The battle raged on at full intensity.
Under the increasing pressure of Hawkeye's slashes, Luffy and Zoro could be said to have no ability to fight back at all.
Yet Mihawk had clearly already discerned their intentions from their movements.
A challenge?
These two brats were treating him like some kindly temporary instructor!
Mihawk let out a silent sigh in his heart.
And yet, despite his pride, he found himself not repulsed by Luffy and Zoro's behavior.
After all, their growth truly was… dazzling.
Much like how he had once chosen to face Zoro with nothing more than a small knife.
In Mihawk's eyes, going all out to kill a rabbit like a lion was simply the conduct of a foolish beast.
He preferred achieving everything with the least amount of force possible.
That, too, was Hawkeye's swordsmanship.
Perfecting every action—using the smallest amount of power to unleash the strongest slash, wasting not even a fraction.
Yet as time went on, he noticed something.
The power behind his slashes… was steadily increasing.
And that meant—
Luffy and Zoro were growing stronger as well!
"Terrifying youngsters…"
Mihawk sighed inwardly as the strength in his hands suddenly surged.
"Ugh—!"
Under the crushing pressure of the slash, Zoro's twin blades were smashed straight into his chest as his body was sent flying backward.
Luffy, who tried once again to attack from behind, quickly followed the same fate.
"Luffy! Are you alright?!"
Zoro was the first to struggle out of the rubble, immediately turning to shout to his side.
"I'm fine!"
Luffy's clear voice came at once from beneath shattered wooden planks.
The very next second, he burst through the debris and leapt out of the cabin.
Looking down at the wound stretching from his chest to his waist, he bared his teeth with a grimace.
"Yeah… it still hurts after all."
"Well, of course it does," Zoro chuckled lightly. Having just been healed not long ago, he was far less battered than Luffy.
But only slightly so.
After experiencing hundreds of brushes with death, their wills had already become unbreakable.
And through their continuous clashes with Mihawk, they could clearly feel their strength steadily rising.
Perhaps it was deliberate on Mihawk's part—every slash Zoro felt was perfectly controlled.
Enough to injure them, but never enough to kill.
As frustrating as it was to admit…
Up until now, Mihawk had only been guiding them—never once using a true finishing move.
"This is really pathetic… We can't even force out his real strength."
Zoro felt an overwhelming sense of shame at his own weakness.
But recalling Red's words—that he truly had become stronger—Zoro's eyes flared with boundless fighting spirit.
So what if he was cut to the brink of death a few more times?!
If that was all it took to become stronger…
Then that was amazing!!!
In the next instant, Zoro's gaze locked onto the black blade in Mihawk's hand.
Red had said before—
The world's top swordsmen all possessed the ability to permanently blacken their blades using Armament Haki.
If possible, he had to observe that black blade closely—
Perhaps… this was the key to awakening his own Armament Haki!!!
Zoro believed this without doubt.
After all, having been struck by the black blade hundreds of times already, he could feel something stirring within his body—
A power on the verge of awakening.
That might be…
His own Armament Haki!
Thunder flashed once more!
Luffy and Zoro charged at Mihawk again.
By now, the battle had lasted for over an hour.
On average, the two of them suffered grievous injuries once or twice every minute.
The pain alone was something ordinary people could never endure.
But to Luffy and Zoro, the pain mattered far less than what they were gaining from this fight.
At this very moment, on Red's device, within the Pokémon status list—
Luffy and Zoro's levels had climbed to 49 and 40 respectively!
In just over an hour, both of them had gained more than ten thousand experience points each!
With the massive influx of experience, Luffy successfully leveled up by one.
And Zoro, starting from a lower level, jumped up two levels directly.
This was only one hour!
Yet the rate of growth far surpassed grinding levels in a game world.
No wonder after sparring with Teacher Kaido a few times, Luffy's strength skyrocketed—and even awakened a hidden aspect of his Devil Fruit ability.
And don't be fooled by how, before Mihawk, Luffy and Zoro looked like toys being tossed around at will.
In reality, Luffy's current strength was already comparable to that of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral—
Of course, one on the weaker end.
After all, Vice Admiral was the highest rank beneath Admiral, and the disparity within it was enormous.
Even among Vice Admirals, the difference in strength could be staggering.
Excluding anomalies like Garp and Tsuru—
Strong Vice Admirals rival Yonko commanders and fear neither the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Weaker ones, meanwhile, were roughly on the level of pirates with 300 million Beli bounties.
Such strength might only be slightly above average on the Grand Line, where monsters abound—
But in the East Blue, the weakest of seas, it was nothing short of invincible!
"My god… am I seeing things?!"
"Is this really something humans can do?!"
Watching the shattered remnants of the warship—where slash after slash, lightning, thunder, and giant hands erupted without warning—
Every chef at the Baratie Restaurant stood frozen in shock.
Even the well-traveled Zeff gripped the edge of the window tightly, disbelief written across his face.
In the East Blue, the name Red-Leg Zeff was enough to strike fear into most pirates.
But in the end, he was merely a pirate defeated on the Grand Line.
How could he ever have witnessed a battle of this scale?
And this was still just Mihawk's post-meal pastime to stave off boredom.
What a pity.
Though Mihawk was genuinely curious how far Luffy and Zoro might grow—
His identity, after all, remained that of a pirate.
To avoid tarnishing his image—or attracting a horde of freeloaders seeking "guidance battles"—
Mihawk had already decided.
It was time to end this teaching game.
"It's getting late."
Mihawk suddenly spoke.
And in the very next instant—
Whoosh—!
Pitch-black Haki surged from Mihawk's arm, rapidly spreading across the Black Blade.
In an instant, teal lightning crackled around the blade, releasing an overwhelming and mysterious aura.
The moment Zoro saw this, his animal-like instincts screamed in warning. His hair stood on end as he immediately stopped—and blocked Luffy from charging forward.
"Excellent instincts,"
Mihawk said with a pleased smile.
Then he raised the Black Blade, his presence surging as he declared:
"This battle has reached its end."
"Young pirates—see yourselves clearly, understand the world…"
"Then move forward and grow stronger without hesitation!!!"
"The world… is waiting for you!!!"
Whoosh—!!!
A teal slash, as if capable of cleaving the world itself, burst forth from the lightning-wreathed blade and hurtled toward Luffy and Zoro!
In their eyes, the slash grew larger and larger—
Until it filled their entire world…
(End of Chapter)