Zoro planted his three swords into the deck, barely supporting his unsteady body as he breathed heavily to regain the strength.
Sweat and blood mixed together, covering his face. Though exhausted, he remained standing.
He had won.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Just then, slow applause came from behind him.
The rhythm was unhurried, the claps gentle, yet Zoro's whole body tensed as he immediately turned around.
At some point, Hawk Eyes Mihawk had already entered the restaurant.
He was sitting beside Kuina. The enormous black cross-shaped sword rested casually against the back of his chair, while outside, the coffin-shaped boat still floated quietly on the sea.
Supporting one hand on his knee, Mihawk applauded leisurely, his expression calm.
"Hawk Eyes."
Zoro panted heavily. A fanatical smile slowly spread across his weary face.
Pain and exhaustion filled his body, but the excitement in his eyes only burned brighter.
He looked at Kuina with an open, unwavering gaze.
'I won.'
'It's time for you to keep your promise.'
Kuina gave a slight nod and slowly stood up.
She adjusted her sleeve before turning to Mihawk with perfect courtesy.
"Senior Mihawk."
"I'm Kuina, Gion's disciple. I'd like to ask a favor."
Mihawk stopped clapping. His golden eyes slowly settled on Kuina's face.
"Gion's disciple?"
Those two words ignited something in his quiet heart.
Many years ago, near these very waters, at the entrance beneath Reverse Mountain leading into the Grand Line, he had met Gion.
Back then, he wasn't yet famous throughout the world, but he had considered himself fairly strong.
Yet when Gion faced him, she hadn't even drawn her sword.
She had defeated him using nothing but a dagger.
Mihawk unconsciously reached toward his waist.
The dagger mark Gion had left him back then was still there.
He still remembered that day.
He had lain helpless on the ground, gravely wounded and on the verge of death.
Every time he recalled it, the scar on his back seemed to ache faintly.
For a swordsman, being struck across the back by another swordsman was an undeniable disgrace.
That battle had nearly cost him his life.
But it had also allowed him to find his own path with the sword.
After a long silence, Mihawk looked at Kuina and spoke in a low voice, "Your request... is that I cross swords with you?"
His tone remained steady, but the fingers gripping the back of his chair tightened unconsciously.
He had always wanted another chance to fight Gion.
Even knowing the enormous gap between them, he had never let go of that obsession.
'Without realizing it, has even her disciple become this strong?'
"Not me," Kuina smiled faintly and raised a hand toward Zoro, who stood on the deck covered in wounds, still holding his head high.
"You're recognized as the world's second greatest swordsman. I want my childhood friend to experience your swordsmanship firsthand."
Zoro trembled. Now he was excited.
There was no hesitation.
No retreat.
Only overwhelming anticipation.
He dropped to one knee, supporting himself with his sword, and bowed deeply to Mihawk with both respect and determination.
"Please teach me!"
This was a supreme swordsman acknowledged by both him and Kuina.
Someone standing at the very peak of the swordsmanship.
He had longed for an opponent like this for far too long.
There was no way he would miss this chance.
Mihawk glanced at him indifferently, "You want to use me as a whetstone?"
He looked back at Kuina, "I can agree."
"But I have one condition."
"I want you to arrange a duel between me and your master, Gion."
Kuina looked at him quietly, neither surprised nor troubled, "My master's schedule and wishes aren't for me to decide."
She paused briefly before changing the subject, "But if you can defeat me after you've finished guiding my friend there, I'll personally take you to meet her."
"Deal," Mihawk held Kuina's gaze for a long moment before standing up and slinging the black cross-shaped sword back onto his back.
The heavy sound of the sword settling into place echoed deeply.
The air throughout the restaurant froze.
Kuina's sword intent was indeed formidable, enough to earn his respect, but he believed he would never lose to Gion's disciple.
Mihawk walked between the tables toward the deck.
As he passed Zoro, he didn't stop.
He merely glanced at the kneeling young man out of the corner of his eye.
"Come on, kid."
"Let me see what your sword is really capable of."
"Hawk Eyes, I won't disappoint you!"
Zoro pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, gritting his teeth as he steadied himself on his swords.
The wounds from his battle with Clark were still bleeding.
Yet his eyes shone brighter than ever, his entire body burning with fighting spirit.
He staggered forward a couple of steps, dragging his three swords behind him before slowly walking out onto the deck, where the sea wind howled.
Inside the restaurant, Carina leisurely rose from her chair, wine glass in hand, and leaned out to look toward the deck, smiling with amusement.
"Heh! This kid really has a death wish."
She casually swung one long leg over the back of her chair and followed everyone outside.
The diners throughout the restaurant could no longer remain seated.
One after another, they pushed back their chairs and went outside to watch.
A duel between swordsmen was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.
No one wanted to miss it.
Walking up behind Zoro, Carina reached into her clothes and took out a small glass bottle.
The bottle was exquisitely made, containing half a bottle of pale red liquid that shimmered with a gentle, unusual glow beneath the daylight.
"Catch."
She casually tossed it over.
The bottle spun twice through the air before landing steadily in Zoro's palm.
Looking down at it, Zoro frowned, "What's this?"
"A very good medicine."
Carina rested a finger against her chin, smiling brightly, "If you're going to fight Mihawk, you can't exactly do it half dead. I don't want to watch a fight that ends in ten seconds."
Without another question, Zoro pulled out the stopper.
Nearby, Sanji glanced at the medicine, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly before he silently put his cigarette back between his lips.
He recognized it.
It was unimaginably precious.
A special healing medicine refined from Stella's blood.
The current Stella was no ordinary Heal-Heal Fruit user anymore.
The healing power contained within her blood ranked among the very best in the entire World Government.
Even a single drop of the undiluted medicine could instantly heal wounds as severe as Zoro's or save hundreds of critically injured patients.
As for the bottle in Carina's hand, even diluted tenfold, it would still be enough to make any pirate crew in the New World fight to the death over it.
Yet she had tossed away such a priceless treasure as casually as if it were candy.
There was no need to think about it.
This had to be another item provided by Shirahoshi.
Zoro tilted his head back and poured the liquid onto his wounds.
The instant it touched his skin, a cool warmth spread throughout his entire body.
The wounds that had still been bleeding visibly closed and healed before his eyes, disappearing without a trace.
The internal injuries from the heavy blow to his chest also seemed to be gently smoothed away.
The lingering pain vanished completely.
Zoro stared blankly at his now unblemished skin, his eyes full of shock.
"Don't look at me like that."
Carina smiled and stepped back to stand beside Nojiko, "Go fight a proper battle. If you lose too badly, I'd think it was a waste."
Zoro said nothing.
He silently tightened his grip on his three swords before turning around.
Mihawk already stood at the opposite end of the deck, the enormous cross-shaped sword still strapped to his back.
He didn't draw it.
Instead, he reached for something at his waist.
It was an utterly ordinary dagger.
Its blade was only about the length of a hand. Its surface was worn and mottled, while the sheath bore countless marks left by time.
It looked completely unremarkable.
Mihawk drew it lightly.
The dagger came free, its point angled toward the ground at his side.
As the crisp sound of metal faded, Zoro's brows drew together.
"Why aren't you drawing your sword?"
Grinding his teeth, he stared at the plain dagger, anger rising at being looked down on.
"You're the world's second greatest swordsman, and you're going to fight me with that?"
Mihawk lowered his eyes to the dagger in his hand.
After a moment of silence, he slowly looked up.
For the first time, a trace of nostalgia appeared in his sharp golden eyes.
"Kid, the words you're saying now are exactly the same as what that person once said."
He gently shook the worn dagger before looking back at Zoro.
"Back then, I was just like you."
"I carried my beloved sword and challenged the owner of this dagger, demanding that she draw her blade and duel me."
The corner of his mouth twitched, somewhere between self-mockery and reflection.
"But she didn't."
"She only drew this dagger."
The fingers wrapped around Zoro's sword tightened quietly.
"You ask why I won't draw my sword?"
Mihawk raised the dagger, its tip pointing toward Zoro.
His voice remained perfectly calm, "Because you're not worthy yet."
Those simple words were as casually as an ordinary conversation, yet they struck Zoro's heart like a heavy hammer.
"The hotheaded fool back then was exactly like you."
Mihawk's gaze never left him, "He gave everything he had."
"He used every technique he'd learned in his youth."
"His eyes were filled with the obsession to become stronger."
"Just like yours are now."
"But in the end..."
"He still couldn't make the owner of this dagger draw her real sword."
Mihawk slowly turned around, presenting his back to everyone.
He reached up, loosened the collar of his black coat, and gently pulled one side down.
The heavy fabric slipped away, revealing a shocking scar across his back.
The wound stretched across nearly his entire back, from his right shoulder to his left waist.
It had once been deep enough to expose bone.
Though long healed, the dark purple scar remained rough and hideous, like a brand that could never fade.
Everyone on the deck held their breath in shock.
No one had imagined that Hawk Eyes Mihawk, who stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, carried such a deep and humiliating scar on his back.
"That hotheaded fool..."
"...was me."
Mihawk lowered his eyes to the shadow of the scar cast upon the deck.
His voice remained low and steady, "I used everything I had at the time."
"And she left this wound on my back using nothing but this dagger."
"With my current strength, removing this scar would be effortless."
"But I've kept it."
"It's the truest marker of the road I've walked."
He pulled his robe back into place, covering the scar.
The entire deck fell silent.
The sea wind howled, but it couldn't drown out the turmoil in everyone's hearts.
In a hoarse voice, Zoro asked instinctively, "Then... have you defeated her now?"
Mihawk let out a quiet laugh.
It drifted away on the sea breeze, carrying both acceptance and helplessness.
"Perhaps..."
"I'll never get the chance in this lifetime."
He raised a hand and beckoned to Zoro.
The lazy smile in his eyes disappeared completely, replaced by pure sharpness.
"Come on, kid."
Zoro stood frozen.
He knew better than anyone what Mihawk represented.
The world's second greatest swordsman had personally admitted that there was a mountain he could never surpass.
What kind of hopeless gap was that?
What kind of obsession was that?
Even someone standing at the peak of swordsmanship still had a summit he could only spend his life looking up at.
As for himself... he wasn't even qualified to touch that distance yet.
Shock. Respect. Frustration.
All of it intertwined in his heart, completely igniting his fighting spirit.
Zoro slowly bit down on the sword in his mouth, gripping one sword in each hand.
His shoulders lowered, his elbows sank, and he steadied his breathing.
The aura around him instantly gathered together.
"Please teach me."
He stepped forward.
The deck beneath his feet trembled.
The next instant, his body became a green blur as he charged straight at Mihawk.
Clang!
His right-hand sword struck first.
The attack was swift and decisive.
Mihawk simply held the dagger horizontally and gave it the lightest brush.
A gentle yet flawless force traveled through the blade, redirecting Zoro's strike by a single inch.
Just one inch. It was enough to make Zoro's full-powered attack miss completely.
Clang!
Refusing to stop, Zoro immediately switched to his left-hand sword, slashing diagonally toward Mihawk's throat.
Mihawk's feet never moved.
He merely leaned his upper body back slightly as the dagger swept up.
Clang!
The crisp collision rang out.
Zoro's left-hand sword was knocked three inches off course.
His entire arm went numb, every bit of force effortlessly dispersed.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Zoro abandoned all restraint.
His three swords flowed together in an endless sequence of chops, thrusts, upward cuts, and slashes.
Every strike was a killing move he had forged through countless life-and-death battles.
Every attack targeted an opening with sharpness he has honed for years.
Yet Mihawk was like an immovable rock at the center of a storm. Steady as a mountain.
Throughout the exchange, he maintained a relaxed posture.
Only his wrist moved.
Every rise and fall of the dagger came at exactly the right moment.
A light deflection.
A gentle press.
A subtle redirect.
That was all it took to dissolve every one of Zoro's attacks.
No matter how fierce Zoro's assault became, he couldn't touch so much as a corner of Mihawk's clothing.
"Hah!"
Zoro lowered his body.
His three swords closed in together, becoming a spinning green whirlwind that charged forward with tremendous force.
"Oni Giri!"
Clang!
Mihawk held the dagger diagonally across his body.
A thin arc of steel stopped the raging whirlwind head-on.
The spinning force froze instantly.
Zoro stumbled half a step before gritting his teeth and regaining his balance.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes slightly, "Not bad."
His tone was calm, as though he was casually evaluating an ordinary object.
There wasn't the slightest ripple in it.
Breathing heavily, Zoro replayed the dozens of exchanges in his mind.
He had attacked with everything he had.
Every technique.
Every opening.
Yet he had found no flaw whatsoever.
Mihawk's defense was perfect.
Not an ounce of unnecessary strength.
Not a trace of wasted effort.
Every block landed precisely at the critical point of Zoro's attack, leaving Mihawk in complete control from beginning to end.
It was an impregnable defense.
One that was almost suffocating.
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