The outline of Elbaf has emerged at the horizon, with the silhouettes of giant ferns piercing the clouds.
Usopp, on the lookout tower, suddenly shouted, "Hey everyone, look! There's a warship to our right!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a warship, different in design from the training ship but also flying a naval flag, coming through the waves.
As the two ships drew closer, the atmosphere on the deck suddenly became lively.
Especially on the deck of the warship, Perona excitedly spun around in place, while Yamato waved his spiked club excitedly.
Soon, the two boats were side by side, and a temporary passage was formed by wooden planks.
A figure stepped onto the deck of the training ship first. He carried the Black Blade Night on his back, and his sharp, hawk-like eyes swept across the entire area. It was none other than the World's Greatest Swordsman, Jora Mihawk.
He glanced at the group of excited or curious interns on the deck, his gaze lingering briefly on Zoro before finally settling on Akira's face. His tone was calm yet tinged with a hint of teasing. " Lord Marshal, you certainly have a good time, personally leading a bunch of brats out for training."
Before Akira could react, a pink figure holding a small red umbrella floated over like a ghost, passing Mihawk and bringing a fragrant breeze towards Akira.
" Lord Marshal-- "
Perona let out a sweet, tearful cry, clinging to Akira's neck like a koala, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. Excitedly, she cried out, "I missed you so much! Every day, every moment, I thought about you while eating, I thought about you while sleeping, I'm almost turning into a real ghost from missing you!"
Following closely behind, the tall Yamato slender Yamato rushed over, slammed her huge spiked club onto the deck, and then patted her chest boldly in front of Akira Yu.
" Lord Marshal! I've grown into a true man! Leave the boring task of searching for the Poneglyph to Robin and the others. From today onward, I'll stay by your side and conquer the Grand Line with you!"
As he spoke, Yamato's eyes shone brightly, his undisguised admiration and excitement almost overflowing.
Just as Akira was about to speak, a chilling killing intent emanated from beside him.
Hancock had somehow appeared beside him, her beautiful eyes piercingly cold as she stared intently at Perona was still clinging to Akira.
"Presumptuous!"
Hancock darted forward and grabbed Perona by the back of her collar, pulling her off Akira like a chick. She said coldly, "How dare you throw yourself at my husband! You have no sense of right and wrong!"
As she spoke, she raised her long, beautiful legs high, seemingly about to kick Perona into the sea to feed the fish.
However, just as she was about to kick out, a huge, semi-transparent ghost suddenly emerged from Perona's body and entered her body with lightning speed.
"Thump!"
Just a moment ago, Hancock was exuding an aura of power, but suddenly her knees buckled, and she knelt upright on the deck. Then, she braced herself with her hands on the ground, her whole body shrouded in a dark shadow. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, her eyes were empty, and she muttered to herself with a sense of utter despair.
"I... I'm just a pretty face... I can't do anything right... I have no right to be by your side Lord Marshal... My very existence is a mistake..."
"Hehehe!" Perona, seeing this, put her hands on her hips triumphantly and let out her signature laugh, "Lord Akira is mine! Mine! Mine! Nobody can take him from me!"
After saying that, she opened her arms again, ready to throw herself into Akira once more.
Akira didn't even look at her. He simply reached out and precisely grabbed the back of her collar, then casually tossed her aside.
Perona let out a short scream as she was hung from the crossbar of the mainmast, her feet off the ground, swaying back and forth like a piece of clothing waiting to dry.
"Lord Akira! What are you doing! Put me down! Put me down!" She struggled wildly.
Akira suppressed a laugh and ignored him, turning his gaze to Mihawk, and said calmly, "You contacted me a few days ago, saying you had arrived in Elbaf, so why are you still lingering at sea? Shouldn't you have already entered Elbaf by now?"
Mihawk glanced at Perona, who was flailing on the mast, and Hancock, who was kneeling on the ground drawing circles. His facial muscles twitched involuntarily. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately decided it was best not to interfere. So he went straight to the point. "We originally planned to enter Elbaf first, but we intercepted a public distress signal from a Marine Base in the nearby waters."
"The royal family of the Kingdom of Portoria, one of the World Government Member States, suddenly changed course and headed towards Hachinosu Island while migrating to the Holy Land."
Mihawk paused, then continued, "The initial intelligence received by the navy was that the royal ship had been kidnapped by pirates, but when the support forces arrived, they discovered that it was all a staged event by the Puertovia royal family themselves."
"They've been secretly dealing with Wang Zhi, the Pirate King of Hachinosu Island, for years. Fearing retribution after moving to the Holy Land, they conspired with Ochoku to stage this kidnapping, attempting to escape unscathed."
"The naval force that discovered the truth engaged in a fierce battle with the Hachinosu Island pirates, but was ambushed and suffered heavy losses. At the last moment, one of the officers sent a distress signal using a public channel, which we received."
After listening to Mihawk's account, Akira frowned slightly and asked, "When did this happen?"
During this time, he was so focused on training these interns that he forgot about Hachinosu Island, the pirate Paradise, and that Ochoku, a remnant of the Rocks Pirates, was still active in the New World.
Since they've already collided, there's no need for this so-called "last Paradise for pirates" to exist.
Perona, hanging on the mast, answered first, "Just half an hour ago! We were about to cross the Elbaf Sea directly to Hachinosu Island to rescue them, but we didn't expect Lord Marshal, you all to arrive just in time!"
"I see." Akira nodded, then immediately turned his head and called out, " Morgan!"
"Exist!"
"Pass down the order: the training ship must immediately change course, target Hachinosu Island!"
"Yes!"
Just as Morgan left, Zoro, still wrapped in bandages, suddenly stepped out from the crowd. His eyes, blazing with fighting spirit, stared directly at Mihawk, a defiant grin spreading across his lips. He said in a deep voice, " Hawk Eyes, I challenge you—"
Before Zoro could finish speaking, an orange figure darted to his side like Inazuma.
Thump!
Nami clenched her fist and gave Zoro a merciless tap on the head, her expression fierce as she said, " Zoro, what time is it and you're still thinking about challenges! Didn't you hear we were supposed to go support our comrades? What are you doing here, you directionally challenged Moss Head, causing trouble!"
Caught off guard, Zoro clutched his head and crouched down, a large bump visibly rising on his forehead. He hissed in pain and couldn't help but yell, "Crazy woman! Don't you know your punches hurt?!"
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