Chapter 46: Give Me a Reason to Board Your Ship!
"If I remember correctly, this is what I said back then: 'If we can meet again in the future, and if you can prove with your strength that you are a qualified captain, I will consider it!'" After a long while, Mihawk finally looked up at Buggy and spoke.
"That's right." Buggy nodded, he still hadn't forgotten the scene from over ten years ago.
"Honestly, whether it's the invitation from Shanks or from you, I never planned to accept. After all, whether it's making a name for myself or roaming the four seas, I've already done it all. There's no need to join any pirate crew. However, both your strength and Shanks's have earned my recognition. Although I haven't truly fought you, anyone with Conqueror's Haki, as long as they aren't an idiot, won't be weak." At this point, Mihawk paused.
"I never agreed to Shanks's invitation, so there's nothing more to say about that. As for your invitation, if I just refuse like this, you definitely won't give up. Therefore, as long as you can do one thing, I will agree." Mihawk replied only after careful consideration.
"What is it?" Seeing his dream of recruiting a subordinate with just one fight get shattered before it even began, Buggy asked with a sense of helplessness.
"Give me a reason to board your ship. As long as you can give me such a reason, I will agree to join your pirate crew."
Hearing Mihawk's condition, Buggy frowned.
This condition was much more troublesome than he had imagined. Buggy understood Mihawk's meaning. It was simple: he had to present something that interested Mihawk himself.
As for "reasons," that was complete nonsense. As long as he wasn't interested, he could refute any reason.
Standing ramrod straight across from Mihawk for a long time, just as Mihawk was about to get impatient, Buggy suddenly spoke: "Mihawk, in your eyes, what is the way of the sword?"
Looking at Buggy with some astonishment, Mihawk truly didn't expect Buggy to ask this.
However, this question wasn't easy to answer. After all, Mihawk himself was still somewhat puzzled.
Yes, he was puzzled. Don't be fooled by the fact that Mihawk was now called a Great Swordsman and his strength was top-tier; on the path of swordsmanship, he had actually hit a bottleneck precisely because of his ever-increasing strength.
When he was weaker, he made himself stronger by constantly challenging the strong. But now, how could he continue to get stronger and go further on the path of the sword? This was Mihawk's dilemma!
"You're not even a swordsman. Would you be interested in the way of the sword?" Mihawk didn't answer, but instead posed a question back to Buggy.
"It doesn't matter if I'm interested. The important thing is that you are. That can be your reason for boarding the ship, can't it?"
Faced with Buggy's counter-question, Mihawk became even more confused.
"What are you trying to say?" Mihawk asked in a deep voice.
"It's simple. You accept my invitation, and I'll tell you about some information I once obtained concerning the way of the sword."
Mihawk looked at Buggy and couldn't help but laugh. So that was this guy's goal!
"You want me to accept your invitation for a so-called piece of information? Don't you think that's too ridiculous?" Yes, Mihawk genuinely thought Buggy's proposal was laughable.
"I don't think so. Really." With a very serious expression, Buggy replied, looking at Mihawk.
"But I think it's very ridiculous!" Mihawk said, his expression equally serious as he looked at Buggy.
"Devil Fruit abilities can grant immortality, did you know that? When Haki is cultivated to a certain level, it can shatter the void, did you know that? The five great realms of the way of the sword, do you know of them? You don't know anything, because the world you've been in contact with has too crude an application of power. You can mock what you don't know, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Take me, for example. Do you really think my ability stops at the little improvisation just now? Open your eyes and see just how far a Devil Fruit ability can be applied!"
After speaking, Buggy slowly began to dissipate from the feet up, right before Mihawk's and Hancock's eyes. After he had completely vanished, he slowly condensed back into existence again.
This scene made even the usually cool, poker-faced Mihawk's jaw drop.
Buggy's application of his ability had indeed overturned his knowledge, because this was completely different from the "splitting" that Shanks had described.
"In the ten years after Loguetown, I traveled all the great seas and saw countless strange people and events. The one that left the deepest impression on me was an unnamed sea in the New World. I was traveling using Moonwalk when suddenly, a golden light rose from the bottom of the sea, and then a small island slowly emerged from the surface." As he spoke, a look of reminiscence appeared in Buggy's eyes.
"Driven by curiosity, I landed on the island. There was nothing on the damp ground, which was less than a hundred meters in circumference. The only thing that caught my attention was the five stone monuments in the middle of the island—one large and four small. The largest one had this written on it: 'For over thirty years, I have roamed the four seas, slaying all my foes and defeating all heroes. The world had no more opponents for me. Helplessly, I could only live in seclusion in the deep sea, with fish as my companions. Alas, to seek a single defeat in my life but fail to find one, what lonely bitterness. - The Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai!'"
Just hearing this passage made Mihawk's eyes light up instantly.
"'Sword Demon,' I've never heard such a title. Curious, I continued to read. Of the four small monuments, from left to right, the first one read: 'Sharp and fierce, nothing can withstand it. Before my coming-of-age ceremony, I vied with the heroes of the four seas with this.' Behind this monument was a small pit, and in the pit lay a rusty battle sword. The second one read: 'The Violet Soft Sword. Used before the age of thirty. It was inauspicious as it accidentally injured a righteous man, so I abandoned it in the deep sea.' After reading the monument, I looked at the pit behind it, and sure enough, it was empty. Next was the third, which read: 'A heavy sword has no edge; great skill appears artless. Before the age of forty, I relied on this to dominate the world.'" At this point, Buggy stopped talking.
"Brother Buggy, what was written on the fourth one?" Alright, Mihawk was still holding back, but Hancock couldn't restrain her curiosity any longer.
Glancing faintly at Mihawk, Buggy said to Hancock, "I can't say right now. You must know, of the five great realms of the way of the sword, the content on the first three monuments is far less important than the content on the last one. If you want to know, I'll tell you later. But Mihawk is still an outsider. Letting him know about the Sharp Sword Realm, the Soft Sword Realm, and the Heavy Sword Realm is generous enough."
"Then Brother Buggy, setting the monuments aside, what happened to the island in the end? Did it sink back into the sea?" Understanding Buggy's intention, Hancock naturally knew how to cooperate.
"From the time the island appeared to when it sank, it was less than two hours in total. If I hadn't stumbled upon it by chance, I would never have known that such a secret place existed in the seas of the New World." Buggy sighed with emotion as he said this.
(End of Chapter)