After a full meal and some rest, it was already well past midnight when they finally located the island.
A desolate, primal land, the island teemed with feral beasts—massive, bloodthirsty, and brimming with wild instinct.
Originally, Weiss intended to spar during daylight, but Mihawk had another idea.
"Helps with digestion," was his simple explanation.
They stepped onto the island together—and in that moment, both unleashed their auras without reservation. Sword qi surged across the entire island in every direction. Startled by the violent energy, the beasts scattered in terror, crashing through the underbrush, their escape paths uncertain. It felt as if every inch of space was ringing with the clash of swords.
Killing intent and razor-sharp sword enerqy howled wildly around Weiss. Trees rustled as if caught in a storm.
Across from him, Mihawk acted as if he saw nothing. Calm and composed, he slowly drew the black blade—Yoru—from behind his back.
Weiss unsheathed his own sword, Star Abyss. Instantly, Armament Haki wrapped around the blade in dark ripples. The moment the sword cleared the scabbard, Weiss vanished, replaced by flickering afterimages that encircled Mihawk.
Mihawk lifted Yoru with both hands—one high, one low—and blocked Weiss's assault. In a flash, he reversed the momentum and countered with equal force.
Clang!
A burst of sword light exploded as their blades clashed, bright enough to illuminate the dark sky. Sword energy aimed directly at Mihawk's chest was deflected with a flick of the wrist—another arc of force erupted from the point of contact.
This was no flashy spectacle—this was a pure contest of sword intent.
Violent winds howled. Any beast too slow to escape was instantly shredded by the residual sword energy.
The surrounding glow of sword qi dimmed. At the center of it all, Star Abyss and Yoru clashed once again. These were both Supreme Grade blades—equal in strength, their clash sent shockwaves through the earth.
The two swordsmen leapt apart.
Weiss twirled his blade in a blooming sword flower, face grim. Even a single exchange had made the difference in strength clear.
But he wasn't done yet.
Blood-red killing intent coated Star Abyss like mist. In the blink of an eye, Weiss slashed out three waves of sword energy, sealing off all avenues of retreat.
"Oh? Three slashes in an instant? Quite fast," Mihawk murmured.
The crimson-edged waves closed in.
Mihawk gripped Yoru tightly with both hands and swung with brutal precision. His mighty slash collided head-on with the three incoming sword strikes.
Boom!
The explosion of force sent shockwaves ripping through the island. Trees were uprooted, flung into the air, and torn apart mid-flight by the lingering sword qi. Broken branches and trunks rained from the sky.
Seizing the opening, Weiss surged forward in a series of rapid blinks. A crimson arc sparked from Star Abyss as he aimed a thrust directly at Mihawk's face.
Mihawk's pupils shrank. He shifted to a one-handed grip, carving a swift arc in the air with his right hand. Armament Haki poured forth like a black tide, coating Yoru and deepening its already jet-black hue.
Ting!
Weiss's thrust was deflected.
A cyclone of wind burst outward. Weiss vanished once more—so fast that even his afterimage disappeared.
"Basic Strike: Thousand Cuts in an Instant!"
Countless scarlet sword energies erupted around Mihawk. His arm blurred out of sight as an arc appeared in the sky. The sound of blades colliding rang out endlessly in the darkness.
The shockwaves grew more intense, shaking the ground. The earth groaned under the relentless force of their strikes, unable to bear the tension.
Boom! Boom!
Thunderous rumbles rolled beneath their feet—the land itself was beginning to collapse under the strain of their battle.
A spiraling gust erupted from Mihawk's body, sweeping sand and shattered rock into the air, forming a sword qi sandstorm.
Weiss was blown back, somersaulted in midair, and landed hard with a sharp thud. He planted his feet and steadied himself.
Sliding his blade into its sheath, he declared:
"Basic Strike: Draw Slash!"
A brilliant line of red and black exploded from the scabbard, the slash cutting through the night like a comet. The red light lit up half the sky, laced with black Haki.
Mihawk responded with a flying slash of his own—a blinding white arc that tore through the darkness.
Red met white in the heavens. No sound emerged, only silence as the energies dissolved into one another.
Ssst!
BOOM!
The sword energy fused, shot higher into the sky, and exploded in a massive shockwave that shattered the clouds above.
The moon appeared, luminous and clear.
In that moment, another crimson-black slash burst from Star Abyss, spinning into the sky and forming a storm of red winds that lashed the battlefield.
Mihawk answered with another unchanging slash—the same, eternal stroke.
Bang!
Another shockwave erupted. Weiss was blown back once more, landing firmly on the ground.
Across the island, red-black and white energies continued to clash, locked in a stalemate, refusing to yield. Craters tore across the land. The bodies of countless beasts littered the ground—it had become a battlefield drenched in blood.
The sword energy didn't vanish—it infused the very space around them. The air itself trembled, unable to contain the growing pressure.
The saturation point had been reached. The island's creatures went berserk under the crushing force. Even a harmless rabbit, once a meek herbivore, now tore apart anything in its path with frenzied bloodlust.
BOOM!
Finally, the space could take no more.
Sword energy detonated across the battlefield. Tens of thousands of sword-like currents descended like an army, hacking into the land with devastating force.
Crack—crack—crack!
Endless fissures split the earth. Vegetation was obliterated. The island shattered. Seawater surged upward from beneath, flooding the land.
Weiss dashed aside like a streak of oil, narrowly avoiding the collapse. He twisted his blade, deflecting Yoru's tip with Star Abyss. Sword energy surged from his body as he closed in once more.
With one mighty slash, five streaks of sword energy erupted. Three aimed straight at Mihawk's head; the other two targeted his arms.
Mihawk's face remained stone-cold. Without hesitation, he stepped forward. A tremor passed through his grip. Ripples of power flowed from his wrist as he swung five times in rapid succession, destroying all five sword slashes.
Then it was his turn.
Mihawk unleashed a flurry of sword light. Countless slashes rained down like a storm upon Weiss.
Weiss stood his ground. Sword energy flared around him, forming a domain—a realm of sword energy that flooded the air like water, devouring everything it touched.
Every incoming attack dissolved upon contact, consumed and erased beneath the night sky.
"Oh? A sword domain made entirely of sword energy? How interesting," Mihawk said, eyes glittering.
"Well then… if the warm-up is over…"
"…shall we begin in earnest?"
Despite the destruction, despite the use of Haki, despite the island being reduced to rubble…
This had all just been the warm-up.
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