One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 268: Hawkeye Arrives, Red Hair Blocks Aokiji!

New World, Instein Island.

Just as the Straw Hat crew had said before—

The location of this island, even within the New World, belongs to a sea area deep in the latter half.

This sea area possesses the most quintessentially extreme weather of the New World—whirlpools, hurricanes, and sudden thunderstorms and storm clouds make it considerably dangerous, and almost no one sets foot here under normal circumstances.

In this regard, it is completely different from its neighboring sea area, home to the Egghead Island territory belonging to the World Government.

Precisely because of this, although the World Government claimed the Egghead Island sea area as its own, it did not establish any research institutions on Instein Island.

The island is rarely visited.

Of course, the situation was different now.

"Viewers! Viewers!"

The ace commentator of the World Economic Journal—the same commentator from the 'Three Armies Joint Exercise' earlier—was currently riding in an albatross-shaped news ship, cruising near the island.

The triple-reinforced broadcast Den Den Mushi was aimed at the island not far away. He held a microphone and spoke excitedly amidst the rolling waves.

"As everyone can see, we have arrived at Instein Island!"

"The visibility in the nearby sea area is very low. Dark clouds are gathering in the sky, and the wind is extremely strong. It looks like the prelude to a storm..."

Along with his words, everyone across the world could see that sizable island.

And right now, besides the World Economic Journal's ship, there were also ships from some New World nations, as well as other news agencies.

Clearly, they had all come for the same purpose.

The battle for the World's Strongest Swordsman—across the entire sea, that was an absolute hot topic.

And right now—

"The 'Sword God' has landed on the island."

Along with his words, people across the world following this live broadcast naturally all saw it.

On the island, the figure with white hair and white clothes, carrying a black blade on his back, had already sat cross-legged in wait.

He closed his eyes, not saying a word.

But his posture was perfectly straight, like an unsheathed blade.

"I believe I don't need much introduction—this 'Sword God' only appeared on the sea a little over a month ago. But since his appearance, he has displayed incredible swordsmanship, successively defeating many swordsmen and great swordsmen, and even defeated 'Dark King' Rayleigh not long ago!"

"He claims to be the user of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Shimotsuki Ryuma. And now, after verification by scholars, they believe this possibility cannot be ruled out. Regardless... as the one who issued the challenge, his presence here undoubtedly proves this is no joke."

"He is ready to duel the World's Strongest Swordsman!"

The commentator was clearly very professional; even before the battle started, he had already built the atmosphere masterfully.

And what he said reflected the consensus that everyone on the sea had gradually formed.

After the Sword God displayed power sufficient to defeat the 'Dark King', many people naturally began to consider the credibility of his claim about the 'Human-Human Fruit, Model: Shimotsuki Ryuma'.

After all, no matter how one thought about it, would a top-tier powerhouse like this have any reason to lie?

And to be honest—a swordsman who had never appeared before, displaying this level of technique right from the start.

Rather than attributing it to hard training since childhood, a 'Devil Fruit' actually seemed more plausible.

So now across the sea, naturally more people believed what the Sword God claimed.

"However, compared to the 'Sword God'—"

"I feel it's far more difficult for 'Hawkeye' to reach this island. As everyone knows, he is currently being hunted by a Marine Admiral, and I can see quite a few Marine and Government warships nearby, waiting for Hawkeye to 'walk right into the trap'."

The commentator continued.

And just as he said—

In the vicinity of Instein Island, there was indeed a considerable number of Marine and World Government warships on patrol.

They were clearly prepared for the possible appearance of 'Hawkeye'—once Hawkeye somehow shook off the Marine Admiral, they would do their best to intercept and capture him.

After all, at this point, whether Hawkeye showed up was no longer just his own affair.

The whole world knew the Marines were hunting the former Warlords, and 'Hawkeye' was being personally pursued by a Marine Admiral.

If under such circumstances, Hawkeye could still leisurely arrive at Instein Island for this 'scheduled duel'—

Then the Marines and the World Government would be utterly humiliated.

So even if they couldn't capture him, the Marines garrisoned here would strive to buy as much time as possible.

Of course, if Hawkeye ultimately didn't come at all—

Then they had also received orders to capture that 'Sword God', who had attacked a Marine warship not long ago.

But while the commentator was filling time with commentary, time quietly passed.

The sky gradually darkened, and the waves whipped up by the gale grew larger.

The atmosphere of an impending storm became increasingly palpable.

"It seems 'Hawkeye' might not appear..."

The commentator made this judgment.

And at that very moment—

"Hm?"

He saw from afar that the 'Sword God', who had been sitting motionless on the island, actually stood up.

He held that Black Blade renowned across the sea and took a step forward.

The gale howled, and a torrential downpour fell. The entire vicinity of Instein Island seemed to plunge into pitch-black gloom.

But the next moment—

BOOM!

In that dark, overcast sky, the sound of cannon fire rang out.

Following that—

Sslash!

Everyone near Instein Island could see it—under the gloomy sky obscured by dark clouds, the flash of a sword!

RUMBLE!

Accompanying the manifestation of that sword flash came the roaring explosions of warships catching fire, and—

"That... that is..."

The commentator, peering out over the sea through his binoculars, widened his eyes.

Because he had already spotted the wreckage of the intercepting Marine warships on the distant sea.

And slowly sailing out from among the wreckage—that iconic, coffin-shaped skiff.

And on the skiff, the man with short black hair, a trim beard, and sharp, eagle-like yellow eyes, wearing a top hat and a black trench coat.

He also saw the massive Black Blade with a cross-shaped hilt that the man carried on his back.

That was the strongest sword in the world—one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, the Black Blade: Yoru.

"It's... it's 'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk!"

"He's here!"

And almost the instant Hawkeye appeared, exclamations from the World Government and Marine Headquarters rang out simultaneously.

"What is Aokiji doing!? Why would he let Hawkeye appear there!?"

"Didn't he already find Hawkeye's trail last night? He should have frozen the surrounding sea by now!"

At the same time—

New World, another sea area.

Above a completely frozen sea surface.

"Ah, this is truly..."

'Aokiji' Kuzan gazed from afar at the massive gap slashed through the ice, helplessness appearing on his usually lazy face.

"I didn't expect a man like you would actually get involved in something like this."

"Although I've heard about it for a long time, your relationship with 'Hawkeye' really is quite something."

The Den Den Mushi in Aokiji's coat was ringing incessantly.

But he had no time to answer it.

Because in front of his warship, another ship was parked right there.

That dragon-shaped figurehead, and that fluttering skull and crossbones with a grinning smile and two scars over the left eye, were enough to prove its identity.

That was the 'Red Force'.

And right now, on the bow of that ship, a man sat holding a wine glass.

That short red hair, that one-armed figure, and the group of monsters with powerful auras behind him.

That was—

The Red Hair Pirates!

☆☆☆

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