Not Calling Names Means Basic Attack

White Sea, Gate of Heaven.

Finally setting foot on land, Mihawk pulled Black Blade Night from behind him. "Beelzebul, draw your blade."

Perhaps because Mihawk, at nineteen, had yet to claim the title of World's Greatest Swordsman, Seven was spared the indignity of being toyed with by a mere knife.

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

The two exchanged three rapid slashes, a warm-up of sorts.

Feeling Seven's increasingly formidable strength, Mihawk offered a pointer: "A sword with only power has no substance."

After their brief exchange, Mihawk grew even more curious about the blade in Seven's hand—unsharpened, its body glowing with a purple light.

Its sheer durability was no less than Black Blade Night, one of the Supreme Grade Swords in his possession.

A Supreme Grade Sword never seen before?

Then Seven wrapped black-red Conqueror's Haki and crackling Thunder around the blade.

The sight made Mihawk's eye twitch, his hawk-like gaze sharpening further.

"Conqueror's Haki Infusion? What a freak."

In all his years at sea, pursuing the path of the sword and challenging countless masters, Mihawk had never encountered anything like this.

No Armament Haki, no Observation Haki—yet wielding Conqueror's Haki at the level of Haki Coating.

It couldn't even be called lopsided!

What kind of spirit had forged such a freak?

No wonder he'd become a crewmate of the King of the Pirates, no wonder he'd found the Final Island and the great treasure.

Both swung their blades, unleashing Flying Slashes—one purple, one green.

But compared to Mihawk's green slash, which could cleave the clouds, Seven's purple slash looked somewhat miniature.

Yet its power was compact and fierce.

After all, it was Conqueror's Haki Infusion, amplified by Dream One Heart to 100% Haki intensity.

Since Seven hadn't awakened Armament Haki or Observation Haki, he could only rely on radio waves in the air to predict Mihawk's moves.

At the same time, he couldn't use Armament Haki to boost his attack or defense.

In short, with Haki Coating and his Devil Fruit ability, Seven's offensive power had already reached the top-tier level of the seas.

Defense... let's not go there.

Unless he could elevate Conqueror's Haki to a higher level—Conqueror's Haki Bodyguard.

Before his transmigration, it seemed only the true man Rocks had ever used Conqueror's Haki Bodyguard in the Pirate World.

Boom~

Sent flying dozens of meters by Mihawk, Seven wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "As expected, battle is the best training."

This fight with Mihawk.

Not only did it fully integrate the swordsman's training experience etched into his mind, but even the newly acquired Thoughtless Sword training experience showed signs of merging.

What's more, his swordsmanship and Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability began to undergo a subtle chemical reaction.

For instance, when he swung his blade to unleash a Flying Slash, Thunder Dragons trailed behind the sword energy.

Or when their blades clashed, Seven used electric currents to stimulate his body, spiking adrenaline and significantly boosting his strength and reaction speed.

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

The two fought from night until day, utterly ignorant of fatigue.

Strangely enough, neither shouted out their dazzling array of technique names.

Mihawk: I don't name them—they're just normal attacks.

Seven: Same here!

But in the end, it came down to a lack of foundation.

After eight hours of dueling, Seven was the first to collapse to the ground, gasping for breath.

In this battle of Great Swordsman versus swordsman, Mihawk had held back heavily.

Four years apart in age, Seven's natural physique was average, he'd often gone hungry as a child, and his six years on the Roger Pirates had been a mixed bag of learning.

To reach this point was already incredibly difficult.

Still, with Innate Divine Strength and being a Big Eater—or rather, with the system—what Seven lacked was development time. Give him enough time to grow, and he could overturn the world.

Mihawk sheathed Black Blade Night and reached out to pull Seven up. "Not bad. Improvement."

Maybe five years... two years from now, this guy would become a worthy opponent.

Seven was about to deepen his bond with Mihawk when an untimely voice suddenly rang out: "Captain, someone's coming."

A group of warriors emerged from the jungle.

Shandora was originally part of Jaya Island, but 400 years ago, it was swept up to the White Sea by a massive Upward Sea Current.

The Skypieans discovered this land, leading to a four-century-long war with the indigenous Shandia people over territory.

The group of natives with small wings on their backs who appeared before Seven were the indigenous Shandia people. One of them, a Shandia Warrior who seemed to be a leader, asked tentatively.

"Seven?"

Someone he knew? Seven studied the man speaking, a scene from two years ago surfacing in his mind.

"Calpa? Long time no see."

Calpa was a descendant of Calgara, the great Shandia warrior from 400 years ago.

Two years ago, the Roger Pirates had come to Skypiea, finding the Poneglyphs that held information on the Ancient Weapon Poseidon.

They had befriended the Shandia warrior Calpa and Gan Fall, the sixth god of Skypiea's God's Country.

After a warm embrace, Calpa asked, "Did you find the One Piece? What about Captain Roger and the others? Why are you here alone?"

Seven selectively gave a brief account of what had happened since leaving Skypiea.

"I never thought a man like Captain Roger would choose to turn himself in."

"We all respect the captain's choice. What about you guys? Still fighting with Gan Fall and his people?"

Calpa shook his head. "It's been quiet for a while. Come on, let's head back and throw a banquet."

"Now that you mention it, I'm hungry again."

In the Pirate World, throwing a banquet was like eating dumplings during a northern festival in Seven's past life—

Feeling good? Let's throw a banquet.

Feeling down? Let's throw a banquet.

On the journey with the Roger Pirates to find the One Piece, Seven had made many friends. What made him memorable among the crew was mainly his superb cooking skills.

Meeting new friends meant a banquet, and a banquet naturally needed good food and drink.

As the head chef of the Roger Pirates, Seven used fine cuisine and liquor to win over not just the crew, but friends from all walks of life.

When they passed the spot where the Golden Pillar had stood, Seven feigned surprise. "Where's that pillar?!"

Calpa looked dejected. "Don't even mention it. It was stolen last night."

"Nani?!"

Seven gestured wildly with his hands. "A golden pillar that big—how did they haul it away?"

"Who knows." Calpa kept grumbling. "We passed out for no reason several times last night. That must've been when it was stolen."

Hearing this, Mihawk glanced at Seven without changing his expression. He felt something wasn't quite right.

This guy had come up last night. Last night, the Golden Pillar was stolen. The truth... was practically screaming to be known.

Still, judging by the marks on the ground, that so-called Golden Pillar was really huge. So how had Seven stolen it?

And where had he put it?

Mihawk was growing more and more intrigued by Seven—this man of mystery.

Cloud Village was a settlement built on island clouds after the Shandia people's homeland was seized by the Skypiea gods 400 years ago. It still retained its primitive tribal style with tents and totems.

At the grand banquet, Seven got back to his old job, once again winning over the Shandia people with his cooking.

"Seven, finally getting to eat your food again."

For a while after the Roger Pirates left Skypiea, the Shandia people lucky enough to have attended the banquet back then gave their own tribe's cooks the cold shoulder for a long time.

Both were chefs, but one's cooking left you craving more, while the other's was just a waste of ingredients.

"Seven, what brings you here this time?"

Seven set down his cup. "I'm planning to talk to Gan Fall and get your two tribes to stop fighting. You're all descendants of the Moon People—what's the point of all this killing and bloodshed?"

A Shandia warrior immediately shouted.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. We'll never worship that guy as a god."

Seven smiled calmly. "I know. So then..."

"How about I become your god instead?"