Chapter 371: The Peak Duel of Swordsmen

After Ain had gone far away, Karl finally turned his gaze toward Mihawk.

"Have you eaten?"

Mihawk was stunned, not knowing what to say. He was just a bit puzzled: you spent all that time building up the tension just to say that?

"Ahem, it seems it's not very convenient to fight on the sea, don't you think?"

Mihawk raised the black blade *Yoru*, pointing toward the ruins on the sea, where there were just enough spots left to stand on.

"A place to stand is enough."

"Hahahaha, that's true!"

Karl raised Raven, his left hand gently brushing over the blade, feeling its cold touch. Mihawk's eyes were sharp; he saw at a glance that Raven was already a black blade. He would never be wrong about that.

"This blade is called Raven, right? It seems it hasn't fought alongside you any less over these years!"

"By the way, I heard from the newspapers that you also have a Cursed Blade and a Black Blade?"

Karl looked down at his waist, stuck Raven into the floor, and then drew *Wado Ichimonji* and *Raiu*.

"Here, not bad, right?"

Mihawk nodded slightly. Just looking at these two blades, one could feel their sharpness. Combined with Karl's aura, which seemed to exist yet not exist, it invisibly made Mihawk a bit more cautious.

Karl's growth seemed to exceed his expectations. Originally, he didn't pay much attention to the gossip in the newspapers, but now it seemed he had underestimated Karl.

*Hoo~*

"This blade is named *Yoru*, blade length five feet eight inches, net weight 18 jin 4 liang, it can cut a hair blown against it, and slices through iron like mud."

Karl:???

Good guy, did he learn that so quickly?

"This blade is named Raven, blade length four feet seven inches, net weight ten jin five liang, it cuts through nails and iron, and kills without a trace."

As soon as he finished speaking, Karl's whole body erupted with dazzling golden light. In Mihawk's astonished eyes, he vanished instantly, appearing on a piece of ship wreckage not far away in the blink of an eye.

Mihawk turned his head to look, his evaluation of Karl in his heart rising a few notches.

If he wasn't mistaken, this guy Karl's Devil Fruit ability had already awakened.

If it were anyone else, he wouldn't think having a Devil Fruit ability was anything remarkable. If one slash didn't kill them, he'd just slash again; no matter how strong the fruit ability was, so what?

But this guy Karl was different. He had specifically researched this guy's ability.

That was the power known as Holy Light.

It could greatly strengthen the user's physique and grant powerful recovery; what was even more outrageous was that it could also take effect on others.

It seemed to have no offensive nature, but in reality, it was extremely aggressive, because the owner of this ability was Karl!

Now that this ability had awakened, what kind of changes would it bring him?

For some reason, Mihawk's expectations for the upcoming battle were even higher.

*Swish~*

Mihawk left the deck of the *Holy Light* and appeared on a piece of wreckage diagonal to Karl.

Ain silently put down her binoculars and notified Nelson to take the *Holy Light* further away to find a safe place to watch the battle.

Floating restaurant Baratie.

Zoro already understood what was about to happen, his body trembling continuously.

"Hey, Zoro, what's wrong with you? Hahaha, you aren't scared, are you?"

Zoro's mouth curled slightly, revealing a wicked smile: "Scared? No, I'm just too excited!"

"Two powerhouses standing at the peak of the Dao of the sword are about to decide who is superior. How fortunate to witness this scene!"

Luffy didn't quite understand, so he just picked his nose.

"No, it's too far away, I can't see clearly at all. Right, binoculars! I need binoculars!" Zoro suddenly realized and started looking for binoculars everywhere. This was a rare learning opportunity!

On the sea, because they were quite far apart, Karl was too lazy to talk, and presumably, Mihawk thought the same. Thus, the next moment, the two of them synchronized miraculously.

Karl and Mihawk simultaneously unleashed a massive flying slash, instantly tearing the sea surface. Soon, the two flying slashes converged, creating a violent collision.

For those watching, this scene was familiar, because that was exactly how the Krieg Pirates had just been wiped out.

*Boom~*

Splashes flew everywhere, and the two flying slashes canceled each other out, dissipating on the sea.

Karl's mouth curled slightly, a ball of white Holy Light condensing in his hand and merging into his body. He was strengthened; he could go now.

*Xing! *

Karl had already disappeared, but a golden afterimage remained in place.

*Clang~*

Mihawk's reaction was extremely fast; he subconsciously raised the black blade *Yoru*, blocking Karl's downward slash from above.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Mihawk exerted force suddenly, instantly deflecting Raven, then used the momentum to turn around, gripping the hilt with both hands. While turning, he continuously adjusted his point of force, and then...

Karl felt his scalp tingle, but he wasn't a pushover either. His waist twisted like a pretzel, and he finally dodged Mihawk's upward slash.

Actually, Karl could have used Raven to block Hawk Eyes' attack, but Karl didn't want to do that.

Blocking is for counterattacking, but why not just attack directly?

Thus, Raven stabbed toward Mihawk at a bizarre angle.

"What?"

Mihawk's gaze narrowed, his breathing nearly stopping, but his body moved very quickly. It was just that Karl's blade was too fast, still piercing through the clothing at Mihawk's ribs. Fortunately, it was only the clothing; the person was fine.

Mihawk finally revealed a smile. Ever since Shanks lost his arm, he had never had this feeling again.

This feeling of being evenly matched—he missed it too much.

Karl, on the other hand, was a bit puzzled. No, why did he start laughing? This, this isn't right, is it?

And, this guy's aura seemed to have changed. He wouldn't be entering "Full Power Hawk Mode," would he?

Sure enough, Mihawk then showed Karl what "Full Power Hawk Mode" meant.

No flashy move names, not a trace of emotional fluctuation.

The only thing that could be felt was the focus when swinging the blade and the killing moves that hovered between life and death.

Golden light gradually began to glow on Raven's blade, which also meant that Karl was getting serious.

The battle between the two was also taken in by Zoro not far away. While sighing in admiration, Zoro couldn't help but start to doubt himself.

Could he really become such a swordsman?

Because just by watching the battle, he felt his body being locked by the two's sword intent, his hair standing on end, as if he would be cut into pieces by those countless sword lights if he got any closer.

It wasn't just Zoro who had this feeling; everyone else present didn't dare to breathe loudly.

The surrounding air inexplicably became viscous, making it difficult for them to breathe.

The owner of the floating restaurant, Red-Leg Zeff, stood high up and silently sighed: "These are the monsters standing at the peak of the sea!" ===== CHAPTER 373 =====