When Wang Zhi received the report that the Dawn had entered the waters surrounding Hachinosu, he was so furious that he laughed.
Had these youngsters lost their minds?
They had just provoked Charlotte Linlin, yet they still dared to step into his territory.
Did they think they could defeat him before Big Mom arrived?
Or had they simply never taken him seriously from the beginning?
Wang Zhi's expression darkened. He smashed the wine table beside him into splinters, grabbed his eyebrow blade, and sneered.
"Very good."
"Then I'll show these brats exactly what it takes to become one of the overlords of the New World."
...
By the time the Dawn approached Hachinosu's shoreline, Wang Zhi was already waiting with tens of thousands of pirates gathered behind him.
Standing on the deck, Ash shaded his eyes and immediately locked onto the most conspicuous figure in the crowd.
Wang Zhi.
The height matched, well over three meters.
The age matched as well.
But the appearance...
Ash stared for several seconds before losing his composure.
"Is that really Wang Zhi?!"
He had been curious about this legendary pirate for a long time. After all, many believed the character had been inspired by the famous historical pirate Wang Zhi.
Yet the reality before him completely shattered his expectations.
"He's that ugly?"
"And what's with the bald head and slanted eyes? Did they really have to make him look like that?"
Dicken, who had abandoned his duties at Twin Capes and rushed over specifically for a good fight, ignored Ash's complaints entirely.
Drawing his golden dagger, he grinned eagerly.
"You've seen him now."
"Enough talking."
"I'm going."
Ash rubbed his eyes and waved him off.
"Go ahead."
"Take that ugly head off as quickly as possible."
"Hahaha!"
Dicken burst into laughter and shot toward Hachinosu.
Seeing him rush ahead, Youki called out from behind.
"Need any help?"
"Wang Zhi is mine!"
Youki rolled his eyes.
He had only asked whether assistance was needed. He never said anything about stealing the target.
Why was this guy acting as though someone was trying to take food off his plate?
Tsuki, Fidel, and McKinley immediately followed behind Dicken.
Unlike Pini and Youki, who preferred fighting top-tier monsters at Admiral or Yonko level, they still had plenty of room to improve. As long as there was a worthy battle, they didn't particularly care who the opponent was.
Watching the others charge forward, Pini remained standing in place.
Youki turned curiously.
Then he saw Pini slowly draw his golden bow.
The bowstring stretched to its limit.
A single arrow shot toward Hachinosu.
The instant the attack was released, Pini calmly lowered his weapon and put it away.
Youki's eyes widened.
Back when Pini had wiped out Squard's crew with a single shot, he had used that exact technique.
Without turning around, Pini explained,
"Just clearing away some of the trash for them."
"Besides, if Dicken starts spreading poison everywhere again, it'll ruin the island."
"We still need somewhere to hold a banquet after the battle."
Youki rolled his eyes.
Then he turned and left.
Before departing, he looked back at Ash.
"Ash, call Morgans."
"Tell him to recall all the News Coo around the island."
"If they get caught in the crossfire, don't blame us when they get shot down again."
"Got it."
Ash was already sprawled comfortably across the observation deck, waiting for the feast afterward.
His reply sounded thoroughly unmotivated.
...
Morgans proved surprisingly cooperative.
After receiving Ash's call through a Den Den Mushi, he immediately ordered every News Coo operating near Hachinosu to withdraw.
Ash was quite satisfied with that response.
As a reward, he decided he would punch that oversized bird a few fewer times the next time they met.
He even promised to provide a major scoop afterward.
Originally, Ash intended to reward Morgans with the news of Wang Zhi's downfall.
After all, one of the last surviving remnants of the Rocks Pirates being defeated was more than enough to dominate headlines.
What Ash didn't realize was that today's battle would eventually develop into something far larger than anyone expected.
...
Wang Zhi had once been one of the core members of the Rocks Pirates.
His reputation was not undeserved.
He possessed mastery over all three forms of Haki and stood firmly within the ranks of top-tier swordsmen.
The title of New World overlord fit him perfectly.
If there was a weakness, it was that he resembled Benn Beckman in certain ways.
He excelled in every area but specialized in none.
Nothing about him stood at the absolute peak.
He lacked a special racial lineage.
He possessed no Devil Fruit ability.
His physical strength was formidable, but not monstrously so.
Viewed objectively, he was remarkably similar to Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban.
The only major differences were appearance and choice of weapon.
In fact, his overall combat ability might even be slightly below that of Roger's retired right-hand men.
For people like Sali, Pini, and the others, Wang Zhi simply wasn't attractive as an opponent.
But for someone like Dicken, he was perfect.
Strong enough to apply genuine pressure.
Not so overwhelming that victory felt impossible.
Exactly the kind of battle needed for growth.
Ignoring the enormous explosion created by Pini's arrow, Dicken descended from the sky and swung his golden dagger directly toward Wang Zhi's head.
The attack instantly cut off whatever insults Wang Zhi had been preparing.
As a veteran pirate who had survived countless battles, Wang Zhi's combat instincts were exceptional.
After their first collision, he immediately realized that this seemingly ordinary one-eyed youth was anything but ordinary.
The mockery vanished from his face.
Instead, he focused entirely on combat.
Steel clashed against steel.
Sparks erupted.
The sound of weapons colliding echoed continuously across the battlefield.
Within the world of pirates, a swordsman was traditionally judged by two standards.
The ability to cut steel.
The ability to unleash flying slashes.
Ironically, the Dawn crew never placed much importance on such titles.
Most of them possessed enough raw physical power that, with any reasonably sharp weapon, cutting steel was trivial.
Their methods had little to do with swordsmanship itself.
It was simply overwhelming strength.
As a result, nobody had ever been particularly fascinated by the title of Great Swordsman.
That changed somewhat after numerous bounty hunters and swordsmen from the Four Blues gathered at Twin Capes.
Through them, the Dawn crew gained a deeper understanding of what true swordsmanship represented.
According to Three Blades, genuine swordsmanship involved sensing the aura of all things.
The breath of stone.
The breath of trees.
The breath of the earth itself.
By listening to these invisible rhythms, one could understand an object's structure, perceive its essence, and ultimately cut precisely what they wished while leaving everything else untouched.
The explanation sounded profound.
Yet after hearing it, most members reached the same conclusion.
Wasn't it just another variation of Observation Haki?
Perhaps more specialized.
Perhaps slightly closer to the Voice of All Things.
But still fundamentally similar.
After all, the Voice of All Things allowed a person to truly hear the world.
Swordsmanship merely allowed them to sense it.
The distinction was obvious enough.
Most members listened to the explanation, nodded thoughtfully, and forgot about it shortly afterward.
Everyone had their own preferred path.
Sali and Youki devoted themselves primarily to Devil Fruit development, using Haki as support.
Pini specialized in Observation Haki, treating both his Devil Fruit and Armament Haki as secondary tools.
Daly Jack focused almost entirely on Armament Haki.
The guy seemed to possess a genuine obsession with grabbing enemies by the head and smashing them into the ground.
Years of relentless training had elevated his Armament Haki to one of the highest levels in the crew, surpassed only by Ash himself.
As for Dicken, he had originally been a devoted believer in maximizing Devil Fruit abilities.
Then one day, during a routine patrol, he wandered through the training grounds out of boredom.
After witnessing the dramatic leap in strength achieved by Three Blades and Baldy following their breakthroughs in swordsmanship, he became interested.
Conveniently, he was also the only veteran member of the Dawn crew who constantly fought with a blade.
And yes, in his opinion, a head-hunting dagger absolutely counted as a blade.
From that point onward, he spent a considerable amount of time exchanging swordsmanship insights with Three Blades.
Fortunately, his mastery of Observation and Armament Haki allowed him to filter out much of the exaggerated theory and focus on practical results.
After months of effort, Dicken finally achieved a breakthrough.
He became the first true Great Swordsman within the Dawn faction.
===
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