Brilliant, blazing light engulfed the entire land, the whole sky itself!
For a moment, it was as if the entire world bowed in awe to Mihawk's overwhelming presence.
The oppressive sky, dimmed by his aura, suddenly burst forth with supreme might, locking firmly onto Zoro and freezing him in place.
Mihawk raised his black blade high, his body forming a perfect line with it. From deep within his soul, a mysterious energy surged forth, gathering upon the edge of his sword.
"Roronoa Zoro!!!"
With a thunderous shout that carried terrifying might, Mihawk roared,
"Take this strike!"
"You are the world's greatest swordsman!!!"
At this very moment, Mihawk, who had staked everything on this single blow, finally touched the path he had sought his entire life,
The Path of Infinity.
So this was it. All this time, everything he had pursued… had been wrong.
Perfecting everything to the extreme was not the true way of the sword.
There was no true perfection.
There was no true strongest.
A man who believes he's reached the summit and ceases to climb,
How laughable!
How pitiful!
If not for that illusion I just experienced, feeling the taste of defeat…
I might never have truly understood my swordsmanship.
No.
I would have learned eventually.
Because in this world… there are monsters like him!
========
Mihawk's golden eyes gleamed sharply, fixed on Zoro, who, despite the crushing pressure, still grit his teeth and refused to yield.
Even if I die here today… I will have no regrets.
*To hear the truth in the morning, and die by evening, it would still be worth it!*
Mihawk's laughter echoed madly through the skies.
Then his black sword came down in one sweeping motion.
In that instant,
The world seemed to pause.
The wind froze. The water stopped falling.
A blinding wave of light rippled across the blue heavens.
It might have spanned three hundred li, shaking even the ninth heaven itself.
From the center of the battlefield, the sea for hundreds of nautical miles around was suppressed beneath this soaring power.
Only a single slash remained, unstoppable, cutting forward through the chaos.
An endless wave of force surged toward Zoro like divine wrath descending from above.
At this moment, Mihawk shone like a god, or a demon reborn.
He asked the heavens with his sword, and proved his truth through the blade!
With his own strength, he defied the might of nature itself.
The glacier island that Luffy had created shattered beneath the terrifying strike.
A perfect crack split the island down the center, as if cleaved by another dimension, the halves collapsing toward the sea.
Zoro, refusing to surrender, was about to unleash his Asura power when suddenly,
A vast surge of energy erupted beside him!
It met Mihawk's heavenly slash head-on.
Flames, blazing hot as the sun, burst forth before Zoro, colliding with Mihawk's strike.
In an instant, one half of the sky shone with dazzling white light, while the other burned with rolling waves of heat.
The two terrifying powers clashed like gods and demons locked in combat, tearing the heavens apart!
Fragments of energy fell like meteors, crashing into the sea and raising massive, roaring waves.
Those watching from afar finally realized,
They were way too close!!!
Towering waves, nearly a hundred meters high, thundered toward the tiny Baratie ship.
"Hey!!!"
Sanji pointed at the incoming tsunami, panic in his voice.
"Th-that, that thing… wha—what the hell!"
His words stumbled over each other, his mind unable to keep up with the chaos.
Even though he knew that against a tsunami of this scale, resistance or not, it made no difference. They were doomed either way.
Zeff's eyes gleamed with disbelief.
Once, he had taken pride in having sailed the Grand Line, but now, he understood.
So that's what true strength looks like…
The world of the strong, it's terrifying.
The towering tsunami loomed closer, but Zeff didn't panic like Sanji or the other chefs.
Because the members of the Starry Sky Pirates beside him remained perfectly calm, gazing into the distant sky, without a trace of fear.
Even Usopp.
========
"We're done for! Koby, we're definitely gonna die here…"
Usopp placed a trembling hand on Koby's shoulder, frowning as if trying to focus his will.
But judging from his shaking body, things weren't going very well.
"It's fine! It's fine!"
Koby thought Usopp was simply terrified and quickly tried to calm him down.
Though fear churned inside him too, he didn't show it.
Because he stood with the Starry Sky Pirates.
And he believed, nothing could defeat them.
Not even a tsunami this massive.
Holding on to that faith, Koby kept reassuring Usopp,
"Don't worry, Mr. Usopp!"
"Mr. Brook, and Miss Robin and Nami, they're all here!"
"We'll be fine!"
Koby's words seemed to work. Usopp's tense brow slowly eased, though his trembling pupils betrayed the turmoil inside.
"You… you're sure we'll be fine?"
Still unfamiliar with everyone's true power, Usopp turned to Koby again.
Before Koby could answer, Nami cut in teasingly,
"Forget it, Usopp. We're dead for sure!"
"Just wait for Luffy to come save us!"
"Ahahahahaha!"
Her mischievous eyes stayed locked on Usopp, eager to see what reaction she could provoke.
But instead of panicking further, Usopp straightened up, pounded his chest, and said confidently,
"Don't worry. I'll protect you all!"
That confidence didn't come from nowhere,
Because he had already found the tsunami's dead line and *dead point!*
As faint blue light flickered in his eyes, Nami turned away with a pout.
"So boring…" she muttered.
Koby had found his courage, and Usopp was no longer trembling.
Now, among them all, it seemed Nami was the youngest one again,
at least in spirit.
========
But the tsunami didn't care about their banter.
The monstrous wave, like a beast's open jaws, continued its charge toward them.
Robin smiled faintly, her hands folding gracefully at her chest.
In an instant, deathly purple flames erupted around her, surging from her body and streaming backward across the deck.
BOOM!
A massive roar shook the ship.
The violet fire surged upward like a column of molten oil.
Within moments, it rose to match the tsunami's height.
From within the flames, countless petals spiraled wildly, encircling the inferno.
Then, a colossal and breathtaking figure emerged before everyone's eyes,
A giant, fiery manifestation of Robin herself.
Under the stunned gazes of the Baratie's chefs, the massive Robin clone lifted her foot and kicked the incoming tsunami.
Like a girl playfully splashing at a riverbank, the wave scattered instantly, vanishing into mist.
Only the violent clash of energy in the distance continued to rage on…
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