Marine Admiral Aokiji

The sea breeze blew, whipping up both men's clothes.

Drip!

Blood dripped onto the deck with a crisp sound, accompanied by faint panting.

"Is this the swordsmanship that slays dragons?"

With his back to River, Mihawk asked in a low voice.

"That's right!"

River nodded lightly.

The Dragon-Slaying Draw was an ultra-fast sword-drawing technique. With the blade sheathed, all one's presence and strength lay concealed within the scabbard. The instant the blade was drawn, it unleashed the utmost power, speed, and brilliance.

Before that slash, even a fearsome dragon would be cut in two!

"In that era, everyone praised your Taijutsu and your strength, but few knew that your swordsmanship was among the finest in the world too!"

"Thank you for this battle!"

Dracule Mihawk reined in his presence and slowly slid the Black Blade into the scabbard on his back.

Then he abruptly turned around, spread his arms, and laughed broadly.

"You've given me even greater motivation!"

"And shown me the light on the road ahead!"

River's gaze sharpened as he studied the imposing man before him.

A long gash stretched from Mihawk's chest to his abdomen, still dripping blood, yet his presence remained as powerful as if he were completely unscathed.

"Come, River!"

"A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame!"

"Especially for a man like me!"

Mihawk declared loudly.

River narrowed his eyes and asked gravely, "Do you know what this means?"

"Even better than you do!"

Mihawk replied, his expression resolute.

Meanwhile, black dots appeared on the distant sea around them: merchant ships, Marines, and others arriving from every direction.

"Over there-is that...?!"

"The World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk! What is he doing?"

"What happened to the sea and sky here?"

"Was there some unimaginable battle?"

Marine officers and merchant captains holding telescopes exclaimed in shock.

Naturally, everyone knew the name Dracule Mihawk, and his distinctive features made him easy to recognize.

"And who is his opponent?"

Everyone was astonished. Any man capable of battling Dracule Mihawk was certainly no ordinary person.

Ring, ring!

Elsewhere on the sea, a figure riding a bicycle had also entered these waters, leaving a frozen trail behind him.

"A duel between master swordsmen?"

Lifting his gaze slightly, the man looked at the two figures aboard the broken ship.

"It looks like the outcome has already been decided!"

His gaze passed over Mihawk toward the man opposite him. When he saw the man's face clearly, he paused.

That face looks rather familiar.

Who is he?

Suddenly, his body jolted, his pupils contracted, and his expression turned grave.

I remember now!

That man has actually come out?

After a pause, he pedaled his bicycle toward the broken ship.

But this time...

Are you friend or foe?

His gaze sharpened. Recalling that battle and his crushing defeat all those years ago, he felt as though it had happened only yesterday.

"Daytime Tiger, River!"

The words emerged from his mouth, low and solemn.

A string of bicycle bells rang across the sea.

Aboard the wrecked ship, the wind grew fiercer.

"Is that so?"

"Then I'll gladly take the title of world's greatest!"

Holding his sword in his right hand, River slowly raised it and spoke gravely.

"If I survive this battle, then one day..."

"I'll take that hollow title back from you!"

Mihawk declared loudly, his eyes shining.

"Then I'll be waiting!"

"Dracule Mihawk!"

River's voice was low, his expression utterly serious and solemn.

His sword stroke was equally deliberate and steady.

Whoosh!

The long blade sliced through the air, reaching Mihawk in the blink of an eye. His hawklike eyes narrowed to slits.

Shhk!

The blade cut through his body, leaving an immensely long, bloody gash that crossed his earlier wound.

Blood sprayed out, and Dracule Mihawk shuddered. Looking at River right before him, he grinned. Blood poured from his mouth, but he laughed.

"A warrior's hot blood... it's been so long!"

"It's boiling again!"

Then he stood stock-still, without moving a muscle.

"You have my respect!"

River said gravely, withdrawing his sword and sliding it into its sheath.

Dracule Mihawk did not respond. He had sustained grievous injuries in this battle at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, and whether he would live or die remained unknown.

River said nothing more either. He began walking slowly, preparing to leave.

A duel between samurai, warriors, or swordsmen was always a contest of life and death. Death beneath a blade took no more than an instant.

Whoever lived or died, either outcome was natural!

Suddenly, River halted midstep.

Crack, crack!

A wave of white, frigid air spread toward him from ahead. The sea froze into ice, and the wreck that had been about to sink stopped moving, coated in white frost.

The surrounding temperature plunged to freezing in an instant. Tiny snowflakes even swirled through the air, settling on his shoulders.

He looked up ahead. On the frozen sea, a figure was already close at hand.

The man was tall and powerfully built, wearing a white suit vest over a dark blue shirt, a Marine coat draped over his back, and a green sleep mask on his forehead.

Marine Admiral Aokiji!

"Hah..."

Exhaling softly, Aokiji walked up to the wrecked ship and looked up at River.

"Now that's someone I never expected to see!"

After a pause, the cold surrounding him intensified, freezing an even broader expanse of sea.

The battered wreck, split in two, was now completely frozen as well.

"The former Admiral, Daytime Tiger!"

"I thought you were already dead!"

As he spoke, Aokiji bent his knees and leaped onto the deck, walking forward over the snow and ice beneath his feet.

Crunch, crunch!

The crisp sounds made River narrow his eyes.

"Kuzan!"

"You've changed quite a bit since we last met!"

River remarked calmly.

As Aokiji approached, a thin layer of frost coated River's legs, waist, and arms.

"It's been more than just a little while!"

"It's been twenty years!"

Aokiji said evenly, stopping ten meters in front of River.

An immensely oppressive presence swept out in an instant, bearing down on River.

Snowflakes whirled through the air. In the blink of an eye, heavy snow filled the sky over the entire stretch of sea.

The temperature kept plummeting, quickly falling to dozens of degrees below freezing.

Crack, crack!

River's body was freezing over.

Behind him, Dracule Mihawk had already become an ice sculpture, his bleeding wounds frozen shut by the frost.

"Hah..."

Breathing out a puff of white mist, Aokiji stared at the man before him with a grave expression.

"So, now that you've reappeared before the world, what identity have you taken on this time?"

River smiled faintly. "Naturally..."

"A righteous..."

"Marine!"

Aokiji fell silent. Remembering everything River had done twenty years ago, he curled his lips into a mocking smile.

"That bullshit!"

"Who would believe it?"