Kuina's strength and Haki were inferior to Mihawk's, and she was injured in the clash of Flying Slash. Flying Slash are an attack method that condenses one's own Sword Qi and releases it from the body. Clearly, in the realm of Sword Qi, Kuina was also lacking!
Sword Qi is different from Haki. It's not about who's older being stronger. It's related to personal comprehension. It's not uncommon for a young swordsman to defeat a veteran swordsman.
Mihawk became the world's greatest swordsman by defeating a swordsman much older than himself, so the swordsman profession is one where skill comes first, and it is clear that Kuina's understanding is not quite as good as Mihawk's.
After Flying Slash, neither of them immediately attacked the other. Instead, they stood there panting heavily. Both of them were quite exhausted. Although Kuina was injured, Mihawk did not hold back. He was going for a head-on fight, wanting to see how strong Kuina was.
After calming her erratic breathing, Kuina charged towards Mihawk, Conqueror's Haki coating with Wado Ichimonji.
In other aspects, Kuina is slightly weaker, and now she can only try to turn the tide with her Conqueror's Coating. Black and red Inazuma coils around the blade, making Wado Ichimonji look somewhat eerie.
As Kuina approached Mihawk, she leaped into the air, using the recoil from Geppo to hurtle straight at Mihawk's head, gripping the hilt of her sword with both hands, determined to cleave her enemy in two.
A fleeting look of admiration crossed Mihawk's eyes as he instantly enveloped the Black Blade Yoru with his Conqueror's Haki Coating, then swung the sword upwards with both hands!
The two swords, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, clashed together in mid-air. The ground beneath Mihawk's feet cracked inch by inch, countless fissures spreading outwards, and the aftershocks of the collision stirred up clouds of dust.
Although the clash of their Conqueror's Haki did not shatter the sky, the island beneath their feet was already riddled with holes and devoid of life. In some places, seawater was already seeping in, and the future of the island was uncertain!
This is the enormous impact of battles between the strong; a vibrant island can be completely transformed after a single battle!
Mihawk certainly possesses Conqueror's Haki, although he was never seen using it in the original work. Moreover, he appears carefree and unambitious, making it unlikely that he would Awakening Conqueror's Haki.
But Mihawk once pursued the strongest, at least in swordsmanship, and he succeeded, sparring with Shanks many times. Without Conqueror's Haki, what makes him capable of competing with Shanks?
This all shows that Mihawk was once ambitious, and quite ambitious at that. It's just that after he achieved his ambitions, he became somewhat idle!
Like the Marine Garp the Hero, who in the original work was portrayed as unambitious and refused several offers from Kong to promote him to Marine Admiral, does that mean he lacked Conqueror's Haki?
Garp had goals when he was young, you know. He hunted down the Pirate King Roger quite a few times, and without Conqueror's Haki Roger, you probably wouldn't even be qualified to be his opponent. So Garp must have pursued personal strength!
So even though these powerful individuals are now inactive, their once- Awakening Conqueror's Haki will not disappear. However, due to changes in their mindset, it's true that Mihawk's Conqueror's Haki might not continue to grow stronger!
But that was the original world. In this world, there's the variable of Vic. Mihawk was defeated by Vic before, and he's no longer the best in the world. So his mindset will definitely change again. If he still wants to regain his title as the best in the world, then his ambition will return to what it was when he was young!
Kuina was blasted away by Mihawk and fell directly to the ground, her head spinning and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth!
However, Kuina refused to give up and stood up to continue attacking Mihawk with her Conqueror's Haki. The two exchanged blows and Conqueror's Coating several more times. Kuina's spirits were waning as the fight went on, and Mihawk's Conqueror's Haki was having an effect on her!
After a few more moves, Mihawk knocked the Wado Ichimonji out of Kuina's hand, and the Black Blade Yoru was now pressed against her throat. At this moment, the Black Blade Yoru had returned to its original state, with no trace of Conqueror's Haki remaining on it!
I lost!
Kuina looked at Mihawk and said softly, with regret and resentment. This battle made her realize her shortcomings, and there were many areas where she needed to improve.
She gained something from this battle. Except for the final stab, Hawk-Eye hadn't held back at all. This was the kind of battle she needed, the kind that would enlighten her. Vic couldn't give her this kind of battle. She now understood why Vic had brought her to find Hawk-Eye!
"You are already very strong. It's rare for a woman to reach this level. You are qualified to challenge me in the future!"
Mihawk withdrew his arm, sheathed the Black Blade Yoru behind his back, and said seriously, he really admired the girl in front of him; it was truly impressive for someone so young to have reached this level!
He looked only a few years older than the green-haired kid we met before, but the difference between them was astonishing!
However, that kid has a decent foundation, but the stage he's on is too small, so he can't fully unleash his potential. He'll have a breakthrough period when he goes to the Grand Line, but it's unknown who will be stronger after that breakthrough.
"Defeat is defeat! I will train even harder in the future!"
After saying that, Kuina turned and left. She retrieved her Wado Ichimonji and went to Vic's side. Now, the only good piece of land left on the entire island was around Vic, which now looked more like a large pillar.
"Alright! Let's end today's battle here. I'll give you a chance to challenge me. Come find me again when you feel strong enough!"
Without saying anything to Mihawk, Vic created a gust of wind beneath his feet, carrying the two of them to a small boat in the distance. The boat started moving and soon disappeared above the horizon.
After gazing for a long time, Mihawk returned to his small boat. His feelings were somewhat complicated. In the past, he was the World's Greatest Swordsman, with no one in front of him and only pursuers behind him!
Now he's caught in the middle, with pursuers both in front and behind. His carefree days are gone, at least until he defeats Vic. But Vic feels mysterious and powerful, not so easy to surpass. He can only challenge his own limits.
Vic didn't leave the East Blue directly, but went to Loguetown. However, before that, he saw Kuina off. Kuina had found her own path and was no longer suitable to follow him. She had her own way to go!
Vic wanted to confirm whether Smoker had been transferred to Loguetown. He wasn't worried about Luffy's safety; Dragon was definitely watching from nearby.
Vic strolled into the Marine Base in Loguetown. Not a single naval soldier stopped him; they completely ignored him. Vic walked step by step into the base commander's office.
Seeing the white smoke billowing from the crack in the door and smelling the strong odor of tobacco, Vic was certain that it was Smoker, the heavy Smoker, inside. No one else would dare to close the doors and windows and smoke heavily like that. Vic remembered that he had already warned Smoker, so how did things still turn out this way?
"Hey! Who's being so rude? You just barged in without knocking. Is that Tashigi?"
As soon as Vic opened the door, he heard a familiar voice, but it was filled with strong dissatisfaction. However, Vic had a smile on his lips. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time. In order to completely sever ties with the Navy, Vic hadn't gone to see Smoker since he defected from the Navy.