Moistening Things Silently

"Swordsman?"

Mihawk picked up a bottle of Iced Black Tea from the ice bucket. "Talk to me when you can pull off a Flying Slash."

A Flying Slash was a swordsman technique where the user swung their blade to release a detached sword aura for long-range attacks.

"Don't underestimate me."

Seven gritted his teeth and bought the Swordsman's training experience. "One month. I'll definitely become a Swordsman."

Mihawk glanced sideways. "If you can pull off a Flying Slash in a month, I'll grant you one condition."

Cultivating a rival didn't sound half bad.

Of course, that was only if Seven could cross the threshold of Iron Cutting and master the Flying Slash within a month.

Was that possible?

It was utterly impossible!

Mihawk suspected that on Roger's ship, Seven had poured all his energy into culinary research—otherwise, there was no way he could've made such delicious food and Iced Black Tea.

"Mi-san, you're definitely going to be this Vice Captain!"

Seven, as if injected with adrenaline, whooped and pulled out his Plasma Sword to start practicing. Mi-san, you have no idea—your Captain here~ is about to cheat.

[Use Swordsman's Training Experience]

A torrent of training experience poured directly into his brain, like a sudden awakening of a strange, forgotten memory. Seven rubbed his brow and awkwardly realized—

Brain: I got it, I got it.

Hands: I don't got it!!

One slash, one slash, another slash.

At first, Seven's sword-swinging posture looked utterly pathetic, but after just over a thousand repetitions, Mihawk's eye began to twitch.

The rhythm of his swings had already found its form.

Seeing this, Mihawk pressed his lips together and decided to make things harder for his future Captain. "You take the helm. I'm going to rest."

Seven nodded. "Sure."

Mi-san, I never thought a man like you would get anxious. But even so, what can you do?

The Vice Captain I, Barzeb Seven, have my eye on isn't getting away.

Mihawk picked up the ice bucket and headed back to the cabin. Ever since Seven had whipped out that sweet little drink, Iced Black Tea, Mihawk barely brewed regular tea anymore.

Since meeting Mihawk, over the course of a month, Seven had thrown out four trump cards in succession: the Great Treasure, gourmet food, sweet drinks, and Shandora. Who wouldn't be dazzled by that?

It was like rain seeping silently into the earth!

All Seven could say was that his taming was going smoothly. The day Mihawk became Vice Captain... wasn't far off!

The weather on the Grand Line was just like a girlfriend's temper—one second it was clear skies and sunny smiles, the next it was a sudden downpour and furious glares.

Gale winds whipped up towering waves. Seven quickly urged Thunder to form a Protective Shield around himself, evaporating the seawater splashing onto the deck.

After consuming the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Seven's hatred for seawater shot past Momonosuke's, topping the list of most hated things.

Dark clouds blotted out the sky, and the sea surface was pitch-black like ink.

The pirate ship drifted alone on the water, rocking and swaying as waves battered it.

Thankfully, Seven didn't get seasick.

Rain poured down in torrents. Seven steered with one hand while browsing the Trading Platform with the other.

Being on the Roger Pirates meant that steering and sailing were basic skills every crew member had to master, even if Seven was a chef.

[For Sale: Flying Bamboo Dragonfly, 500 points. Seller's note: Conceptual-level anti-gravity device, no energy required, never breaks.]

"Whoa~" Seven's eyes burned with desire. An anti-gravity device that can fly—this thing is a gem.

Rumble-Rumble Fruit users could also fly, but it wasn't flight in the traditional sense. It was more like instant position changes through elemental transformation and electrical conduction.

However, using Devil Fruit abilities consumed stamina. When stamina ran out, the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly's advantage would shine.

Too bad he only had 266 points right now.

Staring at the turbulent sea, Seven's heart surged. I need to take over Sky Island as soon as possible, or I'll just be staring at all this good stuff.

Sky Island Shells and Devil Fruits were the quickest ways Seven had found to earn points.

Devil Fruits sold for over 1,000 points, but something as insane as the Op-Op Fruit, which could grant immortality, naturally had to be kept as a strategic weapon.

After all, immortality—who wouldn't covet that?

Three days later, a large island appeared on the distant horizon: Lodestar Island, the island where Alabasta was located.

Seven didn't plan to venture deep into Lodestar Island for exploration.

His goal this time was clear: head straight to Jaya Island's waters, find the Upward Sea Current, and blast off to Sky Island.

Back when they were sailing toward the Final Island, Seven would record every island they reached with a Log Pose, calling it his way of retracing their steps someday on his own ship.

Looking back now, it was a truly wise move.

By the helm, Mihawk suddenly spoke up. "What kind of man was King of the Pirates, Roger?"

Seven paused briefly before giving his assessment.

"The Captain... he was a great pirate."

A lousy husband and father.

"Just great?" Mihawk took a sip of Iced Black Tea. "I thought you'd call him the strongest pirate. So in your eyes, who is the strongest?"

"Rocks and Mr. Gaban."

Before Mihawk could ask, Seven continued.

"In a world where people abandon their wives and children for dreams, Rocks gave up his dream for his wife and child. That makes him a real man."

"But compared to Rocks, I actually admire Mr. Gaban more."

"Next to Mr. Gaban, guys like Golden Lion and Kaido all fade into obscurity."

At this explanation, Mihawk's gaze sharpened, but Seven didn't mention Gaban's whereabouts, so Mihawk had to set the thought aside.

"If you say so, he must be strong indeed."

Seven grinned smugly. Once he trained in Skypiea for a while, he'd swing by Elbaf and learn from Mr. Gaban how to become a university student.

"I won't explain why yet. When we go find Mr. Gaban, you'll understand."

"Our current goal is: Shandora."

Docking the ship at the port, they split the work. Mihawk went to buy food, water, and other supplies, while Seven handled repairs on the hull.

If asked, he learned it all on the Roger Pirates.

As the only non-combatant on the Roger Pirates, Seven's skill tree was entirely focused on non-fighting arts.

It wasn't intentional—his talent was just skewed.

Seven's physique and combat talent were terrible, but his life skills were exceptional. As a chef, he was not only a master cook but also knew how to steer, repair ships, draw sea charts... and even how to make Eternal Poses.

He was good at everything except fighting.

East Blue, Konomi Islands.

CP9 agent Rujian Yitia returned once more and found the muscle-bound man. "Has Barzeb Seven come back recently?"

The muscle-bound man quickly replied, "Little White Hair hasn't been back. Sir, I just remembered something strange."

"Strange?" Rujian Yitia raised an eyebrow and pulled out ten thousand Berry from his pocket.

"Spill it."

The muscle-bound man took the Berry. "You know, sir, in the past few years we used to bully Little White Hair a lot. But one time, that guy suddenly started glowing red..."

"Then we all passed out."

Hearing this, Rujian Yitia waved his hand irritably. "I get it."

A country bumpkin who didn't even know who Roger was—his words had no credibility.

Red light? What a joke.

It couldn't be Conqueror's Haki, could it?

As far as he knew, Barzeb Seven joined the Roger Pirates at age nine. A brat under nine years old—how could he possibly have Conqueror's Haki?

Remembering how the little chef had slipped right under his nose, taking his hopes of a promotion and raise with him, Rujian Yitia fumed.

"Barzeb, you damn bastard! A guy like you should be arrested by my own hands!"

He didn't regret not calling the Navy for help in Loguetown. He only hated that the guy was too cunning to escape surveillance.

"How the hell did he get away?"