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A deep voice, like ice hitting rock, exploded on the silent ice field. Everyone instinctively retreated to both sides, clearing a straight path.
A man's figure emerged from the end of the path.
He wore a wide-brimmed felt hat, pulled so low it almost completely obscured his face, revealing only a segment of a pale, almost transparent jawline, its contours as sharp as if carved by a knife.
The giant cross-shaped sword on his shoulder was taller than he was. The black blade was covered with a thin layer of frost, radiating a chilling glint that seemed capable of severing sunlight.
He walked step by step towards Li Yu, and the ice beneath his feet emitted faint cracking sounds.
With each step, the air around him seemed to grow colder and harder, and even the swirling ice crystals revolved around him, as if intimidated by the invisible sword intent.
When he reached a spot three meters in front of Li Yu, the man slowly raised his head.
The eyes beneath the felt hat were exposed to Li Yu: ink-black pupils, unfathomably deep, like two ancient wells silent for a thousand years, yet the whites of his eyes were a bluish-white, with a slight upward tilt at the corners, naturally conveying an arrogance that looked down on all beings.
[Joracole Mihawk, a Warlord of the Sea, the World's Greatest Swordsman!]
"I want to challenge you."
Mihawk's voice was utterly devoid of emotion, neither angry nor excited, as if he were merely remarking on the pleasant weather.
Li Yu's expression remained unchanged; he nodded slightly.
"Mihawk? Your courage is commendable, but if you challenge me, you must be prepared to pay the price with your life."
He glanced at the bustling crowd in the distance. Time was running out; if they continued to delay, they wouldn't finish checking everyone by nightfall.
Mihawk did not respond, merely gripped the hilt of his giant cross-shaped sword with both hands, slowly dragging the blade across the ice, producing a grating sound.
As the Black Blade Yoru was brought before his chest, a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his pupils—an intense yearning for the pinnacle of swordsmanship, unrelated to victory or defeat, but solely for the perfection of that single strike.
"Please enlighten me!"
The moment his words fell, Mihawk slowly raised the giant cross-shaped sword above his head.
The blade of the Black Blade Yoru reflected the cold light of the ice field, mirroring the fleeting clouds above, as if only this one sword remained between heaven and earth.
He was about to strike!
Everyone's hearts were in their throats; even their breathing almost stopped.
The Marines clenched their fists, the pirates' eyes widened, and even the dying Whitebeard in the distance propped himself up on his blade, standing tall to watch.
Could the World's Greatest Swordsman break the undefeated myth of this mysterious man?
Mihawk stood with his feet slightly apart, firmly planted on the cracked ice. His ink-black pupils beneath the felt hat were locked onto Li Yu, and the air around him seemed frozen by an invisible sword intent; even the wind had ceased.
"Hmph!"
Accompanied by a low grunt, the giant cross-shaped sword carved a perfect arc in his hands.
There was no earth-shattering aura, no swirling dust, only extreme precision and sharpness. The trajectory of the blade was more precise than a compass, even the falling ice crystals were cut into equally sized fragments, refracting a spectrum of colors in the air.
With this single strike, Mihawk integrated his lifelong swordsmanship, breaking through all known limits.
In front of Li Yu, an unprecedentedly powerful foe, he unleashed a truly perfect sword strike.
A sword energy, almost invisible to the naked eye, suddenly erupted, sweeping across the ice like the Grim Reaper's scythe.
Wherever it passed, a several-meter-wide layer of ice was silently cleaved, the edges of the chasm smooth as a mirror, as if polished for a century with the finest sandpaper, without a single burr.
This was the manifestation of power controlled to its absolute limit!
Li Yu sat in his chair, not even looking up at the sword energy.
It wasn't until the sword energy was less than three meters from him that he slowly raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together, gently closing them as if plucking a snowflake.
"Clink!"
A barely audible crisp sound echoed in the air. The sword energy, capable of splitting steel warships, seemed to hit an invisible wall, instantly dissipating into a flurry of wind and snow, which softly settled on Li Yu's shoulders.
And Mihawk's giant cross-shaped sword was firmly clamped by Li Yu's two fingers, right in the middle of its blade.
The cold light on the Black Blade Yoru vibrated violently, emitting an unwilling hum, yet it could not advance another inch, as if welded into the void.
Mihawk's pupils suddenly contracted, and the veins on the back of his sword-wielding hand bulged.
He could clearly feel a power, seemingly gentle yet more indestructible than a ten-thousand-year-old glacier, emanating from the opponent's fingertips.
"Not bad."
Li Yu nodded slightly, a rare hint of approval in his eyes.
"In this world, your power is astonishing."
This world?
A flicker of understanding passed through Mihawk's eyes. So, he wasn't from this world?
Could he be a god?
Li Yu released his fingers, and the Black Blade Yoru instantly sprang back. Mihawk stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance.
"Stand down."
Li Yu withdrew his hand, not continuing his attack. He actually didn't want to kill Mihawk.
This great swordsman had never overly involved himself in the disputes between the Marines and pirates, only dedicating himself to the way of the sword.
Such a pure powerhouse, who pursued strength, deserved respect.
But Mihawk suddenly spun around, placing his left hand on the hilt and his right hand sliding down the blade, using the momentum of his spin to thrust the great sword upwards.
The blade carried a bone-chilling coldness, its angle as cunning as a venomous snake's tongue, pointing directly at Li Yu's throat. This was his deadly finishing move, with which he had slain countless strong opponents.
"Black Blade Flash"!
Li Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
Are you refusing my kindness?
He leaned back slightly, precisely dodging Mihawk's deadly strike.
However, Sengoku's chair was instantly pulverized by the sword wind, sending wood splinters flying everywhere!
Before Mihawk could change his stance, Li Yu lightly raised his right foot and precisely stepped onto the spine of the giant cross-shaped sword.
"Buzz!"
The Black Blade Yoru emitted a pained hum, as if on the verge of breaking.
Mihawk felt a tremendous force transmit through the blade, causing his tiger's mouth to split open. Blood dripped down the hilt, blooming into vibrant red plum blossoms on the ice.
He gritted his teeth, exerting all his strength to try and retract the sword, but the foot resting on the sword's spine was like a rooted mountain. No matter how much force he used, the great sword remained utterly unmoving.
Li Yu's lips curved slightly. If I don't show you a little something, will you truly think I have no temper?
He applied a little pressure with his foot.
"Crack!"
A crisp cracking sound echoed across the ice field.
The Black Blade Yoru, hailed as the strongest sword in the world, developed a faint crack on its spine.
Mihawk's pupils completely dilated, and his sword-wielding hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
He had wielded Yoru throughout his life, cleaving Sea Kings and splitting steel battleships. He had never imagined that one day, the Black Blade Yoru would have a crack made by someone's foot!
"Ah!"
Mihawk roared, tearing the cross-shaped necklace from his neck.
With a fierce tug, he pulled out a small, inch-long knife from the necklace. His entire being transformed into a black lightning bolt, and seizing the moment Li Yu lifted his foot, he thrust it straight at Li Yu's heart!
"Clink!"
The small knife accurately struck Li Yu's heart area, but it produced a crisp clang of metal hitting metal.
Li Yu's body, forged and tempered by a thousand trials of Cosmo, was harder than diamond. The cross-shaped knife instantly shattered into dust, leaving not even a trace of a white mark.
As Mihawk watched in extreme shock, Li Yu extended his index finger and lightly tapped his glabella.
A hint of relief appeared in Mihawk's eyes.
"Thank you. To have unleashed this sword in this lifetime, it was worth it!"
"If there's a next life, I hope to go to your world and see different sights!"
A drop of Absolute Zero blood instantly erupted within Mihawk's heart.
Mihawk gradually turned white from his chest. In less than five seconds, his entire being had transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.
Unlike the surface freezing seen with Blackbeard or Akainu, he was completely frozen at a molecular level. Every cell of his body had turned into ice molecules, and even the shock in his pupils was eternally captured.
Mihawk, a Warlord of the Sea, has fallen!
The ice field was deathly silent; even the sound of snowflakes falling was clearly audible.
The World's Greatest Swordsman had only made two strikes, yet he couldn't even pierce the opponent's skin before being completely frozen!
With Mihawk's death, no one else dared to utter a sound.
Finally, a Marine could no longer bear it and shouted loudly.
"The situation is critical! Commander, please step forward!"
More and more Marines shouted loudly.
"Commander, please step forward!"
Commander?
I don't recall the Marine faction having a Commander position in the world of One Piece?
Li Yu followed the gazes of the many Marines, looking towards Marine Headquarters!
At this moment, the dark clouds above Marineford had, at some unknown point, turned as black as ink. Golden lightning bolts, like coiled evil dragons, streaked and roared through the clouds, illuminating the world in a ghastly white.
"Crack!"
A lightning bolt as thick as a bucket struck the highest spire of the Marine Headquarters fortress. The moment the electric light exploded,
A figure, accompanied by countless lightning bolts, descended from the sky. The lightning surrounding him illuminated half the sky, his presence like that of a god descending!
The Marines immediately erupted in deafening cheers:
"It's Lord Enel!"
"Commander Enel has arrived!"
"Kid, your arrogance has reached its limit! The strongest Lord Enel has arrived; your death is at hand!"
Li Yu looked up, observing the man completely wreathed in lightning, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
Enel?
If he remembered correctly, this guy should have been defeated by Luffy on Skypiea. How did he become a Marine Commander?
Finally, he appeared, a Fallen Reincarnator!
The electric light gradually dissipated, revealing the true form of the newcomer.
He was shirtless, his bronze skin gleaming in the residual electricity. Behind him was a massive metal ring, embedded with six thunder drums, inside which blue and white currents surged back and forth, emitting crackling sounds.
The man stood on a rolling black cloud, arrogantly raising his chin in mid-air, a look of wild pride on his face.
"My subordinates, have you missed your Commander?!"