Clang!
Swords collided fiercely, creating a vacuum at their center.
Relying purely on his swordsmanship, Leo was ultimately no match for Mihawk. Under the impact, he lost his footing and stumbled backward several meters.
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
What an absolute freak!
Leo's gaze narrowed slightly. Since his swordsmanship currently fell short, he had no choice but to use that technique...
"Hoo—"
He let out a heavy breath. "Mihawk, I'm getting serious now. If you goof off and get yourself hacked to death by me, go cry in hell."
Even if you lose the fight, you can't lose your posture; the momentum had to be put out there.
Mihawk's expression remained unchanged as his lips parted: "I'd be glad to learn."
Seriously, why was this guy so irritating? Damn it!
"Ghost Man Transformation—"
Hum—
A crimson aura gradually spread across Leo's body, wrapping around the Executioner's Blade. At the same time, a crimson murderous intent expanded in a spherical shape, and an ominous, tyrannical, soul-chilling presence instantly enveloped the entire scene.
Boom—
"Hey, hey, how is this possible? This guy..." Zoro straightened up instantly, looking at Leo with a shocked and complicated expression.
Even the usually carefree Luffy frowned and pursed his lips. "I don't like the feeling coming off that bandage guy."
〈Leo: Bandage guy?〉
After catching his breath, Zoro spoke in a grave tone, explaining to Luffy: "That's murderous intent. Just how many people has this guy killed...?"
Sanji's hand holding his cigarette became unsteady.
He hadn't expected that pretty boy... to be a murderous demon, a ghost!
Not to mention Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, the pirates and cooks with slightly lesser strength had cold sweat beading endlessly on their foreheads, their lips turning pale.
"Gulp... I see an ocean made of blood!"
Krieg already harbored the thought of abandoning his subordinates and escaping alone, and that urge was growing stronger by the second.
Beside him, Gin supported himself with both hands on the ground, gritting his teeth. "Just who... exactly how many people has that Bounty Hunter killed?!!"
...
Facing this monstrous murderous intent head-on, Mihawk didn't even blink. He was completely unaffected by the killing aura, his eyes holding a hint of surprise instead.
It was as if he were thinking: murderous intent can be used like this?
In reality, an in-game passive skill had become one of Leo's trump cards.
Unlike in the game, the density of the murderous intent could be increased by killing people, and the quality of the murderous intent could influence a portion of Leo's strength.
In other words:
Leo could completely rely on killing to increase his strength, and it was also the fastest method of improvement.
With his entire body bathed in crimson, Leo half-crouched, resting the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder. "I'm pissed off!"
"Personal Style: Ghost Assault!"
The moment his Ghost Man Transformation activated, his figure vanished from the spot. A massive, blood-red Asura skull lunged forward, smashing the wooden planks all along its path, leaving a crack that ran the entire length.
Whoosh!
Mihawk instantly raised his blade to slash. Without a technique name, it was just a basic attack. With a single swing of his basic attack, the blood-red Asura was stopped in its tracks, unable to advance an inch.
Creeak!
The Executioner's Blade gradually stained ink-black, and the aura around the blade twisted even further.
"Haki... As expected." Mihawk looked quietly at Leo, his sharp eyes concealing any readable emotion.
Though he didn't understand it, Leo wasn't stupid; he could vaguely sense what those eyes meant:
The kind of gaze where someone older looks down on someone younger, where a higher class looks down on a lower class.
Annoying!
Didn't he know everyone is equal nowadays?!
〈Lena, sneakingly hiding inside the Baratie restaurant: Ahem, let me explain that guy Leo's worldview: If your strength is greater than mine and you want to act superior, I won't accept it, because all people are equal; if my strength is greater than yours and you want to be on my equal footing, then sorry, the hierarchy is strict and uncrossable. What a hypocritical double-standard monster.〉
"You... you bastard who doesn't shout out your moves!" Leo gritted his teeth, squeezing the words out from between them. His hand movements didn't slow down, veins bulging on his forehead.
Whoosh!
With a fierce slash, he forced Mihawk back.
"Swordsmanship shouldn't be constrained by rigid techniques and forms. There's no need to shout them out." Mihawk lifted his Black Blade again, making a rare explanation.
Leo: ......
Leo wore an indignant expression, looking at Mihawk in utter disbelief, with the same look one would give someone watching a craftsman work without watching adult videos—completely failing to understand.
He pointed at Mihawk: "You completely don't understand the feeling of shouting out your moves! That kind of, that kind of special feeling—hey, you're not playing by the rules of martial arts!"
Whoosh!
Mihawk directly unleashed a flying slash at the babbling Leo, forcefully cutting short his rambling.
Facing the ferocious incoming slash, although Leo was cursing under his breath, he hadn't forgotten the technique he needed to call out.
"Personal Style: Dead Silence!"
Leo pulled the Executioner's Blade back to his spine, turning his back entirely to Mihawk.
This sight stunned everyone. Knowing a slash was incoming, not resisting was one thing, but turning his back to it?!
—A taunt, or perhaps some other ability...
Mihawk thought to himself.
"Is he asking to die?!" Zoro grew somewhat anxious.
"The Ghost is dead for sure!" Krieg was ecstatic. He knew Mihawk's slash all too well—it was powerful enough to sever the ocean. He hadn't expected the Ghost to be so arrogant.
Perhaps... he could seize the opportunity to take both of their heads and make a name for himself worldwide!
Just as Krieg was daydreaming, Zoro was feeling anxious, Lena... was completely unpanicked, and everyone else couldn't make sense of it, the slash struck solidly against the flat of the Executioner's Blade.
"Ah!" Those of a sensitive disposition couldn't bear to watch and covered their eyes.
Most, however, didn't even blink, staring straight ahead.
Yet the anticipated scene of flying blood and shattered pieces never materialized. Instead, there was nothing—it vanished into thin air, as if it had never even existed, and even the sound vanished.
Yes, it vanished into thin air, without a single sound!
It was there a second ago, and gone the next, as though it had never appeared at all.
Swish, swish, swish!
The sudden sound of a blade tearing through the air appeared right behind Mihawk, inches away, moving at lightning speed!
Clang—
In less than a fraction of a second, the Black Blade swept backward, barely managing to block Leo's strike, but the Perfect Counter blade was ultimately too fast, shearing off a corner of Mihawk's hat.
Whoosh!
Mihawk seized the initiative by reacting second, immediately delivering a basic attack that forced Leo to retreat step by step.
"A Devil Fruit user?" Mihawk asked.
"No."
That, right there, was the Perfect Counter!
Once game mechanics become reality, how completely unbeatable is that?
No damage taken, frame-stop startup, ignoring distance...
How are you supposed to defend against that, bro?
You could say this was the greatest cheat Leo believed he possessed after crossing over. During the time-stop, only Leo could move, and only Leo could attack. No matter who it was, once caught in Leo's Perfect Counter, they were guaranteed to take Leo's murderous slash.
It was only by relying on his Observation Haki and supreme mastery of swordsmanship that Mihawk had managed to barely resist Leo's Perfect Counter, almost failing to react in time.
That could finally teach that show-off a lesson.
Leo felt immensely gratified inside. His earlier nonsense was entirely intended to goad Mihawk into attacking first, thereby opening a window for this counterattack.
It seemed the results weren't bad at all.
...
"Truly, this is so interesting!"
Mihawk wasn't angry at all; instead, the smile in his eyes grew deeper. Facing Leo, he pointed his Black Blade forward: "Hannover, was it? I'll remember you. Your strength and aptitude are enough to challenge my position as the World's Greatest Swordsman!"
Snap!
A seagull carrying a backpack high in the sky had its chest-mounted Den Den Mushi capture this exact moment in a photograph.