Mihawk and Kuzan exchanged blows at incredible speed. To onlookers, their figures merely crossed once before separating again.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi walked to the rail and looked out over the ice ahead of the warship. Seeing that Mihawk had failed to gain an overwhelming advantage in his clash with Kuzan, he gave Kuzan a somewhat surprised look.
In Yoriichi's view, Mihawk, who had trained with him year-round and awakened Conqueror's Haki, should have been far stronger than Kuzan of this era. Even if Mihawk could not utterly overwhelm him, gaining the upper hand should not have been a problem.
Yet from their brief exchange, Kuzan, aided by his Devil Fruit, had not fallen into a disadvantage.
The two were actually evenly matched.
This made Yoriichi regard Kuzan more highly. It seemed Mihawk had not been the only one working hard these past years. Kuzan had never slackened either.
Though he was pleased by Kuzan's growth, Yoriichi quickly realized that Mihawk would likely be held back by Kuzan today and would be unable to aid him.
On the ice.
Mihawk steadied himself slightly. Having some understanding of and wariness toward Kuzan's abilities, he raised his sword and charged at Kuzan once more.
Before long, the sounds of their battle reached the ears of every Marine. Powerful Haki surged across the ice, yet under Kuzan's power, the ice beneath their feet grew thicker and thicker.
Clear metallic clashes rang out continuously as their blades crossed, while thick cold mist began rising across the frozen plain with their battle.
On the deck of the Dawn warship, lightly dressed Marines drew in their shoulders and shivered. As the sea remained frozen for longer, the temperature in the air began to plummet.
On the ice field, Mihawk could clearly feel the exposed skin of his body