Chapter 60: A Toast with Hawkeye
On the deck of the ship, only two people were drinking—Mio and Warwick. Although the girls in the crew also drank occasionally, it was rare. As a result, Mio and Warwick were the only ones sharing a drink with Hawkeye. Of the three, only Mio was actively conversing with him.
"How do you know my swordsmanship is strong? Do you know who I am?" asked Hawkeye, holding a cup of rum in his hand. This man, destined to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and later known as the world's strongest swordsman, now appeared young and full of vitality.
His sharp, eagle-like eyes radiated an intensity that made most people instinctively look away.
"A man who sails the Grand Line alone on a small boat while wielding one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords—surely he isn't someone ordinary, right?" Mio replied with a grin.
Hawkeye nodded, seemingly satisfied with the response, then shifted his gaze toward the sea. "Your crew members all seem like Devil Fruit users."
"More or less. The one in the sea definitely isn't, though," Mio said with a casual shrug.
Hearing this, Hawkeye raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That body... massive. Looks like a Fishman, but not quite. I've been to Fishman Island, and while some Fishmen are large, I've never seen one that large. He must be powerful too. We haven't fought, but I can feel it."
"It's not a Fishman," Mio explained, "but he carries a trace of Oz's blood."
"Ah, that makes sense," Hawkeye nodded in understanding.
Oz's name still held weight across the world. Known as an outlier among giants, his size dwarfed even the average giant. If Mio's crew member had inherited part of that bloodline, his overwhelming size made perfect sense.
"So, why are you in this sea? Isn't this the region where the Grand Line connects to the Four Seas? With your strength, the New World seems like a more fitting place for you," Mio asked curiously.