The destruction caused by the clashing slashes was catastrophic, leaving the island shaking as if trapped in a massive earthquake. Carl did not relent, lunging forward with his blades crossed. He wrapped them in Conqueror's Haki and unleashed a cross-shaped black slash that tore through the smoke, heading straight for Hawkeye.
"Cross God's Avoidance!" Carl shouted.
This was one of Carl's most devastating techniques, a move that had even pushed Big Mom to her limits. However, Carl lacked confidence when facing Hawkeye, who stood as the pinnacle of swordsmanship. As expected, Hawkeye's eyes shone with excitement upon seeing the technique. He retaliated with a backhanded slash that appeared identical to the massive flying strike from earlier, yet Carl knew better—Hawkeye's technique was far more complex.
The strikes collided with a deafening boom that seemed to shatter space itself. The sound was followed by a roar of rolling thunder, and electricity burst forth in every direction. The entire sea area erupted into turmoil.
The battle showcased a fierce collision of Armament Haki.
The impact of the Conqueror's Haki shockwaves caused the sea to churn violently.
The slashes remained locked in a stalemate, generating intense shockwaves that pulverized the island and triggered massive tsunamis.
"Hiss! It's terrifying! It's just like when Luffy and Bullet were fighting!" members of the Straw Hat crew gasped. They realized that the top powerhouses of the sea were essentially walking Ancient Weapons, capable of wiping islands off the map with a single exchange. They had no choice but to order their ship to retreat to a safer distance.
When the dust finally settled, only a dilapidated battlefield remained. Carl sighed, realizing that while his attacks had been powerful, they were ineffective against Hawkeye.
"So this is the God's Avoidance of the Pirate King, Roger? I didn't think you had actually mastered it; I assumed it was just a rumor," Hawkeye remarked with genuine surprise and satisfaction. He was pleased that Carl's strength had not disappointed him.
Carl, feeling frustrated, pointed his swords at his opponent. "Stop talking nonsense! Keep fighting! I haven't even used my full repertoire!"
Carl immediately unleashed his signature move: "Hakoku: Lightning Slash!". The lightning-imbued attack surged toward Hawkeye with a massive shockwave, but Hawkeye raised Yoru and countered with a slash that instantly overwhelmed Carl's technique.
The combat raged on for hours. Explosions echoed across the ruins, earthquakes and tsunamis persisted, and even the local weather patterns were severely affected. When the sounds of battle finally ceased, the Straw Hat crew returned to the site, only to find that the island had been reduced to a reef the size of a small rock; the rest of the landmass had long since sunk into the turbulent sea.
Carl lay on the reef, panting heavily with his blades discarded nearby. Hawkeye appeared slightly disheveled but remained standing, maintaining his composure. Zoro and the others looked at Hawkeye with a mix of awe and complexity, acknowledging that even with Haki and Devil Fruit powers, Carl had been defeated in pure swordsmanship.
"Carl, you did not use your full strength," Hawkeye noted seriously. "If you had gambled everything on your Devil Fruit powers, I would not have been your opponent".
"Hey, if that were the case, winning would be meaningless," Carl replied with a bright smile. "You came here to discuss swordsmanship. Since I agreed, I responded with swordsmanship. Even if I possess the power of the Lightning Fruit, I only used moves applicable to the sword. Anything else would be disrespectful to the path of the swordsman. Although I am not a pure swordsman, I possess a spirit that cannot be discarded!"
Hawkeye looked at Carl with a rare flash of respect. The Straw Hat crew shared this sentiment, realizing that Carl had lost in technique, not in raw strength. Carl turned to his students, satisfied that watching the world's greatest swordsman in action had provided them with invaluable experience.
As Hawkeye prepared to depart on his coffin boat, Carl shouted, "Hey! Mihawk! You didn't even have a meal with me after the fight, and now you're in such a hurry to go back and have a baby! You're exhausted; if someone sneaks up on you, the world's greatest swordsman might perish!".
For the first time, Hawkeye rolled his eyes at Carl. He understood why Blackbeard often grew so angry at Carl's vicious tongue; the man's insults were sharp enough to cut deeper than any blade.