"Cyrus!"
Hawkeye, standing on the wreckage of the shattered boat, looked up at Cyrus and was the first to speak.
"Oh, you know me?"
Cyrus raised an eyebrow upon hearing Hawkeye call out his name.
"Your affairs have appeared in the newspapers." Hawkeye said this with a completely serious expression.
"I see. That makes sense!"
Cyrus nodded, his eyes sizing up Hawkeye before lingering on the sword in his hand.
One of the Supreme Grade Swords, Yoru, which had already become a Black Blade.
Just as he was observing the blade, it moved. It swung upward, and a Flying Slash was already in front of Cyrus.
Cyrus twisted his body in the air, and the slash flew past him.
'So, this was the real way of greeting before talking in this world.'
After dodging, Cyrus raised his hand and returned a slash of his own.
Hawkeye leaped up, stepping on the air as he charged toward Cyrus.
His Observation Haki locked onto Hawkeye. As his opponent charged, Cyrus met him head-on.
Swish!
The two passed each other, and the clothes on Cyrus's chest were slashed open.
Cyrus looked down at his clothes, then frowned.
[Health: 95%]
Hawkeye, who had also passed by, frowned as well.
The feeling of that last slash was very strange.
It felt like it had hit, but also like it hadn't.
'But his swordsmanship is really crude,' Hawkeye lamented inwardly.
This young man named Cyrus might be strong, but his swordsmanship was a bit too unrefined.
Hawkeye was somewhat disappointed.
He then turned in mid-air, stepping on the air as he charged again toward Cyrus, who had also turned around.
His gaze fell on Cyrus's chest.
The mark from the slash was still there since Cyrus's clothes had been cut open.
But there wasn't a single trace of blood on him, let alone a wound.
'What a strange body.' Hawkeye thought to himself as he swung his blade fiercely upon reaching Cyrus.
Being hit by that one slash, Cyrus knew there was a huge gap in swordsmanship skill between him and Hawkeye.
Facing the blade Hawkeye swung again, Cyrus raised his own sword to meet it.
Just as the two blades were about to collide, Yoru's extremely long blade scraped past his sword and was once again in front of Cyrus.
"I've confirmed it. Your sword is crude." After they passed each other, Hawkeye spoke with a calm tone.
"Yeah!"
Looking at the crisscrossing cuts on his chest, Cyrus turned to face Hawkeye, who was floating in the air by stepping on it, likely using a technique like Moon Walk.
Cyrus had to admit Hawkeye was right.
Although he had studied swordsmanship under Koshiro, since setting out, he had rarely relied on pure swordsmanship, using his ability most of the time.
'Have I become Ace?'
Hawkeye's words sent Cyrus into deep thought.
It seemed he was relying more and more on his ability.
He couldn't help it; the ability was just too useful.
As for his swordsmanship, although it had improved a lot, the gap was obvious when compared to the current Hawkeye.
In a pure contest of swordsmanship, he was no match.
In this brief exchange, aside from using his ability to float, Cyrus hadn't used his Devil Fruit Ability during the clashes.
Thus, the difference in swordsmanship was stark.
His physical strength might have an advantage over the current Hawkeye, but in the face of such a skill gap, it was clearly useless.
Hawkeye had probably sensed this during their first exchange, which was why his blade was so nimble in the next two attacks.
He was playing to his strengths and exploiting Cyrus's weaknesses.
A very smart choice.
Cyrus and Hawkeye stared at each other, Cyrus reflecting on their exchange and what he had learned from the brief clash.
Hawkeye, after meeting Cyrus's gaze, sheathed his Black Blade into the strap on his back and turned toward the port.
"The fight is over. I now understand your sword." Hawkeye said, preparing to leave.
"I'm afraid not!"
Hearing this, Cyrus smiled and shook his head.
Flames emerged from his hand and coiled around his blade, and Haki enveloped it as well.
"Since you initiated the attack, it should be up to me to decide when it ends. That's only fair."
Feeling the scorching heat behind him, Hawkeye turned back around.
Seeing Cyrus with flames wrapped around his blade, he once again gripped the hilt of his sword with a reverse grip.
'So it was the power of flame that created that slash mark?'
Seeing the flames coiling around Cyrus's blade, Hawkeye understood how the slash in the desert had been created.
Seeing Hawkeye turn back, Cyrus raised his sword, then his gaze fell on the distant port.
The flames on his blade receded, and the Armament Haki that had been coating it flowed back into his hands.
The sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard rang out.
Cyrus shook his head slightly.
"Let's find another place. If we keep fighting like this, this city will be destroyed."
After speaking, Cyrus, with his body wreathed in flames, transformed into a ball of fire and flew toward the port.
Hawkeye released his grip on his sword hilt, watching Cyrus fly away as a ball of fire.
'A flame... master swordsman?' Hawkeye thought to himself, then followed behind Cyrus using Moon Walk.
...
At the port.
The people who had been busy earlier had long since hidden themself.
Although it was just a test, the waves stirred up were still massive.
If Issho hadn't intervened to block them, the waves would have crashed ashore, and while the entirety of Nanohana might not have been destroyed, the port certainly wouldn't have survived.
Robin's eyes gazed out at the sea.
Her Observation Haki couldn't reach that far, and with her naked eye, she could only see a small dot in the distance.
Issho, on the other hand, stood to the side, observing the situation over there with his Observation Haki.
Sensing that the two had suddenly stopped fighting, Issho had a puzzled look on his face.
Just then, a flash of fire streaked by, and Cyrus landed in front of Robin.
"Ah?"
Seeing Cyrus return, Robin cried out in surprise, her gaze falling on his chest.
The crisscrossing tears were very conspicuous, revealing Cyrus's eight-pack abs.
"Is it over?" Robin asked subconsciously.
"No. It was really just a test. This isn't a suitable place to fight. Besides, he can't fly, so you could say he's at a disadvantage," Cyrus said with a shake of his head.
Just as he finished speaking, Hawkeye descended from the sky.
His sharp eyes looked at Cyrus, then moved to Issho, and his face filled with astonishment.
The mutual perception between Great Swordsmen.
Compared to Cyrus, the man before him was a true Great Swordsman.
Being stared at by Hawkeye, Issho raised his sword and gripped its hilt.
"This isn't a suitable place for a battle. Are you two going to fight here?" Cyrus interjected, seeing the atmosphere between them.
The strange tension that had just appeared between the two instantly vanished.
Of course, this was mainly because Issho had lowered his sword.
He did want to test his skills against the world's Greatest Swordsman, but he would never do so if it meant endangering others.
"Flames combined with swordsmanship? I'd like to see that as well," Hawkeye said, his gaze returning to Cyrus's face.
"Alright. Let's talk somewhere else," Cyrus said, though his mind was already scheming how to trick Hawkeye into joining them.
'This guy also held the title of Marine Hunter.'
'Hmm, a natural-born hunter.'
'So, beat him into submission?'