"Wow! Fully revived!"
At that moment, Johnny and Joseph locked arms and danced with joy.
Then, striking what they thought was a cool pose, they introduced themselves:
"Sorry for the late introduction! We're a bounty hunter duo who specialize in hunting pirates—Johnny and Joseph! We used to work alongside Big Brother Zoro. Nice to meet you!"
"I didn't expect to run into you guys here either."
Zoro was happy and stepped forward to shake hands with them, but before he could, Joseph suddenly collapsed again.
Nami immediately shouted, "How could he possibly recover that fast?! Hurry up and carry him to a room so he can rest!"
Joseph was quickly taken inside.
Johnny looked at Zoro curiously. "I never expected Big Brother Zoro to become a pirate. That really caught me off guard."
Zoro didn't seem to care. "Well, things happen."
"So, Big Brother Zoro, are you here because you heard the news?"
"Huh? What news?"
"You don't know? The man you've been looking for—Mihawk—has come to the East Blue!"
"What…?"
Zoro tightened his grip on his swords, his eyes sharpening with excitement.
He never expected Hawkeye to come to the East Blue!
Carl, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. It was just part of the story anyway. But the difference this time was that Luffy was already much stronger now—he might even be able to fight Mihawk when the time came. At the very least, they'd get to witness a world-class swordsman in action.
Plus, they could pick up a chef along the way.
So Carl asked, "Johnny, is the rumor saying that Hawkeye was spotted near the sea restaurant, Baratie?"
Johnny was taken aback. "Brother Carl, you've heard about it too?"
Carl simply smiled, then turned to Luffy. "Captain Luffy, Joseph's illness is a good lesson. When sailing at sea, having a balanced diet is essential. That's why I think we need to find a cook."
Luffy wasn't clueless at a time like this. "Mr. Carl, are you saying we're going to the Sea Restaurant to find a cook?"
"Yes." Carl nodded. "The sea restaurant, Baratie, is well-known, and their food is said to be delicious. If we can find a chef there..."
"Alright! Then let's go to the restaurant on the sea!"
Luffy interrupted Carl, clearly excited—after all, it was about food.
Zoro chuckled when he heard this. He understood Carl's real reason for suggesting Baratie. If everything went as expected, they would run into Mihawk, the man he had been searching for.
Even though Zoro already had an idea of the overwhelming gap between himself and a world-class swordsman, that wouldn't stop him from challenging Mihawk.
Failure and death didn't scare him—cowardice was the real enemy. If he backed down just because he knew how strong Mihawk was, then his dream would be over before it even began!
Seeing both Zoro and Luffy fired up, Carl sighed helplessly.
He turned to Nami. "Nami, Baratie isn't far from your hometown, right? Can we make a stop there first?"
"Yeah, sure."
Nami then leaned in and whispered into Carl's ear, "But Zoro is going to fight Mihawk, right? Aren't you worried he'll lose or even die? Mihawk is the world's strongest swordsman, after all!"
Carl patted her head with a smile. "Zoro's goal is to be the strongest in the world. So even if he fails or dies, he can't back down. This is the path he chose, and he'll keep going no matter how tough it gets. But don't worry—he won't die. Luffy and I will make sure of that!"
Nami froze for a moment.
For the first time, she saw real confidence in Carl's eyes.
Carl had always been their teacher, but he rarely showed this kind of expression—the kind that made people feel truly safe.
That's right… she had almost forgotten. Luffy had already reached the level where he could fight an Admiral. And Carl, as his teacher, was even stronger!
That meant the Straw Hat Pirates had not one but two fighters at Admiral level.
If that was the case… what was there to be afraid of?!
A smile spread across Nami's face.
Now, she was even more determined to save her hometown!
As their pirate ship continued sailing toward Baratie, nothing had really changed—except that two more bounty hunters were now on board. Everyone carried on with their usual tasks.
Zoro, however, refused Carl's intense training, sticking only to his regular routine.
He wanted to save his strength and prepare for the possible duel ahead.
This was a battle he had to take seriously.
Carl agreed, leaving Zoro to handle things his own way.
Of course, Zoro had a question. "Mr. Carl, who's stronger—you or Hawkeye?"
Hearing this, the others turned to Carl, curious about his answer.
Carl thought for a moment before replying, "I'm not sure since I've never fought him before. But I believe Hawkeye has the strength of a Marine Admiral."
He continued, "That's assuming I go all out—using my Devil Fruit ability and Marine Six Styles. After all, I'm not a pure swordsman."
"But one thing is certain—Hawkeye's swordsmanship is far beyond mine. Even the Red-Haired Emperor, Shanks, isn't as skilled with a sword as he is!"
"What?!" Everyone was shocked.
"Even Shanks lost to that guy in swordsmanship? That's insane!" Luffy exclaimed.
Zoro instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.
He didn't doubt Carl's words. In fact, that was exactly why he felt both an intense fighting spirit and a hint of fear.
Of course, Hawkeye was the world's greatest swordsman—he was supposed to be this strong.
And that was the very goal Zoro had to surpass!
Since they were talking about Mihawk, the conversation naturally shifted to the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Carl introduced the seven powerful pirates one by one, explaining their abilities—especially the Devil Fruits of some of them—so that everyone would be prepared for the future.
It was always better to be cautious than to suffer unnecessary losses.
A few days later, Luffy spotted a ship in the distance that looked like a giant fish. His eyes lit up with excitement.
"Look, everyone! A huge fish!"
Johnny immediately shouted, "Everyone, we've arrived at Baratie, the sea restaurant!"
The others cheered as they gazed at the floating restaurant.
Carl glanced around but didn't see the Marine warship that was supposed to appear in the original story. He frowned slightly.
If he remembered correctly, they were supposed to run into Marine Lieutenant Iron Fist Fullbody around here.
That guy—who shamelessly used Garp's title—would later team up with Jango, forming a comedic duo under Captain Hina.
But now, he was nowhere to be seen.
After thinking it over, Carl realized why.
Back when they met Johnny and Joseph, everyone had spent extra days training. Even Nami had been practicing her Devil Fruit abilities.
Because of that, their ship had traveled slower than in the original timeline. It was only natural that they had missed Fullbody.
After coming to that conclusion, Carl stopped worrying.
After all, Jango was already part of the Straw Hats now, and while many key events were still unfolding, things were bound to be different.
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