Chapter 12: Let Me See It

Paradise, near the island of Jiayadao.

Mihawk held a chilled sweet drink in one hand and a porcelain teacup in the other; faint laughter drifting from above made him look up at the night sky.

“What an enviable ability.”

The great swordsman Mihawk, having never consumed a Devil Fruit, lacks the ability to fly for extended periods.

The source of the laughter.

It was Barzab Seven, leaping from the sky island; at about one hundred meters above sea level, he instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning and landed steadily on the deck.

His silver hair stood rigid, each strand upright.

At this moment, Seven finally understood why Kaido loved jumping from sky islands—it was truly exhilarating.

Not only did it spike his adrenaline, but it also left him refreshed and free of all worries.

From the moment Seven landed on the deck, Mihawk’s gaze was drawn to the sword hanging at Seven’s waist.

“That sword…”

Seven shielded the Dream One Sword like a territorial beast: “Mihawk-san, this is my beloved—I won’t lend it to anyone.”

Mihawk: “Let me see it.”

Seven: “No.”

Mihawk drew his black blade, Yoru, and pointed it at Seven: “Come, Captain. Let me measure your progress these past days.”

Mihawk also wanted to see what made this mysterious blade recognize Seven.

“Hey, gentlemen,” the doctor summoned courage and stepped between them: “Before you spar, could you please unlock my handcuffs?”

“Also, our ship can’t withstand the flying slashes you two unleash.”

Mihawk sheathed Yoru and returned to the cabin: This kid has grown stronger, while I’ve stood still. After seeing the Golden Land, I should resume my training.

Seven yawned.

“Doctor, keep watch tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll unlock your Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As if remembering something, Seven grabbed the doctor: “Just now—did Mihawk-san call me Captain?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Hearing this, Seven’s pride nearly overflowed; he waved his hand and laughed: “Go on, then. If you spot a giant whirlpool, wake me up.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Having successfully recruited his first crewmember, Seven was in high spirits. He slipped his hands into his pockets and hummed a tune as he returned to his cabin: “Next, I need to keep building rapport with Mihawk.”

Before reaching the sky island, Seven’s strength was nowhere near worthy of being Mihawk’s opponent.

Now, having obtained the Ultra Supreme Great Sword Dream One, which boosts Haki by 100%, and having trained in the technique of Mu Xiang Slash, Swordmaster Seven barely qualifies.

After a quick wash, Seven hugged Dream One Sword and collapsed into sleep, falling into dreams almost instantly.

In his dream: Captain Seven led his vice-captain Mihawk, helmsman Jinbe, fighters Daz Bo, Tenghu, Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard…

He punched Marine hero Garp, kicked Admiral Sakazuki, and cut down the three admirals—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—one blow apiece.

In the end, he defeated Yimu, overthrew the World Government, and established a world where everyone had enough to eat, ascending as king and opening a harem.

“Captain! Captain!”

Just as he was enjoying his harem in the dream, Captain Seven was abruptly awakened by frantic knocking at the door.

Seven sat up on the bed, grumbling: “Can’t you wait till I finish the dream?”

He fastened Dream One Sword at his waist and opened the door irritably: “Found a whirlpool?”

“Captain, a giant whirlpool.”

Seven hurried to the helm: “Go wake up Mihawk. If the whirlpool doesn’t spout an upward current, we’re both counting on him.”

Why had the Golden Land remained undiscovered for over four hundred years?

One reason was that upward currents erupted extremely rarely; the other was that sailing into one carried a fifty percent chance of shipwreck and death.

“Nani?!” The doctor broke into a cold sweat.

“Hurry up!” Seven had already turned the ship’s bow toward the giant whirlpool nearly a hundred meters ahead.

The doctor rushed into the cabin and raised his hand to knock—when Mihawk opened the door and slashed through the doctor’s Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs and leg irons in one stroke.

When both reached the deck, Seven gripped the helm with both hands and grinned.

“Mihawk-san, hold on tight!”

Men who laugh often have good luck.

The pirate ship shot into the giant whirlpool, hovering for a single instant above its vortex.

Amid the doctor’s hysterical screams, a cylindrical upward current, a hundred meters wide, erupted violently from the whirlpool’s base and shot straight into the sky.

The pirate ship landed on the surface of the current and, propelled by its force, ascended at a speed even Newton couldn’t explain.

Upward current

“Mihawk-san, hoist the sails.”

Though only two crew members remained, Captain Seven gave orders with calm precision.

The upward current rose higher and higher; the three on board reacted differently: Seven screamed with excitement, the doctor turned deathly pale, and Mihawk’s eyes sharpened.

“If you don’t want to die, use your ability to teleport the ship a short distance.”

The doctor didn’t think twice—he assumed Seven believed he had eaten a Space Fruit.

“Let me catch my breath, Captain.”

“Hurry up, no excuses. The upward current might not reach the sky island. You don’t want to die, do you?”

Thinking of the gruesome scene of being crushed to death, the doctor finally overcame his fear. White light encircled his right hand, enveloping the entire ship.

Whoosh—the pirate ship teleported dozens of meters.

“Again.”

Thus, with the upward current and the doctor’s fruit ability aiding them, the pirate ship finally neared the white sea at ten thousand meters altitude.

“One last push—we’re almost there.”

When still hundreds of meters from the sky island, the upward current lost momentum and plummeted straight down.

Seeing this, Mihawk stepped on the ship’s deck, launched himself upward like a dragon, and landed on the sky island with agile leaps.

The doctor went wild, using his fruit ability to barely teleport onto the island.

Seven transformed into a bolt of lightning and landed calmly beside Mihawk.

As for the pirate ship stolen from Loguetown, deprived of the upward current’s power, it plummeted straight down—inevitably shattering into fragments.

The doctor knelt on all fours, hands bracing his body, his face streaked with a mix of saliva and tears.

“People die doing this… Captain.”

Seven gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist and waved his hand: “Let’s go to the Golden Land.”

…

Two days later.

Near the waters of Jiayadao.

A flash of yellow light sped past, and as it passed the wreckage of a floating ship, a figure in a yellow-and-white striped suit slowly appeared.

It was Admiral Kizaru—Borsalino—who had departed from Marineford and circled Shengtingdao and Jiayadao several times.

“The ship’s destroyed, too?”

Kizaru pulled out a Den Den Mushi, took several photos of the wreckage, and fell into thought.

“Who did this?”

The World Government? Or pirates?

After searching extensively and finding no trace of the two targets’ bodies, Kizaru contacted Sakazuki.

Den Den Mushi: “Borsalino?”

“Sakazuki-san, the target ship has been destroyed. I found no bodies nearby—someone must have acted before us.”

Den Den Mushi: “Good work. Return.”

“Understood.”

No sooner had he hung up than a rumbling roar echoed. Kizaru looked up at the stormy, lightning-lit sky.

“Kūaiwainai.”

“So they’re above?”