The silent meal continued.
Takumi and Mihawk ate their food calmly, and even though they hadn't spoken a word to each other, there wasn't the slightest awkwardness between them.
Meanwhile, Enel and Kaku were in a more awkward state. Enel was faring a little better, but Kaku felt extremely uneasy, like sitting on pins and needles.
"Hey, long-nose, what's up with you?" Enel noticed Kaku's discomfort and curiously broke the silence.
Being called out suddenly, Kaku awkwardly replied, "It's nothing, it's just that I'm not used to everyone being so quiet..."
"Tch," Enel scoffed. "Always making a fuss about nothing."
Since Enel had started talking, the tense atmosphere loosened up a bit.
Mihawk drained his cup of wine in one go before speaking, "How much longer do you plan to stay here?"
Takumi responded calmly, "A little longer."
He didn't have a choice—there was still one task left.
Moreover, Takumi guessed that the last task was likely related to Mihawk.
Mihawk's sharp eyes fixed on Takumi, and he was about to speak when the ringing of a Den Den Mushi interrupted him.
Without any regard for Takumi and his crew, Mihawk pulled out the Den Den Mushi and answered the call.
A hurried voice came through, "Is this Mihawk, the Swordmaster?"
Mihawk coldly responded, "Yes."
"Where are you now?"
"Get to the point."
"Uh... headquarters received a report that the fugitive Takumi and his crew are currently on Kuraigana Island. If you're on or near the island, we need you to immediately arrest Takumi's crew. If they resist, you are authorized to execute them on the spot."
The voice on the other end was loud enough for Takumi and his crew to hear every word clearly.
Mihawk glanced at the different expressions of Takumi, Enel, and Kaku before casually responding, "Alright, if I return and they're still here, I'll catch them."
"That's excellent news! Admiral Kizaru is on his way with reinforcements and should arrive by the morning after tomorrow. Even if you don't manage to capture them, we hope you can hold them off until Admiral Kizaru arrives."
"Understood," Mihawk replied indifferently and hung up the phone.
Takumi continued drinking his wine, seemingly unbothered.
Kaku remained silent.
Enel thought for a moment before asking, "You're not actually planning to catch us, are you?"
Mihawk replied coldly, "As a Shichibukai who works with the Government, it's my duty to capture you if that's what they ask."
Mihawk's words made Enel's face darken, and sparks of electricity began flickering across his body.
"What a joke," Enel sneered. "Swordmaster or not, didn't you already lose to Captain Takumi? And you think you can catch us now? You couldn't even catch me, let alone Takumi."
"You idiot, watch your mouth!" Kaku said with a helpless laugh. "Mihawk is very strong. Don't create unnecessary trouble for Captain Takumi."
Enel shot Kaku an annoyed look, "Whose side are you on, long-nose?"
"Of course, I'm on your side," Kaku laughed awkwardly. "It's just that the situation is tricky right now. Besides, Mihawk didn't explicitly say he was on the island when he answered the phone earlier. Doesn't that mean he's giving us a chance to escape?"
Realizing this, Enel let the issue go, and the electric sparks around him gradually faded.
Takumi said calmly, "Enel, apologize."
Enel gritted his teeth and mumbled reluctantly, "I'm sorry…"
Mihawk ignored Enel's apology and turned his attention to Takumi, saying, "I never said I'd let you go. Whether I catch you or not depends on your attitude."
Takumi met Mihawk's sharp gaze without fear and asked, "So, what do you want to know?"
"Why did you kill a Celestial Dragon?"
Even though Takumi's act of killing a Celestial Dragon had made headlines, the details surrounding the incident were vague. There was no clear explanation for why Takumi did it.
The Celestial Dragons were world nobles. No matter how incompetent or cruel they were, the Five Elders of Mary Geoise would always protect them. In other words, no matter what they did, whether it was good or bad, right or wrong, they were always considered to be in the right.
Merely harming a Celestial Dragon could summon a Navy Admiral, let alone killing one.
This was why nobody ever dared to oppose the Celestial Dragons—not even the Shichibukai or the Emperors of the New World. Even if they despised the Celestial Dragons, they would never recklessly try to kill one.
Yet, Takumi had not only killed a Celestial Dragon, but he did so right under the nose of the World Government, in the Sabaody Archipelago, the closest location to the World Government and Navy headquarters.
No matter the reason, from the outside, it looked like a blatant slap in the face to the Navy and World Government.
Mihawk was curious about what could have driven Takumi to take such a bold step and kill a Celestial Dragon.
When he asked, Enel and Kaku both fell silent and turned to look at Takumi, equally curious about his reasoning.
Seeing all three of them waiting for his response, Takumi sighed and said, "I didn't like him. I don't need a reason to kill someone."
"That's not right," Enel protested. "You're not the type to start trouble for no reason. At the time, you could've handed me over, and you and Kaku could've walked away. Wasn't it because of me that you fought?"
Kaku added, "From what I saw, Captain Takumi acted because of that big idiot Enel. I actually thought you might hand him over, but not only did you not do that, you went ahead and killed the Celestial Dragon. It completely surprised me."
"Exactly!" Enel chimed in, "Takumi, you're just pretending. Kaku and I both know what really happened, so keep pretending!"
Takumi: "…"
These two… are asking for a beating!
Without a word, Takumi stood up, clenched his fists, and, before Enel and Kaku could dodge, delivered a punch to each of their heads.
Both let out cries of pain as large bumps appeared on their heads.
"If you keep talking, I'll kill you both," Takumi warned without hesitation.
Mihawk watched Takumi and his crew indifferently, but he began to understand why Shanks thought so highly of them. Even so, it wasn't enough for Mihawk to let them go just yet.
Right after Takumi had punched Enel and Kaku, a powerful pressure suddenly filled the entire room.
Enel and Kaku were immediately overwhelmed by the force, struggling to breathe.
Unlike Conqueror's Haki, this pressure carried the weight of countless sword strikes. It felt as though they were being sliced by thousands of invisible swords.