Sengoku Was Exhausted and Wanted to Retire
"This strength... As expected of the man who defeated Red Hair, he's terrifyingly strong. It seems I absolutely cannot fight him before I devour Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit!" Blackbeard has now given up on devouring Whitebeard's Dream-Dream Fruit. Facing such an insurmountable enemy, it's best to be rational.
"So strong! This kind of swordsmanship is truly..." Hawkeye trembled all over, not from fear, but from excitement, because he saw in Roy a path completely different from his own. If he could fight him, the swordsmanship shackles that had been dormant for many years might be able to see a new world.
"I knew it. Even a monster Kaido is no match for Nightmare. His strength is beyond my imagination. This Pirate Empress is an idiot. Why did she have to stick her neck out? Could she have been bribed by the Navy to test Nightmare's strength? But she already has such a good touchstone Hawkeye, why did she have to do something so unnecessary? It's really inexplicable!" Moria thought to himself.
As Sengoku sent men to escort Hancock to the best naval hospital for treatment, he said in a cold voice, "Nightmare, don't forget this is Marine Headquarters. You'd better behave yourself!"
"Heh, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what you're saying doesn't make sense. It was clearly this idiot woman who provoked me first. I was just fulfilling her death wish." Roy's lips curled up slightly as he said mockingly, "Besides, since you didn't stop it before, didn't you tacitly allow all of this to happen? So, it's mainly your dereliction of duty as Fleet Admiral that's to blame."
Sengoku was so angry that he almost fainted. He only wanted to make the Empress suffer a little, but he never expected her to be so ruthless. How could she be so cruel to such a beautiful woman? She's a beast!
However, Sengoku knew that he had indeed made a mistake this time, so he could only swallow his anger and warned with a gloomy expression, "This is the last time. Don't keep testing the Navy's bottom line."
"What's the bottom line?" Roy's casual words made all the marines break out in a cold sweat, worried that before the Whitebeard Pirates even appeared, their Marine Headquarters would be fighting with the Shichibukai. However, they also secretly admired him, thinking that he was indeed a legendary pirate who dared to provoke the Fleet Admiral in front of so many Marine Headquarters. His courage alone was beyond the reach of ordinary people.
"You..." Sengoku felt that not leaving earlier today was indeed a mistake. If it weren't for the impending battle, he would have really wanted to turn against Nightmare. However, what made him even more desperate was that Roy completely ignored his existence, walked straight past him, and left behind a light-hearted question, "Hey, Hawkeye, are you still planning to fight me now?"
Everyone then realized that compared to the battle between Nightmare and the Pirate Empress, which was not even an appetizer, the battle between Hawkeye and Nightmare was the real feast. It was just unknown whether Hawkeye would still have the courage to fight Nightmare after witnessing its power firsthand.
Fortunately, Hawkeye did not disappoint them, immediately drawing the Black Blade Yoru from his back, its blade aimed at Nightmare, "I couldn't be happier!"
"Who will prevail between the World's Greatest Swordsman and the World's Strongest?"
"Wait a minute, isn't Whitebeard the World's Strongest?"
"If Whitebeard doesn't dare to show up in three days, he will naturally fall from his pedestal and never regain his title as the strongest again. But if he does show up, it will be a path to certain death, and he will inevitably Fallen Sea. So, I'm just putting the title of the World's Strongest on Nightmare a few days in advance. Don't you think a battle World's Strongest and the World's Greatest Swordsman sounds pretty exciting?"
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Listening to the discussions of the surrounding navy, Sengoku felt utterly desperate. What was going on? Even the navy was ignoring his existence. At that moment, he thought pessimistically, "It seems that I have failed miserably as the Fleet Admiral. After this great war, I will retire and live a peaceful life."
"You are a true powerhouse, so naturally I won't treat you like I did with that idiot woman before." Roy's words caused the surrounding marines to mentally rant. Was the Sword Qi that almost killed the Pirate Empress with a single finger just a perfunctory gesture?
"Then, I will end you with the etiquette of a swordsman, using this World's Strongest Seven Star Sword!"
Hawkeye's expression was strange. Where had he heard those words before? Wait, wasn't that something he said when he was showing off in front of some kid?
However, despite this, Hawkeye showed no sign of underestimating him. He had heard Red Hair mention the Seven Star Sword in Nightmare's hand, which Above Supreme Grade Sword, more than once. For a swordsman, a powerful weapon is almost like a second life, and no swordsman would not want to possess the World's Strongest sword.
"You two, stop right there!" Just as the atmosphere was growing increasingly tense, as if a storm was brewing, Sengoku roared.
"Does the Fleet Admiral Sengoku intend to stop the battle between these two monsters all by himself?"
"As expected of the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, my legs go weak just standing in front of this monster."
"You two... if you want to fight, go outside and fight. Don't cause trouble in the Marine Headquarters!" Sengoku knew very well that Hawkeye's strength was not comparable to that of the Pirate Empress. If they really fought, the Marine Headquarters might be reduced to ruins, and the public execution three days later would really become a joke.
"So it's just a change of scenery. Disappointing. I thought the Fleet Admiral Sengoku would rise to prominence once again."
"What do you mean? Do you want to see the Fleet Admiral get beaten up?"
"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Sengoku remained expressionless. "Heh, I've written all of you down in my little notebook. I'll make things difficult for you when we get back."
A remote island near the Marine Headquarters, home to a perpetually erupting active volcano, is extremely dangerous. Unless absolutely necessary, no one dares to set foot on it, so the island has always remained in an uncivilized and wild state.
But today, the island welcomed two unexpected guests, each standing on the edge of the shore, calming their breathing, seemingly trying to reach their peak condition. The sounds of birds and insects, and the gurgling lava around them, had no effect on them whatsoever; it was as if, at this moment, only the two of them existed in the world.
Two warships were quietly anchored in the waters near the isolated island, carrying the navy and the Shichibukai had come to witness this earth-shattering battle.
The warships did not approach the isolated island because they all knew very well that a medium-sized island could not withstand the attacks of monsters like Hawkeye and Nightmare for long. To avoid being caught in the crossfire, it was best to stay away from their battlefield.