when!
Ta-da!
On the island, only the crisp sound of swords striking each other could be heard.
To onlookers, their movements would not exceed five steps, and all their moves were completed within those five steps.
Each attack caused a slight tremor in the ground beneath their feet, resulting in the ground within five steps being extremely flat and clean.
Five steps away, the ground was covered in dust, which seemed to have formed a circle.
when! !
Kuro slashed at Mihawk with his sword, but Mihawk raised his sword to block it. However, the sudden force made him stagger backward. A glint flashed in Kuro's eyes, and he leaped into the air, his blade leaving the black sword's defense, and darting straight for Mihawk's forehead.
Just as Mihawk was about to tilt his head back, he suddenly sensed something and changed his head from tilting back to dodging to the side, letting Nara stab his cheek, leaving a wound on his face. At the same time, his black sword 'Night' slashed forward, also slashing into the air at the same time as Kuro stabbed, forcing Kuro's body to fall. As he fell, Mihawk twisted the blade, changing from a horizontal slash to a downward slash, bringing the sword down heavily. Kuro was about to dodge to the side when he suddenly noticed something again, changed his mind, and directly blocked with his sword, forcefully blocking the black sword's slash, causing his feet to sink a little.
Bang!
The moment the blade struck, Mihawk's black sword seemed to soften, sliding right past Luo Gui's parry without even a spark, and then nimbly slashing towards Kuro's chest.
"It's really soft!"
Kuro gritted his teeth, suddenly raised his foot, and kicked the back of the blade that was thrusting towards him hard. His body was also thrown to the right by the force of the kick, and he landed three steps away.
Both of them silently gripped their blades and stared at each other.
“Don’t look at me like that. I never said I couldn’t use my hands or feet. Swordsmen fight with their hands too, and feet can be used as well. I’ve even seen people use their feet as swords. I didn’t use any Haki.” Kuro suddenly said.
Back then, that old guy, Golden Lion, didn't he use his feet as swords?
What? His feet were missing and he used a sword to bind them?
I don't care about this.
“I didn’t say anything; it was just the way things were supposed to be,” Mihawk said. “Continue.”
Over at the port.
Has it come to this?
Ben Baekeland said in a deep voice, "It seems a bit troublesome if we don't leave that circle."
“It’s an unspoken rule,” Shanks laughed. “Otherwise, if we really fought, it would be a life-or-death battle.”
In their eyes, both sides in the battle had a tacit understanding and did not go beyond the five-step circle.
Not only his feet, but even his body was not allowed to go beyond the five-step range. Mihawk was about to lean back, but he found that once his head leaned back, he would be outside the range, so he simply gave up on that direction.
Similarly, Kuro did the same. If he had dodged to the side, he wouldn't have had to block the attack head-on. But once he dodged, although his feet would still be within the circle, his body would definitely be outside the boundary. So he preferred to block the attack.
Everything must have rules.
A life-or-death battle has its own rules. You can use any means necessary, even things that could destroy the world, because holding back means certain death.
However, there are rules to sparring. When both sides realize that they would have no place to stand if they started fighting, then the rules will naturally change tacitly.
The rules have changed. Now, if it's confirmed that the only requirement is to demonstrate swordsmanship, whoever goes out of bounds first loses.
They consciously put themselves in a bind within their own sphere of influence, restraining their efforts, displaying exquisite skill, and avoiding straying from the designated area.
Both sides wield long swords, and although they can use them within a five-step distance, they will be significantly restricted in their movements.
Especially for Kuro, who is skilled at high-speed movement and prefers to create distance before tormenting others with speed, this kind of close-range maneuvering and transfer is the most uncomfortable.
Fortunately, he knows this type of movement.
As for Mihawk, that sword was already quite strange, combining both strength and flexibility, making it extremely powerful. That sword could even neutralize his own fierce attacks, but for Mihawk, it also deprived him of his most proficient long-range, wide-area slashing attacks.
Now, it's all about skill, and it's all about micro-management.
"This kind of fighting doesn't seem right..."
Kuro, who was watching from the sidelines, said, "This is taking too long. It's hard to say who will win, especially with Shanks here..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the redhead.
After all, they are pirates. It's normal for Kuro to be wary of them. You can't just hand over the initiative to the pirates' conscience, that's absolutely impossible.
"Hey, don't be so worried. We're just watching. Besides, you guys seem pretty confident? Do you think Jinni will definitely win?" Shanks laughed.
"Of course!"
Lida raised her head and said proudly, "Kuro has never lost, no matter who he's facing!"
Yes, he has never lost.
There were draws and periods of interruption, but they never reached the point where they felt they had lost.
He never lost when facing Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, or Bullet, whether it was the most dangerous battles he faced. He either had to stop fighting or won despite being seriously injured.
He has never been defeated.
In this battle where the rules are set, no one can break out of the circle, and even large-scale attacks are prohibited. Furthermore, one must be able to control their sword strikes and prevent their power from expanding. Unless Shanks takes the initiative to intervene, no one can interfere with their battle.
Then we have no choice but to keep fighting!
Because he himself has never lost!
Kuro didn't think he would lose to Mihawk, especially now.
I didn't fight before because I was afraid of the trouble and there were too many things to deal with.
Besides the fame, being the world's greatest swordsman also brings trouble. It's a position that makes him the target of all swordsmen. He's already a Marine, and back in G-3 he'd already dealt with quite a few pirates who wanted to make a name for themselves by using him. If he were to add the title of the world's greatest swordsman to that, he'd be targeted by both pirates and swordsmen. That's a feeling he doesn't really want.
But Kuro couldn't accept the idea of risking everything and then 'losing' it.
So, let's attack first!
Let's finish the fight first!
when! !
The blades clashed, and both continued their fight, swords in hand.
The long, narrow, black-backed blood-red blade, when swung, seemed to protect the wearer with a blood-red aura, while the huge, pitch-black sword, when swung, sometimes moved with wide, sweeping strokes, and sometimes as soft as clouds, making it impossible to discern the winner for a moment.
The only thing that could be seen was that more and more wounds were gradually appearing on their bodies.
The wounds were very small; they were mostly caused by the air piercing the blade as it was swung, after the person dodged the attack.
They don't even need to slash, nor do they deliberately amplify the power of their sword swings; it's simply a natural phenomenon.
He didn't use any domineering aura or other means; he simply used swordsmanship in the purest way.
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