On the eastern shore of Ohara Island—
Arashi and Mihawk stood facing one another, swords in hand.
Mihawk, who never expected Arashi to suddenly agree to spar seriously, was visibly excited.
Even the Black Blade on his back trembled faintly from sensing its master's surging battle intent.
However—
Mihawk did not draw Yoru.
Instead, he held a standard longsword identical to the one Arashi carried.
Against someone as powerful as Arashi, Mihawk had no desire to gain even the slightest advantage through weapon quality.
After all—
This was not a battle to the death.
This was a friendly duel between good friends.
And more importantly—
Only by not using Yoru could he truly determine the difference in strength between himself and Arashi.
Naturally, Arashi hadn't challenged Mihawk on a whim either.
Ever since Mihawk left Constantine City, Arashi had already decided:
If they met again—
He would fight him seriously.
Neither of them rushed to attack.
Instead, they simply stared at one another.
The sky gradually darkened.
Not because night had fallen—
But because storm clouds from the Devil Sea drifted over Ohara, blocking out the sunlight and plunging the island into gloom.
RUMBLE—
The moment the clouds covered the island, deafening thunder erupted across the heavens.
Alongside the rolling thunder—
After more than ten years of silence, Ohara finally welcomed another storm.
"Arashi."
"Make your move!"
As the thunder faded, Mihawk suddenly raised his head, sword poised low before him.
Battle intent exploded from his body.
Feeling Mihawk's aura continuously rising, Arashi said nothing.
Instead—
He stepped forward.
BOOM!
The instant Arashi's foot landed—
A terrifying shockwave burst outward.
The earth rippled violently like expanding waves across water, creating an eerie scene.
Then—
He slowly raised his blade high overhead.
At that instant, endless energy surged from every direction like roaring rivers flooding into the sword.
In the blink of an eye—
A dazzling sword radiance erupted from the blade.
The darkened skies beneath the storm clouds were illuminated as brightly as day.
The sword light was incomparably domineering.
Like a volcano erupting.
Even before Arashi swung the blade—
The sheer presence of that world-destroying force distorted space itself.
Ripples spread endlessly through the air.
Overbearing.
Tyrannical.
Invincible.
That was the overwhelming visual impact Arashi now inflicted upon Mihawk—the world's greatest swordsman.
Back in Constantine City, Mihawk merely sensed that Arashi's understanding of swordsmanship was no weaker than his own.
But now—
What Arashi brought him was true shock and impact.
And because of that shock—
Mihawk's fighting spirit exploded even further.
Gripping his sword tightly, he stared at Arashi with burning excitement.
As though facing a supreme enemy.
This—
This was the battle he had always longed for.
This was the true swordmaster he had wandered the seas and Grand Line searching for.
Mihawk didn't doubt for even a second—
After this battle with Arashi, his strength would absolutely break through into an entirely new realm.
SHING—
The radiant sword light descended from the heavens, tearing through space and plunging into the earth.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—
As thunder roared above, the ground itself began trembling violently.
Then—
A massive crack split open beneath Arashi's feet and tore across the island straight toward Mihawk.
At the exact same moment—
Mihawk moved.
The sword in his hand slashed downward with overwhelming sword intent.
A tyrannical flying slash erupted forth like a roaring dragon and collided head-on against Arashi's descending blade light.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted instantly.
Then—
The two purest sword energies tore through space itself before merging into one colossal stream that shot directly into the heavens.
From below—
It looked as though the sky itself had been pierced open.
A massive dark void formed high above, twisting violently.
At the same time the sword energy pierced the heavens—
Arashi and Mihawk vanished from where they stood.
In an instant, both appeared directly before each other.
SHING! SHING!
The two figures crossed simultaneously.
Their swords collided violently.
BZZZZT—
The moment their blades struck—
A dizzying metallic scream erupted outward.
Then a visible wave of sword energy exploded across hundreds of meters.
Everything caught within its range—
Towering trees.
Solid rock cliffs.
Anything at all—
Was instantly sliced clean in half.
Immediately afterward—
The entire island of Ohara seemed on the verge of collapse.
As heaven and earth shook violently, neither the land nor surrounding seas could withstand the devastating force of their clash.
The ground exploded apart piece by piece.
The ocean split and erupted skyward.
The instant their blades collided, Arashi and Mihawk separated once more—
Only to charge at each other again at terrifying speed.
For a time—
The sound of clashing blades rang endlessly through the skies above Ohara, forming a soul-stirring symphony.
Each slash was stronger than the last.
Each wave of sword energy more terrifying than before.
Like thunder.
Like tidal waves.
Relentless and endless.
"Hahaha! Awesome!"
Arashi grew more exhilarated the longer the battle continued.
After another fierce clash sent them flying apart, he accelerated toward Mihawk again while laughing boldly.
"Now I finally understand why you love challenging strong opponents everywhere!"
"This kind of exhilarating battle really is addictive!!"
At first, Mihawk worried Arashi might simply go through the motions before ending the duel.
But after sensing Arashi genuinely enjoying the fight—
And growing stronger and fiercer with every exchange—
Mihawk no longer held back.
He devoted himself entirely to the battle he had long awaited.
Meanwhile—
Back near the mushroom house—
Perona and Robin had just finished moving all the supplies from the Traveler when the violent tremors from the eastern side of the island startled them both into turning around.
The moment they looked toward the east—
Two rainbow-like sword energies collided and soared directly into the heavens, splitting apart the storm clouds above.
From a distance—
It looked as though the sky itself had been cleaved in two.
As the storm clouds were forcibly split apart by the terrifying sword energy, they strangely scattered toward both sides.
Then—
Sunlight poured down once more across Ohara.
One slash split the heavens.
Cleaving clouds to reveal the sun.
Staring at the surreal sight before them—
Robin and Perona both stood frozen in complete shock.
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