Chapter 6

"Sword Saint?"

Mihawk picked up a bottle of iced black tea from the ice bucket: "Talk to me when you can unleash a Flying Slash."

Flying Slash is a sword technique where a Sword Saint generates detached sword qi through blade swings to attack at a distance.

"Don't look down on people so much."

Seven gritted his teeth and bought the Sword Saint cultivation experience: "In one month, I will become a Sword Saint."

Mihawk glanced sideways at him: "If you can unleash a Flying Slash within a month, I’ll grant you one wish."

Cultivating an opponent doesn’t seem so bad.

Of course, the premise is that Seven can cross the Iron-Cutting stage and master the Flying Slash within a month.

Is this possible?

This is utterly impossible!

Mihawk doubted: Seven had spent all his energy on studying cuisine aboard Roger’s ship; otherwise, he could never have made such delicious food and iced black tea.

"Mihawk, you’re definitely becoming my first mate!"

Seven, fired up, pulled out his plasma sword and began training frantically: Mihawk, you have no idea—Captain me is about to go full cheat mode.

【Using Sword Saint cultivation experience】

A massive flood of cultivation experience poured directly into his brain, like an unfamiliar memory suddenly awakening; Seven rubbed his temples and suddenly realized with awkwardness—

My mind: I know it. I know it.

My hands: I don’t know how to do it!!

One slash, one slash, another slash—

At first, Seven’s sword swings looked utterly pathetic; only after a thousand or so swings did Mihawk’s eyelid begin to twitch.

His sword rhythm had already gained structure.

Seeing this, Mihawk pursed his lips and decided to raise the difficulty for his future captain: "You take the helm. I’m going to rest."

Seven nodded: "Alright."

Mihawk, I never thought a man like you could get flustered—but even so, what does it matter?

The first mate I, Barzab Seven, have chosen won’t slip away.

Mihawk picked up the ice bucket and returned to the cabin; since Seven had produced that sweet iced black tea, Mihawk rarely brewed black tea anymore.

Since meeting Mihawk, over the past month, Seven had already laid down four royal flushes: the Great Treasure, cuisine, sweet water, and the Golden Land. Who wouldn’t be dazzled?

It was truly subtle, silent nourishment!

One could only say Seven had trained him exceptionally well—Mihawk’s days as first mate were drawing near!

The weather of the Grand Line was just like a girlfriend’s temper: one moment the sky was clear and bright, smiling; the next, torrential rain poured down, eyes blazing with fury.

Gales whipped up massive waves; Seven immediately activated Thunder to form a protective barrier around himself, evaporating seawater splashed onto the deck.

After consuming the Gura Gura no Mi,

Seven’s hatred of seawater surpassed Tashigi’s, topping the list of most hated things.

Dark clouds blotted out the sun and sky; the sea turned pitch black as ink.

The pirate ship drifted alone on the waves, tossed violently by the surging tides.

Fortunately, Seven didn’t get seasick.

Rain poured down in sheets; while steering with one hand, Seven still browsed information on the trading platform.

On Roger’s crew, steering and navigation were basic skills every crew member had to master—even if you were a cook.

【Selling: Flying Bamboo Dragonfly, 500 points, seller’s note: Concept-level anti-gravity device, no energy required, never breaks】

"Huh—" Seven’s eyes burned with desire: A flying anti-gravity device? That’s a valuable item.

Gura Gura no Mi users can fly too, but not in the traditional sense—they achieve instantaneous position shifts through elementization and electrical conduction.

However, using Devil Fruit abilities consumes stamina; when stamina runs out, the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly’s advantage becomes clear.

Unfortunately, he only had 266 points right now.

Gazing at the turbulent sea, Seven’s heart surged: "I must seize the Sky Island soon—otherwise, I’ll just be staring at these treasures."

Sky Island shells and Devil Fruits were the only two methods Seven had discovered so far to quickly earn points.

Devil Fruits sold for over 1000 points, but ones like the Ope Ope no Mi, capable of granting immortality, must be kept as strategic weapons.

After all, who wouldn’t covet immortality?

Three days later, a large island appeared on the horizon: Shengtingdao—the island where Alabasta lay.

Seven had no intention of exploring Shengtingdao deeply.

His goal was clear: reach the Jiayadao waters, find the upward current, and ascend to the Sky Island.

During his voyage with Roger to find the final island, Seven had recorded every island they reached with a compass, calling it: "So I can sail back this route myself someday."

Now, it proved to be a wise move.

By the helm, Mihawk suddenly spoke: "What kind of man was Pirate King Roger?"

Seven paused briefly before answering.

"Captain… was an excellent pirate."

An Buhege husband and father.

"Just excellent?" Mihawk sipped his iced black tea: "I thought you’d call him the strongest pirate. So, in your eyes, who is the strongest pirate?"

"Lokos and Jia Ba."

Before Mihawk could ask, Seven continued.

"In a world where men abandon wives and children for dreams, Lokos gave up his dream for his family—he’s a true man."

"But compared to Lokos, I actually admire Jia Ba more."

"Before Jia Ba, the likes of Kaido and Golden Lion pale into insignificance."

After this explanation, Mihawk’s gaze sharpened further, but Seven didn’t mention Jia Ba’s whereabouts; Mihawk had no choice but to suppress his curiosity.

"If you say so, he must be incredibly strong."

Seven grinned triumphantly: Once he trained on the Sky Island, he’d take a detour to Elbaf and learn from Jia Ba how to become a college student.

"I won’t explain now. When we find Jia Ba, you’ll understand."

"Our current goal: the Golden Land."

They docked at the harbor and divided tasks: Mihawk bought food, water, and supplies; Seven repaired the hull.

He learned this from Roger’s crew.

As the only non-combatant on Roger’s crew, Seven’s skill tree was entirely focused on non-combat abilities.

It wasn’t intentional—it was just his talent going sideways.

Seven had abysmal physical and combat talent,

but exceptional life skills: as a chef, he was not only a master cook but also skilled at steering, repairing ships, charting maps… even knew how to make permanent compasses.

Except for combat, he excelled at everything.

…

East Blue, Konomi Archipelago.

CP9 agent Lu Bianyi returned again and found the muscular man: "Has Barzab Seven come back recently?"

The muscular man hurriedly replied: "Bai Mao hasn’t returned, sir. I just remembered something strange."

"Strange?" Lu Bianyi raised an eyebrow and pulled out ten thousand Berries from his pocket.

"Tell me."

The muscular man took the Berries: "You know, sir, we used to bully Bai Mao a lot back then. But once, this guy suddenly glowed red…"

"And then we all passed out."

Hearing this, Lu Bianyi waved his hand irritably: "I get it."

A country bumpkin who didn’t even know who Roger was? His words held no credibility.

Red light? What nonsense.

Could it possibly be Conqueror’s Haki?

Barzab Seven joined Roger’s crew at age nine; how could a nine-year-old child possibly possess Conqueror’s Haki?

Thinking of the little chef slipping through his fingers—and with his promotion and raise vanishing—Lu Bianyi grew furious.

"Barzab, you deserve to die! A man like you should be arrested by my own hands!"

He didn’t regret not calling the Marines in Loguetown; he only cursed how cunning the man was, slipping away under surveillance.

"How the hell did he escape?"