"Whoosh—"
Mihawk's face darkened, his eyes sharp. He swiftly drew the sword on his back and slashed sideways toward Orin.
Orin wore a sly smirk at the corner of his mouth. He didn't dodge or block, letting the blade slice across him—yet not a single drop of blood appeared.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I really didn't mean to do it. Are you really that angry?"
"Your expression doesn't look like it was an accident."
"Pfft... Hahaha, was it that obvious?"
Watching Mihawk talk to him while subtly shifting his feet, trying to rub off the mess on his shoes, Orin couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Messing with young Hawk Eyes...
Honestly, it felt just as satisfying as teasing little Shanks back in the day.
And seeing Orin drop the act and laugh out loud, Mihawk gripped Yoru even tighter in his hand.
But this time, Orin didn't dodge with intangibility. Instead, he drew the blade at his waist—Ace—and blocked the killing blow head-on.
"One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades—Ace, huh?"
Mihawk recognized the weapon.
So the rumors... were true?
Originally said to be the personal blade of the Pirate King Roger, passed down to his heir in strength—Orin!
But in truth...
Orin had just been helping take care of the family and conveniently took this relic along.
The reason he swapped out the previous sword was simple—Ace was sharper, tougher, and felt better in the hand.
As far as his strength went, it didn't really make much of a difference.
The two stood face to face, each holding a black blade, on opposite ends of the clearing.
"Since we're calling this a duel of swordsmanship, I won't use any Devil Fruit powers. Otherwise, if I beat you, you won't admit it."
"Clang—"
Orin slowly coated his blade with Armament Haki and spoke calmly.
Young Mihawk wouldn't show weakness. He held Black Blade Yoru before him, the edge glinting with cold light, his voice sharp and clear:
"Without your Devil Fruit powers, can you still dodge my sword? My Yoru has been tempered by the blood of countless opponents—it is now unimaginably sharp!"
"My Ace is no less powerful!!!"
Both sides were wrapped in thick Armament Haki. Their expressions turned solemn as they stared each other down.
Orin could tell—this young Mihawk was truly skilled. After all, he was already nineteen, about the same age Zoro was after two years of training. No reason he'd be any worse.
Combat awareness, Haki, swordsmanship...
Restricted to just swordsmanship and the two types of Haki, Orin was fighting Mihawk evenly, blow for blow.
Letting out a slow breath, Orin gripped Ace tightly in one hand. The Haki coating the blade began to flow like water.
A crimson flow of Armament Haki shimmered like blooming sakura blossoms.
Yet where the blade cut, it left behind a black abyss.
"One-Sword Style!"
Armament Haki bloomed around Ace like flowing light, but what it released was a massive wave of black sword aura. Tens of meters long, the slash tore through the air and ripped the earth apart.
Mihawk frowned but didn't panic. He gripped his sword in both hands...
Raised Yoru above his head...
And slashed downward with all his might!
BOOM—
A streak of sword aura shot into the sky—visually even more massive than the black-and-red slash before. It was a brilliant emerald green!
The two auras collided in a flash, entangling one another. Though Mihawk's green slash was sharper and more massive...
Due to the Haki gap, the flowing Armament from Orin kept eroding the attack on the other side.
Even so, the clash ended in a draw.
But Orin was no longer paying attention to that.
Because he noticed something—something he couldn't ignore.
Watching Mihawk remain silent, lifting his sword again with an ice-cold demeanor and expert aura...
Orin suddenly looked pissed.
You didn't even say your move's name just now!?
You made it seem like I called out a huge technique, and you casually blocked it with a basic attack.
You really think I can't tell?
That slash just now was clearly your full power too, dammit!!!
Feeling played, Orin's mood tanked. He no longer felt like teasing.
A terrifying red light suddenly flashed in his eyes as he charged forward, blade raised, no longer holding back.
It's time I properly disciplined you, Mihawk!
Seeing Orin suddenly switch into another mode, Mihawk was completely confused.
What the hell just happened?
But true to his nature, Mihawk didn't ask questions. Faced with a more intense offensive, he simply met the attack head-on.
CLANG—
Their blades clashed, sending shockwaves that cracked the surrounding earth. This was the duel of true great sword masters. Sword auras shot out from every swing.
Trees were sliced cleanly in half, animals wandering in by mistake were instantly bisected, even the earthworms in the dirt got chopped vertically in two.
"What terrifying power..."
After several exchanges, Mihawk's hand trembled slightly from the force. He regretted not just sticking to ranged slashes.
With his monstrous strength, Orin's swordsmanship wasn't just swordsmanship—it was like swinging a spiked club.
They continued exchanging blows—releasing sword aura one moment, engaging in close combat the next.
Blades rose and fell, again and again, from the southern tip of the island to the northern edge. There wasn't a single intact pebble left.
Three days and three nights passed with no victor in sight.
Damn it... why is this guy's swordplay so solid? No matter how I slash, there's no opening!
Orin frowned, watching Mihawk breathing a little heavier, but still sharp-eyed and mentally unshaken.
No wonder he's the future world's greatest swordsman.
Even with my talent, and the swordsmanship I learned from Captain Roger and Rayleigh-san, I can only match him.
Mihawk may be a few years older, but this just proves how high the bar is for the world's number one swordsman.
At least in swordsmanship... his talent isn't beneath my own.
Eventually, Orin lost patience.
He decided to cheat.
"BOOM..."
A terrifying aura exploded out. Crimson-black lightning sparked from Ace's blade, and a soaring presence overwhelmed the battlefield—completely different from before.
Orin almost instinctively shouted "Divine Departure!"—but caught himself just in time.
In that very moment, those hawk-like eyes of Mihawk's shrank, a sudden sense of danger flooding his heart.
"This is... that move from Loguetown?"
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