What the Sword God said was naturally a lie.

There was obviously no such thing as a mixed-blood of the Lunarian Race and the Buccaneer Race in this world.

However, relying on Buckingham’s ‘corpse stitching technology’ combined with the power of the ‘Jacket-Jacket Fruit’, the Sword God truly possessed the traits of both races simultaneously.

In fact, this was what Roy was most satisfied with regarding this clone.

He was different from all previous clones—his fruit abilities were not a mishmash, but existed purely to serve this physical body.

And the power this clone possessed naturally needed no explanation.

Just as Hawkeye had judged—

The strength and powerful physique exceeding Fish-men by a thousandfold, provided by the Buccaneer Race, combined with the invincible adaptability and the ‘Imperishable Flames’ on his back from the Lunarian Race—in terms of pure innate physique, the Sword God was undoubtedly the strongest on the sea.

When it came to raw physical stats, even Kaido or Big Mom couldn’t compare.

Moreover, since the base of this clone was Shimotsuki Ryuma’s corpse, he could even successfully ‘awaken’ the dormant Haki within Shusui.

This was also the biggest reason the Sword God dared to test his sword across the Four Seas, and even dared to challenge the ‘Dark King’ and ‘Hawkeye’—although inherently a creation of fruit abilities, he was genuinely one of the strongest swordsmen on the sea.

His battle with Hawkeye thus far also confirmed that his judgment was not wrong.

Even facing the world’s strongest Great Swordsman, aided by the intense Haki on the Black Blade in his hand, he could fight him to the death and suppress him.

But—

“Exactly what I wanted.”

As those words from Hawkeye fell, the Sword God noticed the sudden change in his opponent.

In fact, it wasn’t hard to observe—in that instant, the Sword God could clearly see the Haki wrapped around the Black Blade ‘Yoru’ in Hawkeye’s hands begin to churn frantically.

Just like the Sword God using Shusui, the ‘Haki’ deeply embedded in ‘Yoru’ through years of tempering began to awaken.

But the difference was—

Their flow was not merely confined to the blade.

The spreading pitch-black Haki and intense spirit almost completely obscured the entire sky near Hawkeye.

It was as if an illusory ‘sword’, comparable to a mountain, had appeared out of nowhere on this island.

And right now, Hawkeye and the ‘Yoru’ he held—

They faintly merged into the edge of that giant sword.

Indistinguishable from each other, as if they were one body.

Hoo…

Hawkeye exhaled a long breath, but the instant it left his lips, it seemed to transform into an invisible slash, pulling the surrounding ‘blades’ to carve up the ground.

“…”

And in that instant—

The sharpness in Hawkeye’s pupils almost made the Sword God feel like his eyes were going to be sliced open.

But in that exact fleeting moment of distraction, the sword in Hawkeye’s hands had already swung.

Fwoosh!

Without hesitation, that prickling sensation on his back made the Sword God decisively ignite the flames behind him to their peak.

Just as mentioned before, that was the innate talent of the Lunarian Race—’Imperishable Flames’.

When the flames burned, the bodily defense of the Lunarian Race was stronger than alloy, practically an ‘Invincible Shield’.

At the same time, the resilient muscles characteristic of the Buccaneer Race were also pushed to their limit.

He could even be certain—at this point, even if a bomb sufficient to destroy an island exploded beside him, it wouldn’t harm him in the slightest.

But—

“Yoru Style: Great Dark Sky!”

Hawkeye’s figure flickered at that moment.

So in the Sword God’s perception, he only felt that sharp ‘giant sword’ opposite him sweep its blade toward him!

The gloomy sky seemed to crash down, plunging to the earth together with the sword shadow.

Sslash!

Merely an instant later, the sound of something being sliced open rang out.

The gloomy sky and the sword shadow dissipated simultaneously, and Hawkeye’s figure had already passed the Sword God, landing on the ground.

Up to this moment—

“…”

The Sword God lowered his head, looking at his left abdomen.

There—a hideous slash mark had clearly formed.

Even with the theoretically ‘invincible’ constitution of the Lunarian Race, combined with the powerful physique of the Buccaneer Race—

Under this strike from Hawkeye, his defense had been broken through.

“This is…”

The Sword God turned his gaze toward Hawkeye: “The World’s Strongest Swordsman.”

He realized he had underestimated those words.

For the vast majority of battles, comprehensive suppression in physique, strength, and speed was enough to decide everything about victory and defeat.

But for swordsmen, the truth seemed to be otherwise.

For swordsmen, tempering the physique and training strength were naturally important.

But their essence was only this—only when the physique and strength were sufficient could they swing their swords to the fullest.

The true domain pursued by swordsmen had always been the ‘Way of the Sword’ itself.

“Those who can cut wood and stone may tentatively be considered swordsmen.”

“Those who can cut steel have caught a glimpse of the Way of the Sword, and can be called a Swordsman.”

“Those who can cut mountains are Great Swordsmen.”

This was the evaluation of swordsmen passed down across the sea.

Then the question came.

As the world’s foremost Great Swordsman, ‘Hawkeye’—what level had his Way of the Sword reached?

This strike was perhaps the answer.

Even if it was the absolute defense of the legendary ‘Clan of Gods’, even if it was the resilient physique of the Buccaneer Race—it was all the same.

Mountains, rivers, seas, peaks, everything in the world—to ‘Hawkeye’ Mihawk and the sword in his hands, there was nothing that could not be cut.

“Truly remarkable.”

So the next moment, the Sword God gently clenched his hand.

The power of the Stitch-Stitch Fruit activated, and the wound on his left abdomen healed in an instant—relying on Buckingham’s ‘corpse stitching’ technology, he also possessed extraordinary regenerative ability.

His gaze fell on Hawkeye, and the latter was clearly also surprised by the Sword God’s powerful regeneration.

But clearly, words had lost their meaning.

The next instant, the figures of the two vanished like phantoms simultaneously.

Clang—

The sound of blades clashing erupted once more.

But this time, the battle was completely different from before.

“Shimotsuki Style: Azure Dragon Successive Slashes!”

The slashes swung by Shusui were like a boundless tsunami. The Imperishable Flames on the Sword God’s back burned fiercely, and every swing of his sword carried an overbearing aura that seemed to split the sky.

Or to be more exact—the sky was indeed split open.

Yes, the pouring rainstorm enveloping the nearby sea area carried rolling dark clouds, but with every slash from the Sword God, the violent power and intense Conqueror’s Haki wrapping each one made them soar like azure dragons, ripping massive gaps in the sky above.

This directly led to sunlight spilling onto the sky of Instein Island just a short time later, becoming a wondrous spectacle unique to this corner of the sea.

And at the same time, clear excitement shone in Hawkeye’s sharp eyes.

He also continuously unleashed slashes, his legs shifting on the muddy ground at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

That spirit and Haki that dimmed the heavens and earth still enveloped his body, as if they were extensions of his limbs.

He continuously parried, deflected, guided, and diverted, slicing apart the Sword God’s slashes—each of which was powerful enough to cleave mountains and sever seas.

“This is it!”

The corner of Hawkeye’s mouth even unconsciously curled upward.

His sharp eagle eyes shone astonishingly bright.

How long had it been?

Five years? Ten years? Or even longer?

How long since he had engaged in a fight to the death at this level?

A swordsman who suppressed him in strength and physique, where every strike brought such a terrifying sense of crisis—how long since he had encountered one?

The last time… seemed to be when Shanks still had both arms, right?

No, that wasn’t right either.

Shanks didn’t have an advantage over him in physique; his specialty lay in Haki. But because their sword duels were never fights to the death, Hawkeye could never muster his full intensity during those battles—from Shanks, he could feel enjoyment, but it was far from making his blood boil like this moment.

Because right now, Hawkeye felt as if he had returned to the time when he had just begun practicing the sword.

Continuously swinging the blade, continuously challenging—every battle could end in death, every clash of steel carried the scent of blood and danger.

This was exactly the fight to the death he pursued.

But the only shortcoming was—

“Not enough. Still lacking a bit!”

The Black Blade swept out, and an intense slash instantly shattered the Sword God’s strike. That slash then cleaved the entire island along with the distant sea surface and sky in a single line.

Hawkeye growled inwardly.

He could clearly feel it.

Although the opponent before him possessed a shocking physique and strength, and his foundation in swordsmanship was extremely profound—surpassing all swordsmen Hawkeye had encountered besides himself—

He was indeed a top-tier swordsman, a powerhouse worthy of battle.

But—

“If it’s only at this level, you can’t defeat me!”

Hawkeye’s heart was intoxicated, yet he also lamented this fact.

Yes, that was what he desired.

Strongest?

Ever since becoming the strongest, those two words had grown boring.

What he desired was to be defeated by a true powerhouse.

As long as he was defeated, it meant he hadn’t reached the ‘Strongest’ yet.

As long as he was defeated, there was still a goal to chase, a joy to pursue.

That was far more satisfying than sitting on the throne of the ‘Strongest’, living out tedious days.

The Sword God was very close to that level, but still fell short.

He was almost a perfect combination of ‘power’ and ‘technique’; in terms of swordsmanship alone, he was already at the pinnacle of the sea’s swordsmen.

But—

“He has already surpassed technique.”

At the same time, the Sword God, locked in combat with Hawkeye, also arrived at this judgment.

Between the continuous switching of offense and defense and the life-and-death struggle, the ‘Shusui’ in his hand seemed to be telling him the same answer.

His strength and physique were above Hawkeye’s, and his Haki was not inferior.

With every swing of the sword, he felt certain he was only a hair’s breadth from defeating his opponent.

But—

“A hair’s breadth away is essentially a world apart.”

In the Sword God’s perception, Hawkeye holding the Black Blade was just like the name of his sword style—he seemed like a piece of ‘Night’.

The pitch-black night was in everyone’s vision, seemingly within reach, and lighting a fire seemed enough to illuminate it.

But besides the illusion that ‘the night had passed’ in that small illuminated portion, in every other place, the night still endured.

Hawkeye’s swordsmanship was that kind of existence.

He had already surpassed the level of swordsmanship known to this sea and stood on another plane—one that not many swordsmen from ancient times to the present had ever set foot upon.

He had surpassed the realm of ‘Great Swordsman’.

The Sword God’s advantage in strength and physique allowed him to fight Hawkeye, but it was destined that he could never truly touch that realm.

“Hm?”

But exactly at that moment, a flicker of bewilderment inexplicably arose in the Sword God’s heart.

Because he suddenly had a doubt—

“Why… do I know this?”

Amidst the life-and-death struggle where both body and mind were tensed to the extreme, this question surfaced in his heart.

He shouldn’t understand this knowledge.

And exactly at that moment, the Sword God clearly heard it.

Clang!

On his right hand gripping the sword, Shusui seemed to let out some kind of… yearning low hum.

☆☆☆

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