The Tao trio were originally one, but after being separated, Kyurem, as the power of the body, lost its ability to fly.
However, it was never classified together with humans and Groudon because it could fuse—both Black Kyurem and White Kyurem have the ability to fly.
Yamato’s lightning wings are not wings in the traditional sense but are more like a pair of electromagnetic propellers. After all these years, she has not remained stagnant. Although Reshiram reacted indifferently to her, Zekrom has given her a slight acknowledgment.
She cannot use all of her power, but using part of her lightning power is not a problem—these wings are proof of that.
Meanwhile, the Millennial Dragon group flew over to a small island in the distance to rest for a while. The Millennial Dragons are living creatures, not alarm clocks. Their bloodline carries a special inheritance, allowing them to know the specific time the Dragon’s Nest will appear, but not down to the exact minute or second.
In most cases, the Millennial Dragons arrive nearby in advance. Just like catching a train, arriving early only means waiting a bit, but if you’re late, no one will wait for you.
As for how long they wait, that depends on the person in charge. Some set off an hour early, while others depart more than half a day in advance.
Ferren’s father, to prevent any unexpected incidents on the way and to ensure his people had enough rest, set off not just a day or two early.
As soon as the New Year of 1520 ended, Ferren’s father was already preparing for this.
Now that Yamato has taken a detour to handle something else, the extra time set aside has proven useful.
……
Yamato and her group were just bored, but the people below were different. Not referring to Hawk Eyes, but to the pirate fleet ahead.
This was East Blue’s “Great Pirate” Krieg, with a bounty of 17 million Berries. In East Blue, which had been cleared several times, he was still considered a dominant force, once commanding 5,000 men and 50 pirate ships.
The reason it’s “once” is that his forces have already been more than halved.
Back in East Blue, he led the largest pirate group there. But when he entered the Grand Line driven by greed, he immediately understood what cruelty meant.
His ships were too large to pass through the narrow route of Reverse Mountain, so the Krieg Pirates took the risk of entering the Grand Line through the Calm Belt.
He should be thankful that he was a pirate from East Blue—if he had entered directly into the New World, his 5,000 men wouldn’t even qualify as the lowest-ranked miners.
The Calm Belt is home to Sea Kings, making it extremely dangerous for ordinary ships to cross. However, it is not entirely impassable. After paying some price, Krieg successfully entered the Grand Line—only to run into the bored Hawk Eyes.
Even after losing more than half his men, Krieg still had no idea why that monster was hunting him down.
Swish!
The blade flashed, and yet another ship sank into the sea right before the pirates’ eyes. Hawk Eyes was not pursuing with urgency—he simply trailed behind at a steady pace. Every time Krieg’s men thought they had finally shaken him off, he would suddenly reappear and slice a ship in half with a single strike.
But after that, Hawk Eyes would return to his drifting with the waves state, letting Krieg pull away before catching up again.
“Captain Krieg! That monster is still behind us! He’s still there!”
“Fire the cannons.”
“But cannonballs don’t work on that guy at all…”
“I mean aim at the ships in the rear and fire. Let them stall that monster for us.”
“Huh? But… I—I understand!”
Seeing Krieg’s terrifying gaze, he swallowed the rest of his words.
Krieg was the embodiment of arrogance, ruthlessness, and despicable. A cruel man like him would never care about the lives of his subordinates—he simply wanted them to buy him time.
With a few cannon blasts, the masts of the pirate ships at the back were blown apart.
At this point, they had not yet entered the Calm Belt, so their ships were still reliant on wind power. With their masts broken, they were temporarily immobilized. Meanwhile, Hawk Eyes seemed to have truly vanished—the demon had disappeared, and for the moment, no one knew where he had gone.
But in reality, Hawk Eyes had stopped his pursuit, and it had nothing to do with Krieg’s actions.
……
A few minutes earlier, Yamato had exhaled a blast of cold air, freezing the sea in front of Hawk Eyes, and then landed right in front of him.
“Hey! So you’re the one randomly swinging your sword at the sky, huh? Do you have any idea how easy it is to hurt someone?! You… uh, Ulti, how do you provoke people again? I don’t think I’ve ever done this before.”
Mid-sentence, she suddenly pulled Ulti over, bent down, and asked for advice. Yamato had fought many battles, but in the past, she had always had a solid reason for fighting.
Hawk Eyes may have disturbed the sky, but the shockwaves had no real power—it had merely scattered the clouds.
She had come down on impulse, not thinking too much about it. Now, she was suddenly at a loss for words.
“Why are you asking me about this?”
“You have experience.”
“….Why are you even looking for a reason to fight? Just take your kanabo and smash him! Learn from your father!”
Their discussion had yet to reach a conclusion, but Hawk Eyes was the first to respond.
“You were flying in the sky earlier? Then I’m really sorry..”
“That’s not it, you should retort! Go ahead and retort! Aren’t you a Shichibukai? Shouldn’t you be arrogantly saying, ‘So what?’ How am I supposed to fight you like this?!”
Yamato had never expected Hawk Eyes to respond like that, leaving her even more unsure of how to start the fight.
“A fight? While I am rather bored right now and wouldn’t mind a change of pace, why are you even here? The Oni Princess with a bounty of 1.78 billion Berries should be active in the New World, shouldn’t she?”
“Aren’t you the same? Since we’re both bored, let’s just have a fight!”
In the end, Yamato didn’t find a proper reason, but she still started fighting Hawk Eyes. Compared to those weaklings who couldn’t resist at all, she was at least worth him using his sword. Even though she wasn’t a swordsman, Hawk Eyes acknowledged her strength.
Although he lived alone with baboons on an island, he still reads the newspapers.
Jumping from his boat onto the ice surface Yamato had created, Hawk Eyes drew the longsword on his back—one of the 12 Supreme Grade swords, Black Blade Yoru.
The moment he unsheathed his sword, his hawk-like eyes radiated an incredibly sharp aura.
However, before the battle could begin, an untimely disturbance arose—the sound of cannon fire rang out once more.
The ships whose masts had been broken by Krieg earlier, realizing they had no hope of escape, were making a final desperate struggle. They attempted to use their cannons to take Hawk Eyes down while he was fighting someone else.
“Tch, annoying pests. Ulti, Pay-tan, do me a favor—shut them up.”
“Got it! They even dirtied my skirt—Pay-tan gave it to me! Let’s go, Pay-tan! Let’s show these guys our strength!”
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