Garen’s current display—utterly fearless and ignorant of his own insignificance—played right into the swordsman’s hands.

Garen had not only confronted the Hawk-Eye head-on but had also audaciously shifted the narrative: I am not blocking your slashes because my abilities are mysterious, but because your blade is not sharp enough.

Telling such a provocative remark to any other powerhouse would likely have provoked their wrath. Yet, Mihawk was deeply moved by these words. Swordsmanship, Devil Fruit abilities—none of that truly mattered. As the world’s greatest swordsman, would his blade ever fear strange techniques or powers? There is no invincible swordsmanship in this world, nor is there an invincible Devil Fruit. Countless masters of both swords and fruits had fallen to his black blade; there was nothing in this world that could completely withstand his strikes.

And yet, today, a "strongest shield" that even his black blade could do nothing about had truly appeared.

Mihawk’s chiseled features tightened, his gaze as sharp and piercing as a blade. After a moment, the man who had stood silent like a statue finally sighed:

"I still cannot cut through it."
"You win."

Garen was slightly surprised to hear Mihawk’s admission of defeat. The essence of "playing it cool" is to know when to quit while ahead. Having realized that Mihawk had seen through some of his secrets, Garen immediately adopted the humility and respect of a "younger disciple":

"No. My swordsmanship is still quite shallow; being able to block your strike was entirely due to that one technique."
"How could that be considered my victory?"

"Hmph!" Mihawk let out a soft sound, speaking coldly: "I did not lose to you; I lost to that technique."
"However..." Mihawk asked with newfound interest, "Pure swordsmanship cannot completely withstand my full-strength strike. What method did you use?"

"My Devil Fruit ability." Garen once again used the all-purpose Devil Fruit as a shield: "My fruit grants many special abilities, and that technique is one of them."

"Very well." Mihawk nodded, accepting the explanation. To him, what method the opponent used was irrelevant. What mattered was that, in his lonely life standing at the peak, something had appeared worthy of his challenge—something that could help him hone his path of the sword. Though that bizarre "fruit ability" had blocked his strongest slash, Mihawk believed that as long as his blade was strong enough, nothing in the world was truly indestructible. This new challenge, standing suddenly before him, would inevitably become a stepping stone for him to reach even greater heights in swordsmanship.

A soaring fighting spirit gradually surfaced in his amber eyes. His tall, lean frame, standing upon the sea, felt like an unsheathed sword, an irresistible invisible pressure surging toward the clouds, as if silent thunder were rumbling in the air.

"I have a request." Though he called it a "request," there was an undeniable force in Mihawk’s deep voice: "I am in need of a whetstone to polish my black blade. I hope to accompany you for a while."

"It would be my pleasure." Garen agreed readily; in any case, he wouldn't have dared to refuse.

***

The *Dauntless Vanguard Saber* continued its journey toward Alabasta, finally entering the waters surrounding the kingdom after a long voyage. Although the golden greatsword flag hanging from the ship’s mast was unrecognized by those on the Grand Line, many eyes had taken note of this strange, massive vessel arriving from the East Blue.

The one who noticed Garen’s movements was none other than his target: Crocodile.

Ever since reading the intelligence report on Garen, Crocodile had sensed that this East Blue knight, with his meager reputation on the Grand Line, was actually a troublesome character. Playing the hero, infiltrating, plotting to steal a nation—it all aligned too perfectly with his own sophisticated plans. Though the gap between a remote kingdom like Goa and the Kingdom of Alabasta was vast, Crocodile had to admit that the East Blue knight’s methods were highly effective.

More importantly, during the intensive investigation into Garen by his organization, Crocodile was surprised to discover that the female agent who had defected and become Garen’s confidante had a suspicious origin! Before being recruited by Garen, Vivi had been a candidate for a high-ranking position within the organization, a prominent figure second only to a dozen senior agents. No matter how reclusive or low-profile she had lived as a princess, she had left traces behind.

It would have been fine if they hadn't investigated carefully, but once they dug deep, Vivi’s true identity as the kingdom’s princess was laid bare.

Crocodile immediately became tense. What was the reason he had been able to move against such a large kingdom as Alabasta so smoothly? It was because of the incompetent and clumsy methods the Alabasta royal family had shown in handling domestic affairs. Now, however, Crocodile was shocked to discover that an ambitious schemer, whose intellect was no less than his own, had made contact with the princess and was blatantly showing intentions of interfering in Alabasta’s internal affairs.

Once the King changed his pattern of action because of this fellow, it would inevitably cause a massive negative impact on Crocodile’s plan to usurp the country. This was naturally not a situation Crocodile wanted to see, and this insolent East Blue knight had become a thorn in his side.

After carefully analyzing the intelligence on Garen, Crocodile finally discovered his opponent’s most fatal weakness: he was not strong enough. Despite variations in the reports, Crocodile could roughly guess that Garen’s strength did not exceed Mr. 1’s by much. Such strength might be considered decent in the first half of the Grand Line, but in front of him—a Warlord of the Sea and a Logia-type user—it was clearly insignificant.

After much deliberation, Crocodile, who had been trying to transition into a mastermind role in recent years, quickly regained the brutal ferocity he had possessed when he first started as a pirate. In his heart, he sentenced the Garen he had yet to meet to death.

His plan was simple and brutal: set up outposts in the waters around Alabasta, then intercept and kill Garen at sea before he could arrive, leaving the meddlesome East Blue knight and the restless princess to feed the fish at the bottom of the ocean.

Once his subordinates delivered the intelligence on the *Dauntless Vanguard Saber*, Crocodile immediately took action, sailing out personally to carry out the interception. He didn't just come in person; he came alone. Crocodile knew that since Garen could defeat Mr. 1, his strongest agent, the remaining cannon fodder in the organization would be powerless against him.

Furthermore, Crocodile wanted to continue hiding his identity. To play the role of the "Hero of Alabasta," he had always maintained a single line of contact with his subordinates through his secretary, Robin. Within the organization, no one other than Robin knew the President’s true identity. Mr. 1, whom Crocodile regarded as his capable lieutenant and who held the top seat in the organization, had gone to his grave without ever knowing that his big boss was actually a renowned Warlord of the Sea.

And so, Crocodile arrived at sea alone, quietly steering his ship toward the *Dauntless Vanguard Saber*. Seeing that golden greatsword flag, a cruel smile couldn't help but surface on Crocodile’s face:

"Trying to steal my business?"
"Then please, stay in these seas forever!"