The sea surged with violent energy.
Hawkeye stood atop his small boat, his distinctive yellow eyes gazing upward at the night sky with predatory focus. His arms moved in blurred afterimages as massive slashing attacks pierced through the air, each one aimed with deadly precision at the black dots suspended beneath the full moon.
The combined force of his strikes dissipated the surrounding mist, casting everything in an eerie silvery glow that allowed him to clearly observe several members of the Hell Pirates.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed from overhead as his latest slash was deflected once again.
"Tempest Kick?"
Hawkeye muttered with growing confusion, his analytical mind processing what he'd witnessed.
Before his final slashing attack could reach the God Slayer, his opponent had unleashed a massive, dense wave of cutting force in response. The crucial difference was that this counter-attack hadn't been generated by a blade, but rather through immense physical prowess alone. The familiar sensation immediately reminded Hawkeye of the Marine Rokushiki techniques.
Despite the considerable distance separating them, his slashing speed should have allowed the attack to reach its target in the blink of an eye, leaving virtually no time for defensive reactions. Yet in that impossibly brief window, this man had managed to unleash dozens of compressed air blades using enhanced Tempest Kick techniques.
The implications spoke to terrifying levels of physical conditioning.
While these air slashes couldn't match the individual power or range of his sword techniques, their sheer numerical superiority proved formidable. They had surged through the atmosphere like a torrential storm, crashing into his blade light and annihilating both attacks through overwhelming volume.
"Strong," Hawkeye narrowed his eyes as he reached his tactical assessment.
While distance somewhat mitigated the power of his long-range attacks, not everyone could withstand successive strikes of this magnitude.
Before this war had begun, the Marine had convened an internal meeting of the Shichibukai. During those discussions, everyone's evaluation of the God Slayer's threat level had focused on his personality, intelligence, and mysterious supernatural abilities. However, his personal combat strength hadn't received particular emphasis in their strategic planning.
But now, after this brief exchange, Hawkeye realized they had all gravely underestimated the God Slayer's individual capabilities.
"With such ability, why would he remain in the North Blue?" Hawkeye wondered aloud.
Even if he ventured into the New World, the God Slayer could establish a significant foothold among its chaotic powers. While the New World was nominally the domain of the Four Emperors, that control wasn't absolute, merely a broad generalization of territorial influence.
"If he maintains his aerial position, I'm afraid even I wouldn't be able to defeat him," Hawkeye acknowledged with professional honesty.
"If we fought at sea level or on solid ground, while I'm confident I could defeat him, there would still be a genuine possibility of failure. Setting aside his Devil Fruit abilities, his Haki development is truly astonishing."
Hawkeye paused his relentless assault, allowing his arm to lower naturally while the black blade Yoru hung at his side. He gazed up at the distant figures who showed no signs of departing.
He could sense the God Slayer's focused attention, the man didn't seem to believe that he, hailed as the world's greatest swordsman, could harm him from this position.
The realization struck him: his opponent simply wanted to witness his swordsmanship firsthand.
"Heh," Hawkeye smiled with genuine amusement.
In this situation, he felt like a challenger seeking to prove himself, a sensation he hadn't experienced in years.
"You're truly extraordinary. You must be the most formidable opponent I've faced in recent memory."
"Want to see my true capabilities?"
"Then I'll show you... everything."
Hawkeye suddenly bent at the waist and lowered his head as power gathered within his frame. The black blade in his hands vibrated with high-frequency energy while an immensely powerful aura permeated the weapon. The entire surface of the sea, centered on his small boat, began rippling in massive concentric circles.
He planned to rely on the explosive power of his enhanced physique, launching himself skyward to close the distance between himself and the God Slayer to its absolute minimum.
Then he would strike with everything he possessed.
The moment Hawkeye assumed his combat stance, suffocating killing intent pierced through the air like an invisible blade, striking directly at the hearts of Dom and the others suspended in the sky.
Each of them felt the unmistakable certainty that they were about to be cut down where they floated.
Without exception, even Yurivich, despite his fearless nature regarding death, felt the sharpness of that spiritual pressure as if it were already slicing through flesh and bone.
The overwhelming presence was too much to bear.
Even resistance felt futile.
The outcome seemed predetermined.
The terrifying aspect was that they couldn't even see Hawkeye clearly from their position, only roughly determine his location on the dark ocean below. If their enhanced perception was being so severely affected, they could only imagine what pressure their captain was experiencing at the focal point of that murderous intent.
At that moment, Dom and the others watched as Oboro suddenly raised his arm above his head.
All the Tonkotsu vortexes within Oboro's body activated simultaneously, pushing his Qi Refining techniques to their absolute limits. His cold eyes flashed with lethal intent as he stared down at Hawkeye's position, radiating commanding dominance that seemed to encompass the entire ocean. Black spiritual energy swirled around him with crackling lightning, making him appear like a divine emperor reigning supreme over the vast waters, silhouetted against the bright moon.
"Hmm?" Below them, Hawkeye felt goosebumps spread across his entire body before he could even launch his attack.
Alarm bells rang through his enhanced instincts.
"Something's descending from above..."
"Destroy," Oboro spoke the single word with arctic finality.
He raised his arm and brought it down with crushing force.
BOOM!
The entire sky seemed to fill with the sound of divine thunder, rumbling across the heavens despite the cloudless night. Strangely, the atmosphere remained completely clear with no trace of meteorological disturbance.
"Thunder?" Hawkeye's mind raced through possibilities.
"No! Atmospheric manipulation!"
Recognition struck him instantly.
He began raising his sword to strike upward when the sea level beneath Reverse Mountain suddenly plummeted. From his aerial perspective, a pitch-black, abyssal "bottomless pit" appeared on the ocean's surface, a perfectly circular void with Hawkeye's boat positioned at its center.
The terrifying air currents had been transformed into an invisible mountain of compressed atmosphere, "condensed" by the God Slayer and sent crashing down from the heavens.
Before the attack even touched the water, Hawkeye's body was generating towering white waves from the pressure alone, the displaced water spreading outward like ripples from a meteorite impact.
He and his boat plummeted into the "vacuum zone" below as the surrounding ocean formed walls around the artificial chasm.
Everything within that space was being crushed by the concentrated atmospheric pressure.
Yoru, the Supreme Grade sword recognized as the world's strongest black blade, wrestled fiercely against the descending air currents. The sensation resembled a massive island crashing down from above, but far more terrifying than any physical mass. The compressed atmosphere was invisible, and the density and crushing force it generated throughout the space exceeded anything a mere landmass could produce.
No matter how large an island might be, it remained essentially a larger rock, ultimately fragile.
But gas under Oboro's control could be continuously replenished and amplified, its energy inexhaustible and indestructible.
The atmospheric pressure was omnipresent.
The overwhelming force caused Hawkeye's torso to bend while his sword arm gradually buckled under the immense load. The wooden planks beneath his feet cracked and shattered, instantly consumed by the air currents and pulverized into dust.
High above, a thin layer of perspiration formed on Oboro's forehead as the tremendous aura emanating from his position sent chills through Dolan and the other observers.
This was the first time they had witnessed their captain in such a terrifyingly serious state.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Several moments later, the "black hole" on the sea's surface continued expanding when suddenly, multiple flashes of dark crimson blade light, like strikes capable of "shattering the heavens", shot straight upward, disrupting the vast compression field. Hawkeye's slashing attacks had carved through the concentrated qi, scattering the focused air currents.
While Oboro could have redirected the dispersed atmospheric energy to reform his attack, such effort was no longer necessary.
The turbulent and displaced waters converged once more, filling the temporary vacuum with thunderous force.
The sea gradually returned to its deceptive calm.
Hawkeye floated halfway above the surface, Yoru still gripped in his hands, his expression bearing the weight of genuine concern.
He remained uninjured, but the physical and mental drain had been enormous.
"His ability is genuinely troublesome," Hawkeye thought with grudging respect. "Primarily because he can maintain aerial position indefinitely, and the range and scope of his powers are astonishing. He may have achieved awakening."
If this had been a land-based confrontation, he wouldn't have found himself at such a tactical disadvantage.
"HAHAHAHA!" Dolan' piercing laughter suddenly echoed from the sky above.
Though faint at such distance, Hawkeye could still hear every mocking word as the Hell Pirates officer taunted him with obvious glee.
"This is the world's greatest swordsman? How pathetic!"
"A member of the Hell Pirates..." Hawkeye remained completely unmoved by the provocation.
Very few people or circumstances in this world could genuinely anger him, and such insignificant trash wasn't worth his emotional investment.
Dolan continued roaring with flushed features, confident that his voice would carry to their opponent. This represented the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty through dramatic flattery of their captain's overwhelming victory.
Nearby, Rob Lucci experienced conflicted emotions as he witnessed the God Slayer's true power firsthand. Whether considering Oboro or Dracule Mihawk, the combat capabilities of both warriors operated far beyond his current level.
The bitter irony struck him, he had once seriously considered assassinating Oboro through his own abilities alone.
"I am... so far behind," Lucci clenched his fists as realization shook him to his core.
"Hawkeye, enjoy your swim!" Dolan continued his theatrical mockery. "This is what happens when you serve as a lapdog for the World Government!"
"Enough," Oboro interrupted without reprimanding Dolan directly.
He simply paused for a moment, exhaling as hints of fatigue became visible in his enhanced features. Then he turned away from the scene and prepared to depart with his six companions.
Unless Hawkeye committed to direct aerial confrontation, he possessed no means of preventing their escape.
Still floating above the churning waters, Hawkeye listened to the continued taunting while watching the distant figures speed away beneath the moonlight. His only response was a slight frown of tactical assessment.
"It seems it's only a matter of time before you reach the New World," Hawkeye observed with a slight smile.
The failed capture and interception held no personal consequences for him, such concerns belonged to the Marine and World Government strategists who had orchestrated this operation.
He had fulfilled his obligations by taking action, though admittedly without desperate commitment to the outcome. Any of the other Shichibukai would have proven equally ineffective under these circumstances.
Even most Marine Admirals, with the exception of Kizaru's light-speed capabilities, would likely have struggled to prevent the God Slayer's escape given his obvious determination to avoid prolonged engagement.
Hawkeye had done what duty required of him, nothing more, nothing less.