Naturally, Mihawk had no intention of backing out.
After all, he normally lived self-sufficiently anyway. Farming and clearing land were nothing challenging to him.
In the courtyard before the Mushroom House, a dining table made from tree stumps was already piled high with food.
The moment Arashi and Mihawk returned, they were instantly drawn to the feast.
Without another word, both men leapt over and each grabbed a grilled fish to devour.
"You two started eating without even calling us?!"
Just then, Perona and Robin walked out carrying two bottles of wine each.
Seeing that Arashi and Mihawk had already begun eating, Perona immediately puffed up her cheeks unhappily.
"Robin and I were starving while waiting for you guys!"
"Hurry up!"
While gnawing on grilled fish, Arashi waved vaguely with his hand.
"Bring the wine, bring the wine!"
Robin smiled and sat down beside Arashi before personally pouring him a drink.
Seeing this, Mihawk quickly pushed his own bowl forward.
But after filling Arashi's cup, Robin simply stopped.
Then she smiled gently at Perona, who was still standing nearby with puffed cheeks.
"If you don't come eat soon, they'll finish everything~"
Seeing himself completely ignored, Mihawk blinked awkwardly before turning toward Perona.
Originally, he thought Perona would at least hand him a bottle.
Instead, she puffed her cheeks even harder, sat down on Arashi's other side, grabbed a flatbread, and started eating.
Seeing this, Mihawk completely froze.
His expression became indescribably complicated.
"Hahahahaha!"
Watching the entire scene unfold, Arashi burst into laughter.
"Mihawk, looks like the World's Greatest Swordsman isn't very popular around here!"
As he spoke, Arashi tossed him a bottle of wine before lifting his own bowl and taking a huge drink.
"Right!"
Perona's eyes suddenly lit up.
She immediately leaned toward Arashi with a serious expression.
"You two sparred, right? Who won? Wait, let me guess—"
Before she could finish—
Mihawk caught the bottle and answered bluntly:
"I lost."
"As expected, Arashi's the strongest!"
The moment she heard that, Perona instantly stopped being upset.
She hurriedly shoved both bottles of wine toward Arashi, eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Here! They're all yours!!"
"That's going too far!"
Seeing Perona still only caring about Arashi and not him, Mihawk finally exploded.
"Do you know how rude this is to a guest?! Hurry up and give me a bottle too!"
"Nope!"
Perona reacted instantly, hugging the wine bottles tightly while grinning mischievously.
"Today's wine is for celebrating Arashi becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman! You don't get any!"
Honestly—
Her logic made perfect sense.
But Mihawk still glared fiercely and snapped:
"Don't forget I'm your savior."
"The one sitting beside you is the real culprit who knocked you into the sea!"
"That's fine."
Perona proudly turned her head toward Arashi.
"I like Arashi~"
Then she finally handed one bottle to Mihawk.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Here."
Stop teasing me?
Mihawk's mouth twitched.
Were all women terrifying no matter their age?
—
Early the next morning—
After eating breakfast prepared by Robin, Arashi brought Mihawk along to begin his land-clearing project.
Clearing and tilling land was hard work.
But Arashi was extremely good at turning anything into entertainment.
So he immediately proposed another competition with Mihawk.
The rules were simple—
Ten acres each.
Whoever finished clearing their land first would win.
Mihawk had done plenty of farming before, so he accepted without hesitation.
Thus—
Two men standing at the pinnacle of swordsmanship transformed into hardworking farmers wearing straw hats and carrying hoes as they began a brand-new competition on the forgotten island of Ohara.
Day One—
Arashi cleared three-tenths of an acre.
Mihawk cleared a full acre.
Arashi lost.
Day Two—
Arashi managed to clear one acre.
Meanwhile, Mihawk had already begun working on his third acre.
Complete defeat for Arashi.
Day Three—
Arashi finally reached two acres total.
Mihawk, however, had already started on the sixth acre.
A crushing loss.
By Day Five—
Standing beside the ten acres Mihawk had fully cleared, Arashi wore a lifeless expression.
"I never expected Mihawk to be a land-clearing expert."
"A miscalculation…"
"This time, I lost."
Hearing that, Mihawk's mouth twitched slightly.
Although he had indeed won this competition—
He still felt something was off.
Then he glanced at Arashi's field and finally understood why.
After five entire days—
Arashi hadn't even cleared one-third of Mihawk's progress.
This wasn't losing.
This was straight-up slacking off.
Still, Mihawk didn't really care.
There was no actual meaning in competing over farming anyway.
The only reason he'd accepted was because he genuinely enjoyed manual labor and cultivating land.
In that sense—
He and Arashi really did share similar interests.
Because Mihawk could tell—
Arashi wasn't acting on some random whim.
He genuinely intended to grow fruit and vegetables here.
Thinking this, Mihawk carried his hoe over and stopped before Arashi.
"How long do you plan to stay here?"
"Don't tell me you're planning to settle down permanently. I won't believe you."
"Who knows?"
Arashi sat down directly on the ground and narrowed his eyes toward the sky.
"I'll stay here for now, grow an orchard and a vegetable garden, and enjoy life a little first."
"You really do whatever you want."
Mihawk also sat down opposite him and casually pulled a bottle of whiskey from his bag like a magic trick.
Then his expression grew serious.
"But this is Ohara after all."
"You should be careful."
"Concern from a good friend?"
Arashi smiled.
"Relax. I checked the island when I arrived. No one's been here for at least seven or eight years, maybe ten."
"Well… except you."
"You're an exception."
"Besides you, who else would drift aimlessly across the seas for no reason?"
"Not necessarily."
Mihawk shook his head.
"There's someone else who wanders the Four Seas and the Grand Line the same way I do."
"And recently… she's been in West Blue."
Arashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You mean that red-eyed woman with ripple-pattern eyes like yours?"
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