Chapter 194 (Patreon)

Dawn slowly pushed back the darkness.

The sun rose above the eastern horizon, its warm light glittering across the endless sea.

Three tents stood on the beach of the small island, whose cleanly severed edges made it clear that it had once been part of a much larger landmass.

Two tent zippers opened almost simultaneously.

Hinata and Saeko Busujima stepped outside, their long hair still tousled from sleep.

Their eyes met.

“Good morning, Hinata,” Saeko greeted, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“G-Good morning...”

Hinata lowered her gaze as she answered.

Saeko’s reaction made it clear that she had heard more than Hinata would have liked the previous night. The tents offered very little privacy, and remembering how affectionate she and Mihawk had been made Hinata’s face burn.

She would not have minded nearly as much if only Hanabi had heard them. But Saeko was Mihawk’s student, which made the situation far more embarrassing.

Even after becoming one of the heroes who saved the shinobi world, Hinata was still easily flustered by matters like this. At least she no longer fainted from embarrassment as she once had.

Saeko quickly noticed Hinata’s discomfort. With her usual tact, she changed the subject and began discussing what they should prepare for breakfast.

Hinata understood what she was doing and gratefully followed along. Before long, the awkwardness between them faded.

Mihawk and Hanabi woke shortly afterward.

Mihawk took a water container from one of the storage scrolls, allowing everyone to wash and prepare for the day.

Once they had eaten, Hinata used the Tenseigan to lift the island from the sea. The surrounding water churned as the land rose into the air, soon climbing to an altitude of more than a thousand meters.

Then Saeko’s grueling training resumed.

While she continued felling trees under Mihawk’s supervision, Mihawk and the Hyūga sisters used the lumber to begin constructing a house.

It was nothing elaborate—only a simple log cabin that could shelter them from the wind and rain.

This severed piece of land was never meant to become their permanent home. Unless they discovered an island truly worth settling on, Mihawk had no intention of making Hinata expend chakra to keep a massive landmass afloat indefinitely.

They only needed somewhere comfortable to live until they obtained a proper ship.

With Mihawk and Hinata doing most of the heavy work, the cabin was completed before sunset. For two people whose strength had already reached the Six Paths level, building a small wooden house was hardly difficult.

That night, they packed away the tents and moved into their new temporary home.

Their lives settled into a steady routine over the next several days.

After solving the problem of shelter, their meals also began to change.

Instead of relying on the dry provisions they had brought from the shinobi world, Mihawk hunted the enormous creatures living beneath the sea.

The beasts found in the shinobi world could not compare to the marine life of this world. Even the meat of its fiercest animals provided only a fraction of the nutrition and energy contained in these massive sea creatures.

That was without even considering Sea Kings, some of which dwarfed the tailed beasts.

Mihawk’s physical growth had been stalled at a limit for some time. However, he was still only eighteen years old, and his body had several years of natural development ahead of it.

After adding the meat of this world’s sea beasts to his diet, he finally began to sense that limit breaking.

His physical strength might soon advance once again.

Because of that, nearly all their meals now consisted of whatever Mihawk caught from the sea.

During the day, he continued refining his new sword art while overseeing Saeko’s basic training. She spent hours repeating the same movements, correcting her breathing, improving her balance, and rebuilding the foundations of her swordsmanship.

Several days passed in this manner.

“Mihawk-kun.”

Hinata’s voice interrupted another training session.

Mihawk lowered the wooden sword he had been using to correct Saeko’s stance and turned toward her.

“I can see the Red Line,” Hinata reported. “What should we do now?”

“Use your Tenseigan to search the surrounding area,” Mihawk said. “See if there’s an island nearby with a large town.”

Hinata nodded and focused her vision toward the distant sea.

Her Tenseigan allowed her sight to cover an astonishing distance. It did not take long for her to locate what they needed.

“I found one,” she said. “There’s an island near the Red Line with a busy town. According to the memories I obtained from Nami, it should be called Loguetown.”

She paused briefly before adding, “It’s the town where the Pirate King was executed.”

“Loguetown...”

Mihawk considered their position for a moment before giving his instructions.

“Lower the island, but don’t take us too close. Stop about ten nautical miles from shore.”

Although floating islands were not unheard of in this world, they were famously associated with one particular man—Golden Lion Shiki, a legendary pirate from the same era as Gol D. Roger.

Approaching Loguetown on an airborne island would attract far too much attention.

“You and Saeko will stay here and guard the house,” Mihawk continued. “Hanabi and I will go into town.”

“All right.”

Hinata immediately began lowering the island.

Its descent continued until the land settled upon the sea with a tremendous splash. Waves rolled outward in every direction before the water gradually calmed.

Mihawk then brought out four large storage scrolls. Before leaving Konoha, they had divided their supplies among scrolls marked for clothing, food, shelter, and travel.

Storage scrolls were already convenient on their own, but when combined with Mihawk’s seal tags, they were no different from the item storage found in a game. He had relied on them for years and could hardly imagine traveling without them.

“Hanabi, which scroll contains the gold?” he asked.

Hanabi pointed at the one marked for travel.

“It’s in that one.”

Mihawk opened the scroll and retrieved a smaller scroll containing the gold they had prepared before leaving the shinobi world.

The currency used in the Five Great Nations would be worthless here. Gold, however, retained its value anywhere ordinary civilization existed.

Mihawk had anticipated that problem and exchanged a considerable amount of money for gold before their departure.

Rather than storing the smaller scroll inside one of his seal tags, he fastened its carrying strap over Hanabi’s shoulder.

He then turned to Hinata.

“Keep watch with your Tenseigan while we’re gone. If any pirates come after the island, take their valuables and sink their ship. There’s no need to show mercy to anyone who attacks you.”

Hinata nodded seriously.

“What are you planning to buy?” Saeko asked.

“A ship equipped with a cabin and some way to produce fresh water,” Mihawk replied. “If we can’t find a suitable ship, we’ll replenish our water supply and purchase a water-making device before continuing the journey.”

He crouched in front of Hanabi, allowing her to climb onto his back.

“We should be back by this evening,” Mihawk said as he hooked his arms beneath Hanabi’s legs. “If it takes longer than expected, we’ll return tomorrow.”

“Be careful, Mihawk-kun,” Hinata said.

Mihawk gave her a brief nod before stepping onto the surface of the sea.

Chakra gathered beneath his feet, and he accelerated toward Loguetown with Hanabi clinging securely to his back.

Within moments, his figure had become a distant blur.

Then he disappeared beyond the horizon.