Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Seemingly to make Zoro realize the insurmountable gap between them, or perhaps simply to pass the time, Mihawk easily deflected all of Zoro's attacks with a small knife that resembled a fruit knife.

However, under Mihawk's constant pressure and casual questions, Mihawk sensed an incredibly strong will within Zoro's swordsmanship, which could only be described as immature and weak.

I am willing to risk my life to uphold my swordsmanship and my dream!

Even when facing an enemy that is absolutely invincible, the will to wield the sword in hand will not waver in the slightest!

Finally, as Mihawk's dagger pierced Zoro's heart, leaving only a hair's breadth between them, Zoro's face showed no fear of death or defeat. Yet, Mihawk recognized Zoro's will!

Mihawk stepped back, slowly drawing the "Supreme Grade Sword - Night" from behind him, and asked.

"Kid, state your name."

"Sizzle~"

A smile appeared on Zoro's face. He showed no fear of having just narrowly escaped death, nor did he flinch at the seemingly serious Mihawk before him. He answered.

"Roronoa Zoro!"

"I will remember you, long-lost strongman, so..."

Then, Mihawk pointed at Zoro with the Supreme Grade Sword Yoru and said, "To show my respect as a swordsman, I will use this world's strongest black sword to send you to your doom at sea!"

"I'm truly grateful!"

As Zoro finished speaking, Mihawk launched himself towards Zoro.

"Fall!"

"Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Technique - Three Thousand Worlds!"

Zoro's two swords spun violently as he passed Mihawk!

The next instant, to the tense gazes of the onlookers, the two swords Zoro held shattered instantly, and blood splattered all over his body.

Seeing this scene, everyone understood that Zoro had undoubtedly... lost!

Zoro's expression remained unchanged, as if the excruciating pain did not move him at all. He simply sheathed the "Wado Ichimonji" he was biting down on.

'We lost. Although I had a vague feeling I'd sensed this outcome beforehand, is this truly the strongest power in the world?'

Zoro then sheathed Wado Ichimonji and stood up, then opened his arms to face Mihawk.

Mihawk asked, puzzled, regarding Zoro's actions, "What?"

Zoro, however, still wore the pride of a swordsman as he replied, "A scar on the back is a swordsman's shame."

Mihawk was taken aback!

As a defeated person facing death, could he still be so frank and fearless even at the very end?

"amazing!"

Mihawk couldn't help but praise him, and at the same time, his "Black Blade Night" fell towards Zoro's chest.

At this moment, some onlookers couldn't help but close their eyes.

Mihawk's "Black Blade Night" is capable of easily splitting an entire large pirate ship in two. The only outcome for a mere human body to withstand that attack would likely be death!

And at that very moment...

Zoro, who was facing his final fate with his eyes open, saw a sword appear in front of "Black Sword Yoru"!

"clang!!"

The two swords clashed, and a crisp sound echoed across the sea.

"what?!"

Zoro looked at the figure blocking "Black Blade Night" with a somewhat surprised expression, never expecting it to be Hikari, who usually seemed to rely on Sora for everything.

"Zoro, is this all you've got?"

Ying's clear voice, tinged with dissatisfaction and disdain, rang out. Her beautiful eyes glanced sideways at Zoro behind her as she reprimanded him.

"It is two different things to bravely challenge the strong and to cowardly seek death after defeat, you fool."

At that moment, Zoro's eyes widened involuntarily, and in a daze, he seemed to see Kuina's silhouette on Ying.

"You, Ying..."

Before Zoro could finish speaking, Ying lashed out with a whip kick, sending Zoro flying towards Luffy and Kong.

Even though Mihawk didn't intend to completely kill Roronoa Zoro, whom he admired, being interrupted by Sparkle from delivering the final blow to the defeated still made Mihawk's face show some anger.

"Kid, don't you know that interrupting a swordsman's duel is an act of rudeness?"

In response, Ying, who was blocking "Black Blade Night," said without fear, "The duel between swordsmen has already been decided. What I interrupted was only your arrogant behavior."

“That is the power that the victor can exercise over the loser!” Mihawk said.

"In that case, I will take back this power from your hands on behalf of my partner!" Ying said sternly.

"Are all the brats from the East Sea this arrogant?"

As Mihawk finished speaking, the duel between Mihawk and Ying suddenly began, and the intensity of the battle skyrocketed to an extremely terrifying level after only a few brief exchanges.

The "Famous Sword: Sakura Ten" and the "Black Sword: Night" collided in the hands of Ying and Mihawk, almost turning into countless afterimages. The aftershocks alone were enough to make the sea tremble, and the flying slashes that splashed out from time to time easily cut the sea apart!

At this moment, not only were the other onlookers shocked that the seemingly cute and beautiful Ying was so strong, but even the Straw Hat crew were astonished and their mouths were agape.

"Ying... Ying is actually this strong?!"

"Amazing!!!"

"I always thought that the knife Ying carried was just for decoration."

"Hey, Sora, didn't you say before that Ying wasn't good at many things and that we should be more understanding and considerate of her?"

Amidst the exclamations of Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and the others, Sora explained with a hint of helplessness.

"Ying does have many areas where she is not good at anything, but the only thing Ying is good at is swordsmanship."

Suddenly, Luffy, who had already felt that Sora was terrifyingly strong in every aspect, couldn't help but ask, "Sora, who is stronger, you or Luminous?"

"Ying is probably twice as strong as me... no, at least five times stronger."

Sora answered in an uncertain tone, causing Luffy and the others to open their mouths wide once again.

The heavily injured Zoro stared intently in the direction of Ying, his expression filled with disbelief, while tears welled up in his eyes.

"Kuina, can you see that?"

"Even women can be that powerful, even to the point of being able to rival the world's greatest swordsman."

[Chapter 711. The Postponed Showdown]

"boom!!"

Another incredibly violent flying slash exchanged blows. After nearly half an hour of non-stop fighting, Mihawk and Luminous separated and landed on the shattered wreckage of the Krieg Pirates' ship floating on the sea.

At this moment, Mihawk's expression appeared quite astonished.

This sea is not without famous female swordsmen. Gion, the "Momosuke" of the Navy, and Charlotte Smoothie, the "Sweeper" of the "Big Mom Pirates", are both renowned swordsmen on the sea.

However, Mihawk was still shocked by the strength of the girl in front of him.

Even at this girl's age, my strength is far from reaching that level!

and……

Mihawk's gaze sharpened like an eagle's as he stared directly at Ying, who was not far away, and asked, "State your name, strong one."

"fluorescent!"

"Your swordsmanship is quite complex, showing traces of the Navy's style while also incorporating the essence of the Wano Country style..."

After a pause, Mihawk asked with a hint of doubt, "There's another style, though it's not widely known. Who was your teacher there?"

Ying twirled the "Famous Sword: Sakura Ten" in her hand, and a jet-black Armament Haki covered it. Her slender figure suddenly rushed straight towards Mihawk.

"Kendo duels are my teacher!"

"boom!"

The next moment, the two jet-black swords collided violently, and the large wreckage where Mihawk stood suddenly sank into the sea, sending up splashes of water tens of meters high.

Immediately, before the water droplets could fall back into the sea, a large number of wildly flying slashes erupted in the center of the fierce battle between Mihawk and Ying, instantly shattering all the water droplets.

Realizing that the shipwrecks, which served as a foothold, could not withstand much impact as a battlefield, Mihawk and Ying both switched to a pure swordsmanship contest.

In an instant, a cacophony of collisions echoed across the sea.

"Ding ding ding..."

The speed of their swordplay was so fast that it far exceeded the speed that could be seen with the naked eye; all that could be seen was a large blur of afterimages and sparks that kept exploding in the air.

This swordsmanship competition, which can be described as the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the ocean, left most of the East China Sea spectators both shocked and bewildered.

Although these East Sea spectators could hardly understand the brilliance and mystery behind it, they could still tell from the unintentional aftershocks that the opponent was far more powerful than they had imagined.

Meanwhile, Yaon, who had been staying in the restaurant and hadn't shown his face, had completely stopped eating and was now staring intently at the battle. The tension in his heart was even stronger than if Yaon himself had been fighting.

Although in Wano Country, Ying has defeated all the samurai in the past few years through fair and square sword duels, even Aon, who only used the swordsmanship he learned from the consciousness of "Zanpakuto: Ryujin Jakka", could not defeat Ying.

However, compared to the "sword duels" of the past that were more of a friendly exchange, this battle between Ying and Mihawk was undoubtedly a true life-or-death struggle.

Furthermore, given the inherent danger of swordplay, a battle can be decided in an instant, unlike a duel between Logia-type Devil Fruit users which can last for days.

However, even though Mihawk and Ying consciously suppressed the aftershocks of the battle, the shipwrecks that Mihawk and Ying used as footholds were still rapidly breaking apart under the clash of two great swordsmen.

As Mihawk and Ying's foothold dwindled and their space for dodging dwindled, the swordplay duel became increasingly dangerous.

Finally, amidst a violent expansion that sent sparks flying, Mihawk and Luminous almost simultaneously seized the brief opening and unleashed a flying slash of unparalleled power, attempting to end the battle in one strike.

The black blade, as dark as the night sky, was wrapped in a layer of dark green. The moment Mihawk's foot landed on the ship wreckage, an ultimate flying slash burst forth towards Ying.

"The world's number one slash!"

An exceptionally arrogant and confident name, and an exceptionally terrifying ultimate flying slash.

As Ying faced the terrifying flying slash coming at her, the moment she sheathed "Famous Sword: Sakura Ten", the scabbard instantly flipped up and stood upright in front of Ying, with black and red lightning crackling around the slightly unsheathed blade.

"Overwhelming Haki?!"

As Shanks' close friend, Mihawk, who unleashed that strike, almost instantly sensed the appearance of "Conqueror's Haki".

The next moment, as Ying drew her "Famous Sword: Sakura-ju" with a thunderous roar, black and red lightning erupted from the center of the "Famous Sword: Sakura-ju"!