In the following days, Doflamingo kept Trafalgar Law's schedule packed.
Rao G taught him physical combat.
Diamante taught him swordsmanship.
Gladius taught him artillery.
At the end of each day, a battered Law was personally supervised by Doflamingo in studying tactical knowledge.
These training sessions, encompassing combat, fighting, naval warfare, and strategic planning, covered every aspect of his future.
Doflamingo, who had climbed his way up step by step, passed on his knowledge to Law without reservation, utilizing resources far beyond what he himself had as a child.
Many cadres couldn't understand why this boy was being shown such great favor.
Only Corazon grasped a sliver of Doflamingo's intentions:
"He's treating Law exactly like he was in his own childhood..."
"Placing such expectations on him..."
Corazon's feelings towards Law grew increasingly complicated.
Unlike Doflamingo, Law had not been indifferent to life from a young age.
From his various actions, it was evident that he possessed an inner kindness.
It was only due to a sudden, immense change that he had become this way.
He was powerless to save the Doflamingo of the past, but this boy, there was still hope...
----
On a desolate island on the edge of the Calm Belt in the Grand Line.
The Red-Haired Pirates' ship was anchored by the shore, and next to it was a small boat resembling a coffin.
The crew gathered by the sea, with the corpse of a sea king placed nearby. Chunks of sizzling meat were being roasted over a large bonfire.
Lucky Roo's mouth watered as he stared at the meat:
"Who do you think won between the boss and Mihawk this time?"
Yasopp chuckled:
"It's gotta be our boss, that idiot."
Ben Beckman laughed:
"That's what I'm saying, hahahaha."
The little monkey on his head, Moutard, chattered and giggled.
This sent the entire beach into fits of laughter.
Ben Beckman shook his head:
"You guys..."
----
On a barren mountain.
Two figures, one red and one black, clashed and intertwined in a hurried dance.
The resulting gusts of wind whipped up a tempest, and the clash of swords sent sparks flying.
Clang!
Shanks's "Griffon" and Mihawk's "Yoru" met, blades locked.
Looking at Shanks, who was grinning widely before him, Mihawk couldn't help but curve his lips; a worthy opponent was a rare find...
He intensified the pressure with his black blade, slashing downwards.
A verdant blade aura shot out, pressing Shanks down into the ground on the mountainside slope.
Boom—!
A mushroom cloud dozens of meters high erupted, obscuring their vision with dust, but it didn't affect him.
While his Kenbunshoku Haki couldn't reach, his sword intent would not lie.
Mihawk leaped down, shifting Yoru behind him, and slashed towards the center of the dust cloud.
A streak of light tore through the mist, but Shanks was nowhere to be seen.
At some unknown moment, Shanks had appeared on the ground to the side.
Looking at Mihawk, who had just unleashed an attack, he grinned:
"Try this one!"
Taking a step back with his left leg, he brought his left hand, holding the sword, behind him, aiming at Mihawk.
Red energy swirled and coiled around Griffon, and he swung it forward with a surge of power.
A blade aura exuding a dangerous aura, having accumulated energy, shot forth with immense force.
Boom—
Mihawk's eyes narrowed:
"He's gotten stronger again."
Grasping Yoru with both hands and raising it high, he slashed fiercely at the red crescent-shaped slash.
A verdant blade aura collided with it, sending a mushroom cloud soaring into the sky.
The rampant airflow swept across hundreds of meters of the surrounding ground, and Mihawk was blown hundreds of meters away by the shockwave before he stabilized.
In his mind, he carefully replayed Shanks's previous attack.
The more he fought Shanks, the more he felt the exquisite precision of that move.
He supposed it was fitting, considering he was the son of Pirate King Roger...
But he didn't dwell on it; he wanted to fight even more exhilaratingly now.
Raising his right hand, he swung Yoru towards Shanks.
The ferocious airflow that had been between them was instantly cleaved in two.
Mihawk's figure blurred across the ground, charging towards Shanks.
Clang!!!
Their blades met, and they were locked in a stalemate for a moment.
Shanks was then pushed back by the momentum of Mihawk's charge, combined with the burst of sword energy.
After retreating several steps, Shanks exploded from the ground, his figure recoiling to escape the pressure of the sword energy.
Then, using his right foot as a pivot, he spun his left hand, holding the sword, in a full circle.
A rotating blade aura shattered the incoming sword energy, then transformed into several crescent-shaped slashes that shot towards Mihawk.
Mihawk stood his ground, raising Yoru and flicking his wrist.
The torrent of sword energy was deflected with effortless grace and elegance by Mihawk.
Swish—
A wave of red energy instantly slammed into Mihawk.
Clang!
This time, it was Shanks who pushed Mihawk back, and the two crashed into the mountain behind them, kicking up a storm of dust.
A tearing sound.
The dust cloud was instantly ripped apart, revealing their figures. They both stomped their feet simultaneously.
Black and red energy, accompanied by sparks, clashed while circling the mountain, ascending towards the peak.
Boom—
A mushroom cloud exploded at the summit, and the island trembled.
From the midpoint upwards, the mountain peak split into several sections, sliding apart to the left and right.
High in the sky.
Two white explosions of energy appeared, rushing towards each other.
Shanks and Mihawk gripped their swords with both hands, sword energy surging around them.
Red and green light appeared in their eyes as they locked onto each other's figures, their arm muscles bulging as they swung.
Hiss—
Hiss—
The blades met, and the resulting lightning crackled and hissed.
Suddenly, Shanks's pupils contracted sharply.
He saw that Mihawk's arm muscles had bulged slightly further, and the sword energy surrounding his body had become even sharper, pressing down with immense force.
A sharp, arrowhead-shaped blade aura slammed Shanks into the forest below.
It gouged out a pit tens of meters deep, and trees snapped and broke.
Mihawk was, after all, four years older than Shanks. This slight advantage was a crucial factor in their evenly matched battle.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that they were purely testing their swordsmanship.
Shanks, who had been slammed into the ground, straightened up, a grin on his face as he looked up at Mihawk, and stomped his foot.
A rotating current of red energy surged towards Mihawk in the sky.
Shanks tightened his grip on the hilt with his left hand, his right hand resting on his left wrist.
The red energy wrapped around the blade of Griffon, laced with faint traces of lightning.
Mihawk's fighting spirit also flared. He gripped Yoru with both hands, and a verdant energy coiled around the blade.
He stomped on the air several times beneath his feet and charged downwards.
The red energy wave collided with the verdant airflow.
Clang!
The two sharp sword auras clashed, followed by a sound that seemed to ring in their ears.
Hummmmm—
Even the Red-Haired Pirates on the shore couldn't help but cover their ears.
Then, they saw a massive spherical mass of white energy explode in the sky above the center of the island.
Layers of sword energy, carrying violent air currents, rippled outwards in a circular pattern.
The aftershocks lasted for several minutes. When Shanks and Mihawk emerged from the forest side-by-side and walked to the shore,
Six mountain peaks that had been caught in the shockwave had half of them sloughed off diagonally...
Shanks, looking disheveled, grinned broadly:
"Yare yare daze!"
"Let's have a feast!!!"
Mihawk revealed a slight smile.
The surrounding Red-Haired Pirates crew members also shouted excitedly:
"WHOOOOOOOO—!!!!!!"