Chapter 198 (Patreon)

“That’s... a Ranged Slash!”

Boa Sandersonia’s indifferent expression vanished the moment she saw the enormous dark-red slash bearing down on their ship.

Her body transformed at once, her lower half becoming the massive tail of an anaconda.

“Don’t let it reach the ship!” she shouted. “It’ll tear us apart! Marigold, help me!”

“Got it, Sister!”

Boa Marigold activated her Devil Fruit as well, transforming into the hybrid form of a giant king cobra.

The sisters swung their enormous tails forward at the same time. Both had hardened them with Armament Haki.

“BOOM!”

Their tails collided head-on with the advancing Ranged Slash.

The impact released a violent shock wave that tore across the sea and sent towering waves surging in every direction.

Even the two Yuda pulling the Kuja Pirates’ ship were slammed against the water. Their scales split open in several places, staining the surrounding sea with blood.

“Ahhh!”

Sandersonia and Marigold cried out in pain.

Their Zoan-enhanced bodies and Armament Haki allowed them to stop the attack for a moment, but they could not overpower it.

The instant their initial momentum faded, both sisters were thrown backward.

The violent currents wrapped around the slash had become sharp enough to cut like blades.

They tore through the sisters’ Haki and left wounds of varying depth across their differently colored tails.

The enormous slash continued toward the ship.

Sandersonia and Marigold could only watch as it closed in.

Just before it struck, a graceful figure leaped over their heads.

A long, slender leg emerged through the high slit of a red sarong skirt and kicked the center of the dark-red slash.

“BOOM!”

The collision sounded like a cannon blast.

Despite the overwhelming size and force of the attack, the woman’s leg was left completely unharmed.

Instead, the section touched by her heel began turning to stone.

“Crack...!”

The petrification spread outward from the point of impact.

A moment later, the stone section shattered.

“BOOM!”

With part of its structure destroyed, the entire Ranged Slash exploded.

Dark-red light burst across the sea as the force of the explosion sent waves rising around the Kuja Pirates’ ship.

Water rained down over the deck.

Every warrior aboard was drenched, including the woman who had destroyed the attack.

Her long black hair clung to her face and shoulders. Water ran down her forehead, across her flawless features, and dripped from her chin.

Her soaked clothes clung closely to her figure, but she paid it no attention.

She landed lightly on the bow of the ship and raised her head.

The woman was Boa Hancock—the Pirate Empress, captain of the Kuja Pirates, ruler of Amazon Lily, and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

She raised one hand and pointed directly at Mihawk.

“You there, man. Why have you attacked our ship?”

Her voice was cold and imperious, as though she had already decided he was the one at fault.

“Lady Snake Princess!”

“The Snake Princess stopped it!”

“That man is done for now!”

“As expected of Lady Snake Princess! She destroyed that enormous slash with a single kick!”

The Kuja warriors who had been frozen by Mihawk’s attack immediately recovered their confidence.

Standing behind Hancock, they cheered loudly and glared at Mihawk’s ship.

Mihawk ignored them.

“Armament Haki...”

His quiet words made Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold narrow their eyes.

He had recognized it immediately.

Mihawk calmly returned Nemesis to its sheath and lowered his stance, one hand resting on the hilt.

Then he drew.

“Slash—!”

A silver-white flash appeared before him.

The next instant, it darkened into a deep crimson Ranged Slash more than sixty meters high and over thirty meters wide.

The sea split beneath it as it roared toward the Kuja Pirates once again.

Hancock’s expression sharpened.

“Slave Arrow!”

She touched two fingers to her lips and pulled out a large pink heart.

Holding it before her like a bow, Hancock drew back one arm. The high slit of her red sarong skirt shifted with the movement, revealing one of her long legs.

A storm of pink arrows erupted from the heart.

The arrows raced across the sea and collided with Mihawk’s Ranged Slash.

One attack carried overwhelming physical force.

The other carried the petrifying power of the Love-Love Fruit.

Every place struck by Hancock’s arrows began turning to stone. Cracks immediately spread across the petrified sections, extending deeper into the dark-red slash.

The damage spread with frightening speed.

Within seconds, a section nearly ten meters across had been completely petrified.

“Crack—!”

It shattered like glass.

“BOOM!”

With such a large portion destroyed, the rest of the Ranged Slash lost its stability and exploded before reaching the Kuja ship.

Dark-red light swept across the sea for hundreds of meters.

Another wall of water rose into the air before crashing down over both ships.

The rain of seawater that had only just ended began all over again.

Hancock, her sisters, and every Kuja warrior on deck were drenched. Their hair and clothing clung to their bodies, but no one complained.

They were all staring through the curtain of water at the young man in the kimono.

Their earlier confidence had disappeared.

No one who understood the power of this world could dismiss what they had just witnessed.

Mihawk had released two enormous Ranged Slashes in succession, and there was no sign that either attack had required his full strength.

There were three broad titles used for those who followed the sword in this world.

The first was simply swordsman—a general term that included everyone from beginners to highly skilled practitioners.

Above them were master swordsmen.

A swordsman who heard the Breath of All Things and entered the realm of cutting steel had crossed that threshold. No matter how refined someone’s technique appeared, without reaching that realm, they would still be considered an ordinary swordsman.

Beyond master swordsmen stood the great swordsmen.

That title was normally reserved for those whose skill and strength had become famous throughout the sea. At present, the two most renowned examples were Dracule Mihawk, the World’s Strongest Swordsman, and Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors.

However, “great swordsman” was also a title people used to acknowledge overwhelming ability.

In places like East Blue, where most people had never witnessed the highest level of swordsmanship, even a locally famous master swordsman might be praised as a great swordsman.

The Kuja Pirates were different.

They came from the Grand Line, and their captain was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. They understood exactly how terrifying a Ranged Slash of that size truly was.

The young man before them was no swordsman inflated by a local reputation.

Even without knowing his name, every warrior aboard the Kuja ship reached the same conclusion.

He was a genuine great swordsman.

Even Boa Hancock believed it.