Hawkeye's Challenge
In fact, apart from Empress Hancock staring intently at Roy, almost everyone in the conference room would glance at him to some extent, but they did it more subtly, pretending it was an unintentional glance, unlike Hancock was so direct.
Sitting next to Roy, Gecko Moria sat upright, his eyes fixed straight ahead. If one looked closely, one could even see his short, chubby legs twitching. Roy had left such a deep impression on him three years ago; every time he saw Roy, he seemed to recall the terror of Roy reaching into his brain. Although nothing seemed to have happened in the past three years, he didn't believe that a monster like Nightmare would do anything pointless.
Jinbe, sitting next to Moria, had a complicated look in his eyes. He had originally wanted to refuse the Marine Headquarters' summons, but he was no longer alone as he had been in the original timeline. Any decision he made could not bypass Roy, the ruler of Fish-Man Island. Fortunately, Roy had promised him that he could just play a minor role.
Hawkeye, on the other hand, was burning with fighting spirit. He had long looked forward to fighting Roy, but had never had the chance. This time, he was determined not to miss it.
Blackbeard's gaze toward Roy was filled with blatant desire. In his eyes, Roy's Dream-Dream Fruit might be even more powerful than Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit. If he could devour it, neither the Marine Headquarters nor the World Government could stop him from advancing.
Fortunately, he did not lose his mind. Although he was confident that he had reached the level of the Four Emperors, his opponent had a real record of defeating the Four Emperors, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was the World's Strongest in a substantial sense.
"Unfortunately, I only have one last chance to choose a Devil Fruit. Otherwise, I could have devoured Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit first, strengthened myself, and then devoured Nightmare's Dream-Dream Fruit. Why did my first time have to be..." Blackbeard felt so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe at the thought of giving his first time to Cross-dresser Fruit. Fortunately, he was strong-willed and forced himself to calm down. "There's still a chance. Although my current strength is not as good as Nightmare's, my Dark-Dark Fruit still has great potential for development. The day I catch up with him is not too far away."
Aside from the Shichibukai, the Navy's gaze towards Roy was even more complex, especially Sengoku's. Every time he schemed against Roy, it almost always ended up benefiting Roy, making him feel like he was looking at his own dark past when facing Roy.
In an attempt to erase his own dark past, Sengoku almost couldn't resist smashing a cup as a signal to his underlings to come in and hack Roy to death with a flurry of blows.
Of course, this was purely Sengoku's own wishful thinking. They had done a calculation that, under Nightmare's peak conditions, even if all of their Marine Headquarters' top combat forces rushed in, the best outcome would be that they would be taken down along with the enemy, which was unacceptable to Marine Headquarters.
Therefore, Sengoku forced himself to endure it, waiting until the enemy and Whitebeard were both exhausted before taking them down effortlessly. This was the best option for the Navy.
"Ahem, now that everyone is here, let's give a brief overview of the upcoming battle," Sengoku said solemnly, explaining carefully.
"Our opponent this time is one of the Four Emperors of the New World, Whitebeard Edward Newgate!"
At this point, all the Shichibukai and other Marines couldn't help but glance at Roy. The Four Emperors had really been almost completely ruined by this guy.
"Whitebeard's terror goes without saying, and I'm sure everyone is well aware of it. Today, I'll mainly introduce the main combat force composition of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"The Whitebeard Pirates have a total of sixteen divisions, 1,600 people. Each division commander has monstrous strength, and the top-ranked commanders even possess terrifying combat power approaching that of Marine Admiral. The good news is that the Fourth Division and the Second Division are no longer a concern." As he said this, Sengoku couldn't help but glance at Blackbeard again. This black guy who appeared out of nowhere actually possessed terrifying combat power at the level of Four Emperors. It was truly unbelievable.
"He commands 43 New World pirate crews, a terrifying force of tens of thousands of men. Among them are many powerful figures who participated in the last era's War for Supremacy. Underestimating them will lead to serious losses." As he said this, Sengoku's lips twitched slightly, because he noticed that the group of unruly men in front of him were already yawning. However, he understood what these Shichibukai were thinking. After all, they were just individuals. It was already good enough if they could hold off some high-level combatants for the Navy. Did they expect them to fight against tens of thousands of men?
Therefore, Sengoku had no choice but to fast forward, "I won't say much more. When the battle begins, the seven of you will serve as the spearheads at the front, opening up opportunities for the Navy. As for the results, I don't expect too much. I just hope that each of you can at least hold off one squad leader."
Roy and the others were not surprised. Their reputation Shichibukai was not good, and the Marine Headquarters would certainly not place them in the crucial hinterland. Their placement at the front line was probably out of concern that they might defect at the last minute.
"If everyone has no objections, then let's decide on this. Let's patiently await the decisive battle that will take place in three days. Meeting adjourned." Sengoku indicated that he did not want to stay here any longer and quickly got up and left.
Roy lazily opened his eyes and followed the dispersing crowd outwards.
"Nightmare!" Hawkeye's sudden voice made everyone around stop in their tracks, staring wide-eyed at the unfolding drama.
Roy tilted his head and chuckled teasingly, "Hawkeye? I've heard you and Red Hair are very close. You wouldn't happen to be thinking of avenging him, would you?"
"My relationship with Red Hair is limited to that of rivals." Hawkeye shook his head, his calm pupils reflecting eyes filled with fighting spirit. "The reason I summoned you is simple: come and fight me, Nightmare!"
The still-simmering navy gasped in shock. The world's Great Sword Master was challenging the World's Strongest? Although it had little to do with them, their blood was still boiling with excitement. Many were preparing to call on their friends and not miss this extraordinary battle.
Even Sengoku, who had strode quickly to the door, couldn't help but stop in his tracks, feeling utterly exhausted. He knew that these unruly guys getting together was bound to cause trouble, but they were all moving too fast. Couldn't they have waited for me to leave first? Didn't I have any dignity?
However, Sengoku didn't intend to stop it, because he himself was also very curious to know how the battle between these two arguably the strongest Great Sword Master of the era would end, and he could also take the opportunity to "test" Nightmare's strength. Why not?
Roy didn't disappoint everyone. "The World's Greatest Swordsman? Someone like you is certainly worth my time to fight."
Everyone was breathing rapidly, their faces were flushed, and their hearts were pounding.
Suddenly, a cold and arrogant voice broke the tense atmosphere, "Stop! This rude person is my prey."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, completely bewildered, and found that it was Empress Hancock staring at Nightmare with a fierce expression. A thought involuntarily popped into their minds: had the Empress's brain been damaged in the accident?