Watching the figure jump onto the beach and slowly walk towards the pier.
The guards, drawing their weapons simultaneously, their eyes filled with vigilance.
As the figure carrying a magnificent greatsword approached, an invisible aura of pressure bore down, slowly affecting the guards' minds, causing cold sweat to bead on their foreheads.
Sensing the tense atmosphere on the pier, the surrounding civilians, putting down their tools, jumped from their houses, grabbing various tools used for work, and quickly gathered around.
Feeling the commotion, the figure slowly raised its head, revealing its eyes beneath the hat. He swept his eagle-like eyes over the many civilians on the shore. Although he didn't exude any particular aura, just his eyes and gaze caused the civilians to halt their movements.
The pressure was too immense, so much so that the common folk didn't dare to meet the figure's gaze. However, remembering the hard-won peace, they tightened their grip on their tools and stood resolutely behind the guards.
"If you want to seize the peace they have so painstakingly achieved, you must at least step over their bodies first."
"Hmm! Good spirit."
The figure with eagle-like eyes spoke.
He stared at the rear of the guards, walked to the edge of the pier, and stopped.
"Am I late?"
Here, he didn't feel any powerful aura, only one. But he could sense that although it was also a strong individual, it wasn't the swordsman's aura he was looking for.
Just then, the crowd surrounding the pier gradually parted in the middle, and a tall figure emerged.
Bada stared at the figure by the pier, not tall but exuding immense pressure, and said sternly, "Hawkeye, what are you doing here?"
With such eyes, such a magnificent black greatsword, anyone with even a little knowledge of the Grand Line would recognize this figure, right!
The man was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Dracule Mihawk."
Known as "Hawkeye Mihawk," he was hailed as the "World's Greatest Swordsman."
He was the ultimate goal that all swordsmen pursued in their lifetimes.
And the sword on his back was one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords, bearing the title of the strongest, the world's strongest black blade, "Yoru."
Mihawk stared at Bada and said calmly, "Don't be nervous, I'm not here for you."
"Not here for us, then what are you doing here?"
Although the other party didn't exude any aura, Bada didn't dare to relax at all. The invisible pressure he felt from the other party was the same as when he first met Kongtai, a mental pressure that only top-tier powerhouses inadvertently displayed.
Such a powerhouse, even with his injuries healed, was someone he couldn't contend with.
"I'm just here to spar with someone."
"Spar?"
Bada lowered his head and thought, "As fellow swordsmen, it must be Kongtai you're looking for."
He then raised his head to meet Mihawk's eagle-like eyes, his gaze showing no fear.
"You can leave. The person you're looking for isn't here."
"Hmm!"
Mihawk stared intently at Bada, then the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.
He didn't dislike people like Bada.
"Don't worry, I'm looking for Silver Hair. It's just a sparring match between swordsmen, I don't intend to do anything to them."
Mihawk paused, then said confidently, "I believe as fellow swordsmen, he would want to meet me too!"
Bada looked at Mihawk and quietly activated his Observation Haki, finding that Mihawk truly harbored no ill intentions, just as he said.
He thought for a moment, then hesitated slightly, and finally said, "Kongtai and the others have already left. If you really want to find them, go to Drum Island!"
Based on his understanding of Kongtai's strength, even if Kongtai couldn't beat the World's Greatest Swordsman in swordsmanship, in terms of overall strength, Kongtai couldn't possibly lose.
Besides, Kongtai had told him long ago that his goal was to become the strongest in the world, so sooner or later he would have to fight this guy. It wouldn't hurt to tell him.
"Drum Island?"
Mihawk nodded, said "Thank you" to Bada, then turned and headed towards his small boat, without any hesitation.
Only when Mihawk's boat disappeared over the horizon did Bada turn around and say loudly to the surrounding citizens and subordinates, "Alright, it's nothing. Let's put in more effort and try to repair the houses on the pier today. This is the face of Bass to the outside world! After this is repaired, we need to repair the brewery, and then we will restore the glory of our Kingdom of Bass, 'Bass Beer'."
"Understood."
The civilians responded loudly, then turned back to their original posts, vigorously waving their tools and busying themselves.
"Boss, is it really alright?"
A subordinate glanced at the distant horizon and turned to look at Bada.
In private, they were still accustomed to calling Bada "Boss," but in the presence of outsiders, they would address him as "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness."
Sensing the worry in his subordinates' eyes, Bada turned to them and chuckled, "It's nothing. Don't you know Kongtai's strength? With that guy's strength, he'll become the strongest in the world sooner or later. He's just facing the world's number one swordsman now."
Bada clapped his hands, "Alright, get back to work! Kongtai doesn't need us to worry about him. You should think about how to do your job as guards better!"
"Us?"
The subordinates exchanged glances, then turned to look at Bada, muttering, "You say us, but you're not much better!"
"What are you saying?"
The subordinates quickly turned and ran off.
"Little rascals."
Bada watched his scattering subordinates and the countless busy citizens in the distance, his eyes filled with infinite longing.
"I really want to recover soon!"
He then let out a hearty laugh and plunged into the sea of busy figures.
From afar, he looked like an ordinary person, not a king.
Perhaps this was why he was so loved by these people.
In this world, although the kings of most countries acted primarily for their own and their family's interests, there were also kings like King Bass, "Bass Bada," King of the Alabasta Kingdom, "Nefertari Cobra," and the King of the Sakura Kingdom, "Dalton"...
Kings who wholeheartedly considered the well-being of their citizens.
...
Evening.
The Going Merry, with the setting sun, slowly descended beside an island with particularly tall trees, from which occasional roars could be heard.
At the bow of the ship.
Kongtai looked at the towering volcanoes spewing smoke in the center of the island and breathed a sigh of relief.
"We've finally arrived."
This was the first time he had flown with the ship in the sky, and he hadn't expected it to be so dangerous and tiring.
Flying with the ship wasn't a difficult task for him, but flying through the Grand Line was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
The constantly changing and incredibly violent weather of the Grand Line had forced him to expend more energy and focus to fend off the dangers brought by the weather outside his domain.
Although it had only been a day, this day had been far more exhausting than his battles with Kizaru or Shiki.
In fact, with his flight speed, he could have reached this island much earlier.
It was still the same problem: this was the Grand Line, and just finding the island had taken him half the day.
This island was his destination, the only island in the first half of the route that he knew the World Government wouldn't expect him to be.
"Little Garden!"
Also known as "Pangea Island," it was the second island on Route 4 of the Grand Line.
It was an ancient prehistoric island inhabited by many giant prehistoric beasts, and these beasts were the opponents he had chosen for Ah Hua and the other two for their training over the next few months.
After defeating these giant beasts, two even more powerful giants awaited them.
With Robin's help, Ah Hua and the other two would surely make rapid progress in these months.
At the very least, he had to train them to the point where they wouldn't be instantly killed by CP agents and bounty hunters, so they could continue their journey.
Otherwise, Ah Hua would have to stay with him constantly for safety, which would be quite frustrating.
In fact, even if Ah Hua's bounty hadn't been issued by the World Government, he had planned to find a small island to train these fellows properly.
He himself and Kuina also needed to consolidate their gains from this period.
His initial preference had been the island where Luffy trained in the Calm Belt, but he didn't know its location and didn't have a Log Pose. Even if he wanted to go, he couldn't.
Besides, it was a bit far.
After much consideration, this was the only place.
In fact, this place wasn't bad. Although the beasts were a bit lacking, there were two giants!
These two giants were figures from over a hundred years ago!
They had been fighting here for a hundred years.
The combat skills and application of power accumulated from a hundred years of continuous fighting, how terrifying would that be!
He suspected that it might benefit both him and Kuina greatly.
After all, what they lacked most was combat technique and the application of power.
This was unavoidable, as their combat experience was too little!
He hoped these two giants wouldn't disappoint them.