Chapter 52: A Sword Technique That Doesn't Exist In This World!
A sword technique that doesn't exist in this world?
Hawk Eye's hawk-like eyes lingered on Ralph's face for a moment.
He had seen countless challengers—those relying on passion and brute strength, those depending on bizarre Devil Fruit abilities, those mastering the secrets of various schools—but this was the first time someone claimed they would use a sword technique that didn't exist in the world.
Somewhat interesting... but only that.
Hawk Eye felt no great turmoil in his heart.
The way of swordsmanship ultimately depended on strength, not novelty.
However, the Six Powers this young man possessed, along with the experiences hidden behind his flickering gaze, added a touch of mystery to the so-called unknown sword technique.
"You have one move."
Hawk Eye's voice remained calm as he once again gripped the hilt of the Black Blade "Yoru" behind his back.
"And I will retaliate."
He paused, his gaze pressing down on Ralph like a physical weight.
"Life or death—it matters not."
"Hiss—"
The sound of sharp intakes of breath echoed around them.
Ralph's heart uncontrollably raced.
Life or death—it matters not... The weight of these few words far exceeded his previous expectations.
Fear was normal.
He silently reminded himself.
But it didn't matter... Knowing fear and still choosing to face it—that was the path to breakthrough.
With his resolve set, action followed immediately.
His consciousness sank into his mind, calling up the system interface.
It was time to use the two key "trump cards" he had saved up.
Of course, excluding Usopp's basic drawing skills, which were utterly useless in combat.
[Confirm receipt of 'Nami's Navigation Skill Level Up' reward!]
[Your 'Navigation Skill' has been upgraded from Basic to: Intermediate!]
Instantly, the subtle shifts in ocean currents, changes in wind speed, differences in air humidity, and even the patterns of refraction and reflection of sunlight on the sea surface flooded Ralph's perception with unprecedented clarity.
This was a battle at sea—every wave, every wisp of sea breeze, could be the key to victory or defeat.
Immediately after—
[Confirm receipt of 'Zoro's Swordsmanship Level Up' reward!]
[Your swordsmanship has been upgraded from Basic to: Intermediate!]
A surge of heat instantly swept through his entire body—strength, speed, neural reactions, physical coordination... an all-around enhancement!
The feel of the sword in his hand became steadier and sharper, and his control over exertion, retraction, and shifts in center of gravity reached a new level.
His understanding of fundamental techniques—slashing, thrusting, lifting, parrying—deepened, transforming into a more profound physical instinct.
Using the key rewards reserved for later stages all at once was rather extravagant.
But this was merely the icing on the cake, adding a bit more confidence to his next move.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ralph pulled out a gold coin from his chest, glinting in the sunlight.
He lightly flicked the coin into the air, his gaze firmly locked on the tumbling gold piece.
Sunlight reflected off the coin's smooth surface, casting dazzling golden rays, all of which were captured in the depths of Ralph's pupils.
Hypnosis: Self-Suggestion—activate!
The goal: to enter a state of 'swordsmanship enlightenment'!
Combining all fragmented memories of "swords" and "techniques" from his past life, integrating all his current power systems, fusing every usable element of the environment, and discarding all fixed technique frameworks...
To create a swordsmanship technique that would astonish even "Hawk Eye" Dracule Mihawk.
The gold coin tumbled to its highest point before beginning its descent.
In Ralph's deeply self-hypnotized consciousness, time seemed infinitely stretched.
The coin's falling trajectory became extremely slow, every inch of movement clearly discernible.
All external sounds—the wind, waves, people's breathing, whispers—rapidly faded away.
His brain operated at unprecedented capacity as countless fragmented knowledge, techniques, and inspirations violently collided, filtered, combined, and deduced...
Meanwhile, everyone else on the deck held their breath.
The severely injured Zoro, who originally couldn't move at all, upon hearing Ralph was going to duel Hawk Eye, urgently shouted, "Help me up! I need to watch this!"
The remnants of the Krieg Pirates weren't idle either.
With their captain taken down by a sneak attack, how could they not seek revenge?
Seeing Ralph seemingly fully focused on facing Hawk Eye, this was the perfect opportunity for an ambush!
Several bolder officers exchanged glances, quietly tightened their grips on their weapons, and prepared to strike the moment Ralph exposed an opening in his technique.
Lufia was unusually quiet, not cheering loudly as she normally would.
Her hands tightly gripped the railing, body slightly leaning forward. Those always joyful eyes now brimmed with tension and an indescribable emotion.
That focused expression on Ralph's face... was something she had never seen before... so handsome!
All eyes converged on the slowly descending gold coin as if by unspoken agreement.
A strange tacit understanding spread through the air without any arrangement.
The moment the coin struck the deck would be when the storm erupted.
"Clink!"
In the brief interval between the clear impact sound and its full emergence—
Ralph's figure vanished.
Immediately after, an extraordinarily dazzling sword light abruptly exploded across the sea's surface!
Remarkably, though merely reflecting sunlight with his sword, Ralph managed to scatter the light in all directions simultaneously.
"Ah! My eyes!"
"I can't see anything!"
"It's the light! So blinding!"
Even the Krieg Pirates officers preparing to ambush hesitated momentarily, instinctively raising hands to shield against the intense glare.
By utilizing the sword's curvature and angle, combined with millimeter-precise swinging trajectories, to create a complex diffuse reflection of light?
Nami, with her navigator's acute perception of light, instantly understood—he actually incorporated nautical knowledge of light refraction and reflection into swordsmanship?
However, Hawk Eye, as Ralph's target, felt a flicker of disappointment.
Merely using light to obstruct vision?
Such technique was not only weak but utterly unoriginal!
Zoro considered this too, yet his furrowed brows didn't relax.
He refused to believe Ralph would prepare such flashy but empty moves against Hawk Eye.
Though Lufia didn't understand the technical aspects, she strained her eyes trying to locate Ralph's figure.
In that fleeting moment when everyone's vision was most compromised—Ralph's figure materialized like a ghost in front of Hawk Eye's flank!
The disappointment in Hawk Eye's eyes vanished instantly. The earlier light was merely preparation and cover... the true killing technique followed!
Kid, you truly delight me!
"Clang——!!!"
A metallic clash abruptly erupted!
The blinding light suddenly dissipated.
Everyone's vision quickly recovered.
On the sea surface, two figures had crossed paths and swapped positions.
Just like the previous duel with Zoro.
Hawk Eye held his drawn Black Blade "Yoru" with one hand, maintaining a posture of slight retraction after an oblique slash.
Meanwhile, Ralph appeared on another piece of driftwood several meters behind Hawk Eye, similarly frozen in a finishing slash motion.
The difference was, Ralph's body swayed slightly, his steps somewhat unsteady, but he remained uninjured.
Then, both sheathed their swords simultaneously—but Ralph's blade shattered.
"Ralph! You bastard!!!"
On the deck nearby, Zoro ignored his bursting wounds and the advice of Johnny and Yosaku, struggling excitedly to stand up.
"You actually... actually... did it?! I must... I must defeat you!!!"
After roaring, he seemed to exhaust his last strength, his vision went dark, and with a "thud," he collapsed backwards again, startling Johnny and Yosaku into a flurry of panic.
Everyone saw clearly.
Though Ralph's sword was broken and he was exhausted, without a doubt, he had emerged unscathed from a direct exchange with the World's Greatest Swordsman!
This result alone surpassed Zoro, who had earlier been pierced through the chest by a dagger and severely wounded by the Black Blade!
Hawk Eye slowly sheathed his sword, his gaze falling upon Ralph, who sat slumped on the driftwood, breathing heavily and looking disheveled.
Ralph also lifted his head, meeting Hawk Eye's eyes.
He saw a change in Hawk Eye's perpetually stern expression!
Though there was still no major shift in emotion, those hawk-like sharp eyes now narrowed slightly, his eyebrows imperceptibly furrowed, and the movement of his eyeballs slowed, as if lost in deep contemplation.
Ralph knew he had succeeded—Hawk Eye hadn't figured out the essence of his swordsmanship!
Even without a favorability prompt, he was already halfway to victory.
Just as Ralph waited for Hawk Eye to reason it out himself, or for the World's Greatest Swordsman to humbly inquire about it, a sudden change occurred.
"Die!! You despicable scum!!!"
A strange shriek shattered the silence! From the remnants of the Krieg Pirates, a bizarrely dressed burly man, with key parts of his body covered in metal discs—especially a massive one shielding his chest—suddenly leaped out.
Seizing the perfect opportunity of Ralph's weakness, he swung the metal discs embedded in his arms and charged fiercely at Ralph like a battering ram!
"It's Captain Pearl!"
"Iron Wall Pearl!"
"He's fought in 61 death matches without shedding a drop of blood!"
Someone from the Krieg Pirates shouted the ambusher's name.
Just as the gleaming metal disc was about to strike the defenseless Ralph—
A crescent-shaped sword slash struck Pearl!
There was no earth-shattering noise, only the faint sound of a sharp object slicing through metal and flesh.
The massive metal shield Iron Wall Pearl prided himself on was cleanly split in two by the slash!
Blood sprayed like a fountain in mid-air as Iron Wall Pearl was sent flying backwards, crashing heavily onto the shattered deck, his fate unknown.
The one who had drawn his sword was Hawk Eye.
A deathly silence fell over the deck.
Hawk Eye completely ignored the sneak attacker he had effortlessly defeated moments before, striding over to the floating timber where Ralph sat slumped. He crouched down, meeting the young man at eye level.
After a deliberate pause, he clearly enunciated two words:
"I lost."
"You didn't lose! You merely underestimated me!"
"Underestimation... is still defeat."
Hawk Eye's raised voice caused an immediate uproar across the scene.
"What?!"
"Hawk Eye... admitted defeat?!"
"A nobody from East Blue... defeated Hawk Eye?!"
"Impossible!!"
The exhaustion and relief on Ralph's face instantly froze solid.
"Mihawk! You... you're doing this on purpose! You want to saddle me with titles like 'Undefeated Against Hawk Eye' or 'Forced Hawk Eye to Admit Partial Defeat'?! You want every aspiring challenger seeking the 'World's Strongest' to come after me—the supposed 'soft target who might have beaten Hawk Eye'?! You're forcing me onto this path where I must constantly grow stronger and face countless swordsmen?!"
The corner of Hawk Eye's stern mouth seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly upward.
Instead of denying it, he nodded.
"Your talent... is too extraordinary."
His gaze swept over Ralph before briefly glancing at Zoro lying unconscious on the deck.
"If Zoro's dedication to the sword path is exceptionally resilient, one in ten thousand, then your swordsmanship talent is simply unprecedented!"
"I know you don't wish to become a pure swordsman. But since you possess this gift, I'll force you onto this path by any means necessary!"
"I want to see how far you can go—pushed onto the sword path, coveted by countless challengers for the reputation of 'making Hawk Eye admit defeat'!"
Ralph protested, "I can pursue other paths to strength! Like Devil Fruits..."
Hawk Eye remained completely unperturbed.
"You're an intelligent person! With this talent, you cannot reach true pinnacle of strength without using it!"
Ralph was rendered speechless by this domineering, unreasonable, yet somehow complimentary and expectant declaration.
Two lifetimes, and never had anyone shown such "faith" in him!
As for the swordsmanship talent Hawk Eye mentioned...
Ralph knew in his heart that it was built upon the flashy knowledge from his previous life—standing on the shoulders of giants.
And Hawk Eye's move was practically an overt scheme, impossible to counter!
"Fine! I'll accept the challenge then!"
Observing Ralph's newly ignited fighting spirit—though still inferior to Zoro's—Hawk Eye appeared satisfied.
Rising to his full height, he asked one final question:
"Then tell me. What was the name of that technique just now?"
Ralph forced himself to stand upright, straightening his posture as he revealed what he considered a roguishly wild smile.
"That was the clear chime of the wind!"
"Nameless Sword Style: Killing Blade!"
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