Chapter 522: A Deal with Mihawk
Seeing his slash suppressed, Mihawk’ usually calm expression finally showed emotion.
For the first time in a long while, the desire to fight with everything he had using his sword was reignited.
There were many powerful people in this world, but there were not many powerful swordsmen.
In the past, Mihawk would often spar with Red Hair, but after Red Hair lost his arm, Mihawk never dueled him again. They only drank together.
To a swordsman, an arm was too important. Mihawk was unwilling to fight a one-armed Red Hair. Even if he won, it would have no meaning.
Because the purpose of fighting Red Hair had never been victory, but rather tempering his own swordsmanship.
Whoosh!
Mihawk disappeared from where he stood.
The next instant, Mihawk appeared at Nagasawa’s side with both hands gripping the Black Blade Yoru, slashing toward him.
Nagasawa, however, seemed capable of seeing the future. Before Mihawk even appeared, the Ryujin Jakka in his right hand had already swung toward his side.
Boom!
One was Mihawk’ World’s Strongest Black Blade, Yoru, while the other was Ryujin Jakka covered in crimson flames. Their seemingly simple clash stirred up a tremendous storm, while the violent sword energy scattered in all directions reduced the surrounding area to something resembling the aftermath of heavy artillery bombardment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Mihawk and Nagasawa exchanged blows at incredible speed. Their figures flashed across the ground, the sky, the forest, and every corner of the island as they battled.
Zoro could no longer keep up with the pace of their fight. It felt as though even blinking once would cause him to miss several exchanges.
The more he watched, the more shocked he became.
Because Mihawk, the World’s Greatest Swordsman and the goal he had pursued all this time, was actually the one being suppressed.
Although the outcome had yet to be decided, Nagasawa had already seized the initiative during the exchanges. His relentless offensive, as fierce as a violent storm, completely suppressed Mihawk.
Tina also relaxed.
Although Nagasawa was usually rather unreliable, he had never lied about his strength. He truly was a swordsman even stronger than the World’s Greatest Swordsman, Mihawk.
Despite being suppressed by Nagasawa, Mihawk’ fighting spirit only grew stronger.
This was exactly the kind of opponent he had longed for.
The battle between the two became increasingly intense. The island suffered tremendous destruction, with deep sword scars covering the ground everywhere.
Nagasawa thoroughly enjoyed the battle.
Although he had not used many of his abilities, Mihawk’ displayed strength had indeed satisfied him.
After driving Mihawk back more than ten meters with a single slash, Nagasawa stopped pressing his attack.
"Be proud of yourself. You’ll be the first person in this world to witness Ryujin Jakka’s Bankai."
Holding Ryujin Jakka tightly, Nagasawa smiled.
After all, Mihawk was the strongest swordsman in the One Piece world. Nagasawa decided to show him some respect by ending this battle with Zanka no Tachi.
Exhaling softly, Nagasawa released an overwhelmingly powerful Spiritual Pressure, and his aura rapidly climbed once more.
Seeing Nagasawa’s aura rise again, Mihawk’ expression became grave.
So that still hadn’t been Nagasawa’s full strength.
He could actually become even stronger.
What a complete monster.
After entering Bankai, Ryujin Jakka was actually less dazzling than before, when its blade had been engulfed in flames. It now looked like nothing more than a scorched blade.
That was because Nagasawa had concentrated all of Ryujin Jakka’s flames and heat into the edge of the blade, sealing all of its power within it.
Although it appeared plain and unremarkable, anything touched by Ryujin Jakka in this state would instantly turn to ash and vanish from the world.
Such was the power of Ryujin Jakka’s Bankai.
After Nagasawa released Ryujin Jakka’s Bankai, the already scorching surroundings grew even hotter. Large amounts of moisture evaporated, and the lush green vegetation nearby instantly withered.
With his keen perception, Mihawk naturally noticed the abnormality and realized that Nagasawa was preparing to unleash his ultimate attack.
Gripping Yoru tightly with both hands, Mihawk took a deep breath.
His expression had never been so serious or focused before.
His body tensed as unprecedented pressure descended upon him.
Nagasawa was the strongest opponent he had ever encountered.
His strength surpassed every previous adversary, including Whitebeard during the Summit War, even with all of those mysterious powers he had displayed.
Mihawk infused the maximum amount of Haki into the World’s Strongest Black Blade before pouring all of his strength into it.
Then he swung with all his might.
An enormous azure sword slash split the air apart, stirring up a massive storm as it shot toward Nagasawa.
After unleashing that slash, Mihawk breathed heavily.
It was his strongest strike, forged by gathering all of his body, mind, and spirit together.
Under the tremendous pressure exerted by Nagasawa, he had surpassed his own limits.
The moment he released the slash, Mihawk even felt that his own strength had improved.
"Why is he using that move again? Didn’t it fail before? If this keeps up, he’ll lose."
Perona looked puzzled after seeing Mihawk use what appeared to be the same attack as before.
Compared to the unfamiliar Marine, Perona naturally hoped that Mihawk, who had taken care of her for some time, would win.
"It’s different. They’re completely different attacks," Zoro said with a serious expression.
"The slash he just unleashed isn’t on the same level as the first one."
"Really? They look exactly the same to me," Perona said, completely unable to tell the difference.
Zoro ignored Perona.
His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield as he tried to absorb everything he could from the two fighters to strengthen himself.
"As expected of the World’s Greatest Swordsman. He’s monstrously strong."
Although Mihawk was a pirate, the strength he displayed forced even Tina to admit that his title as the strongest was fully deserved.
Of course...
That was before her superior appeared.
"Zanka no Tachi: World-Destroying Ashes!"
Nagasawa swung his blade at astonishing speed.
The slash was so fast that Zoro had no idea whether Mihawk saw it clearly.
He certainly hadn’t.
The instant after Nagasawa swung his sword, the slash collided directly with Mihawk’ attack.
Then something happened that stunned every spectator.
There was no violent explosion.
No overwhelming shockwave.
The two slashes collided...
And Mihawk’ all-out slash simply disappeared.
That’s right.
It vanished.
Right before everyone’s eyes, it crumbled into ashes like paper touching fire, instantly disappearing from the world.
Erasing Mihawk’ sword energy consumed very little of Nagasawa’s slash.
It continued forward, instantly carving a bottomless abyss that split the island into two halves.
Even the sea was left with a long scar from the slash.
The terrifying heat prevented the seawater from immediately flowing back together.
Mihawk stood right beside that abyss.
If the slash had been even slightly off course...
He would have become ashes as well.
Gripping Yoru tightly, Mihawk stared at the abyss and at the strangely divided sea.
A sense of frustration welled up inside him.
Nagasawa had held back.
If he had not deliberately altered the direction of his attack...
He would already be dead.
Because there was no way he could have dodged that slash.
In truth, Mihawk did not fear death.
Otherwise, he would never have challenged Whitebeard during the Summit War despite knowing he was weaker.
Instead...
Losing a battle like this and having his life deliberately spared filled him with mixed emotions.
"You’re kidding... A slash like that..."
Zoro’s face was full of disbelief, as though his entire worldview had been shattered.
He had never imagined Mihawk would lose so decisively.
"Vice Admiral Garp really accomplished something incredible this time."
After witnessing the power of Nagasawa’s single slash, Tina silently felt grateful that Nagasawa had become a Marine.
Otherwise, with Nagasawa’s strength, if he had become a pirate instead, he would have become the Marines’ greatest headache.
In fact, the most astonishing part of that exchange wasn’t that the island had been split in two.
Mihawk could also accomplish something like that.
The truly terrifying part was that Mihawk’ strongest attack had been burned into nothingness.
It had even left behind a scar across the sea that refused to close.
After personally witnessing Mihawk’ defeat, Zoro’s emotions became extremely complicated.
The mountain that had always stood before him on the path to becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman...
Had been defeated so completely.
Nagasawa released his Shikai, sheathed Ryujin Jakka once again, and walked over to Mihawk.
"Your final slash was off target," Mihawk said after a moment of silence.
He wanted to know why Nagasawa had held back.
Although the Marines and the Seven Warlords of the Sea were technically allies and were not supposed to attack each other, Mihawk did not believe someone with Nagasawa’s strength would care about such rules.
"That’s right."
Nagasawa nodded openly, admitting that he had deliberately aimed away.
Looking at Mihawk with a smile, he said,
"Dracule Mihawk, I admire you. So work hard and catch up. I’ll be waiting for your challenge from the throne of the strongest."
Upon hearing that, Zoro felt those words sounded strangely familiar.
Mihawk’ sharp, hawk-like gaze returned.
"I will."
"One day, I’ll reclaim the throne of the strongest."
"I’ll be waiting for your challenge," Nagasawa replied with a smile.
"Admiral Nagasawa, where are we going next?" Tina asked, assuming Nagasawa would leave immediately after the fight.
"Why the rush? I’ll be staying here for a few days. When you’re out having fun, don’t be so impatient," Nagasawa said.
The Revolutionary Army’s ship was already on its way to the island.
Nagasawa still had to meet Dragon and the others with his original body, so naturally he wasn’t leaving now.
"But... this island has already been destroyed like this..." Tina looked at Nagasawa in confusion.
Aside from the area around Mihawk’ castle, the rest of the island was simply unbearable to look at.
"We didn’t come here to enjoy the scenery. That’s not the point," Nagasawa replied.
"All right."
Tina understood that Nagasawa had no intention of leaving for now.
Since they were staying, they could only live in Mihawk’ castle.
After all, there was nowhere else to stay on the island.
"Why are you Marines staying in my house?"
Perona puffed out her cheeks and looked unhappily at Nagasawa and Tina.
"This is my house. You’re merely someone I took in," Mihawk calmly corrected her.
"Why are you helping the Marines? Besides, I even cooked for you!" Perona turned her head away indignantly.
"I do most of the cooking," Mihawk replied calmly.
"I helped you farm!" Perona quickly came up with another excuse.
"I took you in."
Mihawk calmly poured himself another pot of black tea.
"Ahhh! Fine! I won’t care about you anymore! If the Marines beat you up, I won’t help you!"
Perona floated around angrily, looking just like a child throwing a tantrum after not being understood by an adult.
"If you keep floating around like that, I’ll have another Admiral friend of mine help capture Moria," Nagasawa suddenly said.
"What!"
The moment she heard Moria’s name, Perona immediately stopped throwing her meaningless tantrum.
"You wouldn’t want your captain to be captured and sent to prison, would you?"
Nagasawa smiled gently.
"You despicable Marine!"
After hearing Nagasawa’s threat, Perona instantly behaved herself.
She no longer dared to float around recklessly and could only bite her handkerchief while muttering a complaint.
Perona had been picked up by Moria when she was a child.
To her, Moria was like a father.
So when she saw the newspaper report saying that Moria had lost his status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and was being hunted by the Marines, she became extremely worried about his safety.
Although Nagasawa’s words were a threat, they also reassured Perona somewhat.
At least...
The Marines still hadn’t captured Moria.
After entering Mihawk’ castle, Nagasawa made himself completely at home.
He casually poured himself a cup of black tea as well.
Soon afterward, Nagasawa found an excuse to send Tina outside before giving Mihawk a meaningful look.
Understanding Nagasawa’s intentions, Mihawk sent the tea-drinking Perona to tend the damaged farmland.
After witnessing the gap between himself and such powerful fighters, Zoro devoted himself to even harsher training.
For the time being, only Mihawk and Nagasawa remained inside the castle.
"Mihawk, how about making a deal?" Nagasawa asked with a smile after taking a sip of black tea.
"What kind of deal?" Mihawk asked.
"It’s simple."
"When the time comes, you’ll help me with something."
"In exchange, I’ll teach you a way to become stronger."
Placing his teacup on the table, Nagasawa spoke leisurely.
"Help in exchange for becoming stronger..."
Mihawk fell into thought.
It sounded like a good deal.
However, he did not immediately agree.
Mihawk had his own principles and his own pride.
If becoming stronger meant doing something he despised, he would rather refuse Nagasawa’s offer.
"You’ll only need to help me the way you did during the Summit War."
"But that doesn’t necessarily mean helping the Marines."
Nagasawa smiled.
Mihawk immediately caught the key point.
Not necessarily the Marines.
"If that’s the case..."
"I accept."
After thinking for a moment, Mihawk agreed.
"When the time comes, I’ll let you know."
"As for the method that can make you stronger..."
"I’ll teach you over the next few days."
"It’s a kind of power related to breathing."
Nagasawa smiled.
Since Mihawk did not possess Chakra, he naturally could not learn the ninja world’s version of the Breathing Styles.
Therefore, Nagasawa planned to teach him the original Breathing Styles.
If Mihawk could gain some insight from them, his strength would certainly increase.
If not...
Then the original version of the Breathing Styles alone would not provide much benefit to someone at Mihawk’ level.
Thus, Nagasawa temporarily settled into Mihawk’ castle, quietly waiting for the Revolutionary Army to arrive.