Chapter 48

On the other side, Mihawk, who was locked in combat with Carnes, felt increasingly uneasy the more he fought against him.

'How... is this possible?!

In this place, in these waters, there exists such a formidable opponent?!

In our previous exchanges, although his swordsmanship was somewhat rusty, the more we fought, the more refined his swordsmanship became.

What is going on? Progress?

It can't be! How can his swordsmanship improve so rapidly?

Why?!

Why have I never heard of his existence before?

With such power and such swordsmanship, he shouldn't be unknown!'

Experiencing firsthand Carnes exquisite swordsmanship, Mihawk's heart was now in a state of great turmoil.

However, just as Mihawk's thoughts were fluctuating, a voice filled with coldness and reproach rang out.

"How dare you lose focus?!"

It was Carnes's voice!

In that moment, Mihawk suddenly snapped back to reality, sensing that something was amiss.

I... lost focus just now! In a battle as evenly matched as this.

Realizing this, Mihawk once again found himself in a daze.

This also ignited a slight anger within Carnes.

He had already slowed down his pace and reminded Mihawk not to lose focus earlier, and yet he had once again lost focus.

How disappointing!

With this thought, arcs of dark red arcs suddenly surged from Carnes's sword, "Eclipse."

In the next second, he swung his sword forcefully.

"Divine Departure!!"

Mihawk's eyes contracted at the sight.

Then, a loud "boom!" reverberated through the air.

Mihawk grunted, being sent flying by Carnes "Divine Departure" along with his sword.

"Thud!!"

"Rumbling!!!"

His figure crashed heavily onto the wooden floor, the tremendous force causing Mihawk to smash through the wooden boards, with half of his body submerged in the sea while the other half remained above.

Despite the double resistance, Mihawk still managed to shatter the wooden floor and only stopped several tens of meters away.

Without any delay, Mihawk pushed off the wooden floor next to him and leaped out of the sea.

"Who are you?!" Mihawk asked as he regained his posture.

In all these years, he had only seen one person use "Divine Departure"!

That person was Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea!

He had witnessed him using this move during their sparring sessions!

And now, the young man before him could use it too? Moreover, its power was not inferior to that of Shanks by much!

Who on earth is he?! And what is his connection with Red-Haired Shanks?!

Mihawk stared intently at Carnes, his eyes trembling, filled with an incredulous astonishment.

"Who am I?" Carnes countered with a question, then chuckled lightly. "That question is not important for now."

With that, Carnes slowly sheathed his sword, "Eclipse."

"Clang~"

Seeing Carnes sheath his sword, Mihawk immediately furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean by this?"

"It means the warm-up is over," Carnes replied calmly.

But upon hearing those words, an expression of disbelief appeared on Mihawk's face.

Warm-up?

He actually considered their battle just now a warm-up.

He labeled a battle of that level as a warm-up?!

What a joke!

Before Mihawk could question him, Carnes' voice came through once again.

"Don't die too quickly. At the very least, let me finish testing you..."

Upon hearing this, Mihawk was about to criticize Carnes' arrogance.

However, in the next instant, he suddenly realized that Carnes had disappeared from his original position!

"Wow, he's fast!" Mihawk exclaimed in astonishment.

At the same time, Carnes, who had used Sonído, appeared behind Mihawk in an instant.

Sensing his presence, Mihawk didn't hesitate and immediately swung his sword fiercely towards his own back.

"Swish!!!"

"Clang!!!"

However, his powerful strike was effortlessly blocked by Carnes, who had appeared behind him.

Facing this sudden turn of events, Mihawk's astonishment reached an unprecedented level.

"He blocked it?! This guy did it barehanded?!"

Just then, Carnes raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Mihawk, who was still puzzled.

In an instant, Mihawk saw a red flash emanating from Carnes's fingertip.

A strong sense of danger immediately surged through his heart, prompting him to swiftly dodge to the side without a second thought.

At the same time, the gathered "Cero" at Carnes fingertip was activated.

"Boom!"

"Whoosh!"

A red stream of light flashed, followed by a resounding explosion.

"Boom!"

"Thud!!"

The floor exploded, and water soared into the sky. The tremendous shockwave created a gust of wind, pushing Mihawk back two steps.

"Boom! Boom!"

Witnessing the power unleashed by Carnes' casual display of a light sphere, Mihawk couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief.

If he hadn't managed to dodge it just now...

The consequences... wouldn't have been good, to say the least!

"Is this his true strength? Was our previous battle really just a warm-up?!" For the first time, Mihawk began to doubt his own abilities.

But Carnes had no time to spare for his contemplation.

He suddenly raised his hand, with his palm facing Mihawk, and immediately unleashed,

"Universal Pull."

"Hum!"

Accompanied by a buzzing sound, Mihawk suddenly felt his entire body enveloped by a powerful suction force.

Immediately, he was uncontrollably pulled towards Carnes!

"Whoosh! Swish!"

Unable to resist, Mihawk went along with the motion and swung his sword towards Carnes.

However, Carnes had anticipated this move.

As Mihawk's long sword descended, Carnes immediately evaded it using "Kamui."

"Swish!"

Mihawk's strike missed its mark and heavily struck the floor.

"Boom!"

The floor was cleaved open by the force of Mihawk's powerful strike, but he had no time to care about that now.

He looked up in astonishment, realizing that his attack, which should have landed, had failed.

"Why?"

Just as this thought crossed Mihawk's mind, Carnes launched his next attack.

"Almighty Push."

With Carnes' low whisper, a powerful repulsive force erupted from him as the center.

Caught off guard, Mihawk let out a groan as he was forcefully sent flying several tens of meters away, crashing heavily onto the floor.

But Carnes didn't stop there.

He raised his index finger towards Mihawk as he stood up, and a flash of red light appeared at his fingertip.

The terrifying aura and power concentrated at his fingertip surpassed the previous display.

"Cero!"

One of Ulquiorra Cifer powers.

With Carnes' low voice, the red flash condensed at his fingertip suddenly transformed into a red beam of terrifying power, shooting out.

"Boom!!!"

Seeing this scene as he stood up, Mihawk's eyes contracted involuntarily, and an unprecedented fear surged within him.

It was at this moment that the thought of death first appeared in his mind.

"Am I... going to die?"

However, despite this thought lingering in his mind, his instincts compelled him to fiercely swing his sword towards the incoming red flash.

"Ha!!"

"Clang!"

"Boom!"

Mihawk desperately defended against the red beam, roaring as every nerve in his body tensed to the extreme.

However, soon enough, his body was swallowed by the immense red beam.

At this moment, the entire sky and earth were dyed blood-red by the overwhelmingly powerful red beam, creating a world akin to a sea of blood.

Then, the gigantic red beam crossed the ocean and exploded at the edge of Carnes and the others' field of view.

"Boom!!!"

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