Watching the blade slash down beside him, Hawkeye shifted his gaze to Cyrus's face.
"Your sword was off target!"
"It was on purpose. After all, I never really planned to kill you," Cyrus said in a relaxed tone, his left hand still gripping the blade of Yoru.
Cyrus had thought Hawkeye would dodge. He hadn't expected him to go for a mutual exchange.
A pity it wouldn't have worked.
Hawkeye looked at the blade gripped by Cyrus with a look of wonder on his face.
He had never imagined that his full-power strike could be caught bare-handed.
He was well aware of his own strength.
Even the three Yonko's who currently dominated the New World wouldn't dare to take his blade head-on with their physical bodies.
But now, this strange man, Cyrus, had caught his strike with a bare hand.
And after fighting at full power for over an hour, Cyrus's aura hadn't weakened in the slightest.
What Hawkeye didn't know was that Cyrus was also feeling a bit helpless at this moment.
He hadn't originally planned to activate Unyielding.
According to his previous estimates, he could maintain his full-power use of Haki and his Devil Fruit Ability for over ten hours.
But this clash with Hawkeye had taught him that plans were just plans, and most things rarely went according to them.
Especially when fighting an expert like Hawkeye.
Although he had done his best to use Observation Haki and Elemental Transformation to dodge Hawkeye's slashes, he had still been hit many times.
Especially that final strike.
His remaining twenty-odd health points had been wiped out in a single blow.
He wasn't at a point where he could just fool around as he pleased.
Only when he could fight to a draw or even defeat these truly top-tier powerhouses of the sea in his regular state would he have the capital to be reckless.
"I lo—"
Seeing Cyrus release his sword, Hawkeye began to speak, but before he could finish, he was sent flying backward by a slap from Cyrus.
"Get back..."
Hawkeye heard Cyrus's voice and then his entire body was sent flying, instantly leaving the airspace above the island.
Just as confusion arose in his mind, he saw a true sun appear above the deserted island, instantly engulfing the entire landmass and radiating infinite light and heat.
'He was still hiding his strength?'
The thought stunned the backward-flying Hawkeye as he watched the astonishing scene unfold above the increasingly distant deserted island.
...
'He was hiding his strength?'
This thought also surfaced in the mind of Issho, who was on a small boat far away.
Though the distance was considerable, his Observation Haki could still perceive some of what was happening on the island.
And now, Issho could naturally sense the kind of power contained in the events unfolding above the deserted island, and he knew, of course, that Cyrus was behind it.
This current display was far stronger than when he had fought him.
"Is this his true strength?" Issho murmured, turning his head to look at Robin.
Robin's Observation Haki couldn't see the deserted island, but from here, the sun appearing in its direction was visible to the naked eye.
On the boat, Enel was dumbfounded.
Mantra was his Observation Haki, and in terms of range, Enel's was not much smaller than Cyrus's, so he saw everything most clearly.
Just as the three on the boat were shocked and bewildered, a figure shot back with a whistling sound.
As it passed over the boat, the figure kicked the air, finally landing on the deck.
Hawkeye looked a bit disheveled now.
His previously clean and tidy clothes were covered in scorch marks.
The hat on his head was also missing one side of its brim.
After landing, Hawkeye said nothing, his eyes fixed intently on the deserted island.
...
At this moment, Cyrus was doing his best to rein in his power.
He could now confirm it.
His previous theory was completely correct.
The stronger he was in his normal state, the greater the power boost he received after activating Unyielding.
What came with it was a terrifying, indescribable power within his body.
The power inside him felt endless.
Whether it was Haki, stamina, or the Devil Fruit Ability he could control and transform.
How strong was this attack?
Cyrus looked down at the island, which had been completely transformed into an island of magma.
He subconsciously wanted to launch an attack but forcefully stopped himself.
He couldn't predict the power of such a strike, but his mind recalled the attack Imu would use in the future with the Mother Flame to make the Lulusia Kingdom disappear.
'It probably wouldn't reach that level.'
Cyrus thought, gathering and guiding the surging power within him toward the sky.
Even if it didn't, the tsunami this attack would cause could affect islands over a very large area.
But this was a rare opportunity. Conqueror's Haki, activate!
Cyrus decided to unleash his Conqueror's Haki without the slightest reservation.
An invisible shockwave spread out in all directions.
The sea surface roiled under its influence.
The clouds in the sky were blasted apart.
Wave after wave of terrifying pressure radiated outwards.
On the small boat far away, Robin and Enel, caught completely unprepared by the Conqueror's Haki shockwave, fainted instantly.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye and Issho broke out in a cold sweat.
"Conqueror's Haki!" Hawkeye said with difficulty, looking at the changes in the surroundings caused by Cyrus's unrestrained release of his Conqueror's Haki.
Streaks of black lightning appeared in the air.
Inside the fireball above the deserted island.
Cyrus sensed the presence of his Conqueror's Haki.
Previously, he could use Conqueror's Haki, but compared to the other two types, it was too ethereal and elusive.
He could use it before, but he couldn't control it.
But now, he could feel the flow of his Conqueror's Haki.
'An opportunity!'
In an instant, Cyrus thought of using this chance to master the advanced applications of Conqueror's Haki.
At the very least, to master Conqueror's Haki Emission.
The moment this thought arose, he succeeded.
Yes, just that easily.
Even Cyrus himself found it a bit incredible.
Was this a qualitative change brought about by a quantitative one?
The effects of Unyielding were still increasing.
Cyrus unleashed his Observation Haki, instantly covering an area of over a hundred kilometers in radius.
Then, his Conqueror's Haki swept across.
Several pirate ships within this range were hit by the Conqueror's Haki, and the entire ships fell silent in an instant.
Guiding Conqueror's Haki with Observation Haki!
Cyrus tried to finely control his Conqueror's Haki.
The opportunity to have Unyielding active was rare, he had to try everything he could.
This was a technique Red Hair had demonstrated, using fine control of Conqueror's Haki to extend its suppressive effect over a great distance.
But this time, he failed.
Conqueror's Haki Emission was something he could accomplish easily in this state.
But finely controlling Conqueror's Haki to extend its power over a great distance required mastery and precise control.
But the current Cyrus couldn't even control his Conqueror's Haki, let alone anything else.
He was on the verge of losing control of his Devil Fruit Ability and Armament Haki as well.
The power had already exceeded the extent he could master.
"Hawkeye wasn't entirely wrong."
When they first started fighting, Hawkeye had said he wasn't controlling his strength.
If he could perfectly control his power in his regular state, then after activating Unyielding, he at least wouldn't be like this, uncontrollably releasing all this power.
Although it was still very strong!
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