Mihawk drew in a deep breath.The salty stench of the sea wind flooded his lungs. In the next instant, he violently drew Black Blade · Yoru, the blade tip snapping forward to point at the distant horizon!
His vast Observation Haki spread like an invisible radar, instantly locking onto the man nearly a hundred nautical miles away!
"Still not enough…"A sharp light burst from Hawk-Eye's gaze."That strike alone isn't enough to make me stop!"
———
G-10 Base, Outpost Island — Rear Courtyard.
Gern Reginald Sigmar still stood where he was, his left hand gently stroking the now-awakened Black Blade · Bahuang.
Dark-red fissures along the blade pulsed like a living creature's breath, brightening and dimming in rhythm. High-frequency vibration waves twisted the surrounding air, releasing an ominous zzzt—zzzt that scraped against the senses.
He gazed calmly in the direction Mihawk had been sent flying, his expression composed—yet carrying a faint, almost imperceptible trace of appreciation.
"To dissipate most of Godfall's impact with a single exchange…On the surface it looked like you were blown away, but in truth you were borrowing the force to unload it…"
Gern spoke softly to himself.
"It seems these past ten years really did push you to the extreme."
But in the very next moment, his brow lifted slightly.
He felt it.
That sharp, blade-like presence—crossing the ocean, locking onto him with absolute precision.
"Oh?"Gern's lips curved faintly."You've already reacquired me… that fast?"
"Not bad."
Almost simultaneously—
At the distant line where sea and sky met, a slender yet impossibly condensed green slash tore through the heavens!
Like teleportation itself, it crossed the ocean in an instant, closing in on the G-10 outpost island in the blink of an eye!
The slash wasn't massive.
But it was compressed to the absolute extreme.
Along its flight path, the air was silently cleaved apart, while the sea beneath was gouged open by its escaping sharpness, leaving behind a deep, continuous trench!
Its speed exceeded even sound itself!
"It's coming!"Bullet's pupils shrank sharply as he watched from afar.
"So this is the flying slash of the World's Greatest Swordsman?!"Snake Princess spoke heavily, her tone grave."The level of compression and speed… far beyond the rumors!"
She knew better than most—even she could not release a slash capable of crossing an entire sea like this.
Yet facing an attack that had crossed nearly a hundred nautical miles without losing even a fraction of its power—
Gern's expression did not change in the slightest.
He didn't raise his guard.He didn't dodge.
At the very instant that condensed green slash was about to strike him—
Gern casually lifted Bahuang in his right hand, the blade tip aligning with the incoming attack, and lightly swept it aside.
"Vmmm—!!"
The white high-frequency vibration waves coiling around the blade instantly converged into a single point at the tip!
In the next moment, a thin, twisted dark-purple shockwave shot out with pinpoint precision, colliding directly with the green slash!
There was no earth-shaking explosion.
Two ultimate forces collided at a single point—
And annihilated each other.
A blinding white flash erupted at the center, followed by a soundless, spherical shockwave that expanded violently outward!
Newly planted flowers and shrubs in the courtyard were ripped up by the roots and pulverized into dust. The ground split open inch by inch, cracking like shattered glass!
When the light faded, Gern still stood where he had been.
His justice cloak snapped violently in the gale, yet the ground beneath his feet remained intact.
He had neutralized the attack as casually as brushing away dust.
Then, without pause, he stepped forward—
His entire body shot out at a speed invisible to the naked eye!
And the attack was far from over.
The instant the first flying slash was erased—
The second.The third.All the way to the seventh!
Seven even more condensed green slashes, with trajectories far trickier and deadlier, appeared around Gern like phantoms!
Every possible path of evasion was sealed!
They didn't arrive simultaneously—
Instead, they formed a perfect staggered time-difference killing net!
This was Mihawk's chained assault, launched from nearly a hundred nautical miles away through supreme Observation Haki prediction!
But Gern had already seen it all.
Mid-dash, a glimmer of light flashed through his eyes.
For the first time, a hint of seriousness surfaced on his face.
"Not a bad set of slashes."
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth—
He moved!
No longer blocking.
Bahuang let out a delighted hum as Conqueror's Haki wrapped around it, the crimson fissures erupting with blazing dark-purple radiance!
Rather than defending against all seven attacks individually, Gern flicked his wrist—
The blade flashed like black lightning!
"Heavenquake · Ring Sever!"
A circular black slash, wrapped in dark-purple Conqueror's coating and violent vibration waves, exploded outward from Gern's position in all directions!
"Clang—clang—clang—!!!"
A chain of sharp, explosive impacts rang out!
All seven green slashes were intercepted at nearly the same instant—shattered cleanly by the expanding ring of destruction!
At the same time, Gern fully set foot on the island.
But before he could even adjust his stance—
A figure appeared behind him like a space-tearing specter, without the slightest warning!
Hawk-Eye Mihawk!
Using the seven flying slashes as cover, he had transformed himself into a blade, charging in at terrifying speed!
His eagle-sharp eyes burned with battle intent as he gripped Black Blade · Yoru with both hands and raised it high overhead!
Top-tier Armament Haki poured into the blade without restraint, plunging it into an even deeper, more abyssal black. Even the space around the sword began to distort faintly!
All that setup—
Had been for this single, fully charged strike!
"Slash—!!!"
Mihawk roared.
Black Blade · Yoru transformed into a heaven-cleaving black arc, carrying every ounce of belief and power he had forged upon ascending the summit of swordsmanship—
And hacked down viciously toward the back of Gern's neck!
This strike was fast.Ruthless.Precise.
Its momentum was tragic and unstoppable, advancing without retreat!
"…Interesting."
At the critical instant—
Gern had already twisted his body the moment Mihawk appeared, rotating his waist and swinging his blade backhanded to intercept!
The motion flowed seamlessly, completed in one breath!
Bahuang rose from below in an upward slash!
The high-frequency vibrations on the blade were driven to their absolute limit, releasing a piercing, ear-splitting shriek!
"Heavenquake · Reverse Kesa!"
"CLAAAAANG——!!!!!!!"
The only two black blades in the world—
In the hands of Mihawk and Gern Reginald Sigmar—
Collided in their first true, full-power clash!
A terrifying shockwave, almost physical in substance, detonated outward!
The uneven ground of the entire island caved in several meters at once!
Surrounding trees, soil, and stone were pulverized like paper and blasted skyward!
From the collision point, black and blue-green lightning exploded wildly, intertwining into a canvas of pure destruction!
Mihawk's pupils shrank violently.
He felt it—
That familiar yet far more terrifying high-frequency vibration force transmitted through the crossing blades—
And Gern's bottomless depth of Haki!
The muscles in his arms screamed under the strain. The already-split wounds in his palms burst open again, blood spraying!
Yet he clenched his teeth and held firm!
The ground beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, his boots sinking deep into it—
But he did not retreat a single step!
"Oh?"A flicker of surprise crossed Gern's eyes, quickly replaced by denser battle intent."You can actually take that head-on…"
"Then I suppose greeting-level force won't be enough anymore."
"Don't talk down to me!"Facing an opponent of Gern's caliber, Mihawk finally abandoned any pretense, letting out a low snarl.
His wrists surged with power as he attempted to use refined sword technique to knock Bahuang aside and launch an unrelenting follow-up!
But Gern was faster.
The instant Mihawk exerted force, Gern borrowed the remaining momentum of Reverse Kesa—
His body twisted like a ghost, slipping directly into Mihawk's inner range!
At the same time, his left hand clenched into a fist.
The entire arm was instantly enveloped in violent white vibration particles—
Like a storm of annihilation coiled tightly around it—
And without flourish or hesitation, he drove a straight punch into Mihawk's chest!
"BOOM!!"
A deep, drum-like detonation erupted!
Mihawk had never expected that at such close range—before the sword exchange had even concluded—Gern could unleash such a brutal punch so fluidly!
Caught off guard, he could only frantically concentrate Armament Haki over his chest to endure it head-on!
The price—
Was being blasted off the ground, sent flying backward!
A mouthful of blood burst free, arcing through the air.
Yet even while flying back injured—
The World's Greatest Swordsman endured the pain, relying on superhuman body control and sword instinct to swing backhandedly!
A sharp green slash skimmed along the ground, cutting toward Gern's legs, attempting to halt the pursuit!
Gern snorted coldly.He neither dodged nor retreated. His pupils trembled!
"Heavenquake · Earth Roar!"
In an instant, the ground surged like ocean waves!
That ground-skimming slash shattered into raw energy before it could even reach him!
And the terrifying vibration waves spread along the earth, chasing after the retreating Mihawk!
Mihawk forcibly twisted his body midair, driving Black Blade · Yoru into the ground.
The blade plowed a trench over a hundred meters long before he barely managed to stabilize himself, dropping to one knee!
He clutched his violently heaving chest. It felt as though his organs had shifted out of place—every breath burned with pain.
He raised his head.
In the distance, Gern Reginald Sigmar advanced slowly—like the incarnation of a natural disaster.
Yet within Mihawk's golden eyes, there was no retreat.
Only flames—fully ignited.
He lifted a hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and slowly stood.
Black Blade · Yoru hummed once more.
"You're just as terrifying as ever," Mihawk panted, his gaze growing sharper by the second."Even now… facing the current you…It feels just like ten years ago."
"But my sword path—"
"—goes far beyond this!"
"Then continue," Gern said calmly.
Bahuang angled downward, its tip grazing the ground—where it passed, fine cracks split open in utter silence.
"Show me how much strength the blade of the 'World's Greatest' can force out of me."