Chapter 19: Leaving the Tavern

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When her clone was out gallivanting, Sariya had grown accustomed to speaking in flowery words without much truth. They say, after all, that when you’re away from home, your identity is what you make it. Reflecting on her nonexistent conscience, Sariya decided to forgive herself. She was just a small, helpless child—how could she be at fault? With that thought, she happily took to the skies once more.

Shanks and Hawkeye were clearly intrigued by the “sword riding” Sariya had just demonstrated. Especially the redhead, who persistently begged Sariya to let him try sword riding with Griffin. Sariya quickly changed her mind and sized up the situation. Hands on her hips, she told Hawkeye, “If you want to try sword riding, you’ll have to spar with me first and then guide me.” Then, shifting her tone, she added, “But if you want to fly right now, I can help you.”

Without hesitation, Hawkeye turned away as if he hadn’t heard her, heading toward where the Red Hair Pirates were gathered. Sariya felt a pang of regret but controlled the surplus Shanks and the barrels of liquor with her telekinetic field, floating along behind Hawkeye. Along the way, Shanks chattered enthusiastically, pulling Sariya into a lively back-and-forth. Sariya responded with casual “uh-huhs” and “yeahs,” then tried to catch Hawkeye’s attention.

Hawkeye walked silently on the snow, occasionally pressing down the brim of his hat against the chilly wind. The noise around him was overwhelming, some of it quite grating, he thought to himself. Shanks kept pestering Sariya, finally exclaiming in frustration, “Hey, why are you so eager to get close to Hawkeye?”

Shanks was quite popular with women, attracting admiring glances wherever he went. Yet here, with Sariya, he met cold indifference. Though he didn’t care much, being ignored by someone he was interested in still stung. Sariya pointed at herself. “Because I’m a mercenary.” Then, firmly, “Mihawk promised to teach me after a spar, so of course I have to curry favor with him.” She then glanced at Shanks, rolling her eyes with a hint of annoyance. “You never said you’d teach me anything, so why should I try to win you over?”

When she first arrived on Sval Island and saw the Red Hair Pirates’ ship, she thought it was right to seek their guidance. But she hoped to learn through a trade—she’d pay or supply materials, they’d teach, and after the deal, they’d part ways with no further interference. But just now, Red Hair insisted she had to join the crew to get instruction. In that case, she’d rather keep her distance.

A redhead with an unknown mission burdening him, and another swordsman, pure and straightforward without complicated entanglements—between the two, Mihawk was definitely the better bet. Moreover, Mihawk had agreed to instruct her after a spar. So her focus remained on Mihawk.

“No need to curry favor with me,” Hawkeye said coldly as he walked against the wind.

“Got it,” Sariya replied with a cheerful smile.

Shanks looked hurt. “If you just joined us, I could teach you!”

Sariya thought Shanks was talking nonsense, manipulating the barrels to encircle him. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sariya flew with Shanks and the barrels trailing behind, following Hawkeye’s lead, accompanied by Shanks’ disgruntled muttering. Soon, they reached the Red Hair Pirates’ camp. A group of grown men gathered around a blazing bonfire, drinking joyfully with arms draped over each other’s shoulders, their cups clinking frequently. Their breath, meeting the cold night air, formed misty white clouds.

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Soon, someone squinted and looked up. “Hey, what’s that flying in the sky?”

“Looks like… a person flying.”

“No, the key is there are a bunch of barrels flying behind that person!”

Some, drunk and teary-eyed, were moved to tears at the sight of so much liquor arriving. “Oh my God, could it be the angel of alcohol delivering us drinks?”

“Wait, I think I see the captain among those barrels.”

“You said, the captain?!”

The pirates around the fire, their alcohol-soaked minds suddenly clearing, erupted. “It really is the boss! The boss is back!” “No, the boss came back with a ton of booze!”

They cheered loudly and excitedly.

Beckman, the Black-Haired Vice-Captain of the Red Hair Pirates, tied his hair in a ponytail, a cigarette dangling from his mouth—probably the only sober one among them. He glanced skyward twice and confirmed it was indeed his unreliable captain. But flying back?

Sariya controlled her telekinesis to free Shanks from the sea of barrels and crates, hurling the burdens toward the pirates. She then stopped floating and landed, following Hawkeye.

Hawkeye glanced back at her, puzzled. Sariya tapped her cheek seriously. “I want to be like you—cold and indifferent, staying away from fools.”

Hawkeye: “...”

Expressionless, he said, “Do as you please.”

Flying in the sky, Shanks laughed heartily and waved at those below. “Hey, little ones, I’m back!”

Before he could say more, Sariya’s telekinetic grip vanished. All the barrels were carefully set beside the bonfire, and Shanks was tossed atop the pile by Sariya.

Except for Beckman, the pirates closed in around Shanks, voicing their concern in overlapping chatter.

Hawkeye kept walking steadily, with Sariya quietly trailing behind.

After finding a clear spot away from the pirates, Hawkeye drew his sword, Yoru. His sharp eyes blazed with battle intent as he pointed the blade at Sariya. “Now, come!”

He wanted to see just how strong a swordsman from this place could be!

With a swift draw, Yoru sliced through the air, creating a gust that lifted Sariya’s hair.

Startled by Hawkeye’s imposing presence, her own fighting spirit flared. After all, fighting with clones meant she couldn’t die, so she was willing to go all out—though it was the clone’s life on the line.

But then she realized, “Wait, this isn’t fair!”

“Not fair how?” Hawkeye asked calmly.

Having spent some time with her, Hawkeye was more patient than with a normal opponent. Otherwise, he would have struck long ago.

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Who had time to listen to the other chatter?

In her hand was an ordinary sword the tavern owner had given her for free—nowhere near the quality of Hawkeye’s famed blade, Yoru. Even with Armament Haki applied, her sword couldn’t match Yoru.

Sariya was well aware of her own inferiority in haki quality. She gave her cheap sword a firm flick, bending the blade.

“I’m telling you, my sword’s too poor quality! Yours is a famous blade—this isn’t fair!” she protested.

Hawkeye found her quite troublesome.

He said nothing, responding with action.

Grasping Yoru, he flicked his wrist and unleashed a wave of sword energy at Sariya’s position.

“Damn it!” Sariya dodged sideways, scolding unhappily, “You, big-browed guy, sneaking an attack! Shameless!”

She quickly bent her sword back straight. Though poor quality, it was still a weapon.

Hawkeye remained silent.

Instead, dozens of sword energy waves soon followed, increasing in number rapidly.

Sword energy, also called Flying Slashes, was a source of great pride for a swordsman capable of wielding it.

Sariya infused her sword with Armament Haki, leapt into the air, and counterattacked with her own Flying Slashes.

Her sword energy canceled out some of Hawkeye’s attacks; the rest she deflected using her Devil Fruit powers.

She was annoyed by Hawkeye’s behavior—he’d started attacking without her agreeing to spar.

Not a good start!

After a brief bout with Admiral Aokiji, Sariya knew her skills lagged behind the Navy’s top three admirals, especially in haki. Her foundation was weak.

If she unleashed her Devil Fruit powers at full strength—especially the persona clone who had eaten the Thunder Fruit—she might stand a chance against Aokiji, Shanks, or Mihawk.

But she relied too heavily on her Devil Fruit.

If restricted by Sea-Prism Stone, her combat power would be halved.

The former sea lord, the “Golden Lion,” even without the Float-Float Fruit, dominated the seas with haki, physical prowess, and swordsmanship.

Sariya’s goal was to reach that level.

She was here to learn from Hawkeye, not to fight a life-or-death duel.

After deflecting Hawkeye’s attack, she quickly said, “I won’t use Devil Fruit powers or haki, and you don’t use haki either. Let’s just have a simple swordsmanship spar, alright?”

She wanted to improve her sword skills through straightforward techniques, no need for haki or real combat.

Seeing a telekinetic user wielding an ordinary sword to perform Flying Slashes, Hawkeye was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected opponent.

Meeting a swordsman of decent skill lifted his spirits.

“Agreed,” Hawkeye said.