"Yoru Sword Art — Ichidan Slash!"
Mihawk raised Yoru high overhead, pouring all of his strength into the black blade.
He had honed his swordsmanship since childhood. By now, it had already reached the peak of mastery. Unlike many other swordsmen, Mihawk did not rely on flashy techniques. What he wielded was the purest possible form of swordsmanship—
a single, perfect slash born from Yoru.
Faced with the overwhelming power Ren Kuro had just displayed, Mihawk knew this was his final chance.
So he unleashed everything.
A crescent-green blade of force shot forward like a streak of light.
The air shrieked in its wake.
The ground trembled violently, and a horrifying trench split open wherever the slash passed. It tore across the island, carving a path so deep and long that the end of it could barely be seen.
With one strike alone—
the earth was split apart.
This slash looked as though it could cleave the entire island in two.
"A powerful blow," Ren Kuro said calmly.
Against anyone else, it would have been an unavoidable killing strike.
But after awakening Raijin Senkei, Ren Kuro had complete confidence that he could stop it with his bare hands.
"Shunkō — Fist!"
The moment those words fell, the lightning coiling around Ren Kuro's body let out a furious roar.
Thunder rumbled.
Lightning blazed.
He clenched all five fingers together, and the crackling Reiatsu around him condensed wildly into his fist.
At that instant, a clear thought rose in Ren Kuro's mind—
if he wished, he could destroy the entire island with a single punch.
"Oh my… to think Ren Kuro can gather every bit of his spiritual pressure so perfectly into one fist. Shunkō: Raijin Senkei really is impressive," Gin Ichimaru said, genuine surprise flickering across his face as he stared at Ren Kuro's fist. Even he found the violent energy gathered there unsettling.
"Don't forget," Tōshirō said coldly, "Captain Yoruichi once shattered the shell of Aizen's second fusion state with a single blow. The power of Raijin Senkei speaks for itself."
"Hah! Once that punch lands, Mihawk's slash is going to shatter instantly!" Kenpachi roared with excitement. Because Ren Kuro had inherited Kenpachi's Reiatsu, the destructive power of his Shunkō had risen to an even more terrifying level.
Even as they spoke, the green sword-light had already filled the sky.
The island split apart beneath it.
Then, as the slash closed in, Ren Kuro's eyes sharpened at last.
He slowly raised his arm.
His five fingers curled tight.
And then—
he threw a single punch.
The motion was simple.
The voice that accompanied it was not loud.
Yet it sounded like a death sentence.
In the next instant, the sky full of green light vanished.
It was replaced by endless golden thunder.
A deafening roar echoed in every direction. Solidified spiritual pressure spiraled upward like a storm, and under Mihawk's stunned gaze, Ren Kuro's punch obliterated the strongest slash he had ever unleashed.
And along with that slash—
Mihawk's conviction shattered as well.
If, until this moment, his years of victory had still given him confidence—
then now, all of it was gone.
The gap between them was simply too vast.
A difference so great it could never be bridged.
His status as a Warlord.
His pride as a great swordsman.
The confidence he had carried all his life.
Everything—
vanished the moment that punch descended.
When the green slash broke apart, the thunderous spiritual pressure behind it surged straight into Mihawk's body.
"Urgh—!"
He spat out blood as the force blasted him backward.
His tall body was thrown away like a rag doll.
As a challenger—
he had been utterly defeated.
Under the blazing golden light, Ren Kuro's shadow stretched across Mihawk's fallen body like a ruler standing above the defeated.
The legendary great swordsman.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Had just been defeated—
with a single punch.
"Hawk-Eye," Ren Kuro said as he lowered his fist, his gaze cold and sharp, "do you understand now why I didn't need to draw my sword?"
Unfortunately—
Mihawk had already lost consciousness.
He could not hear a word of it.
If Ren Kuro had not pulled back most of his strength at the very last moment, that punch would have blown Mihawk's body to pieces.
"Ren Kuro, look at his hand," Yachiru said as she lightly jumped onto Ren Kuro's shoulder.
"Persistent to the end… No wonder he later became the World's Strongest Swordsman." Ren Kuro shifted his gaze to Mihawk's arm and saw that, even unconscious, Mihawk's grip on Yoru had never loosened.
He would rather die without regret than let go of his black blade.
That was the pride only a true great swordsman could possess.
One day later—
news spread that threw the entire world into chaos.
Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had been defeated in a sword duel on Cosma Island in the New World.
And the man who defeated him—
was the captain of the Shinigami Pirates.
From that day on, the name Shinigami swept through every corner of the Grand Line like a hurricane.
Somewhere in the New World, a massive pirate ship lay anchored by the shore.
It was a two-masted vessel, enormous enough to carry well over a hundred men.
But even that impressive ship was overshadowed by the flag flying above it.
A black banner.
A skull.
Two crossed sabers behind it.
And, most striking of all, a blood-red scar over the skull's left eye.
In the New World, aside from powers like Whitebeard and Big Mom, almost every pirate who saw that flag would instinctively steer clear.
It was more than a mere banner.
It represented one of the rulers of the sea.
The Red Hair Pirates.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hawk-Eye actually lost in a sword duel? That Death guy is terrifying!" Lucky Roux said as he chewed on a piece of roasted meat, speaking with obvious amazement.
"Oh? That should be Mihawk's first defeat, shouldn't it?" Red-Haired Shanks set down his bottle and took the newspaper from Lucky Roux. His expression turned serious as he read.
"To overpower Hawk-Eye like this… the only person I can think of who could do that should be Whitebeard."
"Captain, a man with strength on par with Whitebeard appearing in the New World should be bad news for us, shouldn't it?" Benn Beckman said as he took the paper from Shanks' hand.
Shanks laughed easily. "Today's our usual monthly drinking party. Let's not overthink it for now. We can worry about the rest later."
"Fine. You're the captain, after all." Beckman shrugged helplessly.
What he didn't notice was the strange look that crossed Shanks' face when he lowered his head.
"Shinigami… I've heard your name from Rayleigh more than once."
Shanks' eyes gleamed.
And because of that—
"I'm really looking forward to meeting you."
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