A shadow blocked their path.
The man carried an enormous black cross-shaped sword on his back. A wide-brimmed hat sat low over his brow, and his gaze was sharp as a hawk's.
The world's strongest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
His appearance instantly silenced the port that had been on the verge of cheering.
Zoro's hand pressed against the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, cold sweat seeping into his palm.
Every muscle in his body tightened. He wasn't ready to meet this man again… but he still did.
Yet Mihawk's eyes didn't linger on Zoro or Luffy.
He looked past everyone, staring toward the other end of the harbor.
There stood another man, holding a gigantic flame-pattern war fan, wearing ancient crimson armor.
Madara.
From that man, Mihawk felt something.
Not killing intent.
Not Haki.
But a will that seemed capable of cutting fate itself.
He called it…
Sword intent.
That will was exactly what had drawn him to this island.
"You… who are you?" Mihawk's voice was low.
Zoro froze.
The world's number one swordsman… was actually interested in another man.
Inside Madara's mind, Shinju's voice rang out.
[Madara-sama, target confirmed: Dracule Mihawk.]
[Analyzing abilities… Busoshoku Haki, an invisible armor that coats the body or weapon, greatly increasing offense and defense, and allowing contact with Devil Fruit users' true bodies.]
[Analyzing weapon… Kokuto Yoru, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, the world's strongest black blade.]
[Data transfer complete.]
The stream of information flickered through Madara's consciousness.
Haki?
An interesting energy system.
He lifted his head, his crimson Sharingan meeting Mihawk's golden hawk eyes.
"Uchiha Madara."
"Come. Let me see how much weight your so-called 'world's number one' really has."
The instant the words fell—
Mihawk moved.
No wasted motion.
He simply drew the black blade Yoru from his back.
The moment the blade left its sheath, a gigantic green slash manifested out of thin air, sweeping horizontally toward Madara.
Where the slash passed, the ground was cut cleanly apart, and a warehouse building beside it split in two—its cut surface smooth as a mirror.
The wind pressure from that slash alone nearly knocked Zoro off his feet.
He stared at that destructive attack, stormy waves exploding inside his heart.
This was the slash of the world's strongest swordsman!
Impossible to block.
Impossible to dodge.
Yet facing an attack that could cleave a small mountain apart—
Madara didn't move.
He only raised the flame war fan in his hand and held it across his body.
The green slash slammed into the fan.
Like it had struck an invisible wall, the massive slash instantly changed direction, returning along the same path at an even faster speed—cutting back toward Mihawk himself.
Uchiha Reflection!
For the first time, Mihawk's face shifted.
No panic.
He simply raised Yoru vertically in front of him and chopped down with perfect precision.
The two enormous slashes collided midair, their energy canceling out and dissolving into a raging gust.
With just one exchange, the entire port was already in ruins.
Mihawk's gaze turned incomparably serious.
He planted the tip of Yoru toward the ground and gripped the hilt with both hands.
"Interesting…"
He spoke.
"Looks like I'll have to show a little real skill."
Madara let out a cold snort.
His Sharingan spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyo pattern.
"Dance."
Susanoo.
A gigantic blue war god looked down at the tiny Mihawk below, the pressure so suffocating Zoro almost couldn't breathe.
His soul trembled.
This was no longer the realm of swordsmanship.
This was the power of a god.
Susanoo extended its hand, and a massive tachi formed from chakra appeared within its grasp.
Its blade pointed straight at Mihawk.
Mihawk lifted his head to face the colossal monster, and there was no retreat in his eyes—only an even fiercer blaze of fighting spirit.
His aura surged higher and higher, and black Busoshoku Haki erupted like tangible flames, coiling around the body of the black blade Yoru.
"Good!"
With a roar, he stomped down hard—cracks spiderwebbing across the ground.
His whole body became a bolt of black lightning as he shot toward Susanoo.
At the same time, Susanoo's chakra tachi swung down.
The blade was enormous, carrying an air that tore through the heavens, as if it meant to split Loguetown—and the entire island—straight in two.
Facing that god-punishment strike—
Mihawk didn't dodge.
He poured every ounce of Haki into Yoru and swung a single sword stroke straight into that massive descending blade.
A tiny human figure, against a sky-covering giant.
A black blade, against a blue blade.
The two crashed together in midair.
At the center of impact, space itself seemed to twist.
A visible shockwave expanded outward in a perfect circle, blasting everything at the port away.
The sea rolled backward, surging into waves dozens of meters high.
Zoro and the Straw Hats were flung away by the power, slamming heavily into a distant street.
Zoro struggled to his feet, spat out a mouthful of blood, and stared at the heart of the battlefield in disbelief.
Mihawk's black blade…
Actually held back that blue war god's slash.
With a mortal body—
He was resisting a god.
The two blades locked, terrifying energy grinding and detonating, throwing off blinding sparks.
Madara stood inside the crystal on Susanoo's forehead, expressionless as he watched Mihawk below fight desperately to hold.
"Your strength isn't bad," he judged calmly. "But it's still not enough."
Susanoo's chakra tachi pressed down, forcing Yoru lower and lower.
The massive blade scraped past Mihawk's body and fell.
The earth split open into a bottomless canyon, the fissure stretching all the way to the edge of the sea, seawater roaring as it poured back in.
The blue giant dispersed, and Madara landed back on the ground.
Mihawk remained standing.
The hand gripping Yoru trembled slightly.
Across his chest, a shallow cut ran from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, blood seeping through his elegant shirt.
He lifted his head to look at Madara, the only thing in his eyes being the exhilaration of meeting an equal.
"Your sword… is strong," Mihawk said in a deep voice.
Madara didn't answer.
Mihawk acknowledged it openly. "I'll remember this scar."
He looked at the cut on his chest, his eyes brimming with battle intent.
"Next time… we'll decide the victor."
After speaking, he sheathed Yoru onto his back, turned, and left without looking back.
He boarded that tiny coffin boat and disappeared beyond the horizon.
Inside Shinju's mind, the system's prompt sounded.
[Ding! Detected subordinate engaging in battle with a world-class pinnacle powerhouse. Combat data collected.]
[Obtained: Top-tier Busoshoku Haki application data.]
[Obtained: Supreme Grade Blade · Black Blade · Yoru trait data.]
[System analyzing… 100% complete. Stored in database.]
Shinju's voice echoed in Madara's mind, but Madara didn't care in the slightest.
He only watched the direction Mihawk left, his expression calm.
World's number one?
Nothing special.
Just then, an uninvited
(End of Chapter)
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