Big brother, I want to become the strongest pirate in the world!

Mihawk's eyes sharpened, a smirk appeared on his lips, he jumped back, and then lunged at the falling Kazan.

Cross Slash.

Bang!

The three swords clashed again. For a moment, Kazan was slightly pushed back, but the crimson sword energy following the cross slash made Hawkeye give up the head-on confrontation and suddenly dodge backward.

"ability?"

"No, swordsmanship."

"interesting!"

Earth Shattering Wave Slash.

In this sword aura contest, Kazan was clearly at a disadvantage, and even had two lethal attacks.

Soul-Devouring Hand, Rage Burst, and Soul-Devouring Demon-Sealing Slash.

The first two moves are not sword techniques and are not suitable for this kind of duel. As for the last move, Kazan has never used it before, so he doesn't know its power. In any case, judging from the strong control in the game, if Hawkeye can't break free from that unreasonable control, he will probably be left with a terrible scar.

Therefore, Kazan does not want to use this move on non-hostile targets.

Having tested all the skills, Kazan had a rough idea of ​​Hawkeye's abilities and charged in to unleash a frenzy of high-speed basic attacks.

It's clear that although the force wasn't strong, the speed still surprised Hawkeye. He was even slashed twice at first because he wasn't used to the attack speed, but he was protected by Armament Haki so it wasn't a big problem.

However, these two strikes put Hawkeye into a state of excitement, and he became serious, unleashing his full swordsmanship.

Logically, Kazan should have been defeated outright and unable to withstand the attack.

but……

In this high-intensity clash.

He finally broke through.

Chapter 047 The Real Showdown

[Personal Panel - Youth Version]

Name: Kazan

Class: Berserker

Level: Lv.35

Attributes: Strength Lv.5 (even with all buffs, it won't reach Lv.6), Agility Lv.5, Stamina Lv.5, Intelligence Lv.?

Equipment: Limiter x2, Black Blade: Darkmoon, Demon Blade: Useless

Passive Skills: Katana Mastery (Max), Basic Mastery (Max), Blood Awakening, Vigorous Blood, Dual Wielding Lv.5, Iron-Iron Fruit Lv.4, Observation Haki Lv.4, Armament Haki Lv.3

Active Skills: Earth Shatter Wave Slash, Enhanced Blade Soul Kazan, Cross Slash, Triple Slash, Mountain Crash, Blood Frenzy, Death Resistance, Soul Devouring Hand, Berserk, Rage Burst, Bloodlust, Soul Devouring Demon Slash

Kazan's dual-wielding skills and Armament Haki have both improved by one level, greatly narrowing the gap between him and Mihawk.

The attack speed of my basic attack has increased from more than four hits per second to more than five hits per second.

"Hmm... Is this your full strength? Interesting swordsmanship. Although I guessed I was tricked by that guy, it still broadened my horizons. If my Armament Haki level were any lower, I would have been injured."

Mihawk, who had already adapted to Kazan's attacks, was caught off guard for a second, and in that second he was slashed five times.

Although Mihawk's Armament Haki level was much higher than Kazan's, faint white slash marks were still left on his clothes.

"As expected of you...

Kazan now feels a significant reduction in the pressure from the sword, likely because Mihawk has forcibly increased his attack speed, thus reducing the force he exerts.

"There's no point in continuing like this. I'm about to use my most powerful move. If you can withstand it, I'll lose. If you can't, you might suffer a serious injury."

"Come!"

Mihawk smiled at Kazan's words, and the two stopped what they were doing and put some distance between them.

"So……"

【Soul-Devouring Demon-Sealing Slash: Forcibly grabs enemies within a certain range in front of you and inflicts a 'bleeding' state. After a certain period of time, it uses the absorbed blood energy to unleash a powerful attack. Can only be used while Blood Frenzy is active.】

puff.

"Ok?"

Mihawk looked at his bleeding arms. He had covered them with Armament Haki, but he was still injured.

The distance is getting closer.

Mihawk realized that he couldn't stop his body with his physical strength alone, and launched a flying slash at Kazan.

Earth Shattering Wave Slash.

Kazan, expressionless, unleashed a skill with his empty hand. After reaching Lv.5 in swordsmanship, the sword aura released under the enhancement of Wave Slash was equivalent to Lv.6, only slightly weaker than Mihawk's current level, almost the same.

However, this is not important. What is important is that two characteristics were discovered during the release of the Soul-Devouring Demon-Sealing Slash, one good and one bad.

The disadvantage is that the forced grab of the Soul-Devouring Demon-Sealing Slash has very limited effect on people stronger than oneself. For example, Mihawk stopped moving after pinning the Black Blade Night to the ground.

The advantage is that, just like the Soul Devouring Demon Slash mentioned earlier, which cannot achieve the same domineering effect as in the game, the way skills are released in reality is also different from that in the game. For example, Kazan can release the Soul Devouring Demon Slash with one hand, and can also release skills with the other hand, while in the game you can only use one move at a time.

As long as the compatibility doesn't interfere, there's no problem. For example, when releasing Soul Devouring Demon Slash, you need to stand still. It's impossible to use skills that require movement, like Mountain Crash or Triple Slash, at the same time. However, using skills that don't require movement is fine.

"There's still a little distance... then..."

Kazan sensed that the final strike of his Soul-Sealing Demon Slash was about to land, but he was still some distance from Mihawk, and if he just threw it out like that, he might not be able to hit him.

However, just as the demon hand was about to land and unleash its final blow, Kazan released the first part of his Triple Slash, shifting forward, and then delivered a powerful upward thrust.

Mihawk's eyes sharpened as he raised his black sword with both hands and slashed down with all his might at Kazan's thrust.

boom!

The impact of the chopping and thrusting motion actually caused a small-scale explosion.

Both figures, one in black and one in red, were sent flying backward by the powerful impact.

"That move... was amazing..."

"It didn't cause you any harm at all."

Looking closely, Mihawk is in a terrible state. Due to the 'bleeding' effect, he is covered in blood and looks like he has been seriously injured.

Kazan, protected by his Iron-Steel Fruit powers, didn't suffer any damage, but he was quite exhausted. If he continued fighting Mihawk like this, he would undoubtedly lose.

Kazan lost this match without any surprise, ultimately proving that he still has a considerable gap to close with Mihawk.

Mihawk stood there, quietly watching Kazan, who was still shrouded in a bloody mist. His interest had diminished considerably, but it still lingered.

Clearly, Shanks lied to him. In terms of both raw strength and swordsmanship, Kazan was not capable of standing up to him.

However, Shanks wasn't entirely fooling him. At least he saw great potential in the boy's strange swordsmanship, and that the boy would eventually reach a level that could rival his own.

"The Four Seas are not suitable for you; they limit your development. Go to the Grand Line, where you will make rapid progress."

Mihawk hopes that Kazan can quickly become a swordsman of equal skill to him.

Although he and Shanks have never been able to determine who is better, it is because they each have their own strengths in swordsmanship and Haki, which complement each other and create a stalemate.

Mihawk believes that Kazan's potential in swordsmanship is greater than Shanks', and he is already not much worse than Shanks, which is very attractive to him. If nothing unexpected happens, he will probably visit Kazan more often in the future.

Unfortunately, Kazan wasn't actually a pure swordsman. In the later stages, his red-eyed power primarily relied on blood energy for damage, with swordsmanship being slightly less important. Moreover, he also had the Iron-Iron Fruit as a supplement.

"Ah...I will go."

Kazan rested for a while, then deactivated all his buff skills.

Just right.

At this moment, the two of them were simultaneously expelled from the space inside the door. Although a considerable battle had just taken place inside the door, from the outside, it appeared as if nothing had happened.

Judging from appearances alone... Kazan is in better condition, while Hawkeye Mihawk is clearly "seriously injured"!

"I'll be staying on this island for a while longer. There are still some things I want to know. Also, I'm quite interested in your sword. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Well, that's perfect. You won't find any rivals in the West Sea. I'll let you enjoy Shanks' treatment for the next while."

"Oh? Then I'll look forward to it."

Kazan's sunny disposition made Mihawk think he was a decent guy, and since he wasn't very familiar with the island, it was good to have someone to entertain him.

Chapter 048 The Perverted Moria

"As expected of my brother, even a powerful figure who has risen to fame in the Grand Line has been defeated."

"Hmph, I saw the ending from the very beginning. There's no way my brother could lose."

"...I didn't win."

"We understand."

"..."

Kazan frowned as he watched his younger siblings, who were now trying to figure things out on their own, after Mihawk left. How could he possibly improve their intelligence? Oh well, he was worried about himself.

The next day.

"Huh? There's such a legend about the Western Sea?"

"Ah... if you go to Wano Country and learn about the legend of Ryuma, the dragon-slaying samurai, you'll understand."

"Then... if nothing unexpected happens, this is the former 'Lost Kingdom'."

"……here?"

After hearing Kazan's words, Mihawk glanced at the town with a doubtful expression; it seemed quite ordinary.

Kazan glanced at Mihawk's expression and immediately guessed the doubt in the other's mind.

“What kind of state can a country that was already in ruins five hundred years ago be in now?”

"Well, that's how it is."

Mihawk nodded; there were quite a few examples of this on this sea.

"Then how do you know this is the 'Lost Kingdom'?"