Powerhouses Gather, the Shichibukai Assemble

What are you doing here?

The bartender was heartbroken. The pirates had all escaped, and they hadn't paid him yet. Would the boss make him pay up?

Dimon ignored the other person and walked straight to a table by the window.

"Continuing from the previous topic..."

After Hawk-Eye sat down opposite him, Dimon chuckled and said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. What price are you willing to pay if you want to know about the Sword Spirit?"

"I still don't know your name, Roronoa?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

"I can become your apprentice, Master Zoro. Please teach me how to cultivate Sword Spirit!"

Zoro- sensei?

Dimon wanted to laugh. In the original Pirate King storyline, the real Zoro would become Hawk-Eye's apprentice. Although the two did not have an explicit master-disciple relationship, Hawk-Eye did teach Zoro swordsmanship in fact.

This guy probably chose to teach Zoro because he felt lonely being invincible and wanted to train a disciple to defeat him.

Of course, Hawk-Eye's strength is not invincible, but in the art of swordsmanship, he has reached the pinnacle.

He had no rivals left, and the only swordsman who interested him, Red-Haired, Four Emperors, had already lost an arm.

"I have no interest in taking anyone on as a disciple."

"What do you want me to do? I can grant you any request."

"Any conditions..."

After a moment's thought, Dimon, "Let's leave it at that."

Seeing that he agreed, Hawk-Eye immediately perked up and pressed for more information:

"Now you can teach me? I'm very interested in the Sword Spirit you mentioned. If I want to cultivate Sword Spirit, why do I need to abandon the Black Blade - Night?"

When did you get this knife?

"When I was a child, more than twenty years ago, I was just an ordinary swordsman, and this sword accompanied me for a long time."

"After more than twenty years of companionship, haven't you felt the will within the blade?"

Hawk-Eye puzzled, a look of doubt on his face.

A knife is merely an inanimate object; how can it possess will?

Dimon placed the Jijue from his waist on the table.

"You can touch it with your hand, and you'll understand immediately."

This knife... it's the one he used to step on and lift the other person into the air... Hawk-Eye recognized Jijue.

He did as Dimon instructed and reached out to touch the blade.

The instant his fingers touched her, a look of surprise flashed across Hawk-Eye's face.

"Do you understand now?"

"This knife... is alive; it possesses some kind of will!"

He could clearly sense that this sword was somewhat similar to the demon sword.

When an ordinary swordsman wields a demon sword, he will be unconsciously disturbed by the demon sword's will contained within it. Those with weak wills will become slaves to the demon sword, becoming beings who only know how to kill.

"Get your dirty hands off me, I'm a germaphobe!"

Suddenly, Jijue spoke, her voice filled with grievance. "Master, I'm not clean anymore!"

Hawk-Eye's lips twitched slightly. Although he had seen another knife speak before, he was still shocked to see it speak again.

"You don't have any germophobia, just shut up."

Dimon rolled his eyes. Jijue's voice was female; if swords had genders, she would probably be a female sword.

Hawk-Eye silently withdrew his fingers from the scabbard, his expression returning to calm as he said:

"I think I understand what you're saying. Your sword is alive, somewhat similar to the demon sword, but also different."

"It's good that you understand. Just like Klabautermann, different Sword Spirits will have different personalities. As for the demon sword you mentioned, it's just that its Sword Spirit hasn't fully emerged yet; it's in a semi- Awakening state and only follows its instincts to kill."

Dimon was talking nonsense with a straight face.

Hawk-Eye's expression suddenly changed. "I see, I understand now."

Tell me what you've figured out!

Dimon hates the Riddler.

"Cultivating Sword Spirit is actually quite simple."

Hawk-Eye listened attentively, not daring to miss a single word.

"Since you possess the Black Blade, you should understand how it came to be. Any blade can be forged into Black Blade, and by the same token, any blade can potentially give birth to Sword Spirit."

"This kind of knife can be called a 'Spirit Sword'!"

Spirit Sword?

Hawk-Eye thought the title was very fitting; a sword possessing a spirit. If Black Blade Night could also evolve into Spirit Sword, wouldn't he be able to take another step forward in his swordsmanship?

"How exactly should we do it, Mr. Roronoa?"

He had already adopted a respectful tone, acknowledging that those who are more accomplished are teachers. Although Dimon looked much younger than him, in terms of Spirit Sword cultivation, calling him "sir" was entirely appropriate.

"First, you need to temporarily abandon the Black Blade Night and personally learn forging techniques. Use your own hands to forge a sword that suits you, and in the forging process, you need to infuse it with your own blood."

Hawk-Eye frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He roughly understood what Dimon meant; it seemed that to cultivate Spirit Sword, one needed to start by forging a sword blank...

"But didn't you say before that any sword could become Spirit Sword? Why not the Black Blade - Night?"

You're really good at arguing!

Dimon scoffed. "Little Eagle, don't take things so seriously. You once said any knife could become Black Blade, but in reality, some mass-produced junk knives simply can't."

How do I train the 103,000 swords from the weapon shop to become Black Blade?

That's absolutely impossible!

To become Black Blade, the wielder needs to temper it with Armament Haki year after year and undergo one real battle after another.

That kind of lousy knife will probably break any day now.

The claim that any blade can become Black Blade is just like what a certain master said, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters"—both are just nice-sounding words.

"So, Black Blade Night has no chance of becoming Spirit Sword?"

"Some."

Dimon crossed his legs and grinned, "The probability is very low. Starting today, use it to practice Sword Meditation every day, and try to communicate with it using your soul. Maybe one day it will Awakening its spirit."

Hawk-Eye will definitely not give up on Black Blade Night, so he will follow the second method of training.

If Hawk-Eye fails, he'll have something to say.

"I told you the probability was very low, but you insisted on doing it yourself. If you had used the first method from the beginning, you might have already succeeded," and so on.

However, there is also a very slight possibility.

If Hawk-Eye truly masters the Black Blade Night into Spirit Sword... then he can say, "Indeed, I knew I wasn't wrong about you!"

And to be honest, he was also very curious about whether Sword Spirits actually existed in this world.

"I understand now, communicating on a soul level with the sword through Sword Meditation... I've never tried this before."

Hawk-Eye seemed lost in thought.

Sword Meditation is a meditation practice exclusive to swordsmen. It was a common training method for swordsmen in the past, but nowadays, this style has long since declined, and modern swordsmen are all practical combat practitioners.

After joining a dojo and learning swordsmanship, you can go out and challenge various opponents, growing stronger through battle.

Hawk-Eye was a practical fighter in his youth, always seeking out masters to spar with.

He couldn't help but let his thoughts wander; perhaps it was precisely because of the gradual decline of the Sword Meditation school that Spirit Swords had become so rare.

"Mr. Roronoa, thank you for your guidance!"

"No need. Just don't tell anyone if you cause trouble in the future."

Dimon made a joke, but Hawk-Eye couldn't pick up on it.

He snapped his fingers at the brewer behind the bar, "Give me a Margarita, and him a rum."

"Okay, okay."

The winemaker was terrified; he seemed to have heard something terrible!

Will I be killed to silence me?

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, the brewer quickly prepared a Margarita and a rum for Hawk-Eye, carefully delivering them to a table by the window.

Please, both of you.

Hawk-Eye picked up his rum and took a good sip.

"By the way, what brings you to the Sabaody Archipelago?" Dimon asked casually. "Are you Shichibukai really that free?"

Hawk-Eye, who already considered Dimon a new friend, explained upon hearing this:

"I was ordered by the World Government to travel to Enies Lobby, which is under the command of the Navy, and I was just passing through here."

Then he explained the matter of World Military Draft.

"I was bored on the island, and I heard there was a powerful swordsman there, so I agreed to go and see him."

A powerful swordsman... does that mean Ichisho? Dimon thought to himself.

Seeing that he seemed somewhat interested, Hawk-Eye smiled and extended an invitation:

"Why don't we go take a look? I heard that blind swordsman is exceptionally strong and a hot candidate for the Admiral's position."

Dimon readily agreed, since he was going to send people to investigate Rocks's body anyway, and it wouldn't hurt to take a look along the way.

He simply entered Enies Lobby openly and legitimately as a friend of Hawk-Eye.

"Since I have some free time, I'll go take a look."

Chapter 197 A Gathering of Powerful Figures: The Shichibukai Assemble

After finishing their drinks, the two immediately set off for Enies Lobby.

Several days later, in a certain sea area.

Dimon sat in Hawk-Eye's coffin-shaped boat, looking up at the azure sky.

Why should I get on your shabby little boat? How long will it take to get there?

Hawk-Eye, Sword Meditation was sitting quietly to the side, opened his eyes upon hearing this.

"My ship is made from the wood of Treasure Tree Adam; it's sturdy enough."

"Is it a problem with sturdiness? It's a problem with speed!"

"Almost there."

Hawk-Eye took out a Log Pose; the pointer was pointing directly ahead, and judging from the slight tremor of the pointer tip, the distance was not far.

"Is this Eternal Pose?" Dimon sat up and leaned closer to examine it. "How do you have Eternal Pose from Enies Lobby?"

"Stolen from the Navy. Before becoming Shichibukai, I held the title of 'Marine Hunter,' and this is a piece of my spoils."

"I see..."

Dimon nodded knowingly.

Oda is a symmetry fanatic; Zoro has the nickname of a Pirate Hunter, so he has to give Hawk-Eye a title as a Marine Hunter.

The Navy's expression must have been priceless when they learned that the World Government had appointed Hawk-Eye as Shichibukai.

"If you get bored, there's a hidden compartment under the seat with a fishing rod inside."

After saying this, Hawk-Eye closed his eyes again to continue his Sword Meditation.

Dimon was speechless.