"Once you've beaten him, you'll be about strong enough to stand before me."
As the current World's Greatest Swordsman, Adrian had no desire to waste his time answering Mihawk's challenges over and over.
The main reason was that, at his current level, Mihawk couldn't trigger a challenge quest.
Fighting him
would yield nothing worth taking.
Worse, Adrian would have to watch his strength the whole time so he didn't kill Mihawk with a single slash.
So Adrian decided to find Mihawk an evenly matched opponent instead.
After all, Mihawk and Shanks had fought on nearly equal terms in the Sword Trial Tournament semifinals not long ago.
At least until Shanks lost his left arm and secured his place as the fourth Emperor of the Sea,
the two were evenly matched!
As for what Shanks thought about having Mihawk dumped on him...
Who cared?
Mihawk quietly took White Ghost's two demands to heart.
In fact, even if White Ghost hadn't brought them up, both were already part of Mihawk's plans.
Shanks would be his greatest stepping stone on the way to challenging White Ghost!
Blade gifted, problem passed along. All in one smooth move.
Adrian had no further interest in talking to Mihawk.
Entering Ghostification, Adrian rose slightly into the air. A red glint flashed in his eyes as his Observation Haki swept across Bird Mountain Island and spread out over the surrounding sea.
Is he leaving?
Mihawk watched White Ghost float upward, the thought rising in his mind.
Just then,
Adrian found his target and dismissed his Hollow Mask, revealing his true face.
At the same time, Spiritual Pressure vast as an abyssal sea poured from his body. Its suffocating weight engulfed the solitary peak, then swept across the rest of Bird Mountain Island.
In an instant, the sky darkened.