The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

The reason I challenged "them" is... only in this way.

Only then can I clearly measure the gap between us, and this is also the most effective path to the top.

As he spoke, Hawkeye's gaze involuntarily fell on the black sword, Eight Desolations, which Gern always wore at his waist, wrapped in old, grayish-white bandages.

A stubborn glint flashed in his eyes, a conviction he had held for ten years.

What is its name?

"Eight Desolations".

"The Eight Desolations..."

"Heh, ten years ago, in the West Sea..." Hawkeye's voice was deep, carrying an undeniable determination.

“I used all my strength, but I still couldn’t get your black blade fully drawn…”

That was a thorn buried deep in Mihawk's heart.

What a disgrace it is to not even have the chance to let the enemy's weapons fully reveal themselves!

“Now…” Hawkeye’s gaze was fixed on the wrapped bandages.

"The 'night' in my hands has already reached its peak."

I came here to see if, ten years from now, I possess the power to make you wield this 'Eight Desolations'...

"The right to completely break free from all constraints and unleash the full power of the blade!!"

His words were resounding, filled with absolute confidence and the culmination of a decade of hard work.

For him, the outcome of this challenge might be important, but what's more important is...

He wanted to use his strongest sword, the one he had wielded since reaching the top, to test whether he had finally reached a level where he could force Gern to use his full strength!

This unwavering dedication, this almost pure pursuit of the pinnacle of swordsmanship...

This is the fundamental reason why Hawkeye Mihawk has been able to get to where he is today.

Gern looked into Hawkeye's incredibly serious, even somewhat obsessive, eyes.

The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a faint, indescribable complex expression.

Then, he gently stroked the rough bandages around his waist...

In the garden, only the sound of the wind could be heard.

After a moment of silence, Gern did not directly respond to the fighting spirit, but instead said something that made Hawkeye pause slightly:

“Mihawk, I’m sorry, I should have told you this ten years ago…” Gern’s voice was calm and clear.

"I can't really be called a 'great swordsman'."

He raised his eyes, looking directly at Hawkeye with an honest gaze: "Ten years ago, when we fought in the West Sea..."

"I only defeated you because of my overwhelming combat experience and Observation Haki..."

"What do you mean by that?" Hawkeye's expression changed slightly.

“The literal meaning.” Gern shook his head, a hint of barely perceptible emotion in his voice: “My path has long since diverged.”

For me, swordsmanship has always been part of my power system, a combat skill that is integrated with my powerful abilities and domineering aura.

It is no longer pure; it is solely dedicated to the pursuit of ultimate destruction and efficiency.

Just as Gurn had told him back then (originally Chapter 26)

Top-tier Haki, top-tier weapons, and powerful Devil Fruits.

With all three combined, even if one isn't a swordsman...

It can also sever everything on the sea!

Thinking of this, Gern looked at the man before him who had dedicated his life to swordsmanship and used it to reach the pinnacle of the world.

"And you, Jorah Mihawk, you've taken that position."

You defeated all the renowned swordsmen and were recognized by the world as the 'World's Greatest Swordsman.'

"In the field of 'swordsmanship' alone..." Gern's tone was devoid of any falsehood or humility, only a judgment based on facts.

"You are now undoubtedly stronger than me."

These words, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, rippled through Eagle Eye's heart.

Before he arrived, he had anticipated all sorts of reactions from Gern.

Full of fighting spirit, coldly rejecting, even mocking.

But what he didn't expect was that the other party would so calmly and honestly admit that he was inferior to him in pure swordsmanship.

Purely factual: In terms of swordsmanship alone, Hawkeye Mihawk is far superior to Gern, there is no doubt about that!

Of course, this is not a sign of weakness, but a broader understanding that transcends simple victory or defeat and the struggle for fame.

Gern clearly defined his path and generously gave the highest recognition to Hawkeye for the path he had taken and the pinnacle he had reached.

A flicker of emotion crossed Hawkeye's sharp eyes, but he did not loosen his grip on the Black Blade Night, nor did his fighting spirit diminish.

“There’s more than one form of power.” Hawkeye subconsciously gritted his teeth.

He had kept a promise in his heart for 10 years, and he didn't come here just for these words!

After a few seconds of silence, Hawkeye slowly spoke, his gaze still intense.

"Reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship is the path I have chosen."

But that doesn't mean I can't measure other forms of 'power'.

His gaze fell once more on Gern's black blade, Eight Desolations, and his tone became even more resolute:

“I have not come here today merely to compete for the empty title of ‘Strongest Swordsman’.”

I've come to fulfill a ten-year promise, to settle things with 'you,' Gern.

"No matter what you call yourself, whether you are a swordsman or not, you are the opponent I recognized ten years ago, the goal I must overcome."

“So,” Hawkeye slowly stood up, the massive black sword Night humming softly, and shouted in a voice almost uncharacteristic of his usual demeanor.

"Draw your sword, Gern!!!"

"In these ten years, I have cut through raging storms and defeated countless self-proclaimed peerless sword masters."

But it wasn't until the very end that I realized the most skillful swordsmanship is severing one's obsessions.

This strike today... is not for victory or defeat, but only to witness the paths we have walked.

"Let me see just how far your 'killing technique,' which combines shock and domineering power, has come!"

Let me, the 'world's greatest sword,' measure the depth of your 'natural disaster'!!!

Chapter 275 The Power of a Single Strike!

Seeing Mihawk, who had already drawn his sword and whose fighting spirit had reached its peak, the last trace of leisure on Gern's face completely disappeared.

“Hehehe…” He slowly stood up from the stone bench.

His nearly three-meter height, typical of a general, made him stand before Hawkeye, who is only 1.98 meters tall.

This naturally created a powerful sense of physical oppression, casting shadows that almost completely enveloped Eagle Eye.

But this is not just a difference in height, but also an invisible pressure brought about by rank and power level.

“Measurement…” Gern said softly, repeating Hawkeye’s words, his tone calm yet carrying a hint of meaning.

He then raised his left hand and slowly grasped the hilt of the black sword, Hachiro, which was always tucked into his right waist and wrapped with old, grayish-white bandages.

The instant his fingers touched the hilt and pulled out the knife

"Buzz!" A deep yet unsettling buzzing sound emanated from the hilt of the sword!

The old bandages wrapped around it seemed to have been given life, or perhaps they were forcibly disintegrated by an awakening force within.

Starting from the hilt, it automatically and spiraled towards the tip of the blade, rapidly disintegrating!

Countless grayish-white fragments of bandage floated around the blade as if they were alive!

The edges of each fragment flickered with dazzling, blue-white arc-like high-frequency vibrations, emitting a hissing, ear-piercing sound that distorted the surrounding air!

The next moment, all the bandages disappeared!

The complete form of the Black Blade - Eight Desolations has finally been fully revealed to the world!

That was not an ordinary black blade, but a kind of darkness so deep that it seemed to devour all light!

Within the dark blade, countless dark red cracks suddenly lit up, bursting forth with a blinding light.

Like molten lava flowing through his veins, or like a sleeping beast opening its blood-red eyes!

The murder weapon has awakened!

The entire knife seemed to come alive instantly, frantically and greedily absorbing Gern's Conqueror's Haki.

At the same time, it exudes a terrifying aura of violence, a desire for destruction and conquest!

at the same time

"boom!!!!!"

Gern has no more reservations!

Just like when he first met that young challenger in the West Sea ten years ago, he unleashed his vast and unfathomable domineering aura.

No! It was a hundred or even a thousand times stronger than ten years ago, a mixture of Conqueror's Haki and the overwhelming aura honed through countless bloody battles, that was released completely!

Although this overwhelming pressure almost entirely and precisely crushed Mihawk directly in front of him.

But the aura that couldn't be completely contained, naturally leaking out, still swept through the entire backyard like a tsunami, even spreading to the outer perimeter!

Libo was preparing to leave but was still keeping an eye on what was happening here.

Enel, who had just finished treating his wounds and sneaked back...

And Barrett and Boa Hancock, who were standing not far away, all four of them had their pupils contract violently at almost the same moment, and their hair stood on end!

"This is...!?" Libo covered her mouth, her petite body trembling slightly, not out of fear, but out of awe of absolute power from a higher level of existence!

"What a joke, this guy..." Enel's arrogance vanished, replaced by unprecedented shock and horror. "He hasn't been serious at all until now?!"

“I knew it…” Barrett grinned, a wild laugh of extreme excitement and predatory glee, his entire body trembling with excitement.

"Your true strength has probably never been fully revealed since your battle with Roger back then!!"

The Snake Princess gripped her sword tightly, her face filled with solemnity.

She finally truly felt how terrifying Gern's full power was!

In other words, this was the first time they had truly "seen" the full eruption of Gern's aura!

That was no longer the aura of a human, but rather a walking natural disaster that descended upon the world!

However, at the very center of this terrifying pressure, bearing the brunt of the stress, was 'Hawkeye' Jorah Mihawk!

But times have changed!

Back then, when facing this power in the West Sea, that young challenger, trembling yet stubborn, forcibly maintained his willpower and refused to kneel.

Now he simply tilted his head slightly, calmly looking directly at Gern with his sharp, eagle-like yellow eyes.

His back was ramrod straight, like a sword that would rather break than bend!

And it's far more than just looking directly at it!!

Because, in the instant their eyes met...

A similarly sharp and incomparable aura, seemingly capable of cutting through the heavens and earth, suddenly burst forth from Hawkeye's relatively "thin" body!

That was the result of ten years of honing his skills, defeating countless powerful enemies, and reaching the pinnacle of the world.

The pride and aura unique to the world's greatest swordsman!

It is the ultimate will of swordsmanship to cut through everything and forge ahead without hesitation!

Although this aura was not as vast and domineering as that of Gern's, which was like a natural disaster, it was extremely condensed and incomparably sharp!

Like the sharpest blade, it firmly resisted the overwhelming and terrifying pressure.