~ Thank you, This is the Bonus Chapter For Hitting 20 Powerstones~
Half an hour later.
"Your talent is... terrifying."
As the final clash between Mihawk and Erza came to an end, Mihawk slowly sheathed his black sword, Yoru.
Ding~
Erza stood silently. Her twin demon blades were now covered in cracks. In terms of swordsmanship alone, she still couldn't match Mihawk, the world's undisputed number one. But she had found her direction. Give her a few more years, and she'd catch up.
A genius.
That's what Mihawk thought, glancing at his cloak, which had been torn slightly by Erza's strike. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips.
What a day.
First Zoro, now Erza. Two brilliant talents revealed one after the other.
He could already see the future: challenges to his throne, battles that would push him to the limit. And that made him feel... excited.
Only Mihawk knew just how monstrous Erza's potential was.
She hadn't mastered Haki yet—but she had touched its essence. It was only a matter of time before she mastered all three types.
"This sea has been quiet for too long. The winds of change are coming."
"I should start preparing too."
Mihawk turned, ready to leave.
But Eden stood in his way.
"Sir Mihawk, it's our turn now."
"I dabble in swordsmanship as well..."
With that, Eden leapt into the sea. The ocean was his domain.
"Huh?"
Mihawk raised a brow. Eden clearly had no intention of crossing blades in the traditional sense.
"What are you doing?"
"Sea King Dragon Formation: Ocean Ring!!"
Beneath the waves, Eden drank in seawater like air. Magic surged through his body like a flood.
Spell after spell shot toward the surface.
As the Sea King Dragon, the ocean itself was Eden's mana spring. When he lacked energy, he simply absorbed it from the sea.
Eden didn't attack Mihawk for ego.
He was testing himself. Measuring his place in this world's food chain.
A top predator, newly arrived in a foreign land.
BOOM!!
Above, Mihawk staggered. He couldn't see into the deep. This was his first time facing a Devil Fruit user who didn't fear seawater.
Even Jinbei, another Warlord of the Sea, couldn't fight like this from the ocean depths.
If Eden stayed submerged like a fishman, never surfacing, he'd be virtually unbeatable.
"Enough. That's far enough."
Mihawk had finally adapted.
Using Observation Haki, he tracked Eden's attacks. Then, he swung Yoru with real intent.
And in that moment—
The world witnessed what it meant to be the strongest swordsman alive.
The greatest slash in the world was unleashed.
A beam of sword energy so massive it dimmed the sky.
This wasn't just a flying slash.
This was an island-busting, several-kilometer-wide sword strike.
Even Marineford itself would've been split in two.
For just a moment, the sea parted.
That was enough.
Mihawk's hawk eyes locked onto his prey.
"Found you."
Soaked and dripping, Mihawk stared into the depths at Eden.
"So even 800 meters deep isn't safe," Eden remarked, emerging from the sea.
"Three thousand meters."
Mihawk gave the number flatly.
"At that depth, even my slash couldn't touch you."
"Thanks for the info, Mihawk. You're a really good guy."
"..."
Mihawk was speechless.
Why was he helping again?
This wasn't like him. He didn't care for others.
Was it a whim?
Or maybe... one day, they'd be allies?
He wasn't sure.
"My turn!"
"No, mine! I'm next in line!"
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!!"
"What the hell, Natsu?! When did you get a new transformation?!"
Natsu and Gajeel surged forward.
"Come at me together."
Mihawk sighed.
But he underestimated them.
**"Lightning Flame Dragon..."
"Iron Dragon..."
"...ROAR!!"**
He never expected their breath attacks to fuse into one.
BOOM!!
An enormous beam of destruction detonated in front of Baratie.
Dead fish floated everywhere. Even sea beasts were blown apart.
The battle raged for fifteen minutes before quiet returned.
And Mihawk, without a word, fled.
He'd had enough.
He was done with these maniacs from Fairy Tail.
But the name Fairy Tail... was now burned into his soul.
"Erza... Eden... Natsu... Gajeel... Zoro... Luffy..."
"The era... is beginning to move."
"After so many years of calm, the seas are finally getting interesting~"
Far out on the sea, alone in his tiny boat, Mihawk drew his black blade.
He gently touched the water's surface...
And in the next second—
His boat rocketed forward at supersonic speed.
Back at Baratie—
"Aside from Erza, no one else awakened Haki? Man... this is tricky."
Eden sighed.
Looks like they'd need to visit Wano and find Teacher Kaido~
He chuckled, remembering the old forums from his past life.
Someone once ranked all the Haki teachers in One Piece.
Sure, the list was outdated, but still...
In Eden's opinion, Garp's teaching was pretty insane too.
He had Koby—who trained with "200% effort"—to prove it.
And while Mihawk's teaching helped Erza awaken Haki in record time, Kaido's training method of three club strikes... was still on another level.
Too brutal for most to survive.
~# Every 20 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter