The Five Elder's sword was chillingly sharp. Under the lock of that deeply frigid sword intent, the body stiffened and could not move, as if even the soul itself had been frozen solid.
This was the sword intent of a truly top-tier great swordsman.
Rosinante had never imagined that something like sword intent could influence reality so directly, especially to the extent that it could affect someone of his level of strength.
Golden Lion could also be considered a great swordsman. He possessed sword intent as well, yet whether because his strength had declined too much, or because the ship's helm lodged in his head affected him, his sword intent had never truly influenced reality.
At the very least, it had never made Rosinante feel pressured.
But the Five Elder's sword intent was different. It was truly affecting reality itself.
Even with Rosinante's level of power, he was being influenced by that sword intent, his body feeling wave after wave of stiffness. If it were anyone else under this sword intent, they would have long been reduced to lambs awaiting slaughter.
Just as the Five Elder's blade was about to cleave down upon Rosinante's head, a streak of purple sword light suddenly rose.
Rosinante drew his sword.
The moment his blade left its sheath, a domineering Eternal Silence will surged forth from the long sword in his hand.
Rosinante did not possess sword intent, but at its core, sword intent was still a form of willpower. As a possessor of Conqueror's Haki, he would naturally not be crushed by mere intent.
More importantly, the awakening of his Devil Fruit was also a will-based power, the will of Eternal Silence.
Domineering. Silent.
The will flowing from the blade caused everything to fall into stillness.
This will collided head-on with the Five Elder's sword intent, and in that instant, the Elder's sword intent was brutally torn apart by the overwhelming Eternal Silence.
Before that will, the sword intent fell silent.
Clang.
It sounded slow, yet in truth, it all happened within a single instant. The two long swords had already collided.
Utterly calm. Not a single trace of force or sword energy spread outward.
This was not because the two had perfectly controlled the violent clash of sword energy.
With such fierce sword energies colliding, even a great swordsman like the Five Elder could not completely prevent the aftermath from spilling out.
At the very least, with Rosinante's level of swordsmanship, such control was impossible.
The reason it was so calm lay in the purple sword light on Rosinante's blade. Everything it touched was completely erased.
As if dissolved away, vanishing without a trace.
When the Five Elder saw the purple glow on Rosinante's blade, his expression changed dramatically. He abruptly unleashed an extremely powerful surge of sword energy.
Using that violent sword energy to hold back Rosinante's sword momentum, he seized the chance to retreat rapidly, stepping back to disengage.
When he looked up again, the sword energy he had just unleashed had already been erased by the purple glow on Rosinante's blade. It vanished silently, without showing the slightest ripple.
"Truly, the younger generation is terrifying," the Five Elder said, sheathing his long sword and giving Rosinante a heavy look.
At that moment, the white-haired, white-bearded Five Elder stepped forward.
How is his strength? His gaze turned toward the kimono-clad Elder, silently inquiring about Rosinante's level.
Peak combat power. The kimono-clad Elder returned the answer with a calm look.
That response caused a flicker of shock to pass through the eyes of the white-haired, white-bearded Elder, his expression growing far more cautious.
They had been collecting information on Rosinante without pause, believing they already had a sufficient understanding of his strength.
Yet time and again they had raised their estimation of his combat power, and after personally testing him today, they realized they had still underestimated him.
Based on their intelligence, as well as Sengoku and Garp's descriptions not long ago, they had predicted that no matter how strong Rosinante was, he would not exceed the level of a top-tier Admiral.
But after this probing exchange, they discovered that Rosinante possessed genuine peak combat power.
Peak combat power meant standing at the very summit of the One Piece world.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido of the Beasts were only at this level, and they had reached it thanks to their extraordinary innate talents.
Yet how old was Rosinante now? And he had already reached this realm. Given time, it was entirely possible that his strength might even surpass the peak Admiral tier.
Throughout the entirety of history, there had been only a handful of individuals who surpassed peak combat power.
In modern times, only the Pirate King Roger had exceeded that level. His domain of supremacy was a truly transcendent power, a territory where all things bowed, where a single word could stir the winds and clouds.
Even Whitebeard, hailed as the strongest man in the world, had only surpassed peak Admiral combat power in battle strength. His actual level still lay at the pinnacle Admiral tier.
As these thoughts crossed their minds, the two Five Elders exchanged a glance, both seeing unmistakable shock in each other's eyes.
"It seems I do have the qualifications to negotiate," Rosinante said calmly, looking at the two Five Elders.
"But I find this kind of probing, again and again, extremely irritating. Out of respect for your age, I'll let it go this time. However, I hope this is the last time."
Rosinante's expression turned cold as he spoke.
At the same time, a domineering aura surged forth, blanketing the entire area.
That overwhelming Conqueror's Haki continued to expand outward, and the surrounding Navy and World Government personnel collapsed one after another like falling dominoes, their eyes losing consciousness as they slumped to the ground.