Time rewound to five minutes earlier, just as the Baratie had begun sailing away into the distance.
The Sword Pressure released around Hawk Eyes and Can Yue collided fiercely.
The Krieg Pirates were so frightened that they swam desperately into the distance, including Gin, who was carrying Krieg on his back.
In Gin's astonished gaze, the giant ship's wreckage shattered more and more, while surging Sword Pressure carved scar after scar across the sea.
Hawk Eyes burst into laughter. "It's been too long—far too long since I met an opponent like you."
Amid the collision of Sword Pressure, Can Yue had already sensed Hawk Eyes' thoughts. He smiled faintly. "Then let's enjoy this to the fullest."
"Come!"
In an instant, Can Yue's Demon God Slayer collided with Hawk Eyes' Black Blade - Night.
The two darted and shifted, every clash sending tremors through the air.
To Gin's eyes, they were moving too fast to follow.
"My god, Captain Krieg actually dared provoke monsters like these."
As Gin watched Can Yue and Hawk Eyes fight, some shackle within his heart seemed to begin cracking apart.
Sword Pressure!
After the clash, Can Yue was the first to spring upward, swinging Demon God Slayer down with crushing force.
Unlike when he had fought Zoro before, this Sword Pressure carried Demon God Slayer's unique Demonic Aura and sharpness.
If he had used this level of power against Zoro in Shells Town—
Zoro would have been sliced into pieces on the spot.
Sesshomaru had once used this technique to suppress demonized Inuyasha until he was on the verge of death.
And demonized Inuyasha's physical abilities were far greater than Zoro's.
The swinging Demon God Slayer bore massive amounts of Sword Pressure, strengthened by Demonic Aura, as it descended upon Hawk Eyes.
Faced with this attack, Hawk Eyes' expression turned grave. He could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within it.
He gripped the hilt with both hands. Green swordlight flowed across Black Blade - Night's blade before he swung it from the side.
Another violent collision erupted. This impact was so powerful that it instantly destroyed the giant ship's wreckage beneath their feet.
After the collision ended, the two resumed trading ordinary blows.
Hawk Eyes and Can Yue grew more serious with every exchange.
From Can Yue's perspective, Hawk Eyes' offensive and defensive rhythm was now flawless. A moment of carelessness would result in severe injury.
If he had not mastered Observation Haki that could foresee the future, Can Yue would already have been wounded.
From Hawk Eyes' point of view, he had not felt such tense, exhilarating combat in many years.
Every one of Can Yue's attacks carried not only a simple slash, but also terrifying Sword Pressure that covered an area roughly two meters around it.
Whenever he blocked Can Yue's attacks, Hawk Eyes had to deal with the slash itself while also knocking away the sharp Sword Pressure within it, as well as a strange force even he could not fathom.
Demon God Slayer's innate Demonic Aura contained intense resentment and killing intent. A single lapse could allow it to invade an opponent's mind and greatly weaken their fighting ability.
Likewise, if Can Yue's will had not been firm, he too might have been affected by Demon God Slayer.
Even with his fusion rate with Sesshomaru having reached 45%, Can Yue still could not fully unleash Demon God Slayer's power.
The two threw themselves wholly into battle, and five minutes quickly passed.
The giant ship's wreckage had been ravaged by the aftershocks of their battle until only two moderately sized broken decks remained, fifty meters apart.
Can Yue and Hawk Eyes each stood atop one of the boards.
Both of their expressions grew solemn.
Over those five minutes, the surviving members of the Krieg Pirates had desperately swum toward the outskirts of the battle.
Even so, some of the wounded or slower swimmers died in the aftermath of Can Yue and Hawk Eyes' battle.
The remaining pirates were now roughly 250 meters away from the two of them, yet they still felt intensely unsafe.
"The sea isn't churning anymore? Is it over?"
One pirate's words made the other pirates, who had been desperately fleeing for their lives, stop.
"Look, they're standing opposite each other. They aren't fighting anymore."
"Phew..." The pirates collectively let out a breath and stopped to rest.
Although Gin was far stronger than these fodder pirates, carrying Krieg's massive body had left him barely able to swim this far.
He looked at the two figures facing each other in the distance. Along with surprise, his eyes held a trace of anticipation. "Are all the monsters on the Grand Line like this?"
Just then, a scene was reflected in Gin's pupils.
A blue Azure Dragon and a massive green swordlight soaring with Sword Intent collided.
A terrifying explosion followed, visibly forming a dreadful sphere of light no less than fifty meters in diameter.
At the same time, Sword Pressure slashes scattered outward in every direction, each nearly three meters long.
Quite a few of them shot toward the Krieg Pirates.
Gin immediately shouted at everyone, "Stop watching! Dive underwater!"
The terrified pirates began scrambling to evade. Only a few heard Gin's advice and started diving.
Most merely swam farther away.
Thus, the number of surviving Krieg Pirates fell once more.
The collision between Can Yue's Azure Dragon Break and Hawk Eyes' slashing wave affected everything within a three-hundred-meter radius.
The giant ship's wreckage completely disappeared.
The sea was cut full of holes and scars, and before the ocean could heal its wounds—
An even more terrifying explosion erupted.
Centered on the point where their attacks collided, enormous waves rose and crashed outward.
The moment Luffy and the others stopped their ship was the moment those waves formed.
One minute later, the sea surface returned to calm.
To this ocean, no matter how much damage it suffered, it could eventually restore everything.
Of course, some terrifying things were exceptions.
Aboard the Baratie, everyone was still stunned by the battle that had just taken place.
Sanji lit another cigarette. He said nothing, merely pondering to himself.
If I had the power to shake even the sea like this, could I find ALL BLUE?
Luffy, Nami, and Usopp stared solemnly at the calm sea.
"Where are Can Yue and Hawk Eyes? How did they disappear?"
The three were extremely anxious.
Nami especially was breathing so rapidly that her upper body rose and fell intensely.
This made everyone's gazes drift uncontrollably toward one spot.
Even Sanji's grave expression turned lecherous, and a warm, bright-red liquid trickled out without his noticing.
Nami was worried not only about Can Yue's safety. More importantly, their next destination was her hometown—the tragic town ruled by Fish-Man Arlong.
Can Yue, you promised you'd help me defeat Arlong.
There truly was not a single person visible on the calm sea.
Because Can Yue and Hawk Eyes had already arrived beneath a huge rock a thousand meters from the explosion's center.
Can Yue had naturally flown there, while Hawk Eyes had reached the place by slashing the air with Black Blade - Night to create propulsion.
Hawk Eyes placed Black Blade - Night back on his back with one hand. Looking at Can Yue, the corner of his mouth lifted, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
"Here, it seems we can't determine a true victor."
Can Yue replied calmly, "Strictly speaking, I lost."
In terms of swordsmanship and strength alone, Hawk Eyes was indeed much stronger than Can Yue was now. Throughout the entire duel, Can Yue had remained at full power.
Constantly using Observation Haki to foresee the future, along with Demon God Slayer's Demonic Aura and Sword Pressure, consumed immense energy. He could not sustain such a battle for long.
Hawk Eyes, meanwhile, had fought Can Yue while keeping his consumption to a minimum.
If their battle had taken place on land, Can Yue's strength would soon have been exhausted as time passed, and he would have lost.
Upon hearing Can Yue concede defeat, Hawk Eyes shook his head slightly. "If you hadn't limited yourself to a swordsman's techniques alone, I would have died in this sea."
Indeed, Hawk Eyes' judgment was not wrong.
Can Yue could have destroyed every possible landing point, then used his absolute advantage of being able to fly over the sea to wear Hawk Eyes to death.
After all, if Hawk Eyes wanted to move through the air, he had to repeatedly use sword techniques to slash the air.
In Can Yue's eyes, that kind of cautious fighting style had far too many openings.
There were many ways he could have killed Hawk Eyes.
But the two of them no longer felt as they had moments ago. To them, today's victory or defeat no longer mattered; this had become more like a sparring match between new friends.
In a duel between exceptional swordsmen, both sides could clearly sense the other's character.
After the battle, Can Yue and Hawk Eyes had both acknowledged each other.
They smiled at nearly the same time, though Can Yue's smile was only fleeting.
"Can Yue, I'll wait for you on land!"
"I'm not Zoro. I don't feel compelled to defeat you."
"Hahaha! Then let me put it another way. In the future, I'll definitely come find you."
"Hmph. Do as you like."
Before you continue