Nightmare vs. Hawkeye
Without any pre-battle communication or warning, the two charged out almost simultaneously. The black slash and the seven-colored sword light collided instantly. The dissipated Sword Qi shattered the isolated island beneath their feet, and the surging seawater crashed into waves hundreds of meters high, splashing onto the lava-covered island. Mist rose, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.
Despite the significant aftershocks, Roy and Hawkeye showed no sign of pausing. Opportunities for clash were fleeting, and each exchange was faster than the last. Often, the crew on the warship would only hear the first clash before realizing that dozens of exchanges had already taken place. Most people couldn't even keep up with the pace of the battle, and could only stare blankly at the flashing slashes and the bursts of Sword Qi, their heads turning up, down, left, and right in sync with the action.
"Wait, wasn't Nightmare supposed to be stronger than Hawkeye? Why does it seem like they're evenly matched now? Is Hawkeye stronger than we thought, or has Nightmare's strength been exaggerated?" A Marine straightened his crooked neck, hissing in pain, and tried to distract himself.
"Hawkeye is indeed stronger than rumored, but Nightmare's strength is even more beyond our imagination. He only managed to fight Hawkeye to a draw with his swordsmanship alone." Momousagi gripped the longsword at her waist, her breathing rapid, and a large patch of her snowy chest was faintly visible. She thought to herself, "The Marines Greatest Sword Master is indeed far from the World's Greatest Swordsman."
"What? Just swordsmanship?" A chorus of people around Momousagi swallowed hard. As high-ranking members of the Navy, they naturally knew that swordsmanship was only a part of Nightmare's strength. But if swordsmanship alone could give him the power to cut through the sea, what a terrifying scene it would be if Nightmare were to unleash his full power—would it destroy the world?
Akainu remained silent. Although he had endured the humiliation and transformed all the insults Roy had inflicted on him into motivation, the gap between the two had not only not narrowed, but had widened further. That monster seemed to have no limits, so strong that it was despair-inducing. "Indeed, a monster like you is better off dead sooner rather than later. I will prepare a lavish funeral for you in three days."
Sengoku was initially confident that he could use the upcoming war to eliminate the Navy's two major threats, but after witnessing this scene, he hesitated. "Where exactly is Nightmare's limit? Can Whitebeard really weaken Nightmare's strength?"
"Damn it, if that bastard Garp hadn't messed up at the crucial moment, it wouldn't have been impossible to kill them both." Sengoku thought bitterly. He knew Garp's strength; that bastard was the strongest force in the Navy in reality.
The problem is that the Marine Headquarters is about to publicly execute Fire Fist Ace, who is that bastard Garp's grandson. Under these circumstances, he can't force Garp to do anything. He's already grateful that the bastard isn't causing trouble.
The battle did not stop. The two fought their way from the isolated island to the sea, then cleaved the sky with a single sword strike, before finally falling back to the shattered island.
Perhaps the battle between the two was too intense, the earth's veins were almost completely altered, the volcano erupted violently, and the magma surged and roared, as if Meteor Fire Rain was falling from the sky.
"This is the most difficult yet also the most exhilarating battle I've fought since becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman!" Hawkeye's usually cold and sharp features showed a rare hint of excitement, as if he saw a brand new path ahead of what seemed like the end of the sword path.
If his swordsmanship is a path of specialization, a path of annihilating all things, then Roy's swordsmanship is a path of versatility, a path of encompassing all things.
Hawkeye's path is actually the choice of most Master Swordsman in the Pirate World: simple, brutal, sincere, and precise; he draws his sword and cuts down everything.
Roy's initial path was similar, but as he fused more and more sword styles into one, his understanding of swordsmanship took a completely different turn—a path that was almost impossible to replicate. If Roy hadn't been able to integrate all the essence of swordsmanship through the power of dreams, it would have been an enormous undertaking that might not have been completed even in a hundred years by one person alone.
This path reached its peak when Roy began to devour the world; after all, what could be more diverse and complex than an entire world?
Every sword strike Roy unleashed contained the power of the birth, death, and transformation of all things in the world, as if he were hurling a miniature world at his opponent, brazenly overwhelming him with sheer force.
Only a ruthless person like Hawkeye, who can kill anything and even ghosts and gods, can stop him. Otherwise, he might be like the Pirate Empress, whose mind would be shaken and who wouldn't even have the courage to run away.
This is also why Roy didn't bother with Sengoku's treatment of Hancock. A stupid woman who was already far from being his match, after being overwhelmed by the power of the world, would be mostly crippled even if she were saved. It's hard to say whether she would have the courage to speak to him in the future.
"I never expected that after I've honed my swordsmanship to this level, there would still be someone who could fight me to a draw with pure Doriki. In terms of swordsmanship talent, you are undoubtedly the world's number one." Roy didn't hold back his praise. Indeed, if he hadn't cheated on himself, in terms of pure swordsmanship talent, he wouldn't be able to catch up with Hawkeye at all.
"No, to be able to forge a sword path completely different from the existing schools, your talent far surpasses mine." Hawkeye said with fanaticism in his eyes, "Indeed, the world is a cage. Since you can transcend the scope of the sword path by One Sword Gives Birth to a World, then I can also annihilate the limits of the world with a single sword. That's right, this is the path I will take next!"
The navy personnel in the distance were completely bewildered. What were these two talking about? Were they really too low-level to understand what the big shot was saying?
"Admiral Momousagi, what do they mean by that?" There are quite a few strong swordsmen among the vice Marine Vice Admiral. The swordsmanship exchanges between top Great Sword Master like Nightmare and Hawkeye would definitely be of great benefit to them. Unfortunately, at their level as Master Swordsman, they could only understand half of what they were saying. Naturally, they were also eager to learn, so they humbly asked Momousagi, who had a similarly solemn expression, for clarification.
"I'm not sure either. Maybe they're talking about the path after you've reached the limit of swordsmanship?" Momousagi frowned slightly. Although she was also a strong Great Sword Master, she hadn't reached the limit like Hawkeye, so she didn't have much insight into what they were saying.
"Is Hawkeye going to reach that point too?" Sengoku suddenly appeared beside them and said with a sigh.