OnePiece: Concept Space

Chapter 15: Hawkeye

Seven days passed.

Luffy had completely fallen in love with the Baratie. All of his three daily meals were personally prepared by Sanju. However, the other girls weren't as impressed.

Sanju's cooking skills were quite advanced, but compared to the atomic 'processed' food from their world, taken to extremes, her dishes still felt far behind.

As a result, only Luffy appeared punctually at the restaurant for every meal, while the others spent most of their time relaxing in the ship's inner space.

Now and then, they would tease Sanju and try to recruit her according to Luffy's wishes. But Sanju always changed the topic and tactfully refused. Still, her eyes occasionally sparkled with excitement, and she often shared her dream of finding the All Blue.

Anyway, everyone had become friends, and no one seemed bothered by Sanju's extra-narcissistic personality. On the contrary, they found it funny.

With Nami being an old acquaintance of Sanju's, getting close to her wasn't that hard.

Maybe the only thing that truly annoyed Sanju was that only the charming man (Luffy) appreciated her cooking, while the other girls were indifferent. This dealt a huge blow to her pride.

On the Baratie's Roof

Sanju reclined comfortably on the roof's edge, dragging on her sleek black smoking pipe, exhaling smoke in long, lazy breaths.

She looked gorgeous yet melancholic, like a lady burdened with unspeakable secrets.

The sound of sharp footsteps echoed behind her as the old man Zeff appeared.

The unkempt old man grumbled harshly as he approached.

"You damn girl! Skipping work again?"

Sanju gave him a side glance but ignored him.

Zeff was silent for a moment, then spoke again, this time more serious.

"Why did you refuse?"

Sanju frowned, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Zeff gave her a deep look, his anger rising as he spoke.

"I saw it! That Straw Hat kid and those beautiful girls tried to recruit you more than once! Why do you back down every time?"

"You act like you're carrying some unspeakable burden! Now you're up here pretending to be the tragic heroine in a drama."

"You damn girl! If you want to leave with them, then be brave and do it! Why are you so cowardly and hesitant?"

Sanju's expression darkened.

"What do you mean, 'just leave'? I can't leave. I don't want to leave! Why are you so nosy all of a sudden, old man? You're acting weird today."

Zeff was about to scold her again, but his attention shifted to something in the distance.

On the horizon, a huge ship approached.

It looked intimidating, but there was a dilapidated, defeated air about it. Zeff's sharp eyes noticed a huge section of the ship was missing, as if sliced clean by a sword.

Zeff immediately recognized it.

Anyone interested in pirate news in the East Blue would.

He mumbled:

"Dreadnaught Sabre… Didn't Don Krieg sail to the Grand Line?"

Sanju, noticing the old man fall silent, followed his gaze. She also spotted the approaching ship.

"Don Krieg? Who's that?"

Sanju had zero interest in ugly pirates. Even though her dream was the All Blue, she didn't think she needed to become a pirate to reach it.

Zeff's expression grew solemn, to the point even Sanju felt uneasy.

"Let's head back… I hope I'm just overthinking things."

Sanju followed him, but her unease only grew.

Above the Sky

High above, lying on a fluffy cloud, Luffy skipped training that day and was enjoying a nap.

Suddenly, he sensed something monstrous approaching.

He opened his eyes, cutting his siesta short.

"What a powerful presence… It's almost catching up with my Will."

"As expected of this world's powerhouses. You can't underestimate any of them."

He vanished from the cloud, reappearing instantly on the ship's figurehead.

Behind him, the girls—still in their training attire—also appeared, looking toward the horizon in shock.

After nearly half a month of training, each of them had already reached a decent level of mastery over the two types of Haki.

The approaching aura was impossible to ignore.

Zala tightened her grip on the katanas at her waist.

"I can feel it! A very powerful sword aura…"

Kuina had sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Strong!!"

Almost as if on cue, an explosion sounded from the Baratie.

Kaya was the first to react.

"Something bad happened inside! Sanju may be in danger—"

By the time she finished her sentence, she was already hundreds of meters away.

"Wait for me!!"

Yasha and Nami followed quickly. They were also worried about Sanju.

Zala and Kuina didn't move.

Not because they weren't worried, but because they had complete confidence in their companions.

At the same time, the overwhelming sword momentum was too tempting to walk away from.

Even though it was intimidating, deep down, they were excited—eager for the challenge.

Luffy's perception was sharper than anyone's.

He analyzed quietly.

"Hmm… in terms of basic stats, his physical fitness is far behind not just me, but even the weakest in our crew—Kaya. Yet his aura is intimidating, even for me."

"So this is Haki? Quite an interesting power. Crude compared to my own Will, but still powerful."

He glanced at Kuina and Zala, who were both trembling with excitement.

"Their Will isn't on par with this opponent yet. Will needs trials and battles to grow. Talent helps, but quantity and quality of willpower are different things."

"Right now, their 'will reserves' are about ten times lower, and their swordsmanship… well, they're not even close."

But Luffy smiled.

At least now he had a clear understanding of the power stats of this world.

As for Kuina and Zala's upcoming disastrous defeat? He would treat it as a valuable chance for them to grind their will and advance their Haki.

He spoke:

"You two are in luck… the approaching guest is Hawkeye Mihawk, the world's strongest swordsman."

Their expressions changed from shock to fiery determination.

Their will burned brighter, and Luffy could feel their strength increasing little by little, fueled by this challenge.

He couldn't help but marvel at this world's power system.

'What an interesting world. You can literally turn your desires into reality through things like Haki or Devil Fruits.'

On the Coffin Boat

Small green flames flickered around the coffin-shaped boat.

At the center sat Hawkeye Mihawk, leisurely holding the tiller. His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, locked onto his prey.

He saw the ship that had witnessed his embarrassing moment—rowing with his sword—and his pride wouldn't allow it.

"How dare they see that…"

Now he had to destroy them. For powerhouses, face is supreme.

Suddenly, Mihawk felt goosebumps.

His Observation Haki screamed warnings at him.

There were masters nearby.

"Two at Vice Admiral level… Three at Rear Admiral top class… Maybe even stronger. Who are they? Navy? Revolutionaries?"

His Observation Haki went haywire.

Danger! Extreme death approaching! Run, run!

Mihawk's face twisted in shock.

"What's happening?!"

Then the sensation vanished, as if it had all been an illusion.

But he knew—it wasn't.

His lips curled into a wild grin.

"Interesting… interesting. I didn't expect being bored would land me in such a dangerous place."

Run?

Are you kidding?

Danger also means opportunity. Only by facing death could he push his swordsmanship further.

He looked at the horizon in anticipation.

Luffy, who was teasing Mihawk from afar, couldn't help but chuckle.

"As expected of a powerhouse. Death doesn't seem to scare him… but don't worry, I won't use my Will to bully you. My physical fitness should be enough to handle this."

His physical stats were growing constantly, and his talent was even more exaggerated.

After meeting Hawkeye Mihawk, Luffy already had a clear understanding of his own strength.

His willpower was already top class, perhaps even faintly surpassing the world's most renowned powerhouses.

His physical stats, all-around, were equivalent to an average admiral using full-powered Haki.

As for self-healing, his defense—both internal and external—was practically world-class, meaning if he was injured, recovery would be almost instantaneous.

And that was without even using his Gomu-Gomu tricks.

If he added Gear 2, he was already a veritable powerhouse without tapping into any higher concepts.

And if he did?

Hehehe…

Zala and Kuina looked at the smiling Luffy, both feeling a bit uneasy.

What's wrong with the captain?

Back at the Baratie

The situation inside the Baratie was already under control.

After Sanju and Zeff shared food with Don Krieg, he repaid their kindness by attacking them. He even declared that he would steal their ship.

Unfortunately for him, he made two fatal mistakes:

He was wearing gold armor, and

He attacked Sanju.

That was an instant max debuff.

Nami immediately stripped him of his gold armor and diamond gloves. He didn't even get the chance to show off any of his other tricks before she blasted him away.

Yasha easily took care of Don Krieg's subordinates.

Meanwhile, Kaya began her first medical trial—checking on the wounded, bandaging injuries, and performing on-the-spot medical examinations.

Sanju sat on the ground, staring in a daze at the goddesses showing their might.

"They're actually… so strong?!!"

She genuinely didn't understand why such powerful people would want to recruit a weakling like her.

Beside her, Zeff was also in awe.

"You damn girl… You actually caught the eye of a crew this strong, and you're still refusing their invitation? That's just stupid…"

As an old, perceptive pirate, Zeff understood exactly how powerful this crew was.

He could feel the sheer density of their aura.

Especially that Straw Hat young man.

He was simply a walking monster.

There was no safer destination for Sanju than this crew.

If she truly wanted to realize her dream of finding the All Blue, joining the Straw Hat Crew was definitely her ultimate opportunity.

Sanju said nothing.

She just sat silently, staring at the ruined restaurant, lost in thought.