Seraphina's blade slid back into its sheath for the briefest instant
Then
Her hand tightened once more around the hilt.
The drifting ice beneath her feet suddenly hardened.
Her breathing slowed.
Her senses sharpened.
She could feel it.
The overwhelming force behind the slash released by Dracule Mihawk.
Her heart sank.
Not fear
But recognition.
That strike carried the full weight of the world's strongest swordsman.
BOOM !!!
CRASH !!!
The frozen surface beneath her shattered instantly.
The recoil alone tore the ice apart, sending towering waves crashing upward.
Seraphina vanished from her original position.
"Winter Solstice Secret Art: Cold Spring Severance!"
Her blade erupted with pale, frost-laced energy.
At the same moment
A golden radiance exploded across the battlefield.
"Sword of Ama no Murakumo."
A blade of pure light formed in the hands of Borsalino.
For once
The usually lazy Admiral was serious.
He had miscalculated.
He had thought two exhausted fighters could be easily contained.
A quick intervention
Then back to his leisurely routine.
But now
His expression sharpened behind his tinted glasses.
These two…
Were monsters.
Even at their limits
They could still unleash power of this magnitude.
If those attacks collided directly
Neither would survive.
And worse
He would have to answer to Sengoku.
"…That would be troublesome "
Kizaru sighed.
Then
He moved.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
His voice stretched lazily
But his action was instantaneous.
Three forces collided.
Seraphina's icy slash.
Mihawk's black, Haki-infused blade.
Kizaru's radiant sword of light.
They met at a single point.
In an instant
A massive sphere of energy formed.
Azure.
Black.
Golden.
Three forces intertwined in unstable balance.
The sky darkened
Then ignited.
The glowing sphere hovered high above the ocean.
Lighting the entire night sky.
Seraphina stared upward.
Her breath caught.
Such a phenomenon…
Three equal forces colliding in perfect equilibrium
Was nearly impossible.
Yet
It had happened.
But she immediately felt the backlash.
Her body trembled.
The strain of that attack
In her exhausted state
Was overwhelming.
Still
She stood.
Mihawk watched silently.
His golden eyes reflected the swirling sphere.
For a brief moment
He felt something rare.
Interest.
Fascination.
But then
He saw it.
The flaw.
That balance
Was fragile.
Any disturbance
Would trigger total collapse.
BANG!
A gunshot echoed.
A stray bullet struck the energy sphere.
"…Hm?"
Kizaru's head tilted slightly.
"Hahaha! One Admiral! One Shichibukai! One Marine officer!"
"I'm going to be famous!"
A reckless pirate laughed wildly.
But he never finished his sentence.
"Yata no Kagami."
A flash of light
A kick
The pirate was sent flying into the sea.
Silenced instantly.
"…Troublesome."
Kizaru didn't even look back.
His gaze was fixed upward.
The sphere
Was collapsing.
He moved instantly
Appearing beside Seraphina.
But
Too late.
BOOM!!!
The sphere exploded.
Three-colored slashes burst outward in every direction.
Destroying everything in their path.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Kizaru raised his hands.
Countless beams of light rained outward
Intercepting part of the explosion.
But not all.
Mihawk stepped forward.
Yoru swept across the air.
His Armament Haki surged.
He deflected the incoming destruction with precise, controlled strikes.
Then
The sea itself opened.
A colossal maw emerged from the depths.
It swallowed the remaining energy whole.
Silence.
Then
A low, terrifying rumble.
They had forgotten something.
This
Was the Calm Belt.
The domain of Sea Kings.
And now
One had awakened.
A massive creature rose.
Its body stretched beyond sight.
Tens of kilometers long.
Its jaws alone dwarfed ships.
Even Borsalino felt a chill.
"…Ara ara… that's quite big "
The Sea King roared.
The sound shook the ocean.
Even distant Loguetown trembled faintly.
"You insignificant humans!"
"You dare disturb my domain?!"
Its voice thundered like the sea itself.
It was enraged.
Kizaru raised a hand.
"Laser Beam."
A concentrated ray of light shot forward.
It pierced the Sea King's eye.
The creature roared in agony.
But instead of retreating
It charged faster.
Madness filled its movements.
Kizaru frowned slightly.
"Negotiation failed, huh "
He prepared to retreat using Yata no Kagami
But paused.
Seraphina stood beside him.
He couldn't carry her with that technique.
In the next instant
She moved first.
A swordsman
Does not retreat.
Mihawk stepped forward as well.
Former enemies
Now aligned.
For a single purpose.
Their eyes locked onto the Sea King.
The creature lunged.
Its massive jaws descended.
Mihawk raised Yoru.
The black blade struck.
CLANG !!!
The impact echoed like steel against steel.
But
It only left a shallow mark.
The creature's scales were too thick.
Mihawk's eyes sharpened.
He drove the blade forward again.
This time
Armament Haki surged deeper.
The force penetrated beneath the surface.
The Sea King convulsed violently.
Its massive body thrashed.
The ocean erupted.
A colossal tsunami formed.
Towering.
Unstoppable.
Seraphina looked toward the distance.
Toward Loguetown.
If that wave reached the shore
Everything would be destroyed.
Her exhausted body trembled.
But she stepped forward.
Both hands gripped her sword.
She raised it high.
Her Haki surged
Burning through the last of her strength.
"One Sword Style "
Her voice rang across the sea.
The blade shone like silver light.
" Fourteen Provinces Severed!!!"
The strike fell.
And the sea itself
Was cut apart.