Whitebeard's Second Division Captain, Fire Fist Ace, liked to dine and dash. Admiral Aokiji stole a skewer while visiting Robin at the Water Seven Islands. Luffy and Zoro ate oden that cost only 11 Berries but couldn't pay. Yes, 11, not 110,000.
All these events happened on a timeline where Zhang Da Ye didn't exist, showing that even strong people might have their quirks.
Even now, if the world's greatest swordsman drank without paying, no one would believe it if told.
In the end, the shrewd tavern owner, Mr. Da Ye, realized he suffered a loss today.
Fortunately, Tom found hundreds of thousands of Berries from the people knocked down by Mihawk. In online games, this is called looting corpses, though mostly just small monsters, no rare equipment dropped.
One day, when everyone becomes stronger, they could team up to challenge a Yonko, or learn the details of the so-called Imu-sama, then enter the Holy Land Mary Geoise raid.
Zhang Da Ye was currently leading the search through the ruins of the house Mihawk had destroyed, looking for survivors—not to rescue them, but to finish them off properly. Such villains deserved an orderly end.
No one was found. Either these people were incredibly lucky or the house wasn't heavy enough. Not a single person was crushed, causing him to once again feel sorry for Guina.
In the end, Zhang Da Ye collected over a million Berries and a Den Den Mushi.
The Berries were trivial, but the Den Den Mushi was impressive. It had a simple smiling face with a slash through the middle.
Zhang Da Ye immediately recognized it as the Donquixote family emblem—the crew of Doflamingo.
"What a coincidence. I randomly chose a group of scum, and it turns out to be Doflamingo's subordinates. Is this luck or misfortune?"
Artoria remembered the name. "Is this the same Doflamingo Vice Admiral Tsuru was chasing last time? Is he strong?"
"Yes, probably on the same level as Mihawk. If they fought, Mihawk would likely win."
Rui Meng Meng asked, "What should we do with this Den Den Mushi?"
"Of course, give it to the Navy. In our hands, it's a hot potato. Throwing it away would be a waste. The Navy might find clues from it."
Zhang Da Ye didn't expect this would trick Doflamingo a bit. He probably would become one of the Seven Warlords soon. He wondered if this clue could cause him trouble. "Vice Admiral Tsuru must be in her sixties. It's good for the elderly to exercise a bit."
On the way back to the tavern, Zhang Da Ye asked, "Artoria, who do you think is stronger, you or Mihawk?"
Artoria replied, "If it's just swordsmanship, he's a bit stronger than me now. But in a life-or-death battle, it's hard to say."
Rui Meng Meng raised her hand. "But wasn't the final move evenly matched?"
Artoria explained, "Strictly speaking, that move wasn't swordsmanship. It used magic combined with the sword swing, completely different from his Flying Slash."
Rui Meng Meng nodded, then wondered, "I see, but how is the Flying Slash done? Even if I swing with all my strength, the wind barely moves small branches."
Zhang Da Ye said, "It's probably not raw strength, but some technique. You need an understanding of swordsmanship. It's very mysterious."
Artoria thought for a moment. "Maybe I can do it someday. Today's duel started from basics. Watching Mihawk's demonstration taught me a lot about swordsmanship here."
"Really? You have to teach me how to do the Flying Slash then!"
"Boss, you can also release magic like Artoria. Why are you so excited about the Flying Slash?"
"That's different. Didn't you have a martial arts dream as a kid? Standing with a sword, clothes flowing, a sword flick, sword energy cutting across." Zhang Da Ye's eyes shone with longing. Of course, in reality, he just held a stick, imagining himself as a hero cutting through fields of vegetables.
"Yeah, that does sound cool." Rui Meng Meng got carried away. She always acted like a tomboy but secretly liked things boys did.
"Tom, you also dueled Mihawk. Did you gain anything?" Zhang Da Ye grabbed Tom by the scruff and held him in front of him.
Tom pointed to his hat, indicating that was his gain.
"I mean in swordsmanship or Haki." Zhang Da Ye knew Tom learned fast and hoped for a small miracle.
Tom spread his hands and looked at him innocently. He had hoped to take the jewels from Mihawk's sword after winning, but after getting cut so badly, there was nothing gained.
"Alright, I guess I expected too much." Zhang Da Ye put Tom back on his shoulder.
On the way, they ran into a patrol led by Lieutenant T-Bone. Zhang Da Ye handed over the Den Den Mushi and briefly explained the situation.
As for revealing connections to the tavern, Mihawk, or the Red-Haired, it didn't matter. The noon customers probably spread the word anyway.
When asked, Zhang Da Ye replied, "I just happened to meet the Red-Haired once. He probably noticed Artoria's strength and mentioned it to Mihawk. We have nothing to do with these pirates."
"I see. Don't worry, this is just routine questioning. Thank you for your support." T-Bone was straightforward, like his sword style, with no curves, only right angles.
Zhang Da Ye politely said, "It's nothing. I hope the Navy catches all the major pirates."
"May I ask, how was your duel with Dracule Mihawk?" T-Bone, also a swordsman, felt uneasy that a pirate was the world's greatest swordsman. Seeing Artoria duel him unharmed made him curious.
Zhang Da Ye quickly answered for Artoria, "Unfortunately, she didn't win."
"I see. Too bad. But having him come deliberately to challenge means Miss Artoria is very strong. I hope to learn swordsmanship from her someday."
Artoria agreed. "No problem. You can come to the tavern anytime."
Close to the tavern, they saw a figure pacing nervously at the door.
"Uncle Goodman?" Zhang Da Ye approached. "Why are you here? Is something urgent?"
"Ah, Da Ye! You're back!" Goodman grabbed him anxiously. "I heard a Warlord came to cause trouble. Is it true?"
Zhang Da Ye explained, "A Warlord did come, but not to cause trouble. He came to duel swordsmanship."
"So it really is a Warlord! How did you get involved with someone like that? Are you hurt?" Goodman examined Zhang Da Ye from head to toe to make sure he was unharmed.
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