The three strands of Conqueror's Haki finally twisted into one, forming a sky-piercing tornado that spun in place before blasting through the auction house ceiling.
The impact mixed with three strands of Conqueror's Haki directly punched a huge hole through the clouds above.
"What happened?!"
"Why does it feel like the auction house is about to explode?"
"There are two people with bounties over 200 million fighting inside!"
"What?! Sea pirates with bounties over 200 million?!"
On the outer wall of the auction house, Lena dragged the unconscious Meowth and Baccarat and passed straight through from above.
Her Through-Through Fruit had already been preliminarily developed, allowing her to bring others along while phasing through walls. Escaping didn't require caring about terrain at all—just charge straight ahead.
"So this is what the strong are like… in front of them, I don't even have the right to stand steady."
Under the impact of Conqueror's Haki, Meowth and Baccarat lost consciousness immediately. She herself only managed to hold on a little longer. If she hadn't been hiding behind Vane, and if Vane's body hadn't erupted with that same kind of aura to block those two pressures, she would've ended up unconscious as well.
Lena didn't stop, instead activating her Devil Fruit ability and rushing all the way toward the abandoned yard. This place couldn't be stayed in—people outside thought the commotion inside was caused by an actual clash.
In reality, just the collision of "presence" had already created this scene. If they really started fighting, the entire district wouldn't survive.
...
Inside the auction house, the three strands of Conqueror's Haki vanished.
Vane clenched the Cursed Sword, letting its sharp edge pierce into his palm and drink his blood. The blade of the Cursed Sword was quickly dyed a layer of red.
Vane: "A perfectly good auction got messed up by the two of you. That's some seriously bad manners."
Shanks: "I can't help it either. Pirates being a bit rude is pretty normal."
Hawk Eyes looked at Vane and said leisurely, "Nation-Slayer Vane, bounty: 80 million Belly."
Eighty million Belly—Vane had been quite proud of it before, but in front of these two, it clearly wasn't enough.
Shanks glanced at the stable triangular formation. "Still want to fight?"
"Of course we're fighting!"
Damn it, my hand's already been stabbed through and you're telling me we're not fighting? How could that be possible?
Vane entered last, yet struck first. With a Soru step, he instantly appeared in front of Hawk Eyes. As he exhaled, frost mist far denser than before wrapped around the Cursed Sword.
A surge of energy also welled up in Hawk Eyes' palm—Armament Haki wrapped around Black Blade Yoru.
Hawk Eyes' sword move had no name. It was just an ordinary swing, clean and straightforward, without the slightest excess.
Yet from that seemingly ordinary swing, an astonishing power erupted.
Clang!!!
Centered on the two of them, half the arena was covered in frost, while the other half was ravaged by slashing sword energy.
"Spring Breeze Comes!"
The frost and snow unleashed from Vane's Cursed Sword bloomed with large red spots. Several blood-tinged flying slashes swept toward Hawk Eyes.
Buzz! Black Blade Yoru let out a hum. With a flick of his arm, Hawk Eyes sent out a massive green slashing wave that collided head-on with Vane's flying slashes.
Rumble! Rumble~~
Shanks moved farther away to watch their battle. "Both of them are incredibly strong."
He had seen powerful people before, but most of them were much older. People like Hawk Eyes Mihawk and this Nation-Slayer Vane, possessing such strength at their age, were extremely rare.
"In terms of swordsmanship, that Hawk-Eyes guy is stronger—he even uses Armament Haki coating."
"Nation-Slayer Vane's swordsmanship is slightly inferior, and he doesn't have Armament Haki… but his physical strength gives him an advantage, and that cold air is impressive. It makes up some of the gap. Is that cold a Devil Fruit ability?"
In a very short time, Vane and Hawk Eyes exchanged several blows. Hawk Eyes remained within a small circular area, barely moving at all.
At this moment, Vane clearly understood why Hawk Eyes became the world's greatest swordsman, the number one great sword master in the world.
In the future, many people would use swords.
Red-Haired Shanks was one of them. Big Mom, holding Napoleon, barely counted as one too. The bounties of those two were obviously higher than Hawk Eyes', yet Hawk Eyes was still called the world's number one and recognized by countless people.
Because his path was incomparably pure—one sword to walk the world.
Vane wasn't a purely devoted swordsman. Swordsmanship was only one of many paths for him to grow stronger.
"Can't let someone just stand there watching so comfortably, can we?"
Once again, the Cursed Sword collided with Black Blade Yoru. Vane gestured with his eyes toward the red-haired Shanks at the side.
Hawk Eyes remained unmoved. "After defeating you, I'll go find him."
Vane: "You're really stubborn."
Hawk Eyes: "Because you're also an opponent worth taking seriously."
The two separated again—mainly because Vane pulled back.
Hawk Eyes' range of movement still hadn't shifted much.
"Then let me show you the swordsmanship secret technique I've recently summarized."
By improving his originally technique-heavy sword style, Vane had condensed it into a single secret sword technique.
Secret techniques were different from ordinary sword skills. Just like Zoro had so many poetic techniques, yet his strongest were still those few secret arts.
Now, Vane also possessed such a secret sword technique.
"Then let me experience it."
Hawk Eyes gripped his blade with both hands, staring intently at Vane.
The raging icy wind and cold air around Vane were all drawn into the Cursed Sword with a single deep breath.
The blood-red hue along the edge of the blade grew much denser.
"Frost Breathing Secret Technique—Snow-Withered Plum!"
Zzz—Slash!
Vane swung his sword. Red and white sword energy intertwined in midair like a blooming crimson plum blossom. Facing this strike head-on, one could feel both the sharp sword intent and the bone-piercing cold of frost and snow.
Hawk Eyes fully unleashed his Armament Haki. Black Blade Yoru in his hand slashed rapidly twice through the air.
One horizontal slash, one vertical slash.
A massive green cross-shaped flying slash appeared.
The Frost Plum collided with the cross slash in midair.
Shanks raised his Gryphon, Armament Haki covering his entire body, blocking in front of his eyes.
Rumble~~~
Outside the auction house, many people had gathered around, staring at it with all kinds of expressions.
Suddenly, the auction house turned into a gigantic bomb and exploded from the center.
Boom! Rumble!
A storm mixed with debris swept across the surrounding crowd like a shotgun blast.
"I dodge, I dodge, I dodge dodge!"
A very agile person leapt and weaved through the fragments, avoiding all the debris. Just as a hint of pride rose in his heart, a fierce gust of wind swept over his body—and within that gale was a strand of sword energy.
Splurt!
He dodged the visible fragments, only to be cut down by invisible sword energy. After screaming, he collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
The immense power affected several nearby streets. The gambling street in particular suffered heavily—it wasn't far away, and its underground was almost hollowed out. The ground was fragile and directly collapsed over a large area.