Suddenly.
"Boom!"
Two vastly different Conqueror's Haki clashed like a tsunami, causing the entire Kuraigana Island to tremble.
The clouds in the sky were torn open by a huge crack, and sunlight pierced through like a sharp sword, illuminating the battlefield.
Andy's tiger's mouth felt a severe numbness, and Zhu Chi hummed excitedly in his hand.
He could clearly feel the oppressive force transmitted from Hawkeye's black blade night—it was a sword intent pure to the extreme, as if it could cut through everything in the world.
"Again!"
Andy laughed wildly and took half a step back, Zhu Chi drew a perfect arc in front of him.
Wherever the blade passed, the air was cut into fine black cracks, and hundreds of crimson slashes, like blooming blood-red roses, swept towards Hawkeye.
Hawkeye's pupils contracted slightly.
He changed from holding the blade with one hand to two hands, and black blade night drew a cross in front of him.
"Clang!"
The cross slash surged against the wind, and the dark green sword qi collided with the blood-red slashes in mid-air.
A grating metallic friction sound reverberated through the sky, and sparks rained down like a downpour, scorching countless charred holes in the surrounding ground.
"Too slow."
Hawkeye's voice suddenly sounded behind Andy.
Andy's Observation Haki warned frantically, and he unhesitatingly swung his blade back, Zhu Chi and black blade night collided again.
"Clang!!!"
The force of this blow was astonishingly great, the ground under Andy's feet instantly collapsed, and spiderweb-like cracks spread for hundreds of meters.
His arm muscles bulged, and his veins protruded like coiled dragons, as he stubbornly withstood this Chop.
"Your physique..." A hint of surprise flashed in Hawkeye's eyes, "It's actually... so powerful..."
"This is just the beginning!"
Andy suddenly exerted force, and the blood-red patterns on Zhu Chi suddenly lit up with an eerie glow. The Conqueror's Haki on the blade flowed like a living thing, actually forcing black blade night back slightly.
Hawkeye took advantage of the momentum to leap back, and while still in mid-air, he continuously swung three blades. Three sword qi flew in a 'product' shape, sealing off all of Andy's dodging space.
Andy did not dodge, Zhu Chi danced a curtain of blood-red light in front of him.
"Ding ding ding" three crisp sounds, the sword qi was completely blocked.
But at this very moment, Hawkeye had already advanced to within an inch, black blade night aimed directly at the throat!
At the critical moment, Andy dodged the fatal blow by turning sideways, while Zhu Chi slashed upwards with a crimson crescent.
Hawkeye retracted his blade to block, and the two famous blades collided, erupting in dazzling sparks.
"Boom!"
The ground under their feet could not withstand the immense force and exploded, creating a huge pit with a diameter of over a hundred meters.
The splashing rubble had not yet landed before it was shredded into powder by the rampant sword qi.
The onlookers had retreated to both sides of the coast, but they could still feel the sharp sword qi rushing towards them.
Shanks stood at the very front, his red short hair wildly blown by the sword qi, his eyes gleamed with surprise, no wonder Hawkeye attached so much importance to this battle with Red Hawk.
"This is a true swordsman duel..." Flower Sword Vista muttered to himself, his rapier in hand unconsciously trembling, whether from fear or excitement.
Like him, Vice Admiral Gion also clenched konpira.
In the center of the battlefield, the two's speed became faster and faster, until finally, only two afterimages, one red and one black, could be seen constantly colliding.
Every time the blades clashed, a terrifying wave of air would be triggered.
The walls of the ancient castle on Kuraigana Island began to crack, and the distant sea was stirred by the aftermath, creating waves dozens of meters high.
"Clang!"
After another full-force clash, both retreated simultaneously.
Andy's sleeve had been torn by the sword qi, revealing his heavily muscled arm.
Hawkeye's cloak had a corner cut off at some point, but the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even more intense.
"Warm-up over." Hawkeye slowly raised black blade night, its tip pointing directly at the sky, "Let me see where your limit is."
Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly disappeared.
Andy's Observation Haki warned frantically; up until now, he still hadn't chosen to use his devil fruit ability or Observation Kill.
This was a swordsman's duel!
"Whoosh!"
The piercing scream of black blade night tearing through the air came from all directions; Hawkeye's slashes were almost faster than sound.
But Andy seemed to have foresight, Zhu Chi always accurately appeared on the trajectory of black blade night.
"Clink clink clink clink!!!"
A series of crisp collision sounds were as dense as a downpour. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Andy's mouth, but his smile became even more ferocious.
In this short period of time, through countless life-and-death sharpening, his body seemed to have formed an instinctive reaction.
"Truly powerful, but I'm not bad either..."
Just as Hawkeye changed his move, Andy suddenly swung Zhu Chi.
The blood-red patterns on Zhu Chi suddenly came alive, wriggling like blood vessels.
The Conqueror's Haki on the blade condensed to the extreme, unleashing a stunning blood-red arc.
Hawkeye hastily changed his move, black blade night blocking in front of him.
But the force of this blow far exceeded expectations; his feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, and he retreated a hundred meters before stabilizing himself.
"A beautiful counter-attack." Hawkeye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes, "But it's far from enough."
He slowly assumed a peculiar starting stance, and the Haki on black blade night began to flow in a certain pattern.
Andy's pupils suddenly contracted; Hawkeye's movements made him feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.
"Take this slash from me."
Hawkeye's voice was very soft, yet it was like the whisper of death.
His movements seemed extremely slow, black blade night traced a perfect trajectory.
But Andy knew that the speed of this slash had already reached its extreme; the slowness was just an optical illusion.
"Come on!!!"
Andy roared and charged forward, the blood-red light on Zhu Chi surging.
He condensed all his spirit and energy into this single slash, and Conqueror's Haki formed a solidified crimson crystal shell on the blade.
The moment the two blades were about to collide, time seemed to stand still.
"Rumble—"
Amidst an earth-shattering explosion, a dazzling pillar of light shot up into the sky, completely piercing through the clouds.
The terrifying shockwave spread spherically, the coastline of Kuraigana Island began to collapse, and huge rocks were flung hundreds of meters into the air.
The onlookers had no choice but to continue retreating; some weaker pirates were even knocked to the ground by the aftermath.
Shanks stood at the very front, Conqueror's Haki forming an invisible barrier, shielding his companions behind him from the most fatal impact.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the scene in the center of the battlefield made everyone gasp.
A giant pit, over a thousand meters in diameter, appeared in the center of the island, and at the bottom were two standing figures.
Andy's Zhu Chi rested on black blade night, both blades trembling slightly.
Blood continuously dripped from both their tiger mouths, forming pools of shocking red stains on the ground.
"Finished? A draw?" Lucky Roux's sunglasses reflected an eerie light.
"No..." Shanks shook his head, "It's far from over."
As if to confirm his words, the two at the bottom of the pit retreated simultaneously, then charged at each other with even more ferocious postures.
This time, every one of their slashes carried the might to split mountains and crack stones, sword qi crisscrossed, tearing the already ravaged ground into pieces.
"Refreshing!" Andy laughed loudly, letting a sword qi leave a bone-deep wound on his shoulder, "This is a true battle!"
Hawkeye did not respond, but his gaze said it all.
The Haki on black blade night grew even more solid; every swing carried a devastating momentum.
His swordsmanship had reached perfection, every slash was exquisitely precise, without any superfluous movements.
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