World's Greatest Swordsman

Faced with a direct confrontation, Dracule Mihawk showed not the slightest hint of fear, maintaining absolute confidence in his own swordsmanship.

The two swords crossed, sword intent intertwining with neither side giving ground. Terrifying sword glares splashed outward, striking the surrounding sea to whip up towering waves in a stunning display.

Kikyo and the other women in the distance were already gaping, too stunned to gasp.

Lu Ge suddenly exerted force, batting Mihawk away with a single blade. Under the massive collision of force, the two men instantly separated.

Watching Dracule Mihawk land steadily on the raft, Lu Ge's eyes filled with admiration. "As expected of the world's greatest swordsman, truly formidable. I've finished testing my ability, so next, let's settle this with a single strike! Don't worry, I won't use the power of the Door-Door Fruit anymore. Let me witness the true power of the world's greatest swordsman's swordsmanship!"

"In that case, I certainly won't let Your Excellency down."

Hearing this, Dracule Mihawk no longer held back out of concern that his own sword techniques might suddenly slash back at him. Unleashing his full strength, his piercing hawk-like eyes flashed with a sharp light. Surging sword intent blossomed from his blade, the black edge growing deeper and darker as even the surrounding seas began to churn violently under the influence of his sword intent.

This was a strike infused with all his sword intent and swordsmanship realm, serving as his ultimate technique.

Feeling such a powerful sword technique from Dracule Mihawk, even Lu Ge felt his scalp tingle for a moment. Strong! Truly strong! As expected of the world's greatest swordsman; this swordsmanship was indeed matchless.

Yet Lu Ge only smiled. The stronger, the better!

I'll gladly accept your swordsmanship realm.

At that, Lu Ge flashed a grin and swung his blade without reservation. "Yuan-Eating Slash!"

This was the ultimate strike he had comprehended over the past two years by combining the mysterious power within his body.

The moment he swung this blade, a faint, hazy fluorescent sword Qi suddenly traversed the void, heading straight for Dracule Mihawk.

Under this strike, Dracule Mihawk also perceived an unprecedented sense of deadly crisis. Not daring to show the slightest negligence, he poured every ounce of his power into the black blade in his hand.

When the sword Qi crossed the air, the ocean trembled, instantly split apart as the sword intent swept across. The entire sea surface rumbled and shuddered. Under a single strike, it traversed the void, blooming with monstrous sword light that quietly collided with Lu Ge's faint fluorescent sword Qi.

Yet the terrifying collision he imagined did not happen. Instead, the moment Dracule Mihawk's all-out monstrous sword light touched that fluorescent sword Qi, it suddenly seemed to freeze, stopping dead in its tracks. Then, under Dracule Mihawk's shocked gaze, that fluorescent sword Qi actually devoured all of the power he had poured into his ultimate strike at a rate visible to the naked eye, causing its own sword intent and sword light to swell violently.

It's this scene again!

Dracule Mihawk's eyes narrowed. He had already witnessed this exact sight when his duel with Lu Ge first began. Back then, after Lu Ge devoured his sword intent and sword Qi, he instantly transformed from someone who knew nothing about swordsmanship into a great swordsman capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Now, he had actually devoured the ultimate strike forged from his entire swordsmanship realm once more.

Suddenly, a bad premonition arose in Dracule Mihawk's heart. Not good! I've fallen for a trap! Is this guy using me to test his sword?!

The next moment, his full-power strike had already been completely devoured. Lu Ge's sword, which had unleashed the fluorescent sword Qi, grew even more formidable. Strangely, however, this stream of sword light did not slash outward; instead, it suddenly transformed into a wisp of flowing light, tracing back along the edge of Lu Ge's blade and retreating into his body. In an instant, a monstrous surge of sword intent erupted from within Lu Ge, and with the supplementary reinforcement of the [Nascent Dimensional Power], it burst forth with a sword intent far more astonishing than Dracule Mihawk's.

Then, in the next instant, his body moving as his mind willed, Lu Ge vanished like a teleportation and appeared directly behind Dracule Mihawk. The katana in his hand was already resting against his neck. "You lost."

"..." Dracule Mihawk was silent for a moment before turning to look at Lu Ge, his sharp eyes filled with amazement. "You have more than one Devil Fruit ability? What was that power just now? It could even devour my swordsmanship realm and turn it to your own use? Could it be the Devour-Devour Fruit?"

Dracule Mihawk dared to be certain that in terms of swordsmanship, Lu Ge was definitely inferior to him. Yet the moment before, after devouring his 'ultimate strike,' Lu Ge's swordsmanship realm had actually reached the exact same level as his own, and the sword intent he erupted with far surpassed his. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he simply wouldn't have believed such a thing existed in this world.

However, among the Devil Fruits he knew of, it seemed only the Munch-Munch Fruit possessed such an ability. The Munch-Munch Fruit had the power to turn anything it devoured into its own usable traits, which was extremely similar to the ability Lu Ge had displayed. Still, he had never heard of the Munch-Munch Fruit being able to devour sword intent and swordsmanship realms as well.

Yet, having witnessed Lu Ge push the Door-Door Fruit to such a freakish degree, understanding that he could develop the Munch-Munch Fruit to be a bit more freakish didn't seem entirely incomprehensible.

Only, was there really someone in this world who could possess two Devil Fruit abilities? That was truly baffling.

Lu Ge merely returned a smile, offering no excessive explanation. He then extended his right hand and said with a friendly smile, "I'm very glad for this duel with you; it truly gave me much to gain. Let me introduce myself again—my name is Lu Ge."

"Dracule Mihawk." Looking at Lu Ge's extended hand, Dracule Mihawk extended his own right hand in a similarly friendly manner. "I'm very glad to meet a powerhouse like you. This time, I'll temporarily leave the title of the world's greatest swordsman with you. Next time, I will win it back."

"Ah?" Hearing this, Lu Ge was momentarily stunned. "There's no need for that! Dueling you was purely for a spar in swordsmanship, not for some empty title. You are still the world's greatest swordsman after all—after all, I'm not a pure swordsman."

If he were to shoulder the title of the world's greatest swordsman, wouldn't countless swordsmen come looking to challenge him in the future? He would be annoyed to death by the hassle, and he had no wish to bear such a moniker.

Dracule Mihawk's sharp eyes locked directly onto Lu Ge, looking somewhat displeased. "Are you looking down on me? A loss is a loss; there are no excuses. Next time, I will win!"

Having a target provided motivation. Lu Ge's appearance had given this great swordsman, whose swordsmanship had stagnated for so long, a goal to climb toward and surpass once again.

Cupping his fist in salute, Dracule Mihawk decisively steered his small raft and drifted away...

Watching Dracule Mihawk's receding back, Lu Ge couldn't help scratching his head. "Did I just bring a huge trouble upon myself?"

The thought of Dracule Mihawk periodically coming to find him for sword duels in the future put Lu Ge in a thoroughly bad mood.