Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye the sun began its descent toward the horizon, filling the boundary between water and sky with brilliant rays of light that heralded the approaching night.
Under the tense observation of both crews aboard the Red Force and the Black Nova, the fierce fighting across all three battlefields had become even more intense than before.
There was a sudden pause in the flashing thunder, and Cavendish—who had entered his Thunder God form at some point during the battle—narrowly avoided Mihawk's close-range slash before soaring into the sky to catch his breath.
Although his body was protected by crackling lightning armor, he still couldn't completely withstand the strikes from his opponent's world-famous black blade Yoru. He looked thoroughly battered, and even his handsome face that normally caused swooning among admirers now bore a ruthless sword scar.
Fortunately, Cavendish's entire form was wreathed in blue-white electrical energy that flickered constantly around his body, making him appear both real and ethereal while rendering his injuries less obvious.
As Cavendish's opponent, "Hawkeye" Mihawk also bore dozens of sword marks of varying depths across his body, leaving his patterned shirt and black coat thoroughly tattered.
"Hah... Hawkeye, maybe I'm still no match for you in pure swordsmanship," Cavendish admitted while breathing heavily, "but I'm sorry—I just want to win this battle!"
Having declared his intent, Cavendish swung his sword diagonally downward as his blue-white form suddenly blazed with blinding radiance.
Mihawk was slightly startled, then smiled with genuine respect. "Come on then!"
Obviously, he understood exactly what Cavendish was preparing to attempt.
"Here I come!" Cavendish shouted, and tremendous momentum erupted from his entire being.
He suddenly raised his sword and pointed it straight toward the heavens.
Countless lightning bolts responded to his call, striking downward in a spectacular display. Within moments, thousands of ice formations within a radius of several hundred meters had been shattered into fragments, leaving only the single chunk where Mihawk stood his ground.
Then, those countless bolts suddenly converged from all directions, drawn like iron to a magnet toward the tip of Cavendish's blade until they formed a single, concentrated point of devastating energy.
He channeled the very power of heaven's thunder and launched himself forward like a living lightning bolt.
"Thunder God Slash: Celestial Ninefold Lightning!"
Facing this overwhelming attack that resembled divine punishment itself, Mihawk gripped his black blade tightly with both hands, and a dangerous gleam flashed in his already razor-sharp eyes.
He kicked off powerfully with his feet, his body launching upward as fast as a meteor as he charged toward Cavendish without yielding an inch.
In that crucial moment, a breathtakingly massive bolt of lightning struck downward with tremendous force, connecting sky and earth with brilliant illumination that remained dazzling even in the fading daylight.
Almost simultaneously, two enormous sword lights flashed through the air, their sharp energy spreading rapidly and making it seem as though the very sky was being torn apart.
Bright red blood splattered through the air as both figures crossed paths and fell rapidly in opposite directions.
Cavendish crashed heavily onto a massive ice chunk hundreds of meters away due to his flight momentum, coughing up a thick stream of blood.
He ignored the huge diagonal scar that ran from his shoulder to his waist, using his sword to support himself as he struggled to rise with his severely injured body. Slowly, he turned to look behind him.
When he noticed that Mihawk was nowhere to be seen on the endless ice field, and that ripples still moved across the open water where no floating ice remained, Cavendish could no longer maintain his strength. His entire body fell backward to lie flat on the ice.
"Did I... actually win?" Cavendish stared at the sky with unfocused eyes, his pupils gradually dilating as an extremely faint murmur echoed through the air.
"Cavendish-san!" two voices called out as figures flew toward him like arrows. Brook and Deuce were rushing over desperately.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared beside their fallen crewmate. They glanced at the distant black figure slowly crawling out of the water while still gripping his famous blade, sighed quietly, and after providing urgent treatment for Cavendish's wounds, carefully transported him back to the Black Star.
When the massive lightning flash erupted on the northern side of the battlefield, both Jerry and Shanks reflexively glanced in that direction, then immediately resumed their fierce combat without missing a beat.
Jerry's domineering dragon-shaped energy blended seamlessly with flowing water as it struck against Shanks' sword, knocking the Emperor backward several meters.
Water droplets scattered everywhere, and Jerry seized the opportunity to take a single step forward, entering his fishing rod's optimal attack range. Adhering to his philosophy of never wasting resources, he simultaneously controlled the airborne water droplets and fired them like high-velocity bullets while extending his rod.
"Sky Piercer!"
Feeling the whistling wind rushing toward him, Shanks swung his blade to first intercept the fishing rod's path, stopping and repelling the main attack. Then he skillfully used the recoil force to reverse his blade's direction, sending sword energy spreading outward to scatter all the water projectiles while also severing the fishhook that had been sneaking toward the back of his head via the fishing line.
When his opening gambit failed to connect, Jerry launched into his next technique without hesitation.
He shifted his stance and his body flashed forward, instantly closing the distance between them.
Following his forward momentum, Jerry's Supreme Rod struck like a devastating storm, targeting chest, abdomen, head, and even inner thighs with a barrage of precisely aimed kicks.
Fortunately, Shanks had evolved remarkably since losing his arm. His hand speed was phenomenal, and the sword in his grip moved like a natural extension of his body, displaying exquisite techniques while dancing through Jerry's assault.
Not only did he block Jerry's attacks one by one, but he also constantly sought opportunities for decisive counterstrikes.
Jerry naturally had no intention of allowing Shanks any chance to reverse the momentum, so he pressed even closer, shortening the already minimal distance between them. He unleashed a devastating barrage using fists, elbows, shoulders, legs, knees, and every other part of his body, supplemented by his tightly gripped fishing rod to create a seamless close-combat assault where every movement transformed into a potential attack.
Both fighters primarily used offense instead of defense, matching each other blow for blow in perfect symmetry. Every move and technique was enhanced with tyrannical Haki reinforcement, while Jerry frequently compressed water flow into his attacks, cleverly combining and amplifying both his striking power and effective range.
Relying on his powerful physique and complete set of limbs, Jerry had integrated his assault capabilities into every part of his body.
Although Shanks—despite missing an arm—remained one of the world's finest swordsmen, he found himself feeling constrained for the first time in years when facing Jerry, whose Haki was no less formidable than his own and whose attack patterns were even more relentlessly aggressive.
Whether it was Shanks' blade work or the powerful sword energy he projected, everything would inevitably be neutralized by Jerry's Haki-wrapped strikes or matching slashes of equal force.
For this reason, Jerry was actually expending far more physical energy than Shanks, but he relied on his inhuman recovery abilities and never showed any signs of fatigue or slowing down.
"One of your crew members has been defeated," Shanks observed during a brief exchange. "Don't you want to go check on him?"
Hearing this psychological warfare attempt, Jerry replied without missing a beat, "We have a ship doctor handling it. But isn't your friend half-dead too? Why don't you go take a look? You're being so cold-hearted, ruthless, and unreasonable!"
As they spoke, neither fighter slowed their pace for even a second, continuing their swift and continuous mutual assault with undiminished intensity.