Mihawk's hawk-like eyes sharpened, and his entire body trembled ever so slightly.
There was no doubt about it, he was excited. No, more than that, he was delighted.
Kojin.
Even during the era when the Pirate King, Roger, still ruled the seas, this man's name had already shaken the world. Naturally, Mihawk had heard of him. To Mihawk, the man standing before him was nothing less than a living legend.
If Vice Admiral Garp was known as the Hero of the Marines, then Kojin was their ultimate, mythical legend. His record was so unbelievable that anyone reading it for the first time would assume it was entirely fabricated.
In just a year or two, he had risen from an ordinary Marine recruit to someone possessing absolute Admiral-level strength, leaving everyone of his generation far behind. The three Admirals of the current generation had even served under him at one point.
Looking at his lifetime of achievements, he stood like an insurmountable mountain within the World Government. Few could ever hope to match him.
He captured the Pirate King, Roger.
He single-handedly drove back Golden Lion Shiki during the infamous attack on Marineford, personally throwing him into Impel Down.
And a few years ago, rumors swirled that he had entered Whitebeard's territory completely alone, fought the World's Strongest Man to a dead draw, and walked away completely unscathed.
There was no question about it, this man's strength had long since reached the absolute ceiling of the world.
Mihawk's expression grew deeply solemn as the burning light in his eyes intensified.
"I have never heard of you using a sword," Mihawk said in a deep voice, his grip on Yoru tightening slightly. Like any true swordsman, he wanted to know just how far he stood from the absolute peak of power.
"I don't like leaving myself with any weaknesses," Kojin answered with a casual smile. "So... I know a little swordsmanship as well."
"Excellent."
A sharp smile played on Mihawk's lips, though his eyes grew colder and more focused. For a man of his caliber, exchanging strikes with a true master was far more valuable than any ordinary battle.
After those few words, the two men locked eyes, and a heavy silence fell over the plains. The breeze swept across the open field, causing the wildflowers and tall grass to bow gently.
Suddenly, like a bolt of black lightning flashing through empty space, Mihawk leaned forward and vanished.
Almost instantaneously, he materialized right behind Kojin, swinging Yoru downward without a shred of hesitation.
Slash!
The air itself split apart. The Black Blade seemed capable of cutting through reality as it sliced cleanly toward Kojin's neck. His very first move was a lethal, decisive strike, a testament to just how much respect and caution Mihawk held for the legend.
But in the next fraction of a second, Mihawk's expression shifted. Yoru passed directly through Kojin's neck, only to tear apart a fading afterimage.
"What?!"
Mihawk's pupils contracted. At that exact moment, a sharp, violent gust of wind erupted right behind him. Acting purely on hard-earned instinct, he leaped forward to clear the area.
Buzzz!
The air trembled as a blade slashed diagonally through the space he had occupied a millisecond before. The resulting flying slash slammed into the ground, causing the entire island to shake violently.
Then, to Tashigi's absolute horror and disbelief, the landmass split cleanly in two.
'Such an ordinary-looking slash... yet it carries this kind of terrifying destructive power?' Her scalp tingled with fear. Even if she poured every ounce of her soul into her strongest technique, she knew she couldn't come anywhere near that level of devastation.
"Your reactions are fast," Kojin noted with a light chuckle. "I've heard you often cross swords with Red-Haired Shanks. How does his strength compare to yours?"
Mihawk didn't answer. Instead, a heavy weight settled in his chest. Kojin's Observation Haki was easily on the same level as Shanks', if not higher. And just moments earlier, he had felt the passive, crushing weight of Kojin's Conqueror's Haki, it was so dense that it was literally altering the atmospheric pressure around them.
As expected, the Marine who had shaken the world in the previous era truly lived up to his terrifying reputation.
"Some people say the first step in learning the sword is to practice in a pitch-black room," Kojin said faintly, shifting his stance. "You light a single stick of incense. Then, using only the snap of your wrist, you cut through the glowing tip. If the incense is split perfectly in two without extinguishing the flame... only then can you claim you've taken the first step toward understanding the blade."
Mihawk was briefly stunned by the analogy before nodding in genuine praise. "What an ingenious method."
"But to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, the training you've endured must be thousands of times harsher than splitting incense," Kojin said, casually testing the weight of his blade.
Buzz!
The air quivered violently from the mere momentum of his casual movement.
"No one succeeds by chance," Mihawk replied flatly. "Talent only gets you through the front door. Blood and sweat are what determine whether you actually reach the summit."
As the two masters faced off, they found themselves discussing the mundane reality of effort and discipline. It seemed entirely out of place for a deathmatch, yet it was precisely because they acknowledged each other as absolute equals that they could speak so transparently. Only opponents of the same caliber could truly debate the path of the sword.
"Exactly," Kojin agreed, sighing softly. "No one standing at the top of the world got there easily. They've all fallen countless times, shed rivers of blood, and poured out endless sweat."
Suddenly, his blade trembled, and he swung.
Buzzz!
The atmosphere tore open as a massive flying slash roared directly toward Mihawk.
"And if you want to climb even higher, you need even greater pressure. That kind of pressure can only come from worthy rivals and deadly enemies. When it comes to the sword... you are undoubtedly a worthy opponent."
Mihawk listened intently. Then, with absolute focus, he swung Yoru in a devastating counter-arc.
The two massive flying slashes collided mid-air. In an instant, a violent shockwave erupted, grinding the surrounding earth into dust. Crackling arcs of black electricity flashed through the air before shooting straight into the upper atmosphere and dispersing the clouds.
"I hope I can provide you with a worthwhile challenge," Mihawk said, a thrill running through him.
He burst forward, effortlessly leaping over the enormous chasm carved into the earth. In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with Kojin. Bringing his left hand up to join his right on Yoru's hilt, he gripped the Black Blade with everything he had and brought it crashing down.
Buzzz!
Everything within a thousand-meter radius violently shook. The air itself was blasted away by the sheer force of the downward swing. Kojin's Marine coat fluttered wildly despite the vacuum. A massive grin spread across Kojin's face as pure, unadulterated fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.
It had been a very long time since his blood had boiled like this.
He swung his sword, Ace. The blade, which had been gleaming silver only a moment ago, instantly turned pitch black as intricate Armament Haki patterns coated the steel.
Boom!
The two legendary blades collided, unleashing a brilliant cascade of lightning. Layer upon layer of rippling shockwaves tore across the battlefield.
"What a sharp man you are, Hawk Eyes Mihawk!" Kojin laughed loudly.
At such close range, their gazes locked. Kojin could clearly see the raw passion and razor-sharp determination reflecting in Mihawk's yellow eyes; it felt as though merely making eye contact could slice through skin.
Time had passed. The once-young swordsman had now spent years firmly seated upon the throne of the World's Greatest Swordsman, and even Kojin couldn't ignore the staggering depth of his growth.
Mihawk's eyes shone brightly. Holding Yoru with both hands, he felt an endless, suffocating torrent of raw power crashing through Kojin's blade. It was like trying to hold back an unstoppable tidal wave. From this simple clash of steel, he felt as though he were staring into the depths of the sea itself.
"As expected of a legendary Marine," Mihawk murmured, a faint smile gracing his face.
The next moment, he shifted his footing and spun his blade. Rotating his entire body into the air, he used the tip of Yoru like a piercing spear, launching a high-velocity spiraling thrust.
Black lightning crackled, and a localized whirlwind roared.
Kojin's eyes narrowed. He took a tactical step back, genuinely surprised by the explosive burst of speed.
In a fraction of a second, Mihawk unleashed hundreds of consecutive thrusts. Within less than a hundredth of a second, Yoru became a blur of countless afterimages, driving a violent storm of steel right toward Kojin.
Kojin parried with mechanical precision.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
An intense, deafening exchange erupted, ripples of kinetic force exploding outward with every single collision. More than ten seconds later, Mihawk suddenly disengaged and leaped backward.
His expression had become incredibly grave. Kojin's Observation Haki had undoubtedly reached the absolute peak of Future Sight. His defensive blocks were completely overwhelming, brutal, overpowering, and flawless. Standing there, Kojin looked like an impregnable iron fortress without a single opening.
"This is what makes it exciting!" Mihawk suddenly laughed, the thrill of the hunt overtaking him. "If the world's strongest didn't possess this kind of strength, that would be the real disappointment."
He vanished once more, charging straight at Kojin.
Kojin laughed just as heartily, holding Ace in a single hand as he stepped forward to meet him. "I like your fighting spirit, Mihawk! Show me the true power of the World's Greatest Swordsman!"
The next instant, their blades met once again. A literal pillar of blinding light shot straight into the heavens, carving a massive scar across the sky itself, making it look as though the clouds had been permanently split in two.
Then, still laughing, Kojin brought Ace down in a cataclysmic overhead slash.
Crackle!
Black and crimson lightning exploded violently around the blade, wrapping the pitch-black sword in an overwhelming, ominous aura.
"Conqueror's Haki?!" Mihawk's pupils shrank. He realized instantly that this strike was fundamentally different from anything before it.
In a flash, Kojin crossed the distance, his blade descending with blinding, inescapable light.
"Divine Departure!!" Kojin roared.
Mihawk gripped Yoru with both hands and let out a guttural shout of his own, dark lightning erupting from his blade as he met the cataclysmic attack head-on.
Boom!!
The two swords collided. A violent, artificial storm swept across the entire archipelago of Long Ring Long Land, blanketing the islands in a suffocating weight. Thunder roared overhead, and stray lightning streaked across the sky.
"So it really is... that technique," Mihawk muttered through gritted teeth, looking up at the man before him with a grim expression. He couldn't comprehend how a Marine was capable of executing Gol D. Roger's signature style with such perfect mastery.
Sliding backward several meters from the sheer pressure, Mihawk bent his knees, gathered his remaining strength, and charged right back into the fray.
"Amazing! You young people really are monsters these days!" Kojin exclaimed with a booming laugh, delighted to see Mihawk still bursting with fighting spirit. There were very few people left alive in the world capable of blocking a direct Divine Departure.
"Our ages aren't that far apart," Mihawk replied quietly, raising Yoru with both hands before bringing it crashing down.
Kojin threw his head back and laughed. Without a shred of hesitation, he answered with another devastating strike.
"Divine Departure!"
Boom!
A blinding sphere of compressed energy rapidly expanded between their locked blades, pulsing violently before detonating outward. The resulting shockwave blasted across the island.
Mihawk let out a low groan as the sheer kinetic force hurled him backward. His boots carved deep, ruined trenches through the earth as he slid across the shattered remains of the coast.
'So strong...' Mihawk thought, his arms vibrating from the impact. 'I can't find even the slightest opening.'
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395