Ripple-pattern eyes weren't something people paid much attention to at first in the original story.
But after the close-up of those ripple eyes seated upon the Empty Throne appeared, this otherwise unusual trait instantly attracted widespread attention.
The very first person in the series to possess ripple eyes was naturally Dracule Mihawk—the mysterious Warlord of the Sea and World's Greatest Swordsman.
Then came the Supernova Caribou after the two-year timeskip.
After that was Zunesha, the ancient elephant that had wandered the seas for over a thousand years.
Of course, Big Mom's eyes would also become ripple-patterned when she used the Soul-Soul Fruit.
Cavendish displayed similar eyes when entering his split-personality state as well.
But all of those were temporary transformations.
Caribou's case might even be related to his Devil Fruit ability.
Only Mihawk—and the owner of the eyes seated upon the Empty Throne—possessed ripple eyes permanently under normal circumstances.
Now, if it were merely the eyes themselves, people probably wouldn't care much.
What truly drew attention was another strangely coincidental detail connected to Mihawk and the owner of those Empty Throne eyes.
That detail was the wave-cross motif.
The hilt of the Supreme Grade Blade Yoru carried a wave-cross design.
The windows within the Room of Flowers in Mary Geoise bore the exact same pattern.
Yoru belonged to Mihawk.
The Room of Flowers was where Imu—the ruler seated upon the Empty Throne—resided.
And both possessed ripple eyes.
Was that really just coincidence?
Of course, to Arashi, this was merely an interesting curiosity.
Nothing particularly important.
But now, hearing Mihawk mention someone else who drifted the seas just like him—
Arashi naturally thought of the mysterious red-eyed woman with ripple eyes he had met earlier.
"You've already met her?"
Mihawk blinked in surprise.
"When?"
"Before arriving at Ohara."
Arashi stared directly at Mihawk.
Then suddenly changed the topic.
"This red-eyed woman with ripple eyes just like yours…"
"She's not some relative of yours, right?"
"Your older sister? No, she looks younger than you…"
"Your little sister?"
Hearing that, Mihawk's eyes tightened slightly.
Though the reaction vanished almost instantly.
Then he glared at Arashi and snapped irritably:
"Hey, hey, hey."
"Don't start connecting random people just because of a pair of ripple eyes."
"There are plenty of people in this world with ripple eyes."
Arashi noticed that fleeting reaction perfectly.
A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"Relax, relax. I'm just curious."
"After all, among everyone I've met during my travels, only you and that mysterious woman have ripple eyes."
"Well then… no more alcohol."
Without waiting for Mihawk to answer, Arashi casually changed the subject and tossed aside the empty whiskey bottle.
"Hey, ghost girl!"
Seeing Arashi finish off the remaining liquor, Mihawk frowned slightly before turning toward Perona, who was swinging happily on the swing in front of the Mushroom House.
"Bring us two more bottles!"
"Who are you ordering around, idiot?! Get them yourself!"
Perona exploded instantly.
Nothing annoyed her more than being ordered around.
Looking at the furious little loli, Mihawk responded with astonishing adaptability:
"Arashi asked you to."
"Oh, okay!"
Without even hesitating, Perona jumped off the swing and happily ran to get the alcohol.
…Right.
Watching Perona run off obediently, Mihawk silently accumulated another forehead full of black lines.
Sure enough—
He possessed absolutely zero human rights around here.
Soon enough—
Perona returned carrying three bottles.
She cheerfully handed two bottles to Arashi.
"Arashi, these are yours!"
Then she casually tossed the remaining bottle toward Mihawk before humming a tune and skipping away.
Mihawk's mouth twitched violently.
Then he shook his head helplessly and looked toward Arashi with a bitter smile.
"You taught her that, didn't you?"
"Excellent teaching."
Arashi barely suppressed his laughter.
Then he opened the bottle and clinked it against Mihawk's.
"Come, come, come."
"After this bottle, help me clear the other side too."
"Whatever. I'm used to it."
Mihawk didn't bother arguing anymore.
He directly chugged the bottle dry, picked up his hoe, and returned to farming.
—
With the help of "professional land-clearing expert" Mihawk—
The full twenty acres of farmland were finally cultivated.
Once all the required land had been prepared, Mihawk simply left behind the words—
"See you in the New World."
Then he immediately slipped away.
Although Mihawk had done most of the work himself—
He genuinely enjoyed it.
More importantly—
He had never expected to encounter Arashi on Ohara, the island erased from the maps.
And better still—
He finally got the battle he'd always wanted.
Though he lost the spar—
Mihawk wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
Because the fight had benefited him immensely.
It also made him realize his own shortcomings.
True powerhouses achieved breakthroughs through constant battle.
Mihawk was naturally no exception.
Without even needing to think, Arashi could already guess what Mihawk would do next—
He would definitely hide somewhere in the Grand Line and focus entirely on training.
And once he broke through to the next level—
He would absolutely come looking for Arashi again.
After all—
In the original story, the only person capable of fighting Mihawk in swordsmanship without losing was the Emperor of Red Hair himself.
Before Arashi arrived in this world, Mihawk regularly sought out Shanks for duels.
But now—
Shanks had already lost his arm in East Blue.
Once Mihawk returned to the New World and saw the one-armed Shanks—
He would naturally lose interest in fighting him any further.
And thus—
Arashi would smoothly become Mihawk's sole target for challenge.
A challenge Mihawk would pursue endlessly.
Watching the coffin-shaped boat disappear rapidly into the distance—
Arashi reclined in the lounge chair before the Mushroom House, withdrew his gaze, looked up at the sky, and sighed dramatically.
"It's over…"
"I'm never gonna have peaceful days again…"
"Arashi, I'm coming!"
Just then, Perona suddenly ran over and leapt directly into his arms before settling comfortably against him.
"You can come over normally, you know."
"Why are you jumping onto me again? Hey, get down!"
Looking at the little loli sprawled comfortably across him, Arashi suddenly realized—
Mihawk constantly challenging him wasn't the scary part.
The truly terrifying thing was how much clingier Perona became every single day.
"No! Way!"
Perona suddenly lifted her head and kissed Arashi on the cheek without warning.
Then she snuggled deeper into his arms and said sweetly:
"With weather this nice, I wanna turn into a little kitty and curl up in Arashi's arms…"
"Then purr purr while sleeping…"
"And roll around gently…"
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