Capítulo 185: Sword Hermit
Cabernet landed near the seemingly abandoned castle that Hawkeye lived in, allowing the ladies to disembark before taking her Lunarian form.
Cherry led the way through the castle and entered the dining room where Hawkeye was eating his evening meal at the head of the dining table. In front of him he had an extravagant meal with a multitude of delicious dishes.
At the other end of the table sat an unfamiliar man. His long hair was disheveled and extended past his shoulders, and his beard was much the same. His clothes contrasted with Hawkeye's fancy clothes in their raggedness. In front of him was a small bowl of broth, though it had so little substance to it that you might as well call it a bowl of water. Despite the clear difference in the quality of their meals, the man consumed the broth one small spoonful at a time without complaint.
Robin was about to ask where Zoro was, as she was eager to see him again after so long, but she stopped when she saw the swords on the beggar's waist. Looking at the green colored hair of the beggar, she was shocked to realize that the disheveled man was Zoro himself.
Cherry burst out laughing at the sorry sight of him. She knew why he looked like this. It seemed that his desire for power had finally surpassed his reservations about the words she had passed onto him back at Alabasta.
It was only a matter of time. After all, what swordsman could ignore the mad ramblings of the strongest and most eccentric sword immortal in the Myriad Realms, the infamous Sword Hermit?
Zoro brought another spoonful of broth to his mouth. His hand was perfectly steady, even as his arm trembled with barely contained frustration as he tried to ignore her laughter.
"Hehehe! What's up with the new look, Zoro? You've got all those swords but no shaving razor?" Cherry mocked.
Zoro clenched his teeth so hard he directly bit the head off the spoon and started chewing it up.
Hawkeye was watching quietly with curiosity. Zoro had been acting very strangely for these two years, dedicating his whole self to the way of the sword. It was admirable, but also a bit unnerving how a man could deny himself the slightest pleasure or comfort for so long. Now seeing how angry he was getting and the knowing look that Cherry was giving him, he thought that she must have something to do with it all.
Cabernet shifted into her figurehead form and opened her chest up like a cupboard. Cherry reached in and pulled out a large bottle of very expensive sake.
"Look, Zoro! I brought you some sake, your favorite!" Cherry teased.
She uncorked the bottle and wafted the scent in Zoro's direction.
"Smells good, doesn't it?" Cherry said and poured out a few cups.
Cherry pushed one of the cups over to Zoro and loudly slurped the sake from her own.
"Mm mm mm! Delicious! What's wrong, Zoro? You don't want any?" Cherry was enjoying every second of his internal struggle which looked to be quickly becoming an outer struggle.
Even with his eye practically burning with desire at the cup, Zoro didn't make any movements to take it.
Cherry was impressed with how this drunkard could resist fine alcohol after not having any at all for some time. She decided to show some mercy and give him a bit of advice. She placed the bottle in front of him and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"You know, Zoro, I only passed those words onto you to serve as inspiration. If you want to reach your true potential, you can't follow another man's path to the top," Cherry said, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure you've gleaned enough from those words and from Hawkeye's tutelage. It's time to blaze your own trail, hm?"
Zoro snatched up the bottle and chugged it down in seconds, a remarkable feat given that it wouldn't empty that fast even if you poured it out.
"AHHHH…" Zoro let out a long and satisfied sigh.
"So did that deadbeat cut your eye or were you just being stupid?" Cherry asked, peering at the scar over his left eye. "Should I beat him up for you?"
Hawkeye almost choked on a bite of steak, but just barely managed to retain his dignity in front of his daughter.
"None of your business," Zoro said. "I don't need you fighting my battles for me, either. What did you come here for?"
"Cherry thought that Mr. Swordsman would get lost on the way to Sabaody Archipelago, so we came to pick you up," Robin said.
"Hmph. I wouldn't have gotten lost." Zoro finished off the bowl of broth in one gulp and stood up. "But… thanks I guess."
They shared a warm and quiet moment, savoring this moment of reunion.
Robin gave Cherry a nudge and glanced at Hawkeye, as if to say 'Get on with it, then.'
Cherry heaved a sigh and marched herself over to Hawkeye who tensed up slightly at her approach, much to Robin's amusement.
"Do you want to… do a father daughter activity together?" Cherry spoke as if she was forced to give an apology she didn't mean at all.
"... I admit I have no idea what that would entail…" Hawkeye said, caught slightly off guard at the proposition.
"Well, neither do I so we can just forget-" Cherry began, attempting to capitalize on the opportunity to escape.
"We could go on a walk together, perhaps? Have a chat?" Hawkeye interrupted her.
"... Alright." Cherry grumbled.
Hawkeye wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. He thought for a moment, then extended his arm to Cherry like he was a gentleman.
Cherry could feel Robin's gaze burning into the back of her head, so she took the arm and let Hawkeye guide her out of the room for their father daughter bonding time.
Perona found Cherry's awkwardness to be amusing, but only Robin knew just how bad it was. Cherry was in reality several hundred years older than Hawkeye after all and she barely knew the man. She didn't really see Grandma Angela as a parental figure either, but at the least they had a familial bond of sorts.
"Ah! He's alive?!" Perona shouted, whilst reading a newspaper she picked up from the table.
"Who?" Cabernet asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Moria-sama!" Perona exclaimed, her voice choking up as she cried tears of joy.
Robin looked at the newspaper as well, reading the headline.
[ Gecko Moria's undead legions attack the Neo Marine fleet! ]
[ The former Shichibukai, Gecko Moria, launched an attack on a branch of the Neo Marine fleet with his undead minions in the New World only days ago. He appeared to have freed one of his known crewmates, Absolom, from their custody and made a hasty retreat. For readers who are unaware, the Neo Marines are a new group in the New World that exists outside of World Government oversight. They make use of methods to deal with pirates that are frowned upon as too extreme for the World Government's marines. Continued on page 7. ]
Perona looked extremely conflicted at this moment.
Her first instinct was to run off in search of Moria, as he was her captain and even a surrogate father figure to her.
Sure, Moria was a terrible person, but he was kind to her and that was all that really mattered to her as she wasn't a great person herself.
What made her hesitate was Cabernet.
Perhaps it was just infatuation in the beginning, a fleeting attraction to a different kind of cuteness that she wanted to explore. However, it was more than that now, it meant something.
Perona looked into Cabernet's eyes and held her gaze for several silent moments.
Cabernet's face formed into a smile that was beautiful and just a little sad, like a sunset.
Perona made her decision.
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