Hawk Eyes was someone who hated trouble. To avoid Marine pursuit and a whole series of other hassles, he had ultimately chosen to join the Shichibukai.
Because of his past experiences, Hawk Eyes trusted very few people, but none of these changes had affected his pursuit of swordsmanship.
He was now known as the world's greatest swordsman, yet Hawk Eyes felt that he still had many shortcomings.
Strength would not fall from the sky, and simply practicing techniques could no longer bring him much improvement. To further improve his swordsmanship, he needed more battles, especially contests between swordsmen.
Under Morgans's deliberate promotion, the title of world's greatest swordsman had become nearly known to everyone, while the fact that Red-haired Shanks's swordsmanship was on par with Hawk Eyes's had largely been forgotten.
Outsiders would challenge Hawk Eyes because of his title as the world's greatest swordsman, but in Hawk Eyes's eyes, those challengers were all wastes of time. Forget strength—they did not even possess the heart of the strong.
Even now, the opponent who satisfied Hawk Eyes the most was still Shanks. Going back and forth, he had practically latched onto Shanks.
And Shanks was also someone who disliked having too much trouble.
Some troublesome matters could not be avoided, especially after becoming a Sea Emperor. To ensure their flag still carried intimidation, they had to act against anyone who offended it, no matter who that person was.
Shanks was not someone who regretted his own decisions. Since he had already lost that arm, he could naturally use it to turn Hawk Eyes down.
Even if he was still powerful with a sword in his right hand, he was no longer perfect in Hawk Eyes's eyes. Someone like that was not Hawk Eyes's ideal opponent, which naturally saved him some trouble.