In front of the mushroom house—
Mihawk, who had successfully landed on the island and been drawn toward the mushroom houses rising from the ruins, stared at Arashi with a completely dumbfounded expression.
He hadn't come here intentionally.
After entering the Devil Sea, a sudden massive wave had swept him all the way here.
Once he escaped the stormy waters, he simply noticed an island ahead and planned to dock for a short rest.
But as he approached the island, he quickly realized something was off.
Although the island looked barren, traces of heavy bombardment could still clearly be seen everywhere.
And upon seeing those scars—
Mihawk finally realized where he was.
This was Ohara.
The island whose name had been erased from the maps of the world.
However—
Compared to discovering the island itself, what shocked him even more were the mushroom houses standing in plain sight.
From what Mihawk knew, after suffering the Buster Call, Ohara had been completely abandoned.
The surrounding seas had become dangerously unstable due to the catastrophe, and under normal circumstances, no one would ever willingly set foot on this cursed island.
So what exactly were those mushroom houses?!
Filled with confusion, Mihawk headed directly toward them.
And then—
He saw Arashi lazily lying in a hammock.
"Hello~"
Seeing Mihawk's utterly stunned expression, Arashi jumped down from the hammock and greeted him with a smile.
"Welcome to the Ohara Mushroom House."
"As the first guest to visit, drinks are free today!"
"…Can I leave immediately?"
Mihawk genuinely couldn't find words to describe how he felt right now.
Because no matter how hard he tried, he never could have imagined running into Arashi on Ohara of all places!!!
The most terrifying part was—
This lunatic had actually built a house on Ohara.
The once desolate wasteland had been forcefully transformed into a peaceful little paradise.
Was this really something a "traveler" should be doing?!
Of course—
Mihawk had to admit this place looked incredibly beautiful now.
Perfect for relaxing and vacationing.
"What's with that reaction?"
Seeing Mihawk looking utterly dead inside, Arashi barely suppressed his laughter.
"What? Still upset because we never properly sparred last time?"
Arashi really shouldn't have brought that up.
The moment he did, Mihawk's mood visibly darkened.
Every time he remembered their ridiculous "whose slash travels farther" competition back then, he felt indescribably ashamed.
Fortunately, nobody else knew about it.
Otherwise, if word reached that man in the New World…
He would absolutely become a laughingstock for months.
The more Mihawk thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
Meeting Arashi truly felt like one disastrous mistake leading to eternal humiliation.
"…Hm?"
Suddenly, Arashi's eyes lit up as his gaze landed on Mihawk's back.
Besides the Black Blade Yoru, Mihawk was carrying two additional swords.
Seeing this, Arashi asked curiously:
"Where'd those two blades come from?"
"Planning to switch to a two-sword style?"
"They're for you."
Hearing this, Mihawk seemed to suddenly remember something.
He immediately removed the two swords from his back and tossed one toward Arashi.
"Back in Constantine City, didn't you say you lacked a decent weapon?"
"It's not one of the Supreme Grade Blades, but it's not bad either."
"Use it for now."
Arashi caught the blade and lightly flicked the sword body.
A crisp, pleasant hum echoed softly.
Nodding repeatedly, Arashi smiled.
"Good sword."
Then—
Without hesitation—
He casually tossed it aside.
"…So."
Arashi looked back up at Mihawk.
"You finally want a proper spar now?"
"Good, good."
"Having arrived at Ohara, this place really is perfect for a duel."
Seeing Arashi unexpectedly bring up sparring himself, Mihawk blinked in surprise.
The fighting spirit within him instantly stirred.
…No.
Something's wrong.
This guy would never voluntarily ask for a duel.
There must be another trap.
Thinking this, Mihawk forcibly suppressed his urge to fight and cautiously asked:
"Go on."
"What weird trick are you planning this time?"
"Hahaha! As expected of my good friend!"
Seeing Mihawk react so quickly, Arashi burst into laughter.
"I'm planning to reclaim twenty acres of land here for fruit and vegetable farming."
"But working alone would be too slow."
"If Mihawk helps me, things would go twice as fast!"
"…You want me to stay here farming with you?"
Mihawk nearly exploded on the spot.
"You can fool around by yourself if you want!"
"I have zero interest in staying here planting crops with you!"
"Eh?!"
Arashi stared at him blankly.
"But I thought you liked farming?"
"I clearly remember back at Constantine Harbor you said you enjoyed self-sufficiency and growing your own food…"
"…Did I hear wrong?"
"Tell you what."
Before Mihawk could respond, Arashi smoothly continued tempting him.
"As long as you help me reclaim twenty acres of land…"
"…I'll officially spar with you properly."
"Now that I finally have a sword in hand, I also want to test myself against you."
"First the duel."
"Then the farming."
Mihawk answered decisively.
"As long as you fight me seriously once…"
"…I'll help you reclaim the entirety of Ohara."
He absolutely had to fight first.
Otherwise, who knew what absurd competition Arashi might come up with next?
If he got dragged into another ridiculous trap, Mihawk genuinely feared he might mentally collapse.
So this time, he had to stand firm.
No more slash-distance competitions.
No more rock-paper-scissors nonsense.
Those could all go to hell.
"Deal."
For once, Arashi agreed immediately.
"It's settled."
"After we spar, you stay and help me reclaim Ohara."
"Twenty acres."
"Not a single inch less."
"Come on. Let's head to the other side of the island."
As he spoke, Arashi turned around, picked up his sword, then combined Geppo and Soru, vanishing several hundred meters away in mere flashes.
Watching the direction Arashi disappeared toward, Mihawk once again failed to keep up with his rhythm.
He stood there stunned for several seconds before finally recovering.
Then—
Mihawk slowly raised his head.
A sharp gleam flashed through those hawk-like eyes.
The next instant, he leapt forward and disappeared from the front of the mushroom house.
When he reappeared, he was already a hundred meters behind Arashi.
"Arashi!"
"No tricks this time!"
Mihawk called out uneasily.
"No more rock-paper-scissors."
"No more slash-distance contests."
"A real fight."
"A true battle!"
Looking at Mihawk catching up beside him, Arashi's mouth twitched slightly.
Clearly—
This man had been psychologically traumatized by him already.
If he didn't properly fight him once soon…
Mihawk might genuinely cough up blood and explode on the spot.
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