Baboons (2)

"Okay, let's go!" Ren Fang and Yuning nodded and followed without saying anything more.

With the baboons no longer bothering them, they could move forward without any hindrance.

After walking for a while, they saw the large castle in the center of the island.

"That must be where Hawk-Eye lives," Fanxin said. The rest of the places were ruins, but that place wasn't. Hawk-Eye couldn't possibly live in ruins. In that case, he could determine where Hawk-Eye lived.

"Okay, let's just head straight that way," Ren Fang said.

The two exchanged a glance and then stopped talking. They then headed off together into the distance.

After walking for a while, Fanxin suddenly heard the sounds of fighting. He stopped for a moment, used his Haki to sense the situation, and then immediately changed his location.

"That's just ruins. Aren't we supposed to be looking for Hawk-Eye?" Ren Fang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, but if we go this way, we can see each other," Fanxin said.

Although that castle is where Hawk-Eye lives, he's not inside it now. He's outside, in the direction he's headed.

If he went directly to the castle, he would definitely find it empty. Therefore, he had no choice but to change his route. Only in this way could he meet Hawk-Eye.

Ren Fang understood the implied meaning in Fanxin's words, so she didn't say anything more and followed closely behind.

After walking for nearly twenty minutes, Fanxin led Ren Fang and Yuning to a large open space.

In the center of the open space stood three people: Hawkeye Hawk-Eye, the World's Strongest Swordsman; Roronoa Zoro, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates; and a cute girl.

Hawk-Eye was practicing his swordsmanship with Zoro, while the girl sat to the side, watching and sipping red wine, looking very relaxed.

"Hey, Hawk-Eye, Zoro, long time no see!" Fanxin chuckled as he looked at them.

Hawk-Eye, Zoro, and the girl heard the sound and immediately looked in the direction it came from.

Then they saw Fanxin and the others.

"Hmm, Fanxin?" Hawk-Eye said, somewhat surprised.

"Fanxin, what brings you here!" Zoro was also quite surprised, not expecting to see Fanxin again.

As for the girl, since she hadn't met Fanxin and the others before, she didn't say anything, only looking at Fanxin.

"I've been traveling around, and I heard this is Hawk-Eye's territory, so I came here," Fanxin said. "However, I'm quite surprised to see Zoro here. Were you sent flying here by Tyrant Kuma?"

On that day, on the Sabaody Archipelago, while all the Straw Hat Pirates were being chased, Tyrant Kuma appeared and sent them flying one by one. Tyrant Kuma sent them flying in all directions, and he couldn't even figure out where they had gone.

This place is incredibly far from the Sabaody Archipelago. Zoro couldn't possibly have traveled all the way here by himself. Besides, Zoro is notoriously bad with directions.

For him to travel from such a distant place to this island was virtually impossible.

Therefore, he was certain that Zoro must have been sent flying here by Tyrant Kuma.

"Ah, yes, that bastard, I must kill him!" Zoro said unhappily. After arriving here, he suffered a great loss. Many baboons attacked him, and if it weren't for his strong vitality, he would have been tormented to death long ago.

"Hehe, that won't do. I think you should thank him," Fanxin said, finding a seat and sitting down.

"Thank him? Why?" Zoro asked, puzzled.

"That's because Tyrant Kuma knocked you away to rescue you. Do you think you could have escaped from Kizaru then? You couldn't, but he could send you away," Fanxin said. "His ability can send you to a very far place. Even Kizaru couldn't catch up. That's how you managed to escape."

"I don't know if Tyrant Kuma did it on purpose, sending you flying all the way here. But by doing so, he actually did you a huge favor. Otherwise, how could you have gotten Hawk-Eye to teach you swordsmanship? Don't you think so?"

Actually, he vaguely sensed that this was intentional on Tyrant Kuma. Otherwise, how could Zoro have landed so conveniently where Hawk-Eye was?

However, he couldn't be sure if it was true. He could only let Tyrant Kuma come and tell him himself.

However, he will probably never know the truth. Because Tyrant Kuma has now been transformed into a puppet, devoid of his own consciousness. He only does things for the Navy. He wants answers, but instead of answers, he receives laser cannons.

"What? He saved us?" Zoro asked in disbelief.

"That's right, Tyrant Kuma is a member of the Revolutionary Army, Luffy's father is Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. That's certain. So, you don't need to doubt it," Fanxin said. "Your ship was also entrusted to me by him for safekeeping. So, I can vouch for it."

"But if you encounter Tyrant Kuma again, you'll probably have no choice but to fight back, otherwise you'll be killed, understand?"

Tyrant Kuma has become a puppet, recognizing no one. His mind is filled only with information on criminals; if he sees you and you are a criminal, he will attack.

The entire Straw Hat Pirates are wanted criminals. If they were to appear before Tyrant Kuma, he would definitely not try to rescue them; instead, he would kill them.

"Oh, why?" Zoro asked.

"The day after he rescued you, he reached an agreement with the Navy, which was to voluntarily become a Pacifista, that is, a cyborg," Fanxin said. "Pacifista are those guys you encountered on Sabaody Archipelago who looked exactly like Tyrant Kuma and could shoot lasers. He was the most powerful of them, a veritable killing machine in the Navy's hands."

"He doesn't recognize anyone anymore. I don't know if he made this decision because he helped you. But he is indeed a benefactor to you, and you must remember him and never forget him. If he is in trouble in the future, you must lend him a hand. This is what you owe him, understand?"

Regardless of the other person's identity, the fact remains that they saved Zoro and the others. Zoro can't change that.

"Really? I'll remember that." Zoro nodded and said.

"Alright, you should start training too. Luffy is already training his Conqueror's Haki under Dark King Rayleigh's guidance. He's made up his mind, and he'll definitely become a king someday," Fanxin said. "If you guys can't keep up, you'll be a real drag on the team."

No matter how strong a player is, without support, it's all for naught. Because one person can't handle everything alone.

If they were to encounter the Three Admirals, Luffy alone would have no chance of defeating Three Admirals. The Three Admirals are incredibly powerful. Even he can only face one at a time; if he were to fight all Admiral simultaneously, he would suffer a severe loss, if not die.

As a key member of the crew, Zoro must become stronger so that Luffy can fight against powerful opponents without worry.

"Of course," Zoro said. "I won't fail again. I hate failing. This time, I'll definitely become the strongest."

"Hehe, very good." Fanxin said, "I'll stay here for a few days, then leave to travel around. I'll be waiting for you in the Sabaody Archipelago in one year and seven months. At that time, I will return your pirate ships to you, and I hope you can all arrive on time. If you don't arrive, I will destroy your pirate ships. Don't blame me for being ruthless then."

He deliberately said such harsh words; his only purpose was to force Zoro to train harder, so that Zoro would disregard everything and go all out.

He's working hard, so his strength will definitely increase. Zoro has good talent, and now he has Hawk-Eye helping him with guidance. Unless he's an idiot, he's bound to succeed.

"Hmph, you won't succeed," Zoro chuckled and said.

"Is that so? Then let's wait and see!" Fanxin Xin chuckled and said.

"Alright, go train! I came here to find Hawk-Eye." Fanxin said, "Hehe, Hawk-Eye, you must be lonely too. How about a match with me?"

His strength has greatly improved, and he needs someone to fight him. Usually, those he fights are all weaklings, which makes him quite bored.

However, Hawk-Eye is different. Hawk-Eye's formidable strength allows him to unleash his full potential.

"Hehe, that's exactly what I was thinking. Last time, at Marine Headquarters, we both had our reservations, so we didn't have a proper fight. This time, we can have a good battle." Hawk-Eye chuckled and said.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's begin!" Fanxin drew his twin swords, looked at Hawk-Eye, and said. One of his swords was a diamond blade, and the other was Dragon-Slaying Sword.

"Alright, let's begin." Hawk-Eye nodded, put down his wine glass, and picked up his Black Blade.

Fanxin stood up, looked at Ren Fang and Yuning, and said, "You two stay here and don't come any closer, understand?"

Hawk-Eye is a master, incredibly strong. Although he is also a master, he has no time to hold back against Hawk-Eye. If Yuning and the others arrive, he might not be able to rescue them in time. That would be a real problem.

"Yes, we won't do anything reckless." Yuning nodded and said.

"That's good." Fanxin nodded, then looked at Zoro and said, "Hehe, Zoro, if you want to become the strongest swordsman, you have to surpass me. If you can't surpass me, then you can't become the strongest swordsman."

Although his fighting style is diverse, he is still a swordsman. As a swordsman, he naturally wouldn't watch others surpass him. Zoro wants to be number one, and he certainly wouldn't want that.

Therefore, in order to stop Zoro, he will fight Zoro. If Zoro can't beat him, he won't be able to become number one.

"I will beat you too," Zoro said confidently.

"Hmph, don't be so sure of yourself," Fanxin said with a smile. "I'm not so easily defeated."

That's true. His defense is astonishing; it's incredibly difficult for an ordinary person to break through it. Zoro will need to work even harder to do so.

"Hmph, just you wait!" Zoro snorted and said.

Fanxin gave a dismissive look, then he and Hawk-Eye left the area and headed towards the distant ruins.

Once they arrived, Fanxin and Hawk-Eye Eye each took a side and began making preparations.

"Today is a life-or-death battle, Hawk-Eye, are you ready?" Fanxin asked with a smile.

"Hmph, I'm naturally prepared. However, although you are powerful, killing me will be quite difficult," Hawk-Eye said with a smile.

He was confident because he had been famous for many years, and his strength was evident. Fanxin had only recently risen to prominence, and he didn't believe that Fanxin could kill him.

"Then let's see who's the best!" Fanxin nodded and said.

Fanxin gave a light snort and immediately unleashed the full power of his Diamond Armor and Haki. Then, without further ado, he launched an attack on Hawk-Eye.

He swung his twin swords, slashing at Hawk-Eye several times, sending up numerous sword energies that flew straight towards Hawk-Eye.

Hawk-Eye didn't hold back either, wielding his Black Blade and unleashing several sword energies to counter Fanxin's sword energy.

The several sword energies resisted each other, eventually dissipating into nothingness.

Fanxin glanced at it and knew that this kind of attack was useless against Hawk-Eye. Hawk-Eye was quite strong, Hawk-Eye ranged attacks alone wouldn't be enough to defeat him. He could dodge and use ranged attacks against Fanxin.

Therefore, Fanxin stopped unleashing his sword energy and charged forward to engage Hawk-Eye in close combat.

He wielded his twin swords, attacking Hawk-Eye's vital points with all his might, while Hawk-Eye began to defend himself.

Both sides moved at incredible speeds, so fast that it was impossible to keep up. If one didn't understand this technique, they wouldn't even know what kind of moves they were using.

Fanxin used speed to fight speed; you could no longer see the twin swords in his hands. You could only see a shadow.

Hawk-Eye's Black Blade was similarly swift, with a wide attack range, making it extremely difficult for Fanxin to dodge each time.

Zoro watched intently, Vice Admiral the fighting techniques of Fanxin and Hawk-Eye.

This is very valuable to him because he can learn a lot from it.

He silently took notes while gesturing with his hands, as if he were rehearsing.

"Heh, it seems the gap between me and Fanxin is widening!" Zoro chuckled bitterly, saying, "However, I'm not insurmountable. Fanxin, just you wait, I will definitely surpass you and become the strongest."