Final Battle with Hawkeye

"What happened?" The Baratie's cooks discovered that the restaurant was suddenly shaking violently. The cause turned out to be Krieg's warship sinking?

"Krieg's ship was cut apart!" William said in shock. Although he had long known that Hawkeye could easily slice through warships, witnessing it with his own eyes left him unable to remain calm.

"How could something like that be possible?" After hearing William, no one believed him.

"That ship was indeed cut apart!" If it had only been William, perhaps no one would have believed it, but it was different when Zeff spoke up.

"This is bad! The Golden Merry and Nami are both gone!" Usopp suddenly shouted. The disappearance of the Golden Merry in particular made him panic.

"Looks like Nami ran off with the money. Don't forget, she's a thief who specializes in robbing pirates!" William, who had long known Nami would flee with the money, deliberately reminded them.

Moreover, he bore half the responsibility for Nami successfully escaping with the money. He had placed the treasure originally stored within his body in the Golden Merry's hold. Although Nami had suggested it, even if she had not, William would have taken the initiative to put it there.

He had to let Nami run away with the money. Otherwise, how could they play the heroes and save the beauty? They could have simply gone and destroyed the Arlong Pirates, but then Nami might not have become their companion. That was why William had deliberately allowed everything to develop along the lines of the original story, preparing for Nami to truly become their companion.

"Forget it. Don't worry about a female thief like that. Chasing her down would be pointless!" Zoro, who already knew Nami did not consider them companions, said indifferently.

"The ship is what matters! Kaya gave us that ship!" Usopp once again reminded Zoro that the important thing was where the ship had gone, not where Nami had gone.

"I want her to be our navigator!" Although Luffy's demand was willful, it was the line William liked best.

"Got it. What a willful captain! Let's borrow a ship from the owner here first!" Everything was proceeding according to William's plans, though much of it differed greatly from the original story he knew.

"You're not coming with us?" Zoro grew curious when he saw that Luffy did not intend to leave with them.

"I'll come find you after I settle things at the restaurant!"

"You be careful too. Something about this is strange!" William warned Luffy. He had a very bad feeling, and it was only growing stronger.

"Could that be... Hawkeye?" When he heard Zoro excitedly call out that man's nickname, William instinctively lowered the brim of his cap.

Honestly, he felt deeply conflicted. To make Zoro stronger, he could not stop him from challenging Hawkeye. But Hawkeye came from the Grand Line. William truly could not understand why someone like Hawkeye had appeared in the East Blue. Was it simply because he was bored, or was he merely interested in Luffy?

"Hm? So you, the Marine brat, are here too?" The moment William heard Hawkeye's first words, his heart sank into despair. By all rights, someone like Hawkeye should not have been interested in a person like him, let alone known of him.

"You know me?" Knowing he had already been recognized, William could only remove his cap and ask. Though it was merely a calm question, William felt an incomparably immense pressure.

Hawkeye's eyes were truly terrifying. Even genuine experts with considerable strength would likely be unable to remain calm under that gaze.

"I don't." Though Hawkeye's answer was only the simple phrase "I don't," it still left William with complicated emotions. Yet before William could recover from his relief that Hawkeye did not know him, a figure swept past him and landed atop the half-sunken warship.

"Hey, Hawkeye, you must be bored, right?" Gazing at Hawkeye Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, Zoro suppressed his excitement as he asked.

"Zoro?" Only after hearing Usopp shout did William realize that Zoro actually dared to challenge Hawkeye. Was this the heart of Zoro, who placed life and death aside in pursuit of the strongest swordsmanship?

"Kid, if you're truly a first-rate swordsman, you should know the gap between us, shouldn't you?" Faced with Zoro's challenge, Hawkeye remained seated on his boat without the slightest reaction. To him, if he had to acknowledge every challenger, he would not be one of those standing at the pinnacle of the world.

"How would I know without trying?" Zoro was not being arrogant. When he saw Hawkeye cut through a warship, he knew he was far from Hawkeye's equal. But he was unwilling to miss the chance to challenge the strongest swordsman just like that. Why had he gone to sea in the first place? Was it not to challenge the man before him?

Now that he had encountered him, how could he give up simply because he was not his opponent? For his ambition, and for the promise he had made to his childhood friend, Zoro would challenge this man even though he knew he would lose.

"Kid, why are you challenging me?" Hawkeye asked curiously.

"The strongest." It was a simple answer, but it satisfied Hawkeye. Unconsciously, he gained a little more fondness for Zoro's overestimation of himself.

"Sorry to interrupt you two. Forgive my presumption, but may I ask something? Did you come for me, or did you come for my captain?" Shaken by Zoro's ambition, William instantly appeared between Zoro and Hawkeye. But he was not there to stop Zoro. Instead, he had chosen to face his own "misfortune."

"Is there a difference?" Hawkeye asked blandly. In his eyes, whether he had cut apart Krieg's five warships or accepted Zoro's challenge, it was all merely to pass the time.

"There is. If you came for my captain, please tell Shanks that my captain will definitely fulfill his promise to him and become the Pirate King. If you came for me, then I'll leave my life here today."

"I see. It seems you know quite a lot!" With a leap, Hawkeye landed atop the floating half-sunken warship and drew the cross-shaped blade from his back. "The black blade, Yoru," he said. "Then let me see just how strong the little monster is who made both Kizaru and Kuma come all the way to the East Blue!"

Although William had learned from Marine Headquarters documents that Admiral Kizaru had stayed in the East Blue for several days because of him, he had never expected Kuma, one of the Shichibukai, to come looking for him as well. Whose orders were these? The leader of that organization, or that person within the Marines?

"That guy knows Shanks?" After learning that Hawkeye knew Shanks, Luffy planned to ask him about Shanks after Zoro finished fighting him.

"Just who is William? He actually caught Hawkeye's interest?" Unlike Luffy, Zoro felt that the fact that the world's greatest swordsman knew of William was extraordinary in itself. William definitely was not merely what he had introduced himself as: a former Marine colonel who had made a mistake. Yet William had never mentioned what mistake had forced him to leave the Marines.

"A Devil Fruit user?" Seeing William transform into a nearly six-meter-tall humanoid lizard, Hawkeye asked curiously. But it was only curiosity. William's strength was still not worth his notice.

"So this is William's Devil Fruit form?" Though Luffy and the others were William's companions and had heard him describe his Devil Fruit's traits, this was their first time seeing him display the power of a Zoan Devil Fruit.

"Zoro, sorry for taking your prey." Hawkeye had originally been Zoro's challenge, but it had turned into a battle between William and Hawkeye. Though William's apology was sincere, it was also his final words.

"If you lose, I'll challenge him." Zoro knew that not only he, but William as well, could not possibly be Hawkeye's opponent. But just as he had to challenge Hawkeye, perhaps William also had a reason he had to fight Hawkeye.

"Kid, what is your reason for fighting?" Hawkeye knew Zoro's goal was to defeat him, but William was different. It could even be said that he had no reason at all.

"A reason? Who knows?" If wanting to survive counted as a reason, then that was William's reason for fighting.