The Road Ahead

Watching this scene, Lu Zhuo finally gained a glimmer of insight into the Sword Domain, and he even saw the path that lay ahead!

Sword Domain, Sword Intent, Heart of the Sword!

These corresponded respectively to High-Level Swordsman, Top-Level Swordsman, and Great Swordsman!

Watching the two moves from Hawk-Eye, Lu Zhuo muttered to himself, "So that's how it is. Sword techniques and the sword. Sword techniques exist only for the sake of the sword; the sword does not exist for the sake of sword techniques."

"Not bad!" Hawk-Eye gave Lu Zhuo an appreciative look, then leaped from the ship, landed on the ice below, and sped away.

"My name is Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman! I will be waiting for you at this peak position!" A voice drifted from afar, and Lu Zhuo slowly tightened his grip on his sword.

"I will be there, Hawk-Eye. Since I have come to this world, the title of the world's greatest swordsman will surely be mine!"

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as Lu Zhuo's sword suddenly left its scabbard, slashing toward a distant block of ice.

As he slowly sheathed his blade, two distinct sword marks appeared on the massive ice block, one above the other!

Sword Domain... it was getting close!

Lu Zhuo smiled faintly, turned around, and walked toward the cabin.

At this moment, the distant Marine base finally received word.

Aokiji had failed to capture Lu Zhuo's group and had left directly, and the Marine base, having received no orders, had not dispatched any troops.

"What? Admiral Aokiji failed!"

The Marine base was in an uproar, with looks of shock on everyone's faces.

How could someone actually escape from an Admiral?!

But once they learned of Hawk-Eye's interference, they were relieved.

The Marine base commander wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a deep voice, "We just received a report that Hawk-Eye has left the target ship. The ship is currently frozen by Admiral Kuzan; we must move out immediately to capture the pirates!"

"Yes, sir!"

On the other side, Lu Zhuo was instructing Nami, Robin, and the others, "Leave here quickly. Although Aokiji has left, other Admirals could arrive at any moment. We must get out of here fast."

At this time, Robin closed her eyes slightly, and when she opened them again, she said slowly, "In the distance, the Marine base has dispatched several squads of elite Marines!"

A trace of hatred flashed across Lu Zhuo's face, but it quickly vanished into calm.

Although he desperately wanted to crush a Marine base, now was definitely not the time. Even though his injuries had recovered, he still had some internal damage that needed tending, making him unfit for battle.

If he were dragged down here by those Marines and waited for other Admirals to arrive, it would be the end.

Although the other Admirals were likely in the New World, there was no guarantee they wouldn't arrive soon.

"Let's go. We'll leave this ship to them. We have the gold we got from Enel, plus that jewelry box; it's enough to buy a better, new ship!"

As for ships, Lu Zhuo was a shut-in from Earth after all, and he didn't have any deep attachments to them. He wasn't like Luffy and his crew, who found it hard to let go.

Hearing Lu Zhuo's words, Conis and Robin both agreed.

Only Nami looked a bit melancholy. Lu Zhuo smiled and said, "Nami, you can take the orange trees from the ship."

Much like in the original story, Nami had a special affection for oranges. Lu Zhuo naturally went along with her wishes, and there were already some orange trees on the Holy Sword.

Hearing Lu Zhuo's words, the melancholy on Nami's face vanished, and she happily kissed Lu Zhuo on the cheek.

After packing up briefly, the group arrived on the deck. Carrying a large pile of gold and jewelry, Nami transformed into a white cloud, wrapped them up, and flew easily into the sky.

To increase their speed, Robin also sprouted two massive wings, carrying everyone away rapidly.

The elites at the Marine base could only look up and sigh at the sight. After all, they had no one capable of flight, and even if someone had such an ability, chasing after them alone would likely be suicide.

They had no choice but to abandon the capture attempt.

And this news soon spread throughout the entire world!

Despite Hawk-Eye's interference, the fact that a guy like Lu Zhuo could trade several blows with a Marine Admiral and even wound Admiral Aokiji made the whole world tremble once again!

"Gurarara, that brat is growing so fast. It looks like we'll be meeting soon." Whitebeard laughed heartily, looking at the youth on his right wearing an orange cowboy hat with three freckles on his face.

That youth was Ace. At this moment, Ace had already joined the Whitebeard Pirates, seemingly a few months earlier than in the original story.

"What a pity... I actually wanted to recruit that guy onto the ship." Ace muttered, though he felt a bit unconvinced in his heart; it seemed his own reputation was about to be overshadowed by Lu Zhuo again.

Sabaody Archipelago.

"That young man... I'll be able to meet him soon." An old man sat by the sea, drinking wine and smiling to himself.

A wave of Haki radiated from his body, causing the surrounding animals to collapse and fall unconscious.

Marine Headquarters.

"Damn it! How could Kuzan fail! Damn Hawk-Eye, damn Shichibukai!" Sengoku clutched his head, his face full of frustration.

This time, they had made a mortal enemy out of that pirate.

And they had already lost the best chance to wipe him out! Sengoku held his forehead, gritting his teeth with a look of immense annoyance.

Three days later, a notice spread throughout the entire Grand Line.

Holy Sword Pirates, Captain, Sword God Lu Zhuo, heinous and wicked, bounty of 400 million Beli!

With his glorious battle record, Lu Zhuo's title was changed without his permission, from Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo to Sword God Lu Zhuo. However, this was exactly what Lu Zhuo wanted; that "Ghost Sword" name was truly unpleasant to hear.

Holy Sword Pirates, Navigator, Nami, possessor of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit, bounty of 160 million Beli!

Holy Sword Pirates, Archaeologist, Child of the Devil, Nico Robin, possessor of the Flower-Flower Fruit, bounty of 130 million Beli!

Holy Sword Pirates, Musician, Skypiean, Conis, ability unknown, bounty of 10 million Beli!

The entire pirate crew had been issued bounties!

The total bounty reached 700 million Beli!

One month later, Lu Zhuo's new Holy Sword appeared on a route in the Grand Line.

At this time, it was the eighteenth year of the Great Pirate Era, just two years away from Luffy setting sail.

This year, Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates, earned the title of Fire Fist Ace, and became the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Meanwhile, Blackbeard Teach, who had joined the Whitebeard Pirates some time before Ace, kept his edge completely concealed, hiding beneath the brilliance of Whitebeard and Ace.

At this moment, on Lu Zhuo's ship, Lu Zhuo was holding Robin in one arm and Nami in the other, chatting and laughing, living in pure bliss.

Right now, their route was set to go find the Nidai Kitetsu.

However, there was another plan in Lu Zhuo's heart. This plan might cause Robin some suffering, but the knot in her heart still had to be untied...

A strange glint flashed through Lu Zhuo's eyes.

Neither Robin nor Nami noticed, continuing to frolic with Lu Zhuo.

As for the relationship between Lu Zhuo and Robin, ever since the battle with Aokiji, it had become unstoppable, with only the final step remaining.

Lu Zhuo could take that step at any time, but he still wanted to resolve the knot in Robin's heart first.