Creed swung a vast, majestic sword strike. At first, six divine colors blossomed—then in the next instant, they fused into a single sword light of an indescribable, unknowable hue.
Within that sword light, there were evil ghosts, there was hell, there was heaven, there were celestial beings—there was the rhythm of rebirth, and also the aura of destruction…
And above those lesser cycles of reincarnation were four rotating, ultimate truths:
Formation, Duration, Destruction, Emptiness!
These four truths were also the cosmic cycle of creation, continuation, collapse, and return to void!
As Creed cut out this sword, the completion percentage of his Supreme Reincarnation—his ultimate sword—quietly rose another 0.3%, reaching 99.3%!
"Oh!"
The sword momentum was boundless, the sword intent unmatched—yet the sword light devoured sound itself. Akainu was instantly drowned by that sword light, and then both form and shadow vanished completely, leaving not the slightest trace in the human world.
Akainu—erased by one sword!
BOOM!
Only after the sword light wiped away Akainu's existence did a thunderous boom erupt, shocking for a thousand miles and sweeping all clouds within that range into nothingness.
The people below could only see that dazzling sword light sweep across the sky—blinding, radiant, bearing an unrivaled majesty as it shook the entire firmament.
Everything… seemed destined to kneel beneath that sword light—pressing down on all heavens!
Many swordsmen among the Navy and Creed's alliance, seeing that heaven-spanning sword light, felt their hearts tremble. Some nearly fell to their knees, wanting to worship that sword light.
From that sword light, quite a few of them gained enlightenment in the way of the sword, finally finding their own path.
Some even broke through long-standing shackles on the spot, crying out in joy and calling it a miracle!
A sword over the world, admired by all—nothing could be more fitting!
Whole Cake Island, Mermaid Paradise.
The duel between Blood Shadow and Mihawk also seemed to be reaching its end.
Blood Shadow panted roughly, staring at the battered Mihawk before him in astonishment.
"Originally, I thought among the top great swordsmen, only CPO's second giant could stand shoulder to shoulder with me… I didn't expect you to give me such an enormous surprise today."
Then he raised his voice, proud and arrogant as he declared,
"Well? You've seen my swordsmanship now—compared to the Creed you keep talking about, how do I measure up?!"
His meaning was obvious:
Am I not slightly superior?!
Mihawk said he had sparred with Creed, so Blood Shadow guessed Creed might not be able to injure Mihawk the way he had.
If Creed could injure Mihawk—or defeat him—then with Mihawk's fame as the world's greatest swordsman, that news would have spread across the Grand Line and the Four Blues instantly.
But Blood Shadow didn't know Creed wasn't someone who cared about reputation.
The fact that Creed had defeated Mihawk was known only to the crew on Creed's ship—no outsider knew at all.
"No! You're still far, far behind Creed!"
Mihawk laughed loudly, speaking with open disdain.
"And you've misunderstood one thing."
Mihawk tightened his grip on the black blade Yoru, sword intent surging straight into the clouds, and he said coldly:
"You haven't beaten me yet. And I've found the way to defeat you."
"Oh? Then I won't hold back."
Blood Shadow examined him carefully, and what he realized made his brows knit.
Mihawk… had been holding back!
He had actually paid the price of injury to probe the mysteries of Blood Shadow's sword path—and then find its flaw to break it?!
What a Mihawk! What terrifying sword talent!
Blood Shadow couldn't help but praise him inwardly.
But right then—
"Dark!"
A strange sword cry suddenly rang out overhead—at first thin and lingering, but in the next instant it turned into something vast and boundless, like an ocean surging above their heads, carrying a soul-shaking pressure!
The two of them immediately looked up.
They saw a sword light spanning the nine heavens—vast, supreme, incomparable!
"This is… Supreme sword intent!" (Read exhilarating novels—go to Faloo!)
Blood Shadow's long sword buzzed violently, as if resisting the pressure of that sword light descending from above.
Not only his blood-colored blade—even Mihawk's black blade Yoru was also stirring, eager to contend with that sword light in the sky.
The blades in their hands were both Supreme Great Grade blades, both carrying supreme sword intent. Now that another supreme sword intent had burst forth—towering across the sky and pressing down upon the world—they too released their own voice in response!
"This is…?!"
Blood Shadow was shaken. With his sword cultivation, he could tell this supreme sword light was already extremely close to the Great Perfection realm!
It seemed… even half a step stronger than the Blood Shadow sword intent he had comprehended!
The pride and satisfaction he'd felt from surpassing Mihawk vanished in an instant, replaced by loss and unwillingness.
So there really was a peerless great swordsman stronger than him in this world…
But who?
He flipped through every piece of related information in his mind—yet couldn't find the answer.
"Creed! Reincarnation sword intent! He is the world's number one great swordsman!"
But Mihawk immediately gave him the answer.
Mihawk's heart was full of emotion as well.
He had thought that in recent days, his progress in swordsmanship had been considerable—enough to come closer to Creed.
Yet what he saw today was the same gap as before… no, the gap even looked larger.
And this gap wasn't like before.
This involved supreme perfection true intent—reaching that realm was unbelievably difficult.
After all, once swordsmanship reached an extremely high level, every step required several times the effort and time of the last step—ten times, a hundred times—and not a single mistake could be tolerated.
"How boring… even in swordsmanship, he's that strong."
Blood Shadow shook his head with a sigh, preparing to leave.
Because he'd gotten interested and fought Mihawk, he had delayed the mission to capture Shirahoshi.
Now he had to leave immediately, find Shirahoshi, and complete the mission.
"You want to leave? Then you'll have to ask the sword in my hand first."
But Mihawk stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
Because of the stimulation from Creed, Mihawk had decided to treat Blood Shadow as a chance to temper himself.
What could be better than using an enemy stronger than yourself as a whetstone?
So Mihawk would never let this precious grindstone leave so easily.
"Hm? You held back, sure—but you still can't beat me. And once my supreme sword intent is unleashed, someone must die! Mihawk, I know who you are—I don't want you to die here!"
Blood Shadow spoke—and as he did, his pupils suddenly shrank.
Because in the next instant, an endless black night rose before his eyes…
(End of Chapter)
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