A faint smile appeared on Zoro's lips when he heard that.
"Just what I wanted!"
Then the two swords spun continuously in his hands.
"Three Thousand Worlds!"
The two figures crossed past each other, then stood motionless.
A second later, Zoro suddenly fell to his knees, and both swords snapped.
He lowered his head and murmured, "So this is the world's greatest swordsman?"
Zoro stood up, turned around, and spread his arms.
"What do you mean by this?" Hawk-Eyes paused.
"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame!"
"Interesting, boy!"
A slight smile appeared on Hawk-Eyes's lips, and he swung the Black Blade in his hand at Zoro.
An enormous wound tore open across Zoro's chest.
The force of the blow sent Zoro straight into the sea.
"Zoro!"
Luffy shouted and started to rush over to fight Hawk-Eyes, but Xia Chen held him back.
"Calm down. Zoro isn't dead!"
"Huh?" Luffy's expression instantly turned to delighted surprise at those words. He had thought Zoro was dead!
Xia Chen watched Hawk-Eyes calmly, the fighting spirit in his eyes slowly rising.
Zoro's battle was over. Next, it was his turn.
He had waited a long time for this fight. He had always wanted to test his strength, but had been stuck without an opponent.
Hawk-Eyes, standing before him, was more than strong enough-just right for testing his skills.
Just then, as Hawk-Eyes slowly slid his Black Blade back behind him, he seemed to sense something and turned to meet Xia Chen's gaze.
Xia Chen smiled faintly. A moment later, his figure flashed, and he appeared opposite Hawk-Eyes.
That sight gave the surrounding pirates quite a fright.
"H-how did this guy get over there?"
Hawk-Eyes stared fixedly at Xia Chen opposite him. That piercing gaze was enough to strike fear into anyone who met it, but Xia Chen was not among them.
"Mihawk, I want to fight you!"
Xia Chen got straight to the point.
Hawk-Eyes frowned, then said indifferently:
"I'm not interested. I had plenty of fun just now. I don't feel like fighting anymore."
"Besides... you aren't a swordsman, are you?"
"Does not being a swordsman mean I can't challenge you?" Xia Chen countered.
"No, but I really am not interested!" With that, Hawk-Eyes turned to leave, with no intention of fighting Xia Chen.
Xia Chen immediately grew anxious at the sight. If Hawk-Eyes left, how would he test his strength?
Finding another opponent this powerful would not be easy.
Suddenly, a good idea surfaced in Xia Chen's mind.
"Mihawk, wait! Shanks is my uncle. How about fighting me as a favor to him?"
"Hmm?" Sure enough, Hawk-Eyes turned at those words. He stared at Xia Chen and asked uncertainly:
"You're saying Shanks is your uncle? Do you have any proof?"
"You recognize the straw hat on that boy's head over there, don't you? Shanks gave it to him!"
"I used to live in Foosha Village. Shanks stayed there for a while, and that was when I met him."
"He also told me about what happened between you two. Otherwise, how would I know about your relationship?"
Xia Chen spun his tale without hesitation, his expression firm, as though everything he said were true.
Still, Xia Chen's words were quite believable. At least, Hawk-Eyes believed him at that moment.
As for Hawk-Eyes checking with Red Hair later and discovering there was no such thing, that was a matter for later. It had nothing to do with Xia Chen!
Sure enough, after hearing Xia Chen out, Hawk-Eyes stood there considering for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Since you're Shanks's nephew, I'll grant your request. I can fight you!"
With that, he drew the Black Blade Yoru from his back, rather than using that tiny knife again.
He had sensed a hint of danger from Xia Chen, enough to warrant taking him seriously.
Seeing Hawk-Eyes take a fighting stance, Xia Chen smiled faintly.
Then the iron staff he had previously found aboard Kuro's ship appeared in his hand.
Meanwhile, everyone around them stared in bewilderment, including Luffy and the others, as well as Zoro, who had just been rescued.
Luffy in particular had a huge question mark hanging over his head.
So you stopped me from fighting because you wanted to do it yourself?
Damn you, Xia Chen! You're such a bastard!
As for everyone else, none of them thought Xia Chen had any chance in this battle.
They had all watched Hawk-Eyes fight Zoro. The bounty hunter Zoro had been beaten without being able to fight back at all.
His companion would probably fare much the same.
That went doubly for Zoro, who had only recently regained consciousness. He had personally experienced the gulf between himself and the world.
That power was completely beyond anything he could match right now.
Although he also considered Xia Chen very strong, and Xia Chen had never shown his true strength in front of him.
He still did not think Xia Chen could fight Hawk-Eyes. He might fare only a little better than Zoro himself had.
At least, that was what he still thought at that moment. Until...
Xia Chen gripped the iron staff in one hand and appeared above Hawk-Eyes's head a moment later.
He smashed the iron staff down at Hawk-Eyes with tremendous force.
Hawk-Eyes met him without giving an inch, swinging Black Blade Yoru upward with a backhand slash to collide with the iron staff.
Instantly, an immensely powerful shock wave erupted from the point where they clashed.
The surrounding waves were thrown dozens of meters high, even forming a small tsunami.
"Aah!"
Everyone nearby screamed in terror.
"I-is this really something a human can do?"
Once the waves subsided, everyone realized they were now more than a thousand meters away from Xia Chen.
And with the shock waves still spreading, that distance was even showing signs of increasing.
Meanwhile, the two at the center of the battlefield looked at each other with different expressions.
Hawk-Eyes was very surprised. This young man was so strong that, for an instant just now, even the sword in his hand had felt as though it might become unsteady.
And... Hawk-Eyes's gaze slowly shifted to the black sheen gleaming on the iron staff.
Armament Haki!
To think he would see it in the East Blue. What a rarity!
Even in the first half of the Grand Line, only a small number of people had mastered this skill.
Only in a place like the New World did it become a commonly used skill.
He was therefore very curious about how Xia Chen had already mastered this power.
Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through his hand, Xia Chen's eyes glimmered with excitement.
As expected of Hawk-Eyes. He had blocked a full-power strike from Xia Chen's staff so easily.
With Xia Chen's current physique, a full-power strike from his staff was tremendously powerful.
Someone who could fight the Four Emperors was no ordinary man.
In that case, he could go all out and have some fun, too.
Xia Chen narrowed his eyes, then launched attack after attack at Hawk-Eyes.
The ultimate-level Six Powers seemed to come alive in his hands. With his various techniques working together, he even began to show signs of suppressing Hawk-Eyes...