The Pirate Who Saw Proficiency Became a Legend

A chef at the Baratie asked, "Boss Zeff! Have you heard of this guy?"

At that, Zeff's fists clenched without him realizing it. He laughed.

"Dongze, huh!"

"If this young man means the person I'm thinking of, then he's absolutely right!"

The chefs looked surprised. "Is he famous?"

Luffy walked over, looking puzzled. "Dongze? I think I've heard that name somewhere. Let me think..."

Nami glanced at Zoro with a complicated expression, then listened closely as Zeff continued.

Over the past two years, the World Government and Marine Headquarters had made Dongze's name almost taboo. Gradually, it had faded from public memory.

"That's right! But for nearly two years now, his name has been taboo. No one talks about him anymore! Big News Morgans, the head of the World Economy News Paper, even got in trouble for it and was fined an outrageous sum!"

"That man was known as the Sword Emperor!"

The chefs froze. "The Sword Emperor?"

"That's right! The Sword Emperor, Dongze! A man who earned the respect of the entire world through his own strength! Morgans even called him the Fifth Emperor of the sea!"

Zeff looked awestruck, but the chefs and pirates who had never traveled far had no idea what it meant to be an emperor of the sea.

A heavyset chef asked, "Is he even stronger than Hawkeye?"

Zeff's words alone gave them no clear sense of Dongze's strength. But they had seen Hawkeye split a ship hundreds of meters long with a single strike.

His power spoke for itself.

Zeff chuckled, anticipation in his eyes. "Just watch! Perhaps today we'll see the legend that shook the entire sea!"

Hawkeye raised his head. His hawklike eyes narrowed, then widened as he studied Zoro. "When did you meet him?"

Zoro drew his three swords, tied