"You're leaving?"
Garen's expression changed slightly.
"Of course."
Mihawk merely cast Garen a sharp glance, as though he had seen straight through him.
"I have no interest in getting involved in the grudge between you and Sand Crocodile."
"You..."
Garen could not help but smile awkwardly.
"Aren't you going to practice swordsmanship some more?"
Mihawk suddenly fell silent. After a moment, he sighed softly.
"Your Devil Fruit Ability is indeed peculiar."
"These past few days, I believed I had slightly surpassed my own limits, yet I still had no answer to that sword technique of yours."
"Then..."
Garen opened his mouth to persuade Hawkeye to stay, but Mihawk immediately continued.
"So, this is enough."
A fierce, soaring fighting spirit suddenly erupted from Mihawk's hawk-like eyes, along with a fearless pride.
"Knowing that there are still things in this world I cannot cut through is enough."
Mihawk had stood at the pinnacle of swordsmen for too many years. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like for his blade to be stopped.
As a result, his swordsmanship had stagnated at the highest peak known to mankind.
Now that Hawkeye knew there was a nearly indestructible "strongest shield" in the world, his "strongest spear" could be honed even sharper.
Mihawk spoke to Garen again.
"I will come back for you."
"By then, I will definitely cut through your greatsword."
"Haha."
Garen gave a dry laugh and said jokingly, "Aren't you worried that by the time you return for me, I'll have already been thrown into Rainbase's harbor to feed the fish?"
Perhaps because he had found something that interested him, Mihawk, who was usually as cold as a sword, had become somewhat more talkative.
After hearing Garen's words, Mihawk said indifferently, "If you cannot even protect yourself from Sand Crocodile, then you