One Piece: Luffy's Vice Captain wants to be a Marine

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In the Baratie restaurant, Gin's somewhat desperate voice echoed through the room.

Everyone turned toward the window, where they could see the expressionless Dracule Mihawk, better known as Hawkeye, seated calmly on his small boat.

This was the East Blue, where few people truly understood what kind of man Hawkeye was.

Among those present, only two recognized his identity. One was "Red-Leg" Zeff, a veteran of the Grand Line, and the other was Roronoa Zoro, whose dream of surpassing Hawkeye had driven him to set sail.

Zoro's expression lit up with excitement as he spotted his target.

"Finally… finally, I get to see you!"

Ikki, noticing Zoro's reaction, immediately realized what was about to happen. There was no doubt in his mind that Zoro intended to challenge Mihawk.

Truthfully, Ikki wanted to stop him from what seemed like a suicidal attempt. However, Zoro wasn't the type to back down in the face of adversity. Even if he knew the gap between himself and the world's strongest swordsman was insurmountable, Zoro would still step forward, determined to gauge the difference for himself.

In the original story, Hawkeye had spared Zoro's life after their duel. But now, with Ikki's presence potentially altering events, the outcome was less certain.

To be safe, Ikki decided he needed to prepare for the worst.

Meanwhile, outside the restaurant...

Gin stared at Hawkeye in terror, stammering, "W-why are you after us? Our pirate crew hasn't provoked you, right?"

Hawkeye let out a quiet sigh, his tone calm but cold. "No special reason… you disturbed my rest."

As he finished speaking, Don Krieg, who had been knocked unconscious by Luffy earlier, groggily regained consciousness. His bleary eyes immediately locked onto Hawkeye.

Perhaps due to his dazed state, Krieg blurted out, "Didn't I just see you taking a dump? Is that why you're chasing me?!"

The restaurant fell into dead silence.

Hawkeye's expressionless demeanor twisted into one of icy fury. Without a word, he drew his massive black blade, Yoru. A single flash of light accompanied the swing, and Krieg's head was severed cleanly from his body. Gin, who had been supporting Krieg moments before, met the same fate in an instant.

It was only then, as the light left his eyes, that Krieg seemed to realize he had made a fatal mistake.

Fullbody, who had just returned to his Marine warship, watched the scene unfold from a distance. He grinned wickedly, muttering to himself, "With Krieg gone, I'll be the one to claim the credit."

Inside the restaurant, Ikki had overheard Krieg's ill-fated words. Glancing between Hawkeye and the tiny boat beneath him, Ikki felt a realization dawn.

'Wait,' he thought. 'Could it be that Krieg accidentally caught Hawkeye… uh… relieving himself in the open on that boat? And Hawkeye's been chasing him all the way to the East Blue to silence him?'

As absurd as it seemed, Ikki couldn't help but consider the possibility. After all, Hawkeye's boat had no cover, and even the world's greatest swordsman needed to handle such things.

'Maybe he uses Yoru as a paddle at night, too,' Ikki mused with a smirk. 'You never know.'

It would certainly explain why someone as powerful as Hawkeye, a Warlord of the Sea, would waste his time pursuing a pirate with a measly bounty of 17 million. He simply couldn't let his dignity be tarnished.

"Man, I wonder how many other poor souls have met their end for stumbling across Mihawk's… private moments."

Outside, Hawkeye's piercing gaze shifted toward the Baratie and the Marine warship in the distance. He seemed to weigh the idea of silencing everyone who had witnessed the incident.

Just then, Zoro stepped out of the restaurant, breaking the tense silence.

"The greatest swordsman in the world," Zoro declared, his voice resolute. "I challenge you!"

Hawkeye regarded Zoro with a faint smirk. "If you challenge me now, you'll surely die. Are you certain?"

"My goal in going to sea is to become the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro retorted. Without hesitation, he pulled the green bandana from his arm and tied it around his head.

Inside the Baratie, Ikki watched with growing anxiety as Zoro boldly challenged the infuriated Hawkeye.

"It looks like I'll need to speed up my plans," he muttered to himself, steeling his resolve.

"Luffy, Usopp, open their mouths! I need to speed up!" Ikki shouted.

Hearing this, Luffy and Usopp immediately pried open the mouths of Johnny and Yosaku, while Ikki held the candy box, pouring candies out at a frantic pace.

Every time a candy appeared, Ikki quickly glanced at the label indicating its ability.

"Becoming mute?"

"Avoiding water?"

"Super spicy?"

"Clairvoyance?"

The candies that granted abilities were eaten one after another by Johnny and Yosaku. Though the candies didn't harm them physically, they often came with bizarre and inconvenient effects.

For instance, one made their bodies unbearably spicy, another gave off a foul smell, and one even acted as an aphrodisiac.

Ikki grimaced. He didn't want to subject them to this, but the candy box had a peculiar mechanism—if you wanted to refresh the candies' effects infinitely, the previous candy had to be consumed.

As Hawkeye stepped onto the Baratie deck, having accepted Zoro's challenge, Ikki finally drew a candy with life-saving potential.

The label read: [Resurrection].

The description was simple but invaluable: If you die within fifteen minutes after eating it, you will be resurrected once in full health.

Ikki's mind raced. He knew Zoro would be defeated in seconds—the battle wouldn't last fifteen minutes. This candy was perfect.

On the deck, Hawkeye drew his massive blade, Yoru. His tone was casual, yet condescending.

"I don't carry smaller blades, so I'll use this one to toy with you."

His words stung Zoro's pride, and just as Zoro was about to lunge, Ikki's voice rang out.

"Zoro, eat this before you fight!"

Ikki tossed the resurrection candy to Zoro, who deftly caught it in one hand while holding Wado Ichimonji in the other. Without hesitation or questions, Zoro popped the candy into his mouth and swallowed it.

With that, Zoro rushed toward Hawkeye again, his voice thundering.

"Three-Sword Style... Demon Slash!"

Zoro opened with one of his signature techniques, but Hawkeye effortlessly blocked it. The most humiliating part? He used that small blade to halt all three of Zoro's swords simultaneously.

Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief. No matter how many attacks he unleashed, Hawkeye blocked each one with ease, as if he weren't even trying.

For the first time, Zoro began to grasp the colossal gap between himself and the world's greatest swordsman.

As the battle dragged on, Hawkeye yawned, his boredom palpable.

"I'm tired of playing," he declared coldly.

With a single, casual swing, Hawkeye unleashed a devastating flying slash. The nearly two-meter-long arc of energy sliced through the air, aiming to cleave Zoro in half.

The onlookers held their breath, paralyzed by the scene unfolding before them.

They knew this was it—Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter of the East Blue, was about to meet his end.

Luffy, seeing his crewmate in mortal danger, tried to rush forward, but Ikki held him back.

"Luffy, calm down! I've got it covered—Zoro will be fine! Trust me, I've already taken out insurance!"

Meanwhile, Sanji and Zeff, who might have been expected to react, were nowhere to be seen. The two cooks had inexplicably turned their attention to chasing after Nami, who had seized the chance to steal away the Going Merry.

Nami had set sail alone, taking advantage of the chaos to make her escape.

Ikki had noticed her movements earlier but chose not to stop her. After all, their next destination was Cocoyasi Village and the Arlong Pirates, so it didn't matter if Nami got a head start. Right now, the priority was ensuring Zoro's safety.