"Is that all? I can't even see a reason for you to swing your sword."
Hawkeye slowly withdrew the tiny blade he had been toying with, his tone laced with disappointment.
"If this is your limit, you are not even worthy of wielding that blade."
To him, a swordsman without soul was meaningless. Even if such a person grew stronger, they were nothing more than dry bones carried by the tide.
"A reason… to swing the sword?"
Kozuki Hiyori staggered back to her feet, one leg trembling beneath her. A bitter smile twisted across her lips as her gaze lowered to the blade in her hands. Countless memories—sleepless nights of training, sweat-soaked hours of swinging—flashed through her mind.
"Komurasaki, do you want to fight side by side with me?"
"Me? Fight? Can I?"
"Why not try? Your physical ability is excellent."
Yes. Because of that simple conversation with Lord Kai, she had pushed forward through every hardship until today.
But what about her own… desire?
Her eyes swept across her companions' anxious faces, then stopped on Kai. His eyes burned with trust and concern.
Her breath steadied. She smiled faintly, but with steel beneath. Her fingers clenched the hilt of her left sword until her knuckles turned white.
"I… I don't have any grand ambition."
Her clear voice carried across the deck.
"At the start, I only wished to live as an oiran, to gather whispers, to drain the fortunes of greedy nobles, robbing the rich to aid the poor. That was the limit of the strength I thought I had for Wano's freedom."
Her tone shifted, quiet but steady:
"Later, Lord Kai took me in. He told me I could be more. That I could do more… be more."
"And now, Wano no longer starves. Each day her people see light in their lives again. My first dream… has been accomplished."
CLANG!
Enma sang like an ominous beast as she drew it forth. At once it latched onto her Haki, devouring it hungrily. Her slender right arm withered, flesh clinging to bone as if death crept up her veins.
But Hiyori only smiled.
This time, she did not fear Enma's curse. This time, her heart was resolute.
"And now…"
Her eyes blazed as she raised both swords, her voice ringing like iron struck on an anvil.
"Now, it's my turn to protect Lord Kai's dream!"
Her cursed arm shriveled grotesquely, yet her will did not waver.
"Give it back to me, you accursed blade!"
WOOM!
The heavens seemed to rumble in answer. Enma, the devourer, suddenly shuddered, returning its feast. Haki surged back into her arm, restoring it before stunned eyes.
A breakthrough. Willpower greater than the curse.
Hawkeye's golden gaze shifted, the familiar weight of boredom lifting. In its place burned something precious and rare—genuine admiration.
Finally, a swordsman worthy of his sword.
"Tell me your name," he said.
"Kozuki Hiyori."
Her dual blades crossed before her, stance rooted like an ancient pine. Her battle spirit burned like wildfire.
"Lord Mihawk, please show me the true might of the World's Greatest Swordsman! I want to measure the distance between me… and the peak!"
"As you wish."
A rare smile ghosted across Mihawk's lips. He sheathed the small knife, his hand brushing against the hilt on his back.
He drew the Supreme Grade blade in a single, unhurried sweep—Black Sword Yoru. The steel boomed like thunder; even the air bowed before its edge.
Hiyori inhaled, both swords trembling with Armament Haki like living extensions of her soul.
"For the peace of Wano! For the companions who walk by my side! For Lord Kai's dream!"
Her cry thundered as if etched into the heavens, raw and unyielding.
"This is my reason to wield the sword!!!"
Her body blurred, emerald light trailing as she launched forward, ripping apart the air with her charge.
"Oden Two-Sword Style—Paradise Ten Fists!!!"
Hawkeye roared in kind. Black lightning surged across Yoru as he cut forward with a swing that split the heavens.
Three arcs flashed.
The sea screamed.
Her twin blades unleashed a massive crisscross slash that carved a trench hundreds of meters long into the ocean, waves surging inward with a roar before crashing back.
Hawkeye's strike was calm—too calm. Pure simplicity. Power honed to a point. No excess, no waste. Every ounce of steel, will, and murder drawn into a single black line.
Kai's eyes narrowed, jaw tight.
To unleash power was easy.
But to master it, and to bend mountains with the softness of silk, that was Mihawk's realm.
SPLURT!
A savage arc of crimson blossomed across Hiyori's slender frame. Blood sprayed from shoulder to chest, scattering diamonds of scarlet across the deck.
THUD.
Her knee slammed into the boards as her sword dug into the wood to brace her failing strength.
Mihawk's back was already turned. His voice was steady, solemn in its weight:
"I acknowledge your sword intent."
On Yoru's ink-black edge, a droplet of red ran slow and heavy, then plinked onto the deck.
"Hiyori!!"
Cries from her companions filled the air, fear carving their faces pale.
Kai's heart clenched, a rare pang wringing his chest. If only Mansherry were here…
"Doctor!" his voice snapped.
Their physician sprinted forward, already armed with bandages. His hands worked fast, staunching the bleeding with practiced precision.
Minutes stretched like hours until finally he exhaled relief.
"Lord Kai, Lady Hiyori's wound is severe but not fatal. It was blood loss that weakened her. She will recover."
Hiyori's lips quivered, yet she forced a trembling smile. Her face was pale, but her eyes glimmered with quiet joy.
"I… I did it, Lord Kai…"
Kai's expression softened. He knelt, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead with unexpected gentleness.
"You did great."
As his words warmed her heart, Mihawk turned, Yoru still unsheathed, his sharp gaze burning hotter than ever.
"Calamity Kai. Come fight me."
Kai's grin returned, wilder than ever.
"Perfect. I've been itching for this."
"Yamato! Make us a battlefield!"
Yamato flashed a fang-filled grin. "On it!"
She kicked off the deck, twisting midair as her foot brushed the sea. An explosion of white frost surged outward.
CRACKKK!
The waters froze in every direction. In mere breaths, the ocean was no longer sea, but a limitless plain of glacial steel.
Mihawk's golden eyes glimmered as he landed upon it. "This ability… worthy of note. Second only to Aokiji."
Far at Baratie, jaws dropped.
Sanji muttered in disbelief: "Brother-in-law…?"
Reiju's face flushed crimson as she smacked him across the head.
"Idiot! Who told you to call him that?!"
But even she couldn't hide her worry as her gaze snapped back to the looming battlefield.
The sea was sealed, the plain prepared.
Kai and Mihawk stood across from each other.
And the world seemed to hold its breath.