Chapter 359 Duel with Hawkeye
Time: The following morning.
Location: The opposite side of the deserted island, along a shoreline untouched by the previous war.
The Red-Hair Pirates' flagship, the Red Force, now rested quietly beside the coast.
The Red-Hair Pirates crowded the deck, cheering and shouting.
"Do your best!!"
Yasopp—already drinking first thing in the morning—gulped from his bottle while shouting with a flushed face.
"Both of you, give it your all!!"
Two figures stood on the shore.
Brett and Hawkeye faced each other across a distance.
Shanks stood to the side. He said to Brett with some embarrassment, "Sorry about this, Brett. I'm the one who owes Mihawk this match, but now you're repaying it for me."
"It doesn't matter."
Brett smiled. "I'm quite curious to see what power the world's greatest swordsman possesses."
Last night, Hawkeye had requested a sparring match with Brett.
Originally this was something Shanks had promised him. But after seeing Brett, Hawkeye had lost interest in fighting Shanks, wanting to battle Brett instead.
In Hawkeye's words: Why fight a weaker opponent when someone stronger is right here?
Only Shanks's good temperament prevented a fight. If it had been Kaido, they'd already be brawling.
Brett had accepted the challenge.
Consider it repaying this favor for Shanks.
Besides, he'd already fought most of the monsters on these seas. Hawkeye was one of the few exceptions.
Might as well complete the collection.
The world's strongest swordsman—appraising his blade wouldn't be bad.
"Just be careful, both of you."
Shanks looked between Brett and Hawkeye, warning seriously, "Don't go overboard."
This was just a sparring match. He didn't want to see either of them injured.
"Don't worry."
Brett smiled. "It'll end quickly."
"What an arrogant man!"
Hawkeye's lips curved upward. Haki had already wrapped around his blade. "Then show me! The power that rules the deep sea!"
He'd already launched forward.
Brett chuckled softly. Crimson scales began growing across his body's surface.
Since he'd promised Hawkeye a full-power battle, he couldn't treat this casually.
"Hah!"
The next instant, Hawkeye had closed in on Brett. His right foot stomped heavily. The ground shattered. Massive amounts of rock flew skyward.
Simultaneously, green light blazed. Space itself seemed torn apart. A sharp ray traced by the pitch-black blade cleaved directly toward Brett.
Brett clenched his fist. Lightning began crackling. Then he simply threw his punch.
BOOM!!
Fist and blade collided through the air. Explosive shockwaves scattered in all directions. The Red Force at the shoreline was blown backward, rocking as it drifted across the sea.
"Whoa whoa whoa! What power is this?! These two are absolutely ridiculous!"
Yasopp nearly choked on his drink.
"Looks like neither of them is weaker than the captain! Hahaha, Lucky! We're witnessing a clash of the world's finest!"
Lucky Roux laughed heartily against the gale. "Who'll be the victor?"
"Brett, of course!"
The unanimous response came from his nearby crewmates.
"That man makes even Shanks feel inadequate." Beckman slowly blew a smoke ring.
At the shoreline, just one collision had shattered the coast. Hawkeye's figure retreated backward through the gale.
"What ridiculous strength!"
Hawkeye couldn't help exclaiming.
This power—even Charlotte Linlin fell far short!
Fish-Man Brett—just how powerful was this man?
"It's not over yet!"
The monster descended from above, foot stomping toward Hawkeye.
"Hah!"
Hawkeye grinned excitedly, then thrust his black blade upward.
CLANG!!
The island continued trembling.
"Whoa! That's absurd!"
Shanks stood outside the battle zone, unconsciously stroking his chin. "He's gotten even stronger than last year!"
"His strength and Haki have both improved! Mihawk's being completely suppressed!"
From the very start, Brett and Hawkeye's battle lacked any semblance of balance.
Brett held absolute advantage in strength, with Haki equally formidable.
Hawkeye was continuously beaten backward.
This was truly ridiculous.
After all, Shanks considered Hawkeye to possess nearly equal power to himself. In the previous battle, Hawkeye hadn't fallen behind even against Charlotte Linlin.
But now, facing Brett, he was being completely overwhelmed. Didn't that mean Brett now possessed power capable of suppressing Shanks himself?
Shanks clicked his tongue.
How had he become this strong?
Last year hadn't been this extreme.
Just how monstrous was this guy's physical talent? Even more terrifying than Kaido or Charlotte Linlin!
Shanks didn't understand Brett's gift.
Now twenty-two years old, Brett's physical development was nearly complete. But the various new organs his body had produced from bloodline fusion hadn't matured along with his body's development.
They remained in a period of rapid growth.
Naturally, Brett's power was also in a period of rapid increase.
"Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"
Retreating continuously, Hawkeye shouted his praise. "This power has already completely surpassed anything Charlotte Linlin could match!"
Having fought both Charlotte Linlin and Brett in such a short time, Hawkeye was indeed qualified to judge their respective strengths.
"If you want to defeat me, bring out even greater power!!"
Hawkeye laughed loudly. Pitch-black lightning crackled from his blade.
The pinnacle of swordsmen was naturally also an extraordinary conqueror!
"Then I'll go all out now!"
Brett grinned widely.
Unprecedented brilliant lightning leapt from his right arm, rolling and crackling like dragons of thunder radiating in all directions.
Electric Current Drive had reached its absolute limit.
Then came the energy stored within his body.
"Electric Current Drive—Secret Art—King Buraikan!!"
A simple punch was all that was needed.
BOOM!!
On the Red Force's deck in the distant waters, the Red-Hair Pirates officers all widened their eyes simultaneously.
"What is that?!"
Yasopp couldn't help pressing against the deck, craning his neck to peer forward.
A pillar of crackling lightning rose from the island, sweeping directly across the ocean surface before roaring toward the distant sea.
The beam didn't touch the water, yet it carved a massive trench across the ocean's surface.
After the light pillar vanished into the horizon, violent winds finally began surging in all directions.
On the Red-Hair Pirates' ship, even the weaker officers could barely keep their eyes open.