The chaotic aftermath of the fierce battle left everyone feeling completely on edge, but the female members of the crew maintained a careful and vigilant watch over the unfolding situation. Tashigi, acting with a sudden sense of urgency and deep concern, leapt gracefully across the open water and landed directly onto the small, eerie coffin boat. Her swift movement successfully stopped the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, from departing the area.
"Mister Hawkeye, please don't rush to leave just yet. You're seriously injured right now. Let Chopper apply some proper medicine and bandage your wounds. You should take a good night's rest. It isn't too late to leave tomorrow morning. If you travel while injured, someone might try to sneak attack you, just like Teacher Carl mentioned."
Her words made perfect logical sense, showcasing exactly how one should persuade a stubborn warrior to stay and recover. Mihawk felt a quiet sense of satisfaction at her reasoning and secretly pondered his current physical condition. He had to admit that his state was indeed terrible. The fierce battle against Carl had forced him to fight with all his strength. That massive clash resulted in an unprecedented drain on his stamina, and his injuries were far from light. If a powerful enemy or an opportunistic pirate decided to block his path right now, he would probably die a highly unjust death. Considering the harsh reality of the Grand Line, he decided it would be much better to accept the young woman's offer and save her face for one night.
"Okay, I apologize for the trouble."
Mihawk spoke politely, keeping his stoic demeanor intact. Without another word, he easily jumped back onto the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny, with Tashigi following closely behind him.
Carl stood a short distance away and felt completely taken aback when he saw Mihawk and Tashigi acting so closely together. He subconsciously shifted his gaze toward Roronoa Zoro. Carl wondered if his tired eyes were simply playing tricks on him due to exhaustion, but he could have sworn that Zoro's signature hair seemed to look a little bit greener than usual at that exact moment.
Later that evening, the crew gathered for a hearty dinner. Carl appeared completely covered from head to toe in thick, white medical bandages. Tony Tony Chopper, the ship's dedicated doctor, carefully placed him right next to Monkey D. Luffy, who was in an equally wrapped-up state. Chopper continuously fussed over their injuries, making sure neither of them strained their broken bodies. Currently, the two absolute highest fighting strengths of the Straw Hat crew looked exactly like a pair of helpless, immobile mummies. If a major global threat like Marshall D. Teach or Kaido decided to launch a sudden attack right now, the Straw Hats probably wouldn't stand a single chance of survival. Fortunately, the crew knew that Blackbeard and Kaido were likely far too busy managing their own chaotic territories in the New World to bother chasing them down. As for the Big Mom Pirates, they had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the alliance. They were beaten down to the point where only Charlotte Linlin and her first commander, Charlotte Katakuri, remained standing. Because of that devastating loss, they had absolutely no choice but to wait quietly in Totto Land until all of those children could fully recover from their severe injuries.
The atmosphere at the dinner table grew loud and festive. Zoro and Usopp desperately tried to persuade the stoic Warlord to join them in a heavy drinking contest. Fortunately for the sniper, Mihawk didn't feel the desire to kill anyone that evening. If he had been in a worse mood, he might have drawn his giant black blade right then and there. Although Mihawk genuinely enjoyed drinking fine liquor, he refused to let just anyone persuade him to drink casually. In the past, he only ever drank freely when giving face to the red-haired Emperor of the Sea, Shanks, so he completely ignored the loud persuasion coming from the others.
Furthermore, Mihawk always pursued a lifestyle of pure elegance and preferred to drink only the highest quality wine. Despite his refined tastes, he was not overly polite regarding the ship's accommodations. Since the crew actively invited him to stay on board, he made himself completely comfortable and didn't treat himself like a distant outsider at all. After finishing his meal in silence, he actually went ahead and took a warm shower before Nami could even claim the bathroom. Once he finished, he casually chose an empty guest room below deck and retired for the night to rest.
The rest of the Straw Hat crew dared not say a single word of complaint about his bold behavior. The legendary swordsman carried an incredibly intimidating aura around him at all times. The silent warning that he was someone they absolutely couldn't afford to mess with seemed permanently etched across his sharp features. Besides, the Straw Hats were never stingy with their provisions. Since they made the active choice to keep him as a guest, they felt it was only natural to take good care of him. Mihawk's perceived impoliteness was simply the natural result of the crew's incredibly relaxed and laissez-faire attitude toward life on the sea.
The sun rose over the calm waters early the next morning. Mihawk woke up and partook in a large, hearty breakfast prepared by the ship's cook, displaying a rare moment of shameless appetite. Once he finished, he finally said a formal goodbye to the crew and departed on his coffin boat. Sanji felt extremely satisfied as he watched the swordsman sail away. The fact that a man of such high status enjoyed the meal so thoroughly proved that Sanji's cooking skills remained absolutely excellent. The blonde cook couldn't help but smile as he washed the empty dishes.
Shortly after Mihawk's departure, A Cai, Eddie, and Leo also prepared to leave the ship one after another. Although these loyal allies desperately wanted to sail alongside their boss just like the Heart Pirates did, they possessed their own important duties to handle across the ocean. They had no other choice but to pack their belongings and depart. During the previous major conflict, they took the absolute initiative to attack Big Mom's territory just to provide vital cover for the Straw Hats. This time, they traveled all the way across the sea simply to cheer Luffy on as devoted younger brothers. Luffy smiled brightly and waved them off, completely unable to refuse their heartfelt support because these guys always proved themselves to be incredibly loyal friends.
By the time the Straw Hat crew raised their anchor and set sail once again, a massive flock of News Coos had already scattered freshly printed newspapers all across the vast sea. Big News Morgans went all out to cover this massive breaking story. He aggressively rushed his best reporters to finish the manuscript overnight. He immediately followed that effort with a massive special printing run. At the crack of dawn the next day, Morgans dispatched absolutely every single newsbird he owned to distribute the latest edition of the paper. It became an undeniable truth that wherever those birds flew, total turmoil and widespread shock instantly followed in their wake.
Shocking Revelation! Douglas Bullet possesses the exact same strength as the legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger! Bullet publicly threatened to eliminate all top tier powers, including the Emperors of the Sea, the Marine Admirals, and the Warlords! The true rise of the new generation! Straw Hat Luffy successfully defeats the Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet!
The massive headlines printed on the front page looked incredibly eye-catching and sensational. After reading through the actual contents of the newspaper, citizens and pirates alike felt entirely stunned. It felt as if everything they knew about the balance of power in the world had just completely subverted their wildest imaginations.
Inside the pages, Morgans aggressively narrated the dark and violent history of Bullet's life in complete detail. The journalist continually exaggerated the sheer destructive power that Bullet commanded. Following that dramatic biography, the article provided a highly detailed description of the chaotic battle that took place between Bullet and Luffy. To make the story even more believable, Morgans perfectly matched his dramatic text with a series of high-quality photographs showing the ruined landscape.
Far away from the New World, on the sunlit docks of the Sabaody Archipelago, a quiet afternoon passed at Shakky's Rip-off Bar. Silvers Rayleigh happily hummed a cheerful little ditty under his breath. The old man read the latest edition of the newspaper while slowly sipping from a tall glass of fine wine. He appeared to be in an exceptionally great mood. Shakky wiped down a clean glass and looked at him with an expression of genuine surprise.
"It's rare. You didn't run off to gamble today, and you haven't tried to sell yourself to the auction house for gambling money. Did the sun rise from the south this morning?"
Rayleigh laughed heartily at her sarcastic remark.
"Shakky, I'm in a wonderful mood today. How about you let me drink a few more bottles of your best stock on the house?"
"Don't even think about it! Ten bottles of that wine sell for a massive amount of Berries! If you're in such a remarkably good mood, did you happen to find a beautiful young girl in town? Why don't you bring her back here for me to see?"
Rayleigh instantly sensed the subtle hint of danger hiding within Shakky's calm tone. He quickly waved his hands to explain himself before she could get angry.
"It's nothing like that at all. I just read the main contents of today's newspaper, which is why I'm in such a good mood. You see, it's the latest news regarding Luffy and his crew. I honestly didn't expect that little guy to grow up fast enough to defeat a monster like Bullet so thoroughly!"
Shakky casually lifted her hand and flicked the ash from her lit cigarette with a perfectly calm expression.
"I saw that potential in him a very long time ago. Little Monkey is indeed an incredibly powerful pirate. He's much better than a retired old guy like you!"
Rayleigh felt completely speechless at her blunt insult. He wisely decided that he didn't dare to talk back to her. Instead, the older man turned his head and looked out the nearest window. A deep wave of nostalgic emotion clearly washed over his wrinkled face.
The terrifying memory of that man, Douglas Bullet, remained incredibly fresh inside Rayleigh's mind. Back when they all sailed together on the Oro Jackson, only their captain, Roger, possessed the overwhelming sheer strength required to completely suppress that violent demon. Now, decades later, another young person had finally risen up who could completely suppress that same exact devil. It seemed that the cheerful young boy from the East Blue whom Shanks had chosen was truly an amazing force of nature.
"Don't be too anxious, Luffy. Your grand voyage still has a very long way to go. As long as you keep pushing forward, you'll eventually reach the final end of this sea one day!"
Rayleigh quietly muttered those unclear words of encouragement to the empty air. Soon after, the legendary Dark King took another sip of his wine and happily started humming his cheerful ditty all over again.
Meanwhile, deep within a harsh and unpredictable sea area located in the New World, the mighty Red Hair Pirates anchored their massive galleon.
"Hahahaha! That dangerous bastard Bullet was actually defeated by Luffy! It's a party! It's time for a massive party right now!"
The carefree and spontaneous character of the red-haired Emperor remained almost exactly the same as Luffy's own personality. Shanks always managed to find a random excuse to hold a loud, boisterous party on his ship. The battle-hardened partners of the Red Hair Pirates naturally didn't refuse his loud demands, mostly because almost all the senior officers considered themselves to be close personal friends of Luffy as well.
Lucky Roux stood near the main mast, happily biting off a massive chunk of roasted meat from a giant bone. He chewed loudly and spoke with a wide, teasing smile aimed directly at his captain.
"Boss, I bet little Luffy is probably even stronger than you are right now!"
Shanks immediately pushed the large man aside in a playful manner, waving his single arm dismissively.
"What kind of crazy nonsense are you talking about right now? That little brat Luffy is still just a brat! If he actually wanted to beat me in a real fight, he'd have to train for at least another hundred years! Hahahaha!"
Lucky Roux and Yasopp both shared a completely speechless look when they heard their captain declare those incredibly arrogant words. They quietly wondered to themselves if their boss even knew how to blush when telling such an obvious lie to his own crew.
Benn Beckman, the calm and highly intelligent first mate, took a slow drag from his cigarette and smoothly broke the captain's proud facade.
"Captain, with your current level of strength, I'm afraid you'd simply be abused in a fistfight by a monster like Bullet. How can you confidently say that Luffy can't beat you? I'm guessing Bullet will actively seek out the other Emperors very soon to prove his dominance, and you're definitely sitting right on his hit list. Please don't come crying to us when you get beaten to a pulp."
The rest of the hardened pirate crew immediately burst out into roaring fits of laughter. They absolutely refused to give their powerful captain any face or respect regarding the matter. Shanks immediately stopped laughing and glared fiercely at his mocking crewmates.
"You disrespectful bastards! After all, I'm the captain of this ship! Why don't you give me some face and just stop talking for one minute?"
Everyone on the main deck simultaneously shook their heads in disagreement, showing absolutely zero fear of their legendary leader.
"It's completely impossible for us to talk less about this! We all know that our captain definitely isn't a person who has the actual ability to save his own face!"