*Chapter 275: I Am Eager to Get Stronger*

The sound of clashing metal rang out!

Mihawk’s short sword seemed to have a mind of its own. Wherever Kokushibo’s blade struck, Mihawk was there to block it. Every move, every strike, was effortlessly parried.

Watching Mihawk's sword movements blur with afterimages, he displayed the full extent of his Moon Breathing techniques. Yet Mihawk hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"Is this all you’ve got?" Mihawk asked flatly, lacking any excitement for the fight. Without the spirit of a swordsman, Mihawk didn’t even see this as a worthy battle. He was merely using his small, crude blade to teach this man, who had lost his will, a lesson.

Unfortunately for Kokushibo, this wasn’t the sea. If they were on the ocean, perhaps Mihawk’s demonstration would reignite Kokushibo’s fighting spirit, driving him to pursue Mihawk relentlessly. But as it stood, Kokushibo swung his blade lifelessly, driven purely by instinct, having forgotten even how to breathe or wield his sword properly. He only relied on his demonic power to try and defeat Mihawk.

But the more Kokushibo fought like this, the more bored Mihawk became.

Swish!

A sharp gleam flashed from Mihawk’s short sword as he raised it and swung, unleashing a crescent-shaped slash.

"Ugh!" Kokushibo collapsed to the ground, a slash running from his shoulder to his waist, nearly splitting him in two. His powerful regeneration quickly closed the wound, making him appear no worse for wear.

"Pathetic. You’re just a frog in a well," Mihawk remarked dismissively. To him, Kokushibo was nothing but a coward clinging to life—unworthy of being a true opponent.

"Boring? Are you looking down on me? I haven’t even used my full strength yet!" Kokushibo's anger flared as he heard Mihawk's words. Struggling to his feet, he grabbed his sword once more.

Squelch!

His body began to mutate grotesquely, sprouting numerous sharp blades all over. With these deadly weapons, Kokushibo charged at Mihawk.

Clang!

A flurry of slashes filled the air. Mihawk stood his ground, holding his black blade. Countless strikes landed in an instant, and Kokushibo was reduced to a pile of flesh on the ground.

Splat!

The flesh began to wriggle and twitch, slowly trying to reassemble itself.

"Hey, Kakashi!" Mihawk nonchalantly pulled out his Den Den Mushi to contact Kakashi.

"Mihawk, contacting me? That's rare," Kakashi responded, surprised. He hadn’t expected the famed "Hawk Eyes" to reach out, especially when Mihawk was usually busy seeking out swordsmen for duels. What could he possibly want?

"I’ve defeated the Upper Moon One swordsman. Send someone to collect him," Mihawk said calmly, glancing down at the writhing flesh beneath his feet. It was only a matter of time before Kokushibo reformed, but Mihawk knew that if he could cut him down once, he could do it again.

"Haha, well, well! I didn’t expect you to kick things off with such a bang!" Kakashi exclaimed in delight. "I’ll send someone right away. Don’t let him escape!"

Kakashi was overjoyed. Mihawk had actually found an Upper Moon demon—and not just any demon, but the Upper Moon One from the Twelve Kizuki! This would be a huge breakthrough for their research. Orochimaru had already developed a new, stronger serum based on Tamayo’s work on transforming humans into demons, but they were still missing key ingredients from the Upper Moon demons. Now, they could advance their research even further.

Although Kakashi himself wouldn’t be able to use the serum, it would help expand the industries of Dressrosa.

"He’s not going anywhere," Mihawk replied indifferently.

"These guys are hiding deep!" Jack complained, his brow furrowed in frustration. "I thought this mission would be more exciting, but we’ve barely encountered anyone!"

Jack had been expecting to find strong opponents with invincible, regenerating bodies, but so far, he had seen nothing like that.

"Hehe, Dressrosa’s forces have already cleared out most of the creatures we passed," Forzzervo chuckled. "We’ll have to go deeper if we want to find the real tough ones."

The speed at which Dressrosa had moved was impressive. In such a short time, they had cleared out all the surrounding monsters. Jack and his team had only managed to capture two or three by chance. And in an effort to curry favor with the Dressrosa forces, Jack had even gifted those creatures to them.

"I hope so. According to Kakashi, they’ve already developed a new serum, but it’s still not as strong as it could be because they’re missing materials from the Primordial Demons," Jack grumbled, then turned to Forzzervo. "Wanna give it a try?"

"What about you, Jack?" Forzzervo lit a cigarette, not answering immediately. His eyes blazed with desire for revenge. The image of the man he sought to defeat, Red-Haired Shanks, appeared before him. If it weren’t for Shanks, he would still be part of the World Government’s CP0. Despite his strength, even among the Beasts Pirates, he hadn’t been able to defeat the top fighters. Now, Shanks was rumored to be on the verge of being crowned an emperor of the sea, making Forzzervo's dream of revenge seem ever more distant.

"If you want to get stronger, aim for the top," Jack said, his eyes filled with ambition. "Kaido is planning to create a new All-Star, the strongest after him. I’m going for that spot. When we return, I’m challenging King."

Jack didn’t want to be confined to Dressrosa forever, even though he enjoyed living there. His true allegiance was to the Beasts Pirates. He dreamed of becoming the strongest within the crew and then ruling over Dressrosa.

"How do you plan to do that?" Forzzervo asked with a smirk.

Fuzifu's lips curled into a brief smile as he asked, "You know, I think Jack is a pretty decent guy."

"Since the people of Dressrosa lack materials, they can only be turned into weak demons for now."

"In that case, I'll go after those so-called Upper Moons and the progenitor demon, and capture that guy!"

"Once I do that, I’ll gain immense power, maybe even surpass Brother King."

Jack's lips twisted into a cold smile. He initially wanted to say that he'd surpass Lord Kaido, but Kaido had mastery over Conqueror's Haki and even advanced internal destruction techniques with Armament Haki. His own potential would make it difficult to reach that level, so saying it out loud would have sounded arrogant.

So, Jack decided to set his sights on King first, aiming to claim the top spot among the Beast Pirates.

"Count me in! I want to get stronger too!" Fuzifu stomped out his cigarette.

Their thoughts were aligned—both wanted to become stronger. Now, the opportunity to gain power was right in front of them.

As for the side effects of becoming demons, they couldn’t care less. As long as they grew stronger, those side effects were negligible.

"Is it you two talking such big talk?"

At that moment, a small figure appeared, eyes glowing red. Despite looking as tiny as a monkey in front of them, immense power radiated from his body.

"Hey, kid, you're a demon too, right? How dare you eavesdrop on me!" Jack growled with anger.

He hadn’t even gone looking for these guys yet, and now they had come to him.

"You two seem promising. If you want to become demons so badly, then drink Lord Muzan's blood. Once you do, you’ll shed your human bodies and grow stronger."

"You both crave this power, don't you? This is what you truly want."

Akaza eyed the two massive figures, sensing their powerful aura. He wasn’t sure how strong they were, but he could tell they’d be formidable opponents.

And worthy opponents were exactly what he had always sought.

Usually, he enjoyed fighting the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. Now, he had found some strong contenders.

If they became demons, they would grow even more powerful, and then they could battle on equal terms.

"Jack, look closely, there are words in his eyes," Fuzifu pointed at Akaza.

Clearly visible were the numbers in his eyes!

Jack grinned widely—he hadn't expected to stumble upon such a prize. Capturing this guy would surely lead to the development of a stronger drug, which would make him invincible, even surpass King to become the strongest in the Beast Pirates.

"Excellent! You’re an Upper Moon, aren’t you? I’m interested in you."

"In that case, take me to find the progenitor demon."

Jack had gotten smarter, his eyes shifting slyly. Everyone was searching for the progenitor demon. If he found it first, Kakashi would have no choice but to give him the perfect drug.

"Heh, I have Lord Muzan’s blood right here. Drink it, and you’ll grow stronger and gain immortality."

"You may even develop power similar to mine. You might just entertain me a little."

Akaza raised his hand, blood dripping from his palm. This was Muzan Kibutsuji’s blood, and even a drop was enough to turn someone into a demon.

"Screw that! Who’d want to drink that low-grade blood? You don’t plan on helping me find the progenitor demon at all, do you?"

Jack raged. He had expected to be led directly to the progenitor demon, but this guy was just carrying blood around with him—how twisted.

"What did you say?" Akaza’s expression darkened instantly as he withdrew the blood.

He hadn’t expected the man in front of him to speak so recklessly. He’d assumed they wanted immortality and sought out Lord Muzan for that power, but to call it low-grade blood?

Bang!

Jack’s enormous figure leaped into the air, his massive fist crashing straight down on Akaza.

"Your human strength won’t be able to—"

Thud!

Before Akaza could finish, Jack’s massive fist slammed into his chest, shaking the ground beneath them.

Akaza’s mind went blank as he looked up at the monster before him. How could a human possess such strength? One punch had nearly shattered the beliefs he had held for so many years.

"Tell me where the progenitor demon is!" Jack grabbed Akaza by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

In the face of Jack’s Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit powers, these demons were far too weak. Even the powerhouses of the New World could probably handle these guys easily.

This was the difference in power between the two worlds.

"Impossible!" Akaza struggled, trying to pry Jack’s fingers off, but despite using all his strength, Jack didn’t budge.

"Jack, these demons can’t speak about the progenitor demon’s location. Kakashi said that if they do, the progenitor demon will sense it and instantly kill them," Fuzifu stepped forward, offering advice.

They had been wondering where to find an Upper Moon demon, and now one had fallen right into their hands.

They could now return with leverage—Dressrosa wouldn’t dare refuse their demands.

"In that case, contact Kakashi!"

With a quick move, Jack tore off Akaza’s limbs and tossed him to the ground, stepping on him.

"Kakashi, my brother!"

"Jack? You must have some good news for me, right?" Kakashi smiled, having just finished a call with Mihawk.

"Hmm? Of course I do! Guess who I’ve captured?"

"An Upper Moon as well?" Kakashi guessed.

"Also? Who else could’ve gotten one before us?"

Jack was shocked to learn someone had beaten them to the punch. He thought he was the fastest and would secure huge benefits for Dressrosa, leading to an easy score of a new drug.

But apparently, someone had moved quicker.

"Mihawk! He just encountered Upper Moon One and already subdued them."

"I thought it would take more effort, but you guys have worked fast too. Now we should be able to find the progenitor demon’s lair."

Kakashi chuckled as he explained.

"So that’s how it is! Well, send someone over to take him off my hands!"

"Oh, by the way, Kakashi!"

Jack smiled, but it was a strained smile.

"We didn’t exactly get first place, but we did contribute a lot, didn’t we? So..."

Jack said, trying to curry favor.

"Don’t worry, brother. I’d never shortchange you."

"I’ll talk to Lord Raijin, and we’ll make sure you’re the first to use the progenitor demon’s drug."

"Sound good? Just don’t forget who’s looking out for you."