Defeat

"...Hawk Eyes!"

Zoro was startled when he heard the name. He sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed on the man in the corner.

His hands rested on his sword hilts, gripping them tightly without realizing it.

"What's wrong, Zoro?" the others asked, bewildered.

Lina could tell what he was about to do. But...

The gap in their strength is too great. Should I stop him? Lina couldn't help thinking.

He couldn't guarantee that things would unfold as they had before. If Zoro went and got himself killed here...

But when he looked up and saw the resolve in Zoro's eyes, he gave up on stopping him.

This was Zoro's own path. Besides, even if he tried to talk him out of it, Zoro wouldn't listen.

Hawk Eyes headed straight for the door, not sparing a glance at Zoro's burning gaze.

"Wait!" Zoro shouted. "You're the World's Greatest Swordsman, aren't you?"

He drew a sword and pointed it at Hawk Eyes. "I challenge you!"

"I have no interest in the weak."

Hawk Eyes replied calmly and continued toward the door.

"Don't be so damn arrogant!" Zoro snarled, chasing after him.

"Hey, Zoro!" Nami called out anxiously. She turned to the others. "Go stop him! Didn't you hear? That man cut a pirate ship in half with one strike!"

"That won't work, Nami." Luffy had set down his food, his expression serious. "I promised Zoro I wouldn't stand in his way."

"Ah, let's go." Lina sighed and headed for the door.

The chefs stood frozen for a moment, then rushed toward the kitchen.

"Hey, everyone, come watch! One of those customers is challenging Hawk Eyes!"

"Seriously?"

"Wait, isn't that famous bounty hunter?"

"That's him! Roronoa Zoro!"

The kitchen erupted with excitement, and the chefs streamed out of the restaurant.

Sanji looked perplexed. He set down his cooking utensils and came out. "Honestly, what's with these people? Do they love dueling that much?"

Out on the restaurant's deck, Zoro blocked Hawk Eyes' way, Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth.

He had gone to sea for one reason: to find the man standing before him.

He would defeat him, make his name ring across the seas, and fulfill the promise he had made all those years ago.

A longing unlike anything he had ever felt filled Zoro's eyes.

"I like your eyes. In that case, let's make this a little exercise after the meal."

As he spoke, Hawk Eyes took the cross around his neck and drew a Little Knife. "I didn't bring a smaller blade. Come."

The second-floor deck was crowded with Lina and the others, along with the Baratie chefs led by Sanji. They all watched the duel with eager anticipation.

"The World's Greatest Swordsman versus Roronoa Zoro!"

"I never thought I'd get to see a duel between two people of this caliber."

"I can't even imagine what it'll look like when they fight."

The chefs watched intently from above. They knew both men were strong, but had no real sense of just how strong.

Their own abilities fell far short of either man's, so all they had to go by was reputation. And Zoro was already fairly well-known in the East Blue.

However,

three minutes later...

"The scar on my back..."

"Is a swordsman's shame!!!"

"..."

Would it be rude to laugh right now?

Lina found the famous scene both upsetting and funny. He was worried, but couldn't help admiring Zoro a little more.

Hawk Eyes drew Black Blade Night and ended the duel with one final strike.

With his back to Zoro, who lay sprawled on the deck, Hawk Eyes walked away at an unhurried pace, leaving only a quiet remark behind:

"Get stronger, Roronoa. I'll be waiting for you on the throne of the world's greatest swordsman."

Lying on the deck, Zoro covered his face with one hand and raised Wado Ichimonji toward the sky with the other.

"Until I defeat him, I'll never lose again!!!"

...It was as if he were saying it for everyone there to hear.

And as if he were making a vow to someone who didn't exist in the sky...

Once the duel ended, Lina and Usopp rushed down and helped Zoro up.

A gruesome gash ran across his chest, stretching from the upper right side over his entire torso.

Lina leaped back aboard the ship to fetch some medicine, and the two of them bandaged Zoro.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant entrance,

"That idiot's your crewmate, right? Why didn't you stop him?" Sanji asked Luffy, lighting a cigarette.

Luffy glanced at Sanji. "That's his dream. Zoro has his own path."

"Did he really have to go that far?" Sanji looked up and exhaled a puff of smoke. "...Dreams, huh? This vague, intangible thing—is it worth risking your life for?"

"Yeah. That's why it's called a dream." Luffy's voice was calm but firm. "Don't you have something worth risking your life for?"

"Something worth risking my life for..."

Leaning against the wall, Sanji closed his eyes and took a slow drag on his cigarette.

"Have you heard of the Azure Sea?"

"The Azure Sea?"

"It's an ocean said to contain all the fish in the four seas...

"They say it's somewhere on the Grand Line. Once the old man dies, I'll go to the Grand Line. Even if it takes my whole life, I'll find that sea."

Luffy glanced at Sanji, then suddenly made a strange face. "Shishishi! We're going there too, and we're short a cook. Come with us!"

"No. I have a reason I have to stay here."

"What? Didn't you say you were going to the Grand Line?"

On the third-floor deck, Zeff leaned on the railing, looking down at Sanji and Luffy. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he murmured,

"You're grinning pretty wide, you brat. Maybe you've finally found a ship worth setting sail on."

After Lina finished bandaging Zoro, he helped him into the restaurant. Luckily, the wound hadn't reached his heart. Hawk Eyes had shown some appreciation for his talent.

The wound was deep, but only the flesh had been damaged. With Zoro's constitution, he would be fine after getting some rest.

Once they saw that Zoro was out of danger, everyone relaxed.

Lina, Nami, and Usopp took their time enjoying the food, while Luffy and Sanji continued their contest.

Notably, after Luffy badgered him, they had placed a bet on the contest: if Luffy won, Sanji would go with them; if he lost, they would never come looking for him at Baratie again—

—except for Nami.

"Luffy's appetite means he's bound to win," Nami said confidently. She had seen for herself just yesterday how Luffy had worn out five villagers.

Lina wasn't so sure. "With Sanji, it's hard to say. I'm already thinking about how to cheat."

That's right, I'm underhanded. So what?

But before Lina could do anything, someone in the kitchen had already made the first move.

"Sanji, it's time for you to leave here," Zeff said calmly.

Sanji didn't react. He was busy competing with Luffy, his attention fixed on the cooking utensils in his hands.

"I said, you're fired, Sanji," Zeff continued.

Only then did Sanji slowly set down his utensils, his expression growing darker.

"Old man, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Do you want me to die with regrets? Go to sea, Sanji. I don't want to hold you back."

"Don't give me that crap about holding me back. I'm staying here because I want to. It has nothing to do with you!"

"What about the Azure Sea?"

"I'll set sail when you're dead!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Rather than wait around for you to bury me, tell me while I've still got a few years left whether the Azure Sea really exists."

Zeff's voice remained calm. "One of us has to go see it for himself, don't you think?"

Sanji fell silent for a moment, then finally broke down and dropped to his knees.

He bowed deeply to Zeff and cried out through his tears, "Old man! I'll never forget your kindness for as long as I live!"

The kitchen was silent. All the chefs had quietly left when Zeff came in.

"Um... sorry, I took a wrong turn."

Lina stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, awkwardly watching the touching scene.

He was holding a nest of ants.

They were the undead he had made by crushing some ants he'd found outside. He'd been planning to sneak in and cause a little trouble.

But the moment he slipped inside, he saw this.

Sanji: "..."