The Strongest Swordsman

Jack watched as Mihawk sailed closer and closer, his attention only drifting else where when Luke appeared next to him, his gaze also locked onto the stranger. "Who is he?" Luke asked, already sizing up the possible enemy.

"That's the man who holds the title of 'The strongest swordsman in the world' and believe me, he holds it for a reason!" Jack answered calmly, while also warning Luke that the man was not to be taken lightly.

They both watched as Mihawk pulled up to the docks and secured his boat/coffin with a rope before they made their way over to greet him. "Hey, pleasure to meet you, Mihawk. The names Jack Sparrow, and this man here is Luke Straus." Jack said, pointing a finger to Luke, while also extending a hand in greeting to Hawkeye.

To his credit, Hawkeye never once showed even a moment of fear, his own strength being enough to ease any troubles he might have had in coming here. And why wouldn't he? The man could literally go toe to toe with Shanks when he was at his pique, but now he didn't even bother because he considered it not a worthy enough challenge now that the emperor had lost his arm.

"Hello... meeting you is... adequate." Mihawk said plainly, accepting the proffered hand. "The same can be said about meeting you..." Luke stated, his mind still focused on the man in front of him. "Before we get into business discussion, let's go and grab some food. I already have a room prepared for you as well." Jack said, then turned to head back to the Pearl.

Mihawk didn't wait for further invitation, and followed along beside Jack, with Luke bringing up the rear. The three of them made it inside to the kitchen where Jack laid out three large meals with some of the finest food he had, as well as a bottle of the oldest and supposedly best wine from his world.

He wasn't really a wine guy himself, but he saw no point in not allowing someone who could appreciate it's taste a chance at trying it. He and Luke both tried the wine, but it was nothing special to them, preferring a good beer over it.

Mihawk however, seemed to love it. Tasting it, he finally showed something other than a blank expression, going to surprise, then a smile. The food must also have done something for him, because he cleaned two plates of food, and a bowl of dessert.

'Good!! I can work with this!!' Jack thought as he refilled Mihawk's glass. "Tomorrow I'll show you around the place, let you see first hand what you would be doing if you agree to work for us. Also..." Jack paused for a moment before he said "Zephyr might join us as well. I know there is some bad blood between the two of you, but he said he at least wouldn't outright attack you."

Silence rained supreme amongst the room before Hawkeye said, "Doesn't concern me. If he has a problem, I'd be more than happy to finish what I started."

(A.N. It has been pointed out before that the one who killed Zephyr's students and cut off his arm was a Devil Fruit user, who later became a Warlord, but it never stated who. My choices were either Doflamingo or Hawkeye, as they're the only two who I think would have been capable of doing so. However, I already planned on erasing Doflamingo as I did, and this way I can add a few conflicts into the matter. Don't like it, then just keep your trap shut!)

The three of them talked for a little over an hour before Jack showed Hawkeye to his room, then they all retired for the night. Come morning, the whole town/city was talking about Mihawk.

"How'd everyone find out?" Jack asked, shooting Luke a questioning look. "Hey, I only told Selene!!" Luke said defensively. "Yeah! Who most likely told Soran, who most likely sold the information to a few dozen people before the information was spread all over town!" Jack stated, not even having to guess if his assumption was true or not.

Over the last few days, he'd found out about over a dozen of the little devils schemes, and some of them were outright blackmail. True, the ones she blackmailed deserved it, but it was still blackmail. Once he'd let it slip in front of Makino, the woman guilt tripped Soran hard!!

Jack almost laughed his ass off when he watched Soran ever so reluctantly give up the money, only instead of to it's rightful owners, Soran donated it to the children without families. That earned her way back into Makino's good book, but she was guilted into never doing something like that to the good people who were her friends and neighbors.

This naturally excluded selling information and blackmailing and cheating enemies, but Soran didn't feel the need to ask Makino to clarify the details about that.

"I don't really care who knows I'm here. It's not like I was trying to be discreet!" Mihawk said, making Jack frown in annoyance.

"I don't care if they know about you being here, but I was gonna build up this epic entrance for ya! Plus now that everyone knows you're here, they might come to challenge you. Just please don't kill anyone, otherwise I'll do everything in my power to destroy your hopes and dreams. Okay?!"

Mihawk just quirked an eyebrow at Jack's statement, wondering how he could make his life hell, but wisely chose brush past the question. If Jack was insane enough to attack Marie Geoise, then he wasn't to be pushed around.

"Fine!" Mihawk said, agreeing to Jack's request/threat. "I dibs first duel!!" Luke stated before he took a bite of the food Jack placed on the table. Mihawk glanced at Luke, sizing him up with a serious look on his face. "You want to fight me? Why?" He asked, curious about Luke.

He didn't witness the battle in the Holy City like most people, but he did read about it, and Luke was second only to Jack during that battle. His power was also nothing to scoff at either, but Mihawk had fought against some of the most devastating Devil Fruit powers in the world, so another wouldn't be anything new.

"I wanna take your title of the strongest swordsman in the world." Luke answered casually between bites of food, acting like this was regular conversation. Seeing Mihawk frown at him in annoyance, Luke stopped eating his food.

Staring coldly at the master swordsman, Luke stated, "I will become strong enough that my name reaches every corner of the world, so the thought of even looking upon those I care about will deter everyone!! I will not bow my head out of fear to anyone, and that includes you!!"

To say Mihawk was surprised, would have been an understatement. After seeing Luke go back to eating, he looked to Jack to gauge his reaction to Luke's statement, but if he was surprised, he didn't show it. "What about your Captain?" Mihawk asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I'm not a 'Captain' or any other fancy title. I'm just the leader of the Dark Phoenix guild, and that's it. The members of my guild are free to do whatever it is they please, and my job is just to prepare them for what the world has in store." Jack said, clarifying things for Mihawk. Luke also chimed in, "It's true I can't beat him yet, but one day, I will!!"

Finished with eating, the three of them made their way around town, Jack showing Mihawk everything about the city. "I also have a few plans that I'll be carrying out within this month, that should change the very world as we all know it!" Jack said, making Mihawk once again curious.

Honestly these last few hours were the most interesting ones he's had in years. "May I ask, just what is it you plan to carry out?" Mihawk asked. So far what he saw here in Foosha could be considered a paradise for everyone, and somehow made him think about Big Mom.

The woman claimed she was trying to create a utopia for every race, but the fact that they had to give her part of their soul as payment, didn't really make it seem like a paradise. "We're gonna build our own sea train that goes from each major island here in the East Blue." Jack said, causing Mihawk to relax his shoulders.

It was a big deal for sure, but for some reason after seeing everything Jack had done, he expected more. Seeing Mihawk's reaction, Jack smiled wickedly before he added, "And we're gonna tunnel through the Red Line into the North Blue."

That had the effect Jack was hoping for. Mihawk snapped his gaze to Jack as he froze mid-step. "That is no small task!" Mihawk said, a little louder than he intended. "Just imagine it!!" Jack shouted happily, throwing an arm around Mihawk's shoulder as he waved an arm in the air, acting like he could already see it before his eyes.

"Your in East Blue making deals and visiting family, then within a few hours you could be in the North Blue!! Want to learn something that only one of the blue sea's specializes in, no a problem!! Need ingredients to cure a poison that only grows in certain parts of the world?! It's just a train ride away!!" Jack went on and on about the advantages of both new things, and Mihawk was impressed to say the least.

"How exactly do you intend to get through the Red Line?" Mihawk asked skeptically. The Red Line was known to be indestructible, and he had put that title to the test himself.

In answer to the question, Jack raised his hand and let his dark flames dance across his fingers. "There is nothing in the world that my fire can't consume, and the Red Line is no exception!" Jack stated proudly, a big shit eating grin spread across his face.

Mihawk had a small smile when he heard that. "I look forward to seeing it." Was all he said as they continued on their way.

"Can we fight now?" Luke chimed in, having had enough of walking around. Jack Looked to Mihawk, who simply shrugged his shoulders in response to the unasked question. "Sure, but we'll have to go to Sixis." Jack said, getting another confused look from Mihawk.

"Don't worry about it. It's about 2 hours away by boat, but for us it will only take a few minutes." Jack said, not helping clear up the confusion. Rather then let Sixis remain a deserted island, Jack, with the help of Nojiko moved the the island closer to Foosha to use as a battleground.

Ace and Deuce had also been there in the past, because when Jack went to get the island most of the rations were gone, and in response to his message he left for them, one of the two stranded individuals had scribbled, "To the creator of this message. Go fuck yourself!!"

Jack laughed his ass off when he read their reply to his message, but didn't think anything else of it. He hadn't heard about Ace at all, and the guy never ended up joining Whitebeard, so as far as he knew Ace could be dead.

Apparently, a few people were super excited to see Luke fight against Mihawk, because their was already a ship filled with people ready to go. Sengoku and Tsuru were sitting aboard on padded lawn chairs, while Garp and Rayleigh were leaning against the railing of the ship.

"Let's go already!!" Soran yelled impatiently, earning a thump from Nami. "I'm already in trouble from your actions!! Don't get me in trouble for your manners as well!!" Nami scolded the little girl, who did seem to show a look of remorse.

'She's a good actress too.' Jack noted, knowing she most likely didn't feel one bit apologetic.

Everyone from Jack's group was waiting, as well as every member from the original 42 that was here in East Blue, which was 14. Everyone else from the original 42 had set out to either the Grand Line or the other Blue's. All in all, there was a little over 100 people coming to watch the duel.

"Won't all of these people be in the way?" Hawkeye asked, wondering how they would watch the fight and not be caught up in it. "Not at all, thanks to Nojiko." Jack said, pulling the woman in question to him. She had been visiting Cocoyasi Village last night so she had yet to meet Mihawk until now.

An introduction and explanation of her power, and Mihawk was satisfied. However he froze up a little when he saw someone in the group, making him give a questioning glance to Jack. Seeing where Mihawk was glancing, Jack was puzzled.

Mihawk kept diverting his gaze from Jack to Makino, somehow expecting Jack to know what he wanted to ask. Seeing Jack didn't know, Mihawk steered the conversation away from the woman, but Jack was not one to let go of something involving Makino.

Once they got in the air and on their way to Sixis, Jack pulled Mihawk to the side to where they wouldn't be disturbed and asked, "What is it about Makino that's piqued your interest?"

Mihawk mulled the question over in his head for awhile before he finally relented. "She is tied to someone important in the Grand Line." Was all he said, but Jack knew instantly who he was talking about.

'Shanks!' Jack thought with a little surprise. He had forgotten all about Shanks and Makino being together, but now that he thought about it, it made a little sense. Makino never showed anyone that she was in a relationship or anything, but in the anime she had a kid, whose father was unknown.

He had no doubt that Shanks would travel around and then come and see her every now and then, and the fact that she stayed with him and no one else also fit her personality perfectly. "Do you perhaps mean her and Shanks?" Jack asked, getting a surprised look then a nod from Hawkeye.

"How do you know about her?" Jack couldn't help but ask. "Because he talks about her a lot, and even showed me a picture he carries around of her." Hawkeye answered, a hint of annoyance was in his voice when he said it.

'Shanks must talk about her a lot...' Jack thought with some amusement. "Strange... It must have been awhile since they met up, because I haven't seen him since I've been here." Jack mumbled, wondering when the hell it was that Shanks ever came to visit. "Who knows...." Hawkeye said before he went back up to the deck of the ship.

(A.N. Shanks is the most likely to be with Makino from Cannon, and it's even hinting that him and Makino have been an item since Luffy was a kid. There will be interactions with Shanks soon about all of this, and the fact that him and Hawkeye are close friends, he most likely would have told him. This is my opinion, so if you have your own, neat, I don't care!)

Getting to Sixis took only a few minutes, just as Jack had said. When they got there, Jack Luke, and Mihawk jumped off the ship and onto the island, while everybody else watched from up in the sky.

Most of the island was cleared, leaving a large area for battle. There were a few buildings on the edge of the island for people who wanted to stay the night, but other than that it was still deserted.

"Alright, boys!! I want a nice clean fight! No killing or using any weapons other than swords!! That's about it!" Jack said as he locked a sea stone bracelet on Luke. "What are you doing?" Mihawk asked, a little surprised at what he was seeing.

"Well I couldn't claim to be the strongest swordsman if I won with the help of a Devil Fruit!!" Luke claimed as he drew both of his swords. "You do know Sea Stone will weaken you a bit, right?" Mihawk asked, his interest a little more piqued than before.

"Ha!! You might be right, but we train daily with Sea Stone to get our bodies accustomed to it! We may not have our powers with it on us, but we don't lose out in our strength!!" Luke declared once Jack stepped away from him.

"Once you hear the gun shot, that will signal the start of the match!" Jack shouted as he jumped back to the ship. Unlike most swordsman from the Blue seas or even Paradise, Mihawk didn't take Luke lightly. Recognizing his strength, he drew Yoru, the worlds strongest black sword, and one of the 12 supreme grade swords!!

Jack fired his pistol, officially starting the match. Luke was the first to move, appearing before Mihawk instantly with his right-hand sword raised to strike, while his other sword was prepared to block or strike lower if the opportunity presented itself.

Mihawk noticed how both swords were coated in Haki, and couldn't help but be impressed at Luke's speed and technique. The way Luke fought, Hawkeye was a little stunned. He had fought countless opponents out on the Grand Line, many with their own created techniques, marines with the technique they were taught, and even samurai styles from Wano.

But Luke fought using a style that he had never seen before, his movements were almost fluid as he moved. Wanting to see more of the technique, he stayed on the defensive for a few minutes, studying it and learning of some advantages and weaknesses.

Luke had already seemed to know of most of it's weaknesses, because he covered for them with a greater speed and agility then the technique was suited for.

'Truly he is monstrous!' Mihawk thought joyfully, actually happy for a new potential rival. Mihawk put some distance between himself and Luke, then he sent some air based attacks back at him, all of which Luke met with his own.

The both of them moved at ridiculous speeds, going from different parts of the battlefield and tearing it up. The fight went on for minutes, which in what felt like an eternity turned into an hour. Meanwhile, Garp was recording everything while eating a large bowl of popcorn.

"They're both amazing!!" Luffy squealed out in joy from beside the man, to which he could only nod in agreement. Watching the both of them fight, brought back memories of his fights with Roger, causing him to unknowingly smile.

Another 30 minutes passed before Luke was eventually beaten, but still getting applause from everyone that had been watching. "For awhile there you were studying me, weren't you?" Luke huffed out from ground.

He was bleeding from hundreds of small wounds across his body, but he wouldn't be at risk of dying. Hawkeye also had a few dozen small cuts, but they were miniscule and didn't bleed for more than a few seconds.

"I was... what style were you using?" Mihawk asked after a moment of catching his breath. Although he had won the fight, that didn't mean it was easy. Luke was certainly a monster, and with his Devil Fruit, Mihawk figured he would be quite difficult to beat.

"I was using a number of different styles incorporated together. I got them from a book." Luke answered calmly, his breathing slowly calming down. Mihawk was a little surprised, mainly because Luke used little bits from numerous styles, but made use of them to the point where they looked like they all belonged to a single fighting style.

Seeing his interest, Luke agreed to show him all of the books on swordsmanship once they got back to Foosha. "I can't really feel my arms too good right now!" Luke said loudly, smiling like an idiot, making Hawkeye chuckle.

Hawkeye thought Luke was trying to be funny, but in reality he was preparing for something. As everyone was gathered around them and saying how great the fight was, two people from the crowd took the opportunity while Luke was in his state and attacked.

The two people both had their weapons raised, ready to strike, but before they could accomplish their task, Jack intercepted one of them and pinned him to the ground, while Luke appeared next to the other and sank his teeth into the mans throat and twisting roughly back and forth like a dog playing with a chew toy.

Apparently he wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't really move his arms, but he wasn't one to let someone else take his victim. The guy didn't even get the chance to react before he was missing a throat. Meanwhile, Luke looked like a vampire who had just finished sucking all of the blood out of someone, but was a little messy with their food.

"Was that really necessary?" Mihawk asked once Luke dropped the now corpse onto the ground. After spitting a good deal of blood out of his mouth, Luke answered, "I can't really move my arms too good, and my legs hurt like a bitch!! Thanks for that, by the way!"

Mihawk only shrugged at Luke, then watched as he walked over to where Jack was holding the remaining guy to the ground. Kneeling down to the guy, Luke said, "Cipher Pol needs to work on their spies!"

It was true. Jack didn't even have to buy their undercover information. Instead, Luke had heard them talking over a transponder Snail to members of the government when they were flying back to Foosha from the New World.

"I mean really! Who the fuck calls their superiors while they are confined to a small vassal?!" Luke asked rhetorically as he smiled wickedly at the remaining spy, who was already pleading for his life. There were roughly 3 people from the Revolutionaries and a member of the guild guarding each of these guys at all times.

"What are you gonna do with him?" Sengoku asked after the guy pleaded to him for mercy. "Dinner!!" Luke said darkly, which caused the guy to pass out, but not before he pissed and shit his pants. Seeing the guy literally shit himself before falling unconscious, Luke laughed like a lunatic.

"With the blood all over you, I'm actually wondering if you were serious or not?" Nami chimed in, breaking Luke's good mood. "Of course I'm not gonna eat him!! His friend didn't taste very good, and I doubt he'd be much different!!" Luke shouted, getting a few more eye rolls as he laughed again.

"I'll let Dragon decide what to do. For now, if no one else wants to challenge Hawkeye, then let's go back home." Jack said, getting a few people to say they too wanted to fight Hawkeye.

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Almost an hour later, and 8 fights later, they were flying back home. Mihawk actually looked to have enjoyed himself immensely as he sipped from a glass of wine with a small smile. Walking over to him, Jack asked, "So...? You thinking about joining?"

Hawkeye looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered, "I'll stay and train for a little while. I was bored anyway. Although don't expect me to be here forever. Also, I'll need a steady supply of wine!"

His demands were cheap considering what he was giving, so Jack figured he'd get him a home set up first thing in the morning with his own wine cellar.

Just then, Luke dropped into a chair next to them before he declared, "I'll beat you one day!! It might not be anytime soon, but I'll beat the both of you!!"

Hawkeye smiled at that before he said, "No matter how many years it takes, I will hold this title as the greatest in the world, and wait for you!!" Jack meanwhile laughed.

"I'll train as much as possible before I let you beat me!" Jack said before he downed a beer. It was true too. Luke was Jack's main rival, someone who he couldn't let surpass him in strength, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it.

Getting back to Foosha, Jack was greeted by Dragon and the other main members of the Revolutionaries. Watching the meeting between Dragon and Luffy wasn't like Jack expected, Luffy pretty much brushing it off.

They both talked for awhile, but it came to an end when Luffy saw Sabo, who still didn't have his memories of Luffy and Ace. "S-S-Sabo...? Luffy whispered as tears came to his eyes. He rushed Sabo, who in return lifted his foot, causing Luffy to face plant into said foot.

To his credit, it didn't deter him as he shouted about how they were brothers, and how he and Ace drank the Sake cups together. Eventually, Sabo looked as though he froze up, most likely remembering his past.

"How touching. I'm going to bed." Mihawk said, heading towards his room to go to sleep. "I like him." Luke chimed in as both he and Jack watched Hawkeye disappear. "Me too." Jack said with a smile.

Nojiko took this moment to appear before him as she wrapped her arms around him, smiling happily as she said, "You promised!" Hearing that, Jack picked her up before the both of them disappeared before everyone's eyes.

"What the hell did he promise her?!!" Nami shouted from a short distance away. She apparently didn't need to know, because Nojiko refused to tell her. "Whatever!!" Luke said as he went over to Soran and Selene.

"You all better get packed, because we're leaving tomorrow morning for the sky islands. Without Jack to boost the speed of the ship, it will take us about a few days, maybe a week to get there." Luke said, getting happy giggles all around.

Selene chimed in, "Can you please go clean the blood off yourself?! You're kind of frightening people more than usual." Looking around, Luke noticed how a number of people were trying their hardest to avert their gazes.

"Yeah, sure." He said as he too went to go and prepare for their journey. After all, there was no way in hell Jack was going to let them take the Pearl on their trip. Walking away, his mind started thinking about the sky islands.

'I need to get me a girl with wings anyway!!' Luke thought happily, already wondering how kinky chicks with wings could be.