Zoro gritted his teeth, his entire being like a beast preparing to charge.
His gaze was incredibly sharp, locked onto the formidable enemy before him—Dracule Mihawk, Hawkeye.
"No matter how strong the enemy, I will never back down!"
Zoro roared in a low voice, a sword clenched between his teeth, two swords held behind his back, quickly forming his ultimate technique: "Hunt!"
The sword light was like a rainbow, its edge fully exposed, as it lunged towards Mihawk.
Zoro's fierce move, with extreme speed, instantly reached Hawkeye.
The two swords, charged with power, had already swung from his back to his front, striking towards Hawkeye with a fierce momentum.
However, Hawkeye's speed was even faster; the moment Zoro approached, he found Zoro's weakness.
His right arm, holding a small knife, instantly extended, striking directly at Zoro's chest, breaking through Zoro's technique head-on.
Zoro, who could have retreated, did not dodge, nor was he willing to.
"Pfft!" The small knife plunged into Zoro's chest without hindrance. Blood gushed out, staining the white hilt.
Zoro did not retreat a single step; there was no fear in his eyes, only deep stubbornness and unwillingness to yield.
Blood dripped onto the deck, drop by drop, from his chest.
"Do you want your heart to be pierced directly? Why didn't you retreat?" Hawkeye asked Zoro, puzzled.
Zoro's body trembled slightly, but his gaze remained resolute.
He used all his strength to re-grip the sword in his hand, neither retreating nor giving up.
"I don't know, I don't even know myself!"
"I just feel that if I take even one step back here, all the vows and promises made until now..."
"They will all disappear! And I will never be able to come back here!"
Blood seeped from the corner of Zoro's mouth as he spoke firmly, word by word.
"Yes, that's called defeat!" Hawkeye said seriously.
"Hmph, then I absolutely cannot retreat!" Zoro snorted lightly and said firmly.
"Even if you die?"
"Better to die!"
Looking at Zoro, who faced death as if it were home, Hawkeye Mihawk sighed in his heart:
"What a powerful spirit, rather than be defeated, he would rather die?"
Mihawk pulled out the small knife and stepped back a few paces.
He spoke coldly, yet with a hint of respect: "Young man, state your name!"
Zoro crossed his two swords, holding one in each hand, while the third sword was firmly clenched in his mouth, forming a large pinwheel shape with the three swords.
"Roronoa Zoro!" Zoro announced his name to Hawkeye.
"I will remember you, a long-unseen strong opponent!"
"As a courtesy from a swordsman, I will use this world's strongest black blade to lay you to rest in the sea!"
Mihawk drew the black blade "Yoru" from his back, his eyes sharp as he looked at Zoro.
"I am truly grateful!"
Zoro's heart was as firm as a rock, resolved to die as he unleashed his final strike.
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique, Three Thousand Worlds!"
Instantly, he charged forward, his body transforming into an afterimage.
The three swords simultaneously spun and slashed, forming a massive spiral sword energy that seemed capable of tearing apart heaven and earth, cutting through all obstacles.
Hawkeye also charged at Zoro with his sword, and the two crossed paths in an instant.
"Bang!"
The aftermath of their battle created a powerful gust of wind that spread in all directions.
The two swords Zoro held were cut by Hawkeye's single strike, and a large sword wound appeared on his chest.
"Is this the power of the world's greatest swordsman!"
Zoro returned Wado Ichimonji to its sheath, turned around, and faced Hawkeye, spreading his arms.
"What are you doing?" Hawkeye, holding his sword with both hands, was once again baffled by Zoro's mysterious action.
"A sword scar on the back is a swordsman's disgrace." Zoro grinned.
"Incredible!" Hawkeye highly praised Zoro. The black blade Yoru struck Zoro across the chest, and blood instantly gushed out.
"Zoro!!!" Luffy's eyes widened in fury at this sight, and he wanted to rush over, but Kai stopped him.
"This is Zoro's duel!" Kai warned Luffy, not allowing him to interfere.
Kai sensed that Hawkeye had no killing intent, and Zoro's vitality was still very strong.
Hawkeye was just excited by the hunt; he wasn't serious at all.
And the two wounds Zoro sustained, under the powerful healing ability of his body, strengthened by the Body Tempering Method,
would probably heal even without bandaging... But only Kai could sense this; everyone else was stunned by the scene, believing Zoro had been killed by Hawkeye on the spot.
Sanji, standing nearby, was deeply shaken, his mind in disarray:
"That guy is truly insane; his opponent is the world's greatest swordsman, the outcome was already decided!"
"Rather than die, wouldn't it be better to abandon his ambition!"
Sanji couldn't understand Zoro's actions.
Zoro slowly fell, his brief clash with Hawkeye having exhausted his spirit.
The tingling sensation from the rapid healing of his chest wound made him feel alive.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"
Seeing Zoro fall, Luffy could no longer hold back and instantly rushed to Zoro's side.
Seeing that Zoro was still alive, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you that young swordsman's comrades? Thank you for watching until the end!"
Hawkeye, with his arms crossed, said to Luffy and Kai.
Zoro also sat up with Luffy's help.
Hawkeye observed Zoro's chest wound rapidly scabbing and healing, and he exclaimed:
"What formidable vitality!"
"It's still too early, I am Dracule Mihawk. Understand yourself, see through the world, and grow stronger!"
"No matter how many years pass, I will be waiting for you at the strongest position!"
"Surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!" Hawkeye said to Zoro with powerful conviction.
"I... will never lose again!"
"Until I defeat you and become the greatest swordsman!" Zoro looked at Hawkeye with determination.
This battle made Zoro realize the gap between himself and the top powerhouses, and it strengthened his resolve to train even harder.
"Luffy, Kai, I will absolutely never lose again!" Zoro's gaze was firm, his expression serious.
"Mhm!" Luffy nodded heavily.
"Mr. Mihawk, I also want to test the gap between myself and a world-class powerhouse."
Kai's gaze, like electricity, locked onto Hawkeye Mihawk. His aura gradually rose, and the surrounding air seemed to solidify due to this invisible power.
Hawkeye's eyes remained calm. He slightly raised his head, seemingly taking a slight interest in Kai.
"I didn't expect to meet so many promising young people in this small East Blue this time!"
Mihawk remained as steady as a rock, his gaze as sharp as a knife, as if seeing through Kai's inner thoughts.
He slowly stood up, lightly touching the cross-shaped greatsword on his back, a hint of playfulness in his expression:
"Your eyes are good. Come, let me see how far you can go."
"Hmph!" Kai roared, coiling his Conqueror's Haki around his right fist.
The black and red Haki wrapped around his fist shone with majestic light, as if tearing through the void.
The void itself was twisted and deformed by this power, and the powerful aftershocks caused the others behind him to lose their footing.
Under Luffy's rudimentary use of Conqueror's Haki, he barely managed to relieve some pressure for Nami and Usopp, allowing them to retreat from the deck.
With this punch, Kai used five parts of the power of Conqueror's Haki coating, which meant his body could currently only bear two parts of Conqueror's Haki coating.
The fist, coated with Conqueror's Haki, began to crumble and bleed as it couldn't withstand the power.
"This is Conqueror's Haki coating!!!"
Hawkeye had thought today's surprises were enough, but Kai gave him another shock.
Conqueror's Haki coating, which only a handful of top powerhouses in the world could use, was actually used by the young man in front of him.
Although it hadn't reached the power of a top powerhouse, how did the young man in front of him manage to use it when he hadn't even mastered Armament Haki?
At this moment, Hawkeye couldn't understand the reason, because it defied logic.
Hawkeye put away his condescending attitude, which had been prepared to teach the young man, and swung his black blade Yoru to meet Kai's fist.
Kai's fist, coated with Conqueror's Haki, and Hawkeye's black blade collided just a few centimeters apart.
At the point of impact, dazzling black and gold lightning erupted, surging outwards.
"Boom—!"
A massive shockwave exploded, and visible air currents lifted the surrounding seawater dozens of meters high.
The Sea Restaurant shook violently in this impact. Nami, Sanji, and Usopp were terrified, their faces pale, gripping the ship's railings tightly.
If Luffy hadn't activated his Conqueror's Haki to help them resist, they would have fainted long ago.
Kai resisted Hawkeye's black blade for a moment before being sent flying by Hawkeye, smashing through the deck and falling into the sea.
At this point, Kai's right hand, unable to withstand the power of five parts of Conqueror's Haki coating, revealed bare bones, and his right arm was also covered in wounds from the impact.
"Kai!!!" Seeing Kai knocked into the sea by Hawkeye, Luffy and the others shouted anxiously.
"I'm fine!" Kai instantly burst out of the sea, jumped onto the deck, and the wound on his right arm was slowly healing.
"What a monstrous young man!"
Hawkeye looked at Kai's recovering right arm and thought of another world-class monster.
"Even in the Grand Line, you could be called a monster!"
"But you still have a lot to learn. At least learning Armament Haki will prevent you from harming yourself when using Conqueror's Haki coating."
Mihawk sheathed his black blade. From their brief exchange just now, he had felt Kai's tenacious will and that terrifying, undeniable potential.
This was a man destined to become a supreme powerhouse of this sea.
Kai remembered the name Armament Haki and gave a faint smile, thanking Hawkeye: "Thank you for the guidance."
Although this exchange was brief, Kai clearly realized the gap between himself and the top powerhouses.
Hawkeye nodded at Kai, then turned and walked towards his small boat, his heart not calm.
"Interesting, what a terrifying crew! Once this crew enters the Grand Line, this world will no longer be so quiet!"
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