Farewell! (22)

Explosions could not be deflected like the Thunder Halberd. Mihawk was not Kuma, nor did he possess the Paw-Paw Fruit's absurd power.

So he took the full brunt of this Raikou Bewitching Heart.

"...!"

With a low muffled grunt, Mihawk ignored his charred, bleeding back and twisted sharply amid the flames.

Draw sword, slash!

If he remained bound in place, his fate was obvious.

There was likewise no dazzling or extravagant technique involved. This was merely the most ordinary turning slash.

Yet in Mihawk's hands, any flashy slash paled before that earth-shattering sword radiance.

Whoosh!!

The stone slabs beneath his feet shattered. An enormous ring of sword shadows erupted from around him, slicing through the air in every direction.

At the height of his swing, every piece of rubble and debris was neatly split apart at the same instant, severed into two.

Hum...

Crash!!

The sword shadows vanished in a flash, only gradually dispersing after flying several hundred meters. The clouds in the sky were ground away by the blade light, leaving the entire sky utterly unobstructed.

Bright sunlight shone straight down onto the black blade, only to be absorbed by its hoarse, night-like surface. It produced no blinding glare, allowing Mihawk to see his opponent's movements more clearly.

But if the night-black blade did not blind his own eyes, that also meant his enemy would not be affected either!

After leaping aside from the slash, Ron stepped forward through the air and dove down.

Geppo!

Soru!

Like a meteor crashing to earth, Ron traced an L-shaped blue streak through the air. Upon landing, he launched himself forward and reached Mihawk in an instant.

He was so fast that Mihawk had yet to pull the black blade back in front of himself, still caught in the momentum of that sideways