Swordtism 002

As night approached, Mihawk decided not to go find a boat, as he figured the island he was on was a good noob location to grind his Meter. Instead, he stole one of the carriages the gangster leader had ridden in on, and took it out of town. 

The island he found himself on wasn't particularly large, and could be walked across in a day. However, it was big enough to have a forest, and some places to lay low. Although he didn't particularly know how to drive a carriage, the protagonist halo of being Mihawk was working in his favor, as the horse took one look at his eyes, and was docile as can be. As for why there were horses on such a small island? He didn't question it, this would surely be the least logic breaking thing in a world with Devil Fruits, Giants, and immortals. 

Finding a place off a dirt trail, he parked the carriage, set the horse free, and then closed his eyes for the night. When next he woke, Mihawk ate a simple breakfast of some fruit from a nearby tree, and then slowly performed the moves he had executed yesterday. 

Form I: Shi-Cho Ordinary Slash 

Form II: Makashi Fools Parry 

Form III: Soresu Still as the Mountain

Form IV: Ataru Speed is My Life

Form V: Djem-So Power Slash

He foresaw a future where he unlocked more named moves from this set, and almost disdained what could be obtained from the system. Rather, it seemed practicing these Forms to the pinnacle would make him S tier. That said, he might as well check to see what it was all about. 

Defeating Vent had granted him 5 Meter points, and in addition to him, he had defeated 27 other mooks for a total of 32 points. At this rate, he could challenge three F-tier's or hold off until he crossed 100 Meter points-or MP for short-and go up against a D-tier. 

Under the F-tier list, there were a few options that stood out to him, although there were so many, he was bound to miss some. Among the names he recognized were: Bandit Yamcha, 3rd year Neville Longbottom, King from One Punch Man, Reigan (Mob Psycho), SpongeBob, Morty, Professor Utonium (Powerpuff Girls), Magikarp, Captain Toad (Super Mario), Joffery Baratheon, Gollum, Child Konohamaru, etc. 

In short, they were almost all jobbers. True F-tiers in every sense of the word. 

However…there were a few interesting skills among them. 

Useless stuff like the King Engine could be ignored, and kid Konohamaru only knew Sexy Jutsu. Joffery didn't actually have any skills besides being a loser, and Gollum could what, endure torture??? Morty had…courage? And Reigan could, what, give him the ability to scam people? Then there was Neville who could give him knowledge of magical plants that only exist in the HP world? Useless! Trash amongst trash! 

Then there were the more practical abilities. 

Captain Toad was a little more unique, with ‘Super Pickaxe Mastery’ and superb treasure seeking skills. Using those insights with a pickaxe might aid in his swordsmanship, and being able to read a map was lowkey kind of important. Frankly speaking, defeating Captain Toad might just give him the skills of a Navigator which was of great utility.

Professor Utonium's signature skills were all science & chemistry related. Although Mihawk wasn't in a position to create anything at the moment, this was something perhaps worth pursuing if he ever had a base or squad. 

SpongeBob was actually lowkey kind of cracked. Dude can make music from paper, realistic bubbles that emit sound when popped, make peak artwork, frycook like a god, absorb water at will & spit it out like a hydrocannon, and was a master at karate. From him, Mihawk could only take one skill, and they were all very good! Although only karate was useful as a combat art, all the others were very important for quality of life! In a world without the internet, good food & music were critical to his continued will to live. 

Lastly, there was Yamcha. The guy was actually a swordsman, and knew the Wolf Fang Fist. Which, for a world like One Piece, was pretty solid at the lower levels…especially considering it was actually quite the cheeky move for those who knew. 

After thinking things through, and warming up his body, Mihawk had mentally prepared himself. Taking a leaf from a nearby tree, he tossed it into the air right above his head, wanting to test a theory of his. When he entered this Challenge Rating space, there were three possibilities. Either 1) time stopped, 2) time moved as normal & the leaf would fall on his head, or 3) his body would disappear, and the leaf would be under his boots when he reappeared. Mihawk hoped it wouldn't be option number 2, but these were the kinds of things he had to experiment with. 

Imagine getting jumped when in the System space? That'd be a quick death right there. 

Having made up his mind, he chose Captain Toad. Seconds later, he opened his eyes to a Super Mario themed platformer world. There were pipes, question mark blocks, tons of grass, and a hilly terrain made out of cubes. 

Standing on top of a green pipe was an overly friendly looking chubby little guy. Wearing a big backpack, and a helmet with a large flashlight attached, Captain Toad wielded a pickaxe, and ran at him screaming like only a Toad could. 

Mihawk hoped this didn't permanently kill Captain Toad across all timelines, and steeled his heart, preparing himself for combat. 

Despite his short gait, the little man was fast. 

Backflipping on top of a question block, Mihawk watched as the incredible strength of the pickaxe tore apart a large section of rock. It was like an artillery shell or Minecraft attack had ripped the terrain apart. 

“Stand still!” Captain Toad growled, yet his childish voice made the threat land flat on the floor. 

Next, the little man spawned a turnip from seemingly nowhere, and tossed it at Mihawk like a baseball thrown by the best MLB player in the world. Slicing at the turnip, Mihawk was slightly surprised at how difficult it was to cut through. 

‘It appears I'm not too far from F-tier myself.’ He thought with a bit of a self deprecating smirk. 

Jumping down with a high slash, he put a great deal of strength into the vertical downward attack. 

Form V: Djem-So Power Slash

His messer met the pickaxe in a violent clash of sparks. Captain Toad was forced back a step, but had raised his weapon again. However, Djem-So wasn't just about flashy moves, and was an entire methodology of combat. Striking with a continuous aggressive stance, Mihawk didn't allow his foe to go on the offense, forcing him to endlessly defend. The pickaxe by its very nature was not particularly good at defense, and Mihawk's superior reach meant Captain Toad couldn't mount a counterattack. 

Before long, he had broken past this loyal subject of the Mushroom Kingdom's guard, and pierced his heart. The little mushroom man made a death scream like his Mario Kart counterpart did when falling off the track. Captain Toad then faded away, and Mihawk's consciousness was transported to a black screen where he was given several choices. 

1) Pickaxe Strength Technique 

2) Treasure Seeking 

3) Turnip Creation 

That small boost in strength technique would be useful, and there was a world where infinite food hack could become an infinite money hack, but Mihawk went with Treasure Seeking, hoping it would help out when finding the next island or location to head towards whilst out at sea. Besides, what if it led him to a treasure horde, or a rare sword?

As soon as he had made his decision, Mihawk found himself back in the forest, and the leaf he had tossed up before engaging in the Challenge Rating was still there, slowly falling down. This proved that when he entered the System space, time froze in reality. Furthermore, he discovered he wasn't physically fatigued whatsoever after that battle. Although mentally he was a little more tired. 

Upon learning this information, Mihawk was pleased that he couldn't get jumped when in the Challenge Rating space. He even foresaw a possible circumstance where he needed a skill from someone whilst he was in the middle of a fight. That it could help him escape or even win, turning things around. 

One of the peculiar things about this trial, was that once he defeated Captain Toad, his name had disappeared off of the F-tier opponents list. It appeared he could only challenge someone once. So choosing which skill to take was actually quite important. 

Another curious aspect of a Challenge Rating fight, was that it took him to the ‘homeland’ of the challenged. If that had been Mario he fought instead, it was likely the mustachio'd plumber would hit those question blocks, and start shooting fireballs, or God forbid, he picked up a star! 

Knowing this, he wondered if when he fought SpongeBob underwater, everything would be fine? It was a life or death risk, so he reluctantly decided against chancing it. If he ever did fight the yellow menace, it'd be with one of those bubbles found in Fish-Man Island. 

Therefore, amongst the F-tiers that he had looked at-there were too many to list-he would go with Bandit Yamcha next. Perhaps other F-tiers would stand out to him one day when checking the list, but for now he wanted to get the Wolf Fang Fist, then move back into town to farm more points & hone his blade. Only when he felt strong enough would he take on those D-tier threats. 

Focusing upon the name in the System space, Mihawk eventually found himself amongst a dusty, rocky wide open valley. Massive plateaus & pillars of stone surrounded him open a clear blue sky. 

Opposite him was a shaggy haired teen in a green gi & orange pants combo. Drawing a sword, the teen suddenly sprang at him with a speed somewhat faster than Captain Toad's. 

Although people liked to clown on Yamcha, his power level when he was first introduced was quite significant. For the current Mihawk, he was in a similar tier, and had yet to experience explosive growth. 

“Haaah!” Yamcha wordlessly yelled as he jumped into the air, and came down with a powerful overhead slash. 

Mihawk wasn't a static dummy standing still waiting to be hit, and in turn, ran around one of the random columns of rocks littering the terrain. 

Yamcha's blade left a small fissure in the earth, and he growled in anger as he chased after Mihawk. “That's a nice hat you've got there. Leave it behind, or I'll take your life!” 

The teen then sliced at the skinny rock formation, cutting it in half. As the pile collapsed, a small cloud of dust erupted, and Yamcha pressed forward, swinging his weapon at a patch of black. 

“Ah hah, gotcha!” Yamcha crowed in victory, only to find he had pierced a harmless hat. 

Mihawk, meanwhile-did not have his vision obstructed by the thick layer of dust due to his special eyes-and emerged from the side. Sword soaring, he cut into Yamcha's flank with a devastating slash. 

Remarkably, the future Z Fighter managed to adjust his posture, and jump away just in time. Although a long crimson line spread down his shoulder, and the hand holding the sword became somewhat limp, he had not been defeated. 

Mihawk pressed his advantage, chasing after his foe, preparing to end it all with a forward stab. 

Jumping backwards, Yamcha backflipped onto a rock pillar up high, and then gathered a strange energy about him. It was almost imperceptible, and Mihawk almost didn't notice it, but once he did, his expression became solemn. He would not treat this upcoming move with any frivolity. This was a fight to the death. 

After gathering his energy in but a second, Yamcha jumped off the pillar, and in typical anime fashion, shouted out his signature move: “Wolf Fang…FIST!” 

Ordinarily, shouting out your special technique was stupid. However, Yamcha of all people was one to subvert all expectations. Cocking his body into a specific angle, it truly looked like he was going to deliver a fatal punch. The small white swirl of ki gathering around his hand certainly made it appear like that. And, in fact, part of his technique made it look like the illusion of a giant bloodthirsty wolf was running right at Mihawk. Anyone with an ounce of fear in their heart or trepidation would likely be caught up in the misdirection. 

For in reality, the ‘Wolf Fang Fist’ was actually a kick attack! That's right, Yamcha shouting out the name of his special attack was just a misdirection! 

At the last minute before they closed with one another, Yamcha pivoted midair, and extended his right leg. Suddenly, all the ki gathered in his hand disappeared as it became concentrated in his foot. 

Mihawk, however, was well aware of this technique beforehand, and was not fooled in the slightest. Instead of waiting for Yamcha to unfurl his leg all the way, he had already jumped up, just as the teen was pivoting midair. 

Yamcha's brief look of arrogant superiority at having successfully tricked his opponent swiftly transformed into shocked fear as his leg was only halfway out, and the guy in black was already upon him! He belatedly tried to block with a X cross of his arms, but it was too late. 

Form IV: Ataru Speed is My Life

Mihawk silently chanted his own special technique to himself, and accelerated just a second faster than the teen. Slipping under the crossguard, he shoved the tip of his messer up the gullet of Yamcha's throat, and out the top of his skullcap. 

Upon achieving victory, he was once more presented with a list of skills to chose from. 

1) Wolf Fang Fist

2) Talk Tough

3) Bandit's Nose

Looking at the options, the second one was useless, and the last option was sort of useful as it let him spot ‘weaklings.’ However, he knew what he wanted, and chose option one with little thought. 

Back in the clearing, it was still early morning, and the sun had risen only recently. Going to town now didn't appeal to him as he had a new skill to train & understand. 

Generically speaking, he wasn't particularly interested in the Wolf Fang Fist, and didn't see himself using it all that much. The largest gain this time was fighting experience against a foe who possessed similar strength. From that point of view, he would have to find more F-tier opponents that would serve as suitable sparring partners. Perhaps if he searched hard enough, he could find the likes of Link, Shredder, or Batman? 

Anyway, there were two facets of the Wolf Fang Fist that interested him, and that was the application of ki, and that illusion. In One Piece, all those moves with special effects were based off of haki, a mystical energy that while unique in its own way, was a substitute for the nore generic "ki" or "mana" of other franchises. So, whilst he couldn't use DBZ ki here, he could use this Yamcha's own power source as a reference to help him learn haki/aura. For example, long before haki was even a thing, Zoro was doing all sorts of cool looking energy attacks before the time skip. Like Zoro vs Ryuma, the green haired moss head was insane or on Sky Island he even had a ranged ki attack, the 108 Pound Phoenix aka the Hyakuhachi Pound Hō. As everyone knew, haki in One Piece was king, and whilst Mihawk doubted he'd be able to coat his weapon anytime soon, being able to attach some energy to his weapon, or have some aura wasn't impossible. 

Therefore, Mihawk wanted to grasp this feeling of ‘ki’ from the Wolf Fang Fist, and incorporate it into his own skillset. 

Pulling out his sword, he began to envision Yamcha's technique, and started to repeatedly swing his weapon until he got it right. 

The people in the nearby town didn't know it yet, but the legend of Hawk Eyes was only just beginning. 

~~~~~~~

AN: Going forward any outside skill learned from another franchise will just be powered by haki/aura energy. Just like how all the Straw Hats pre-time skip had their own special moves without the knowledge of haki.