I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

From a distance, Kuraigana Island looked like nothing more than a vast expanse of dense forest. It did not appear much different from the many uninhabited islands scattered across the sea.

"Then this is where we part ways. Tina, let’s go." Nagasawa smiled as he bid farewell to Zephyr, Ain, and the others before disembarking with Tina and heading onto the island.

Zephyr, Ain, and the others watched as Nagasawa and Tina departed.

"Admiral Nagasawa is such a good person, yet he was punished just because he went after pirates. What a pity," Binz said regretfully as he looked at Nagasawa’s departing figure.

Although they had not spent much time together, Nagasawa had already left a deep impression on him.

Despite possessing tremendous strength, Nagasawa was kind and approachable. He never put on airs as an Admiral, and even when his subordinates joked about him, he only smiled.

Even to juniors with no particular connection to him, he patiently taught them. During the time he had been taught by Nagasawa, Binz felt that he had gained a great deal.

Ain was also watching Nagasawa leave, but she remained silent, simply staring quietly.

"That’s enough watching. We should get moving too." After Nagasawa and Tina disappeared into the forest, Zephyr laughed loudly.

Zephyr smacked Binz hard on the head before asking, "What, do you want to watch the battle between Nagasawa and Hawk Eyes?"

Binz scratched his head awkwardly and smiled.

"After all, it’s a battle between an Admiral and the World’s Greatest Swordsman. Anyone would be curious, right? Ain, don’t you think so?"

"I’m curious, but hunting pirates is more important," Ain replied calmly as she turned around.

She was indeed curious about what Nagasawa’s battle with Hawk Eyes would be like and who would emerge victorious. However, if she had to choose between watching the battle and continuing to hunt pirates with Zephyr, she would choose the latter.

Ain deeply respected Zephyr and regarded him as a father. It was not only because of his constant guidance but also because he had risked his life to protect her during that incident. If it were for Zephyr’s sake, she could give up many things. After all, without him, she might have died during that incident as well.

Looking at his two prized disciples, Zephyr gradually formed an idea.

He wanted Ain and Binz to become Nagasawa’s subordinates.

His family had all been murdered, and disciples like Ain and Binz, who had followed him for years, were already like family to him.

If possible, he naturally wanted the best for his family.

Following Nagasawa undoubtedly offered a much brighter future than staying with him. Nagasawa was powerful, kind, and generous in teaching his subordinates. As a superior, he was hard to surpass.

Following Nagasawa would also allow them to fight pirates more effectively in the future. There were simply too many benefits.

"When Nagasawa returns to the naval base, I’ll apply to have both of you transferred under him," Zephyr suddenly said.

Binz froze before hurriedly replying, "Teacher, I was just saying that casually. I still want to hunt pirates together with you."

He thought his earlier words had made Zephyr angry.

"Teacher, I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to keep following you forever," Ain said with unusual seriousness on her fair little face.

Zephyr laughed twice before suddenly becoming serious.

"Have you forgotten what I taught you before? As Marines, justice must always come first!"

"By following Nagasawa, you’ll have more opportunities to carry out your justice. This is a good opportunity."

"But I..." Ain wore a conflicted expression, yet she did not want to argue against Zephyr’s words.

"Don’t act as if we’re being separated forever. You’re only being transferred under Nagasawa. It’s not like we’ll never meet again. Besides, I might retire soon anyway. When that happens, I’ll probably return to Headquarters and become an instructor at the academy again," Zephyr said.

The death of Whitebeard II had finally untied one of the knots in his heart. Combined with the fact that he was indeed getting old—already seventy-three years old—he genuinely intended to retire and return to Headquarters as an instructor. He was not merely saying it to comfort Ain and Binz.

As for why he planned to return to teaching instead of leaving the Marines entirely, it was because Zephyr could no longer imagine where he could go after leaving the Marines. The Marines had become everything to him.

...

Not long after Nagasawa and Tina entered the forest, a group of baboons carrying all kinds of weapons rushed out and surrounded them.

The baboons wielded every kind of weapon imaginable, from cold weapons to firearms. Nagasawa even spotted one baboon wielding two swords in its hands while clenching a third in its mouth, using a Three Sword Style.

"Tina is very confused. What’s going on with these baboons?" Tina looked at the unusual group of baboons with a puzzled expression.

It wasn’t that she had never seen baboons before, but she had certainly never seen baboons armed with such a variety of weapons and carrying themselves with such imposing momentum.

Just as Tina was about to eliminate the armed baboons, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Nagasawa.

His overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki surged forward like a colossal tidal wave and crashed into the baboons.

Thud! Thud!

In an instant, every baboon collapsed unconscious under the overwhelming pressure of Nagasawa’s aura. Only one enormous baboon managed to remain standing with great difficulty, though it looked at Nagasawa with utter terror, completely losing the arrogance it had shown moments before.

"Conqueror’s Haki!" Tina looked at Nagasawa in astonishment. She had not expected him to be hiding something like this. His control was excellent, and the Haki had not affected her at all.

"What’s so surprising about that? Aren’t there plenty of people in the New World who’ve awakened it?" Nagasawa said with a smile.

"Those are pirates. Among the Marines, those who possess this Haki are an extremely small minority," Tina replied.

As far as she knew, the only Marine capable of using Conqueror’s Haki was Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

It wasn’t that Marines lacked talent compared to pirates. Rather, it was the environment. Pirates, being a group that constantly stirred up chaos, were naturally more likely to awaken Conqueror’s Haki.

There was something else Tina did not say.

Not only were those who awakened it extremely rare, but Conqueror’s Haki as powerful as Nagasawa’s was something she had seldom seen even among pirates.

While drinking tea and reading a newspaper inside the castle, Hawk Eyes sensed something. He placed his teacup on the long table and looked into the distance through the castle window.

Perona, who was idly playing with her dolls, saw Hawk Eyes stand up and assumed he was about to prepare lunch.

"What’s for lunch today?" she asked.

However, Hawk Eyes paid no attention to her question and continued staring in one direction.

This immediately annoyed the bored Perona. Crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks, she deliberately floated back and forth in front of him.

"You annoying guy! Didn’t you hear me talking to you?!" Perona complained angrily while floating around and stomping the air.

Without changing his expression, Hawk Eyes chopped Perona on the head with a hand blade, knocking the ghost-like girl out of the air.

"Ghost girl, don’t get in my way. Someone has arrived on the island," Hawk Eyes said.

"Who? Is someone here to see you?" Perona asked curiously.

"I don’t know," Hawk Eyes answered briefly.

"What? Then what’s the point?" Perona felt she had wasted her time.

Hawk Eyes walked out of the castle. The aura that had erupted just now was anything but ordinary.

At that moment, Zoro was still outside meticulously training his swordsmanship. Seeing Hawk Eyes emerge, he merely paused briefly.

Over the past year, Hawk Eyes had already taught him quite a lot. What remained now was mostly for Zoro to strengthen through his own training.

Hawk Eyes gave a faint nod and was just about to head over to investigate when he suddenly stopped.

The person he intended to find had already appeared before him.

"Admiral Fujiwara Nagasawa..." Hawk Eyes frowned slightly. He had not expected the visitor to be the newly appointed Marine Admiral.

"A Marine Admiral?" Zoro halted his movements completely and looked toward Nagasawa.

Zoro had actually fought a Marine Admiral once before—Aokiji.

Although calling it a battle was generous, since it had been a completely one-sided defeat, it still gave him some understanding of an Admiral’s strength.

Zoro felt he had grown tremendously. If he encountered the same situation again, he certainly would not be so powerless.

"That’s right, I am," Nagasawa admitted openly.

"But I’m not here because of Marine business. I simply came to pick a fight with you," Nagasawa explained with a smile.

Tina: ...

Coming to pick a fight? Would it kill you to just say you came for a spar?

"Dracule Mihawk, our visit today does not represent the Marines. It represents only ourselves. Please do not make any unnecessary assumptions. My superior, Admiral Nagasawa, is also a Great Swordsman and wishes to have a swordsman’s duel with you," Tina quickly explained.

"A swordsman’s duel..." Hawk Eyes glanced at Ryujin Jakka hanging at Nagasawa’s waist before nodding.

"Very well."

When reading the newspapers before, Hawk Eyes had paid slightly more attention to Nagasawa than others, and the result was just as he had expected.

However, he had never expected Nagasawa to come all the way here seeking a fight. Generally speaking, Marines rarely did such things.

Naturally, Hawk Eyes had no intention of fighting an Admiral beside his own home. If they did, there probably wouldn’t be anything left of it afterward.

He immediately led Nagasawa to the other side of the island, intending to fight him there.

Zoro and Perona quickly followed behind.

Zoro wanted to use the battle between an Admiral and Hawk Eyes to see just how far he still was from such top-tier powerhouses.

Tina noticed Zoro’s presence.

Her first thought was to arrest him while she had the chance, but she immediately gave up the idea.

After all, she had already said they were acting as individuals rather than Marines. Arresting someone who seemed to have some relationship with Hawk Eyes at a time like this would not be appropriate.

Tina was a rational person, so she did not make a move.

Nagasawa and Hawk Eyes stood facing each other from a distance of three meters, silently locking eyes for nearly a full minute.

At last, Hawk Eyes slowly drew the World’s Strongest Black Blade, Yoru, from his back and pointed it at Nagasawa.

Nagasawa also slowly drew Ryujin Jakka.

"In this world, you’re the second person who’s made me draw Ryujin Jakka. You’re also the first person who’s made me interested in competing in swordsmanship, because the first were pirates so steeped in sin that I couldn’t help wanting to kill every last one of them."

Gripping the hilt tightly with his right hand, Nagasawa released an overwhelming surge of Spiritual Pressure as his aura continued rising.

He was using only the Commander-General template’s power. Even though his current fusion rate was only eighty percent, the strength provided by the template was already astonishing.

Hawk Eyes remained silent.

His eagle-like sharp eyes carefully observed Nagasawa.

Strong.

Exceptionally strong!

This was an extraordinarily powerful swordsman.

That was Hawk Eyes’ conclusion after his observation.

He let out a soft breath while tightening his grip on the World’s Strongest Black Blade.

Hawk Eyes longed to battle powerful swordsmen because only through such battles could he hope to reach an even higher peak.

That was why he had stopped after merely exchanging sword slashes during the Summit War.

There was no meaning in joining others to besiege Whitebeard. What he wanted was to challenge Whitebeard alone while he was at his peak.

Although strange circumstances ultimately prevented that wish from coming true...

It seemed that he had now encountered another opponent worthy of challenging.

Hawk Eyes focused his gaze, raised his great black blade, and covered its edge with powerful Armament Haki.

The next instant, he swung Yoru downward.

A green slash over thirty meters long shot toward Nagasawa, ripping open the ground it passed over and carving a long trench behind it.

The enormous green sword slash looked as though it could split the world in two, destroying everything standing before it.

Watching Hawk Eyes’ slash, Zoro gripped his swords tightly, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

The gap was simply too great.

The moment Hawk Eyes made his move, Zoro understood that the difference between them remained enormous.

After the Summit War ended, Luffy witnessed the battles of true top-tier powerhouses.

He then used a special method to inform his companions of a message—that they should train hard and reunite at the Sabaody Archipelago two years later.

Zoro trained with extraordinary determination.

He never wanted to experience that helpless feeling of being unable to protect those precious to him again.

He wanted to stand beside Luffy and fight together with him.

When Tina saw Hawk Eyes unleash such a terrifying slash, she could not help becoming slightly worried.

Although Nagasawa had always claimed how powerful his sword was and insisted that once he drew it, Hawk Eyes could only be defeated, Tina had never witnessed it personally, so she still could not help feeling a little concerned.

"Reduce All Creation to Ashes, Ryujin Jakka!"

Nagasawa released his Zanpakuto’s Shikai.

Flames erupted across Ryujin Jakka as Nagasawa’s Spiritual Pressure increased once more, his aura surging dramatically.

Immediately afterward, he swung his blade.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

An equally enormous flaming slash shot forth.

Crimson flames blazed fiercely, causing the surrounding temperature to rise.

The gigantic blazing slash looked as though it would burn the entire world to ashes, its crimson light dyeing everyone’s faces red.

Tina suddenly felt an intense wave of heat and was reminded of Whitebeard’s slash during the Summit War.

She quickly shook her head and focused once more on the battle.

Although both attacks were flaming slashes, they were still different.

The crimson and green slashes collided, as though a crimson world and a green world were competing against each other, desperately fighting to seize each other’s territory.

In the end, the crimson flames suppressed the green ones, though they still failed to burn them away completely.

A tremendous explosion erupted as both slashes disappeared.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The ground struck by the aftermath of the explosion continued to crack apart.

Scorch marks covered the landscape, creating the appearance of a world after the apocalypse.

In the first probing exchange, Nagasawa held the slight advantage.

"So strong!" Zoro could not help exclaiming.

Neither of their slashes was something he could withstand in his current state.