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

However, to Yi Xiao and Huang Mu's surprise, the person they were expecting, Gern, did not personally take action.

Instead, Hawkeye, who had been standing beside Gern with a cold expression, took a step forward.

Sharp, eagle-like golden eyes instantly locked onto the staff-sword in Yi Xiao's hand, which was only a few inches from its sheath.

“One of the twelve Supreme Grade Swords,” Hawkeye’s magnetic voice deepened, “Gambler’s Line.”

He paused, his gaze shifting from the blade to a smile on his composed face, and said with certainty...

"You really are a great swordsman."

Upon hearing this unfamiliar, arrogant voice, Yi Xiao's usually calm face showed a barely perceptible furrow in her brow.

Although he could sense three powerful auras surrounding Gern.

However, being unable to see, they cannot match the aura with the specific person's appearance, let alone recognize who the other person is.

So, maintaining his sword-drawing stance, he cautiously and politely inquired, "And you are...?"

Hawkeye didn't answer immediately, but slowly lowered his hands, which had been clasped in front of his chest.

With his right hand behind him, he gripped the hilt of the black sword "Night" on his back.

"Clang!"

A clear, resonant sword rang out, and a dragon's roar echoed from the abyss!

Hawkeye didn't fully draw the world's strongest black sword; he only left it a little over a foot off its sheath, holding it diagonally at his side.

The jet-black blade absorbs all light, with only the chaotic, overlapping patterns on the edge gleaming with a chilling light.

Then, he raised his golden eyes, looked directly ahead, and smiled with an imposing air despite being blind, announced his name.

“Jolac Mihawk.”

"!!!"

Upon hearing this name, Yi Xiao's usually composed and steady figure visibly trembled!

The world's greatest swordsman!

This title carries unparalleled weight for any swordsman who has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship!

That is the ultimate goal that all swordsmen yearn for—to challenge themselves and prove their own path!

The seriousness on Yixiao's face instantly reached its peak, even carrying a hint of indescribable... honor.

He slowly sheathed "Gambler's Line" completely, then solemnly performed a swordsman's salute towards Hawkeye.

"I never expected that our first meeting would be with the world's greatest swordsman."

"This...is my honor."

Chapter 524 Overwhelming Domination in Swordsmanship

"Honored? Not at all."

Hawkeye responded to Yixiao's respect with a cold snort.

"After all, the number of so-called great swordsmen who have fallen to me is countless." His tone carried a sense of aloofness and indifference, as if he had long stood at the pinnacle.

"You mustn't perform worse than the Snake Princess."

"Snake Princess?" Yi Xiao repeated the name with a hint of doubt, while remaining vigilant and wary.

"Are you referring to... Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"It wasn't her."

At this moment, Gern, who had been standing quietly at the back observing the situation, cleared his throat and explained in a calm tone, "It's the former Snake Queen, Toritoma. My woman."

“I see… It’s one of Lord Gern’s ‘Calamities’.”

"I'll let you go first," Hawkeye said.

Upon hearing this, Yi Xiao instantly understood, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

"Then... I apologize for offending you!"

Before he finished speaking, Yi Xiao's originally calm aura suddenly turned sharp, the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, and his figure rushed forward in an instant!

The cane-knife "Gambler's Line" in his hand was fully unsheathed, and visible purple gravity ripples were gathering wildly on the blade!

"Gravity Blade - Fierce Tiger!!"

With a low growl and a laugh, he unleashed all the accumulated gravity onto the blade and slashed fiercely at Hawkeye in front of him!

As the blade traced its path, an immense lateral gravitational force, like a tiger descending a mountain, was unleashed.

With a fierce slash, it crushed towards Hawkeye, and the ground was suddenly pressed into a ravine by the force of gravity!

Faced with this powerful attack that combined swordsmanship with the strange power of the Gravity Fruit, Hawkeye's cold face remained completely calm.

He didn't even use any special starting gesture; he simply raised the massive black sword "Night" in his hand.

He switched from a slanted grip to a straight grip, casually raising his hand to parry the slash imbued with terrifying gravity.

"Clang—!!!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out!

The anticipated scenario of the blade being crushed by gravity did not occur.

Instead, it was the black blade "Night" that steadily blocked the "gambler's line of fire."

The lateral gravity, powerful enough to crush a giant ship, was severed and neutralized the moment it came into contact with the black blade!

It didn't even create the slightest ripple!

"!!" Yi Xiao's expression changed drastically, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was horrified.

He felt as if he had struck not a knife, but a mountain that even gravity could not shake!

Hawkeye, after parrying the gravity tiger with a single blow, remained silent.

The counterattack has begun.

There are no fancy move names, no superfluous movements.

With a simple flick of his wrist, the black blade "Night" transformed into a series of the simplest, most direct, yet most deadly slashes!

Every strike carries the will to sever everything, every attack is precisely aimed at the weakest point of Yi Xiao's sword technique, and the speed is faster than the eye can see!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!"

In an instant, the sound of clashing weapons striking each other, like raindrops hitting banana leaves, rang out wildly across the training ground!

Under Hawkeye's pure and domineering swordsmanship, Issho could only use his Gravity Fruit ability to defend and deflect force.

He wielded the "Gambler's Line" like a wheel, barely managing to block and parry.

However, his own figure was repeatedly forced back by Hawkeye's relentless slashes!

Each step left a deep footprint on the ground, and the arm holding the knife was numb from the impact, with a dull ache in the tiger's mouth.

On a purely swordsmanship level, he was completely outmatched by Hawkeye!

Just as Yixiao was struggling to hold on, trying to find a moment to catch his breath amidst Hawkeye's relentless barrage of slashes...

Hawkeye's golden eyes narrowed first!

They captured a tiny, fleeting moment of stillness caused by the interplay of gravity manipulation and swordsmanship, revealed by Yixiao's continuous parries.

"ended."

Hawkeye silently chanted in his mind, and with a sudden burst of force in his wrist, the blade's momentum changed abruptly in a fraction of a second!

The continuous slashes, which were originally like a storm, instantly transformed into a simple and unadorned horizontal slash that severed all paths!

This strike was incredibly fast and incredibly precise!

As if he had already anticipated all of Yixiao's possible responses, he precisely struck the point where the "gambler's line of fire" was most awkward and least able to withstand the force!

"Clang—Buzz!!!"

A sound of impact, much clearer than before and even carrying a hint of mournfulness, rang out!

Yi Xiao felt an irresistible, pure, and extreme cutting force coming through the blade, and his tiger's mouth instantly split open, with blood seeping out!

He could no longer grip the hilt; "Gambler's Line" slipped from his hand, spinning rapidly through the air, tracing an arc.

Finally, with a "thud," it stuck obliquely into the ground dozens of meters away, the blade still trembling slightly.

Yi Xiao himself stumbled back seven or eight steps before barely managing to steady himself, his chest heaving violently as he breathed heavily.

That usually composed face was now filled with solemnity and a hint of undisguised shock.

They were crushed.

Completely and utterly, without any frills, he was utterly crushed in the purest way possible in the area where the opponent excelled!

Throughout the entire process, Hawkeye did not use any special techniques. His speed, power, accuracy, and insight into the battle situation were all superior to Hawkeye's.

Hawkeye watched as Yi Xiao, slightly out of breath, slowly lost his cold expression, restoring his calm and composed demeanor.

Then, with a backhand motion, he neatly and cleanly shoved the black sword "Night" behind his back with a "clang".

He calmly observed Yi Xiao, then spoke in a cold voice, giving his assessment.

"good."

"Your swordsmanship is quite solid, and your combination of gravity and swordsmanship is quite unique... At least, it didn't waste the time it took me to draw 'Night'."

This was already extremely high praise for him.

But then, the tone shifted abruptly, a hint of barely perceptible regret in her voice, as she pointed out the core issue.

"It's just a pity..."

"You are not a pure great swordsman."

What does "not pure" mean?

It simply refers to Yi Xiao's unparalleled swordsmanship.

It is not the sole source of his power, and may not even be the core of it.

His powerful Devil Fruit ability, while granting him terrifying combat strength, also became an invisible "crutch" and "barrier" for him to climb to higher peaks in swordsmanship.

His sword is made stronger by gravity, but also by gravity, perhaps... it cannot reach that true ultimate, the "supreme" realm where only the sword exists.

Hawkeye's assessment was spot on.

“Hey, Mihawk, according to you,” Gern strolled forward leisurely, hands in his pockets, pointing to the Eight Directions sword at his waist.

"Does that mean I'm also 'impure'?"

Upon hearing this, even Kizaru, who was watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but smile. Barrett pursed his lips, and Zephyr shook his head helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Hawkeye's perpetually icy and stern face showed a rare and noticeable change in expression.

He turned his head away, giving Gern a disdainful glare and letting out a cold snort.

"Humph!"

At the same time, his eyes conveyed an undisguised "What nonsense are you spouting?" as he firmly retorted.

"you?"

“You are not ‘impure’…”

Hawkeye's gaze swept over the bandaged black sword, Eight Desolations, wielded by Gern, before settling back on Gern's smiling face. He then delivered his conclusion, word by word.

"You're not (a swordsman)!"

“???” Gern’s smile froze.

Hawkeye didn't give Gern a chance to refute, directly exposing his weaknesses. His tone was calm, as if stating facts, yet every word was piercing.

"Because I have never seen any self-proclaimed swordsman who, in the middle of a battle, would throw his sword like a dart at someone..."

He paused, as if recalling some unpleasant (or shameful) scenes from certain one-on-one duels, before adding an even more fatal remark.

"Then he charged in and started hand-to-hand combat."

Gern: "..."