One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203: [203] : Mihawk’s True Strength! Heroes Are a Dime a Dozen!

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WHOOSH!

RUMBLE!

A terrifying, violent slash of vibrant green energy instantly materialized, carrying an unstoppable presence, tearing apart everything in its path.

The solid ice on the sea surface shattered like fragile tofu.

Pirates screamed in terror, scrambling to dodge the deadly attack, staring in horror at the rampaging green slash.

—The World’s Strongest Slash, from the World’s Greatest Swordsman, ’Hawk-Eyes’ Mihawk.

And it was infused with considerably strong Haki. A slash even stronger than the one he had previously launched at the World’s Strongest Man, Whitebeard!

Its target: Luffy, charging towards the execution platform.

The moment Mihawk attacked, Luffy’s Observation Haki had already warned him.

Luffy, about to block the slash, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Through his Observation Haki, he saw a future where if he rashly tried to block—his Haki would be instantly sliced through, his arm severely wounded!

Without being in Gear Fourth with Haōshoku Coating, his Haki alone couldn’t stop this incredibly violent, terrifying slash!

And even if he were in Gear Fourth with Haōshoku Coating, blocking this slash head-on would consume most of the stamina and Haki he had just painstakingly recovered!

Under these circumstances—

Luffy instantly shifted into Gear Second to dodge the attack.

"Hah... That was close," Luffy panted, looking towards Mihawk in the distance, who stood calmly holding his black blade, Yoru.

’What’s this guy’s deal??’ Veins throbbed on Luffy’s forehead.

Luffy now, under Rowen’s guidance, was no longer the naive fool from the original Summit War.

Having preliminarily mastered Haōshoku Coating, Luffy in Gear Fourth with Haōshoku Coating was now a true Admiral-level powerhouse—even on the grand stage of the seas, he was a formidable combatant capable of influencing the outcome of a war, one of the top-tier powerhouses.

With Luffy’s current insight, he could naturally tell Mihawk’s strength was absolutely above his own—the gap was considerable!

And this man’s Observation Haki was exceptionally strong—the power of his slash was precisely calibrated to a level Luffy couldn’t block head-on with Haki, yet its speed was just enough for Luffy to dodge with Gear Second at full power.

In other words, Mihawk’s attack was solely to impede his advance towards the execution platform.

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"If I let you pass so easily, I’ll lose my Warlord position—" Mihawk stated, holding his black blade, Yoru, horizontally before him.

For Mihawk, who detested trouble, the Warlord title was quite important; it spared him from Marine harassment.

As the former ’Marine Hunter’, his grievances with the Navy ran deep. In his spirited youth, he had honed his swordsmanship and Haki through countless hunts, finally achieving the title of ’World’s Strongest Swordsman’.

But now, with no one left in the world of swordsmanship to challenge him, he just wanted to live a quiet life.

"DAMN IT," Luffy muttered, looking at Mihawk, veins bulging on his forehead.

He just recovered Haki and stamina... if he clashed with Mihawk here, it would all be wasted. For a time, Luffy was unwilling to activate Gear Fourth and expend his energy, and Mihawk just watched him, showing no intention of attacking again.

His meaning was clear: As long as Straw Hat didn’t advance, he wouldn’t act.

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"Ace’s little brother, leave him to me..." a burly man wielding two swords said, stepping up beside Luffy.

"Flower Swords Vista! 5th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!" Tashigi, whose attention had been locked on Rowen and Mihawk, instantly recognized the renowned swordsman.

Tashigi’s attention had been following Rowen, but as a swordswoman, she naturally wouldn’t miss a single move from the World’s Greatest Swordsman.

The moment Mihawk attacked, Tashigi had focused intently, hoping to learn something from his swordsmanship.

After the Enies Lobby incident, under Gion’s guidance, Tashigi’s strength had improved significantly compared to the original story’s timeline—she had even captured some famous pirates.

But upon arriving at this battlefield, Tashigi realized just how weak she truly was... Not just her—even Vice Admiral Gion, in this war, could at best only contend with Roronoa Zoro.

Only now did Tashigi truly understand the meaning of Vice Admiral Gion’s words when Tashigi had previously declared her ambition to retrieve all famous swords from villains and capture Sky Sovereign Rowen:

"Before that man... I wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single blow." Gion had only sighed then.

At the time, Tashigi didn’t understand. Vice Admiral Gion was incredibly strong in her eyes, even if Rowen and the other Admirals were stronger, surely it wouldn’t be a one-hit defeat??

But having truly witnessed the full power of this sea’s supreme powerhouses, Tashigi understood...

It wasn’t that Vice Admiral Gion was weak—it was that Emperor-level powerhouses like Sky Sovereign Rowen were too strong. Without Admiral-level strength, one wasn’t even qualified to stand before that man.

So Tashigi desperately tried to absorb strength and insight from this war, wanting to get stronger.

At the very least, to be qualified to stand before Rowen.

The rainy day in Loguetown was still fresh in her memory—

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"Uncle, can I leave him to you??" Luffy asked, looking at Vista.

"Yes, every swordsman dreams of crossing blades with this man," Vista replied, raising his twin swords, a eager smile on his face.

"Vista of the Flower Swords?" Mihawk’s gaze remained emotionless.

"Leave this to me! You keep moving forward, Ace’s little brother!" Vista roared, then charged forward.

Challenging the World’s Greatest Swordsman with ranged slashes was a waste of time and stamina. He swung his twin blades, a flurry of illusory flower petals manifesting around them, each carrying astonishing sword pressure—the origin of his epithet, ’Vista of the Flower Swords’.

But—

WHOOSH!

CLANG!

Mihawk seemingly casually swung his black blade, Yoru, and completely parried Vista’s full-power attack!

Yes—PARRIED!

This Supreme Grade Sword, Yoru, supposedly capable of destroying anything, was as gentle as flowing water in Mihawk’s hands.

Yet with this gentleness... The full-power attack of a world-renowned great swordsman like Vista—was so easily, so utterly, shattered.

"WHAT???" Vista stared in horror at the scene before him.

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"That swordsmanship again..." In the distance, Zoro was also drawn to this battle.

The Whitebeard 5th Division Commander’s swordsmanship was worthy of his fame; his first move had made even Zoro’s eyes narrow.

But before Mihawk, it was so utterly ineffective.

That ’soft’ swordsmanship... just like their first encounter in the East Blue, when he gently altered the trajectory of the bullets fired by Don Krieg’s soldiers.

WHOOSH!

A terrifying flying slash shot towards Luffy, who was preparing to move.

"Gomu Gomu no... JET GATLING——!!!" Luffy roared.

CRACKLE! BOOM!

CRACKLE! BOOM!

WHOOSH!

BANG!

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