Chapter 864 Defeated, and Relieved Mihawk gripped his black blade tightly, raised his foot, and walked toward Gion step by step.
The distance between them was clearly less than a hundred meters, but to Mihawk, it felt as though he were crossing an uncrossable abyss.
With every step forward, he could clearly feel an overwhelming pressure, as if the entire world were bearing down on him.
There was no killing intent, no sword intent.
That pressure came from the oppression of a higher level of life.
But Mihawk did not stop.
His back remained perfectly straight, until he came to a halt thirty steps away from Gion.
"Your Excellency, I am... Juraquille Mihawk! The swordsman you once defeated beneath the Grand Line!"
Mihawk took a deep breath, forcibly scattering the fear that had almost crushed his soul.
He gripped Black Blade - Night in both hands, his gaze brighter than it had ever been, his voice ringing like a great bell across the entire training ground of Mary Geoise:
"Your Excellency Gion! Please instruct me!!!"
The instant his words fell, Mihawk moved.
He used no flashy technique, only forged all his understanding of the way of the sword, and all his longing for victory, completely into this single descending slash.
"Buzz!"
A faint, almost tangible layer of deep green light radiated from the massive Black Blade - Night.
It was the sign that Mihawk had compressed and condensed his vast sword intent to its absolute limit.
As this slash fell, even the surrounding space warped subtly, as if even time itself would be severed by this supreme sword strike.
Yet, facing this ultimate blow at the pinnacle of human swordsmanship, Gion merely lifted her right hand with a calm expression, slowly extending her flawless, white-jade-like index and middle fingers.
"Snap."