Chapter 380: Mihawk – "I Didn't Expect to Be Alienated"

In recent days, Mihawk had felt increasingly uneasy. About a month ago, he and the other Seven Warlords of the Sea had all arrived at Mariejois.

This time, however, it wasn't about chaos, nor was there any battle against the Whitebeard Pirates. Instead, they were supposedly here to discuss the New World's balance of power and decide who should replace Blackbeard in the Warlords after his death.

On paper, these were important matters.

Yet, after being here for half a month, Mihawk realized that no one was actually discussing them.

Claudius, the very person who had summoned them, hadn't even brought it up.

Instead, the other five Warlords spent their days whispering among themselves, secretly engaging in discussions with Claudius.

This made Mihawk very uncomfortable.

We're all Seven Warlords of the Sea.

We all have the same official status granted by the World Government.

We're all legitimate, contract-bound employees of the system.

So why the hell does it feel like I'm an outsider here?

Did they give me the wrong ID? Am I just a temp worker?

Of course, this wasn't a new issue. Mihawk had always known that most of the Warlords were closely tied to Claudius. But back when Blackbeard and Bartholomew Kuma were around, Mihawk never felt out of place.

Now, though?

Teach was dead—obliterated by Akainu during the war at Marineford.

Kuma, despite his simple and sincere demeanor, had ultimately sided with Claudius and his faction. It was practically written all over his face, he was completely Claudius' man now.

Mihawk found himself feeling excluded.

It even crossed his mind that this meeting wasn't about adding a new Warlord…

What if they were discussing kicking me out instead?

After all, it wouldn't be the first time a Warlord was removed.

Moria's fate was still uncertain, but Teach? He was dead—undeniably so.

The World Government had no qualms about eliminating Warlords when necessary, and Mihawk knew that better than anyone.

But then again, Mihawk and Claudius had never had any bad blood. In fact, they were on good terms, perhaps even friends.

No one had restricted his movements either. He could leave whenever he wanted.

So… was he overthinking things?

"Mihawk? What's with you? Zoned out again? Am I too slow for you or something?"

Zoro frowned as he spoke.

Since Mihawk had nothing better to do, he had been sparring with Zoro occasionally, offering guidance.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Mihawk glanced at Zoro before shaking his head. "No, your skills are quite promising. I have high hopes for you. I was simply lost in thought about something unrelated to you."

Zoro sheathed his swords. At this point, he had three famed blades hanging at his waist. One of them was the black blade, Shusui—a gift from his "cheap master," Claudius, after Zoro had become proficient in Haki.

Shusui was one of the 21 Great Grade Swords.

Legend had it that it once belonged to the legendary samurai Ryuma of Wano, the so-called "Dragon Slayer." Zoro had heard the stories but didn't particularly care.

Interestingly, the blade had a connection to the now-deceased Blackbeard.

Back when Teach was following Claudius' orders to deal with Moria, he fought the man for three hundred rounds aboard Thriller Bark before ultimately winning.

As a pirate, naturally, Teach had looted the place afterward.

While he had kept most of the treasures for himself, he had gifted Shusui to Claudius.

Firstly, Shusui was a renowned blade, and Claudius wouldn't have accepted it if it were just any ordinary sword. Secondly, Teach had been eager to obtain the Yami Yami no Mi at the time and was willing to curry favor with Claudius however he could. A famed blade made for an excellent gift.

At the time, Teach had no swordsmen under his command, nor did he wield a sword himself.

So, rather than keeping Shusui, he used it as a "tribute" to gain Claudius' favor.

Years later, when Zoro fully mastered Haki, Claudius gifted him Shusui as a reward.

"What's on your mind?"

Zoro asked, seeing Mihawk still deep in thought.

Mihawk studied him for a moment. Since Zoro was one of Claudius' disciples, perhaps he knew something?

"Have you noticed anything unusual lately?" Mihawk asked.

Zoro scratched his head, looking a bit confused. He had been training endlessly in the palace, focusing solely on his swordsmanship. He paid no attention to politics or anything beyond his blade.

After thinking for a moment, he furrowed his brows.

"The atmosphere does feel off," he admitted. "But I figured it had something to do with the Reverie, so I didn't really care."

After a pause, he looked Mihawk straight in the eye and said,

"If you're really curious, why not just ask Claudius directly? No point in overthinking it."

Mihawk blinked.

Then, he chuckled.

"You're right. I'll just ask Claudius. No need to sit here stewing over it."

With that, Mihawk turned and left.

Zoro watched him go, thinking that for the world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk sure didn't have the sharpest mind when it came to this stuff.

Then again, Zoro didn't care. He returned to his training, determined to further hone his skills.

Claudius had already agreed, once the Reverie ended, Zoro could set out for the New World.

Kuina's whereabouts had also been confirmed. She was stationed at the G-1 Marine Base in the New World.

Claudius had even mentioned that she had promised to visit, yet she still hadn't.

Had something delayed her?

Mihawk made his way to the third floor of Claudius' palace. The upper levels had more space, and the other Warlords were gathered there as well.

As he approached the lounge, he overheard voices from inside.

"Even if he's strong, we can all just gang up and beat him to death."

"That's easier said than done. Except for His Highness, none of us really know much about him."

"Come on. No matter how strong he is, can he really take all of us at once?"

Mihawk stopped in his tracks.

Wait… are they talking about me?!

After all, among the Warlords, only Claudius had ever truly fought him before. The others had never crossed blades with him directly.

Was this it? Were they actually planning to get rid of him?!

What Mihawk didn't know was that they were actually discussing Imu.

Claudius and the others were strategizing on how to handle the mysterious ruler, since most of them had never even heard of Imu before.

They were considering a preemptive strike, just to be safe.

"Alright, alright, let's not jump to conclusions," Claudius said.

"No one knows exactly how powerful he is. Let's not talk so carelessly. What if he hears us?"

Claudius was merely being cautious—after all, they were in Imu's domain.

But to Mihawk, it sounded like they were talking about him!

Could they actually hear me approaching?!

Fury rose within Mihawk. He gripped his black blade, Yoru, tightly.

Even though he was outnumbered, he wasn't the type to back down.

With that, he drew his blade and stepped into the room.

The moment the others saw him, they fell silent.

Then, noticing his drawn sword, they exchanged pitying looks.

"What's going on?"

Mihawk scowled and said bitterly,

"Claudius, I considered you a friend… but I didn't expect you to betray me like this."

Claudius blinked.

"Huh? The hell are you talking about?"

***

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