One hour later—
Carifa and the two others had arrived.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, bloody scent, swept across the ruins, and the shattered island coastline looked as if it had been cleaved thousands of times by a giant sword wielded by a god.
Andy's chest heaved violently, each breath like swallowing burning blades, yet his crimson pupils glowed terrifyingly.
It was like the eyes of a wild beast sniffing blood.
"Clang—"
black blade night suddenly hummed like a dragon's roar, and Hawkeye's somewhat tattered cloak flapped wildly in the chaotic airflow.
The gravel beneath his feet silently turned to dust, and he transformed into a dark green streak of light, thrusting forward.
This sword strike was unadorned, yet it carried a murderous intent that had returned to its natural state.
"Well met!"
Andy advanced instead of retreating, his vermilion blade carving out a strange spiral in front of him.
The blade friction against the air sparked dark red flames, forming three interconnected circular slashes in front of him.
The moment the black blade pierced the center of the rings, the triple slashes closed with a crash, like a beast trap.
"Clang!"
The thunderous clang of metal collision made the ears of distant spectators ache.
Hawkeye's wrist trembled slightly, and black blade night was deflected by half an inch by this spiraling force.
It was in this fleeting moment of vulnerability that Andy's knee strike slammed into the opponent's abdomen like a cannonball.
"Thud!"
With a muffled thud, both simultaneously flew backward; Andy's knee made a cracking sound, and a trickle of blood spilled from Hawkeye's lips.
But they adjusted their bodies before even landing.
Andy supported himself with one hand and executed a swift somersault, his vermilion blade smoothly cleaving out twelve intersecting crimson crescents, while Hawkeye twisted his waist and body in mid-air, black blade night unleashing a sky full of ink-colored meteors.
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
The shockwaves from the clashing sword energies swept away all the gravel within a thousand meters, instantly clearing the entire battlefield.
When the smoke and dust cleared, everyone was horrified to discover that the mountains surrounding the battlefield had been shaved down by dozens of meters, and the exposed rock layers were covered with sparkling glass-like crystals, a result of sand and stone instantly melting from high temperatures.
"Monsters…" Tesoro's golden earring jingled in the air current, "These two are walking natural disasters!"
The two in the center of the battlefield, however, were oblivious to the surrounding changes.
Andy was adjusting all the muscles in his body, while Hawkeye's breathing became increasingly long and steady; it seemed they had both found their rhythm.
"Seventh Form: Swallow Return."
Hawkeye suddenly murmured. black blade night traced three perfectly overlapping trajectories in the air; before the sword energy was even released, Andy's Observation Haki was already stinging to the point of tears.
This was a slash that transcended extreme speed, as if the three sword energies appeared simultaneously on the past, present, and future timelines.
Andy grinned, and the vermilion blade suddenly flew out of his hand.
Amidst everyone's exclamations, he used his finger as a sword to poke his own glabella, and Conqueror's Haki condensed into a blood-colored armor on his body.
The three sword energies simultaneously struck the armor, splattering sparks like molten iron erupting from a steel furnace.
"Truly worthy of being the World's Greatest Swordsman!"
Seizing the moment Hawkeye retracted his move, Andy suddenly grabbed the spinning vermilion blade as it returned.
The Haki coiling around the blade, accelerated by centrifugal force, formed a spiraling crimson hurricane.
This strike completely abandoned defense, carrying a suicidal momentum as it thrust towards Hawkeye's heart.
"Ding—"
In the nick of time, the hilt of black blade night precisely blocked the tip of the vermilion blade.
Hawkeye's wrist flickered, deflecting the fatal blow towards the sky with a subtle force that moved a thousand catties with four ounces.
The crimson hurricane shot straight into the sky, tearing a massive spiral-shaped opening in the dark clouds shrouding the battlefield.
Sunlight poured down like a golden waterfall, illuminating the dense sword marks beneath their feet.
These grooves, several meters deep, crisscrossed to form a breathtaking abstract painting, like a battle song composed by a top Great Swordsman with their life.
Just then.
Hawkeye suddenly drew a crescent trajectory with black blade night in front of him.
Before the three superimposed circular sword energies had fully formed, the air began to wail under the unbearable pressure.
Andy's pupils contracted to pinpricks; this seemingly slow slash actually cut spatial rifts.
The vermilion blade suddenly vibrated with excitement, and the blood-colored patterns on its body twisted wildly.
Andy did not retreat in the slightest; he wielded the blade with both hands, his arms immediately bulging with veins, and forcefully swung a simple upward slash to meet the attack.
Without dazzling sword energy or flashy techniques, this blade, pure to the extreme in its power, actually shattered the spatial rifts!
"Crack!"
Amidst a grating cracking sound, the three crescent sword energies disintegrated simultaneously.
But the shattered sword energies did not dissipate; instead, they transformed into thousands of ink-green light blades that swept across the battlefield.
Andy roared with laughter, brandishing the vermilion blade so fast that it formed a blood-colored cocoon around him, the clang of metal collisions so dense it sounded like a hundred bronze bells tolling at once.
When the last light blade dissipated, the ground beneath Andy's feet had already sunk into a bowl shape.
His upper clothing was tattered, and his exposed skin was covered in fine blood marks, yet his momentum was even stronger than when the battle began.
"My turn!"
With this roar, the vermilion blade suddenly flew high into the sky.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Andy cupped his hands and made a cleaving motion.
Incredibly, the spinning vermilion blade synchronized with his movements and descended, as if an invisible thread connected the blade to its master.
Hawkeye showed a solemn expression for the first time.
black blade night slowly moved vertically in front of him, the trajectory of its tip leaving dark cracks in the air.
The moment the vermilion blade descended, these cracks suddenly came alive, like hungry black dragons pouncing on the blood-colored blade light.
"Boom—!!!"
The shockwave from the collision flattened the nearest cluster of reefs.
The spectators had to lie prostrate on the ground, and those with weaker strength were directly thrown into the sea.
Vice Admiral Gion's konpira was deeply embedded in the rock, her long black hair dancing wildly in the gale; this time, she truly had not come in vain!
When the dust settled, the scene in the center of the battlefield made everyone hold their breath.
Andy and Hawkeye stood opposite each other, and both the vermilion blade and black blade night dripped with trickles of blood.
Both their cloaks simultaneously tore into shreds, revealing crisscrossing blood marks on their backs.
The sea breeze carried the cloth fragments into the distance, like offerings to the way of the sword.
…
Andy was covered in blood like a demon, but the fires of battle burning in his eyes grew even more intense.
Hawkeye's condition was no better; six deep, bone-visible wounds were bleeding profusely, and the tiger's mouth of his sword-holding hand was completely split open.
"Last strike." Hawkeye suddenly spoke.
He slowly assumed the most basic thrusting stance, but the Haki on black blade night began to collapse wildly.
A faint green chill glowed at the tip of the blade, distorting the surrounding light.
Andy grinned, his lips stained with blood.
The vermilion blade was raised high above his head, and the blood-colored crystal cluster suddenly shattered and reformed, condensing into a lifelike phoenix reborn from fire on the blade.
The moment the phoenix spread its wings, all the gravel within a thousand meters levitated!
No words, no need to gather momentum.
The moment black blade night thrust out, time seemed to be split in half—
To the left, the world transformed into an ink-green galaxy, with countless meteor-like sword energies pouring down!
To the right, the world ignited a blood-colored sky, with the phoenix reborn from fire, carrying the power of world destruction, flapping its wings and striking!
"Heavenly Night: Meteor!"
"Crimson Shadow: Blood Phoenix Shatter!"
The moment the two roars echoed through the sky, the sea surface within ten nautical miles around Kuraigana Island simultaneously sank by three meters!
The entire Red Hair Pirates crew released Haki to form a barrier, and the Shichibukai each displayed their unique abilities to withstand the impact.
Even so, many pirate ships were still pulverized by the aftershocks!
When the light faded, the scene they witnessed would be unforgettable—
Hawkeye's black blade night rested against Andy's throat, its tip piercing half an inch, while the vermilion blade's edge pressed against Hawkeye's carotid artery, blood beads slowly sliding down the blade.
"Mutual destruction?!" Someone shrieked.
"Hahahahaha! What a magnificent duel between swordsmen!" Shanks, however, suddenly burst into laughter.
In his Observation Haki perception, both of them had held back thirty percent of their strength at the last moment. This peak duel had no winner, nor loser.
"Your swordsmanship…" Andy gasped, "is indeed the World's Greatest."
"You, you're truly insane…" Hawkeye sheathed his blade, "But… your current swordsmanship is worthy of this demonic blade."
The two exchanged a smile, then simultaneously fell backward.
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