"Heh..." Hawk-Eye drew a deep breath and held the Black Blade Yoru upright before him.
An entirely different aura rose from within him.
It was no longer the overwhelming force of before, but something condensed and focused to the absolute extreme.
Like a keen blade poised to leave its sheath and sever all things.
"As you wish." Hawk-Eye's low voice pierced the dust and reached Gern's ears clearly.
Gern paused midstep. As he watched his opponent's aura transform, a flicker of genuine interest crossed his eyes. "Finally getting serious, Mihawk?"
Before his words had faded, Hawk-Eye moved!
There was no earthshaking display. His figure merely flickered.
Then he seemed to melt into the wind, crossing dozens of meters in an instant to appear on Gern's left!
He moved so fast that a slowly fading afterimage remained where he had stood!
Still, he announced no move-or rather, he still called its name only in his mind.
The Black Blade Yoru became an almost invisible thread, silent and faster than the nerves could react, thrusting straight at the opening beneath Gern's left ribs.
Speed and precision reached their utmost limits. The Armament Haki condensed at the tip was as deep as a black hole, carrying the ultimate penetrating power of a single point piercing a surface!
Gern foresaw the future with his Observation Haki and twisted aside at the last possible moment.
Rip! The tip grazed the Admiral's uniform over his ribs, exposing the skin beneath and even drawing a string of tiny blood droplets!
What a fast blade! The fact that he had nearly been cut despite foreseeing the future sent a chill through Gern.
When that strike missed, Hawk-Eye's swordplay unfolded like flowing water, without the slightest pause.
He turned his wrist, smoothly changing Yoru's thrust into an upward slash