In this sixth underground level of Infinite Hell, it was dark all year round. There was no distinction between day and night at all. So it was naturally impossible to calculate time.
Akira couldn't remember how long he had been locked up. When he had first been locked up, he had not only had to endure physical pain, but he had also had to endure mental torture. That kind of pain and helplessness was not something that ordinary people could bear.
Since he had been locked up in Infinite Hell, this place had been opened nine times for so long. Six of those times were because Hawkeye had come to see him.
The other three times were because three more great pirates had been locked up. It was precisely because Hawkeye had come six times that Akira knew that he had been locked up for about six years.
He remembered that during the first year, Akira had almost gone crazy because he had never been so lonely. He had been hitting the walls frantically every day.
It could be said that he had made the entire Infinite Hell restless during that period. The entire sixth level had been filled with Akira's shrill and crazy roars.
It had made it so that the other prisoners couldn't even rest, and didn't even have a moment of peace. At that time, those people had wanted to kill Akira.
Although most of the people who were locked up in the sixth level of Infinite Hell would go through this process, it was clear that the process that Akira had gone through was even more crazy than them.
As the saying goes, the stronger a person's mental quality was, the more crazy they would be when they went crazy.
Especially since Akira had also unleashed the complex psychological state of transmigrating that had been suppressed in his heart for more than ten years, the degree of craziness was unimaginable.
The sixth level was like a real hell back then. The other annoying people, who had been annoyed by Akira, had also gone crazy and angry along with him. Several prisoners had died at that time. The prisoners on the fifth level had been frightened all day long, and had been living like years.
You had to know that the prisoners who were locked up in the sixth level of Infinite Hell were all great pirates with bounties of over 100 million Berries.
Not to mention anything else, their mental quality was definitely up to par. But even so, several people couldn't help but commit suicide during the crazy riot that Akira had started. It was conceivable how terrifying it had been at that time.
However, after that period of craziness, Akira had calmed down, and had become very calm. He hadn't spoken to the other people in the prison for several years.
It was as if he didn't exist. If the people in Infinite Hell hadn't known that he was still there, it was estimated that everyone would have forgotten about him long ago.
It was just that after that one instance of craziness, everyone in Infinite Hell had witnessed Akira's craziness. He hadn't even died after such amazing self-mutilation. This kind of will wasn't something that ordinary people could possess.
During the period when Akira was imprisoned, the great sea was relatively calm. The Pirate Emperors occupied the New World, and reigned supreme.
The Navy exclusively occupied the first half of the Grand Line, and no one could stop them. The Shichibukai lived in various parts of the world, and each had their own purposes.
However, relatively speaking, they also hadn't started any major wars or disputes with each other.
The only ones who were relatively active were probably the anti-government number one, the Revolutionary Army.
Under Dragon's leadership, the Revolutionary Army had quickly developed from a small force into an existence that could threaten the World Government.
Although its scale wasn't large now, it would become the World Government's greatest enemy sooner or later if it continued like this.
The World Government had therefore listed the Revolutionary Army leader Dragon as the world's number one criminal, and was chasing after him all over the world.
Only living legends were spread on the great sea, not legends of those who had disappeared. Akira, who hadn't appeared for several years, had been completely forgotten by the world.
Besides those friends who cared about him, no one remembered him anymore. Perhaps some people would have some impression if he was mentioned, but more people definitely wouldn't remember him.
However, this calm was broken by a young man from the East Blue. About half a year ago, a powerful young pirate had come out of the East Blue.
His swordsmanship was amazing. He had fought his way from the East Blue into the first half of the Grand Line. He had created a huge name for himself in less than a year.
This young pirate was like Hawkeye. He traveled alone with one person and one ship.
However, the battle that truly made him famous was the battle with Gekko Moriah, one of the Shichibukai.
With his amazing swordsmanship, this young man had actually defeated the Shichibukai Gekko Moriah, shocking the Grand Line.
If Akira was still outside, he would definitely recognize this young man. He was Rambo, who had learned swordsmanship from him before.
He was also the son of Jeffrey White, the pirate who had been rescued by Akira from the Celestial Dragons.
Rambo remembered the agreement he had made with Akira back then. He would go to find Akira when he had mastered swordsmanship.
However, when he had entered the Grand Line, and had made a name for himself, he had discovered that there was no news of Akira on the great sea.
Even after his investigation, Akira hadn't returned to the Whitebeard Pirates. He hadn't even appeared for several years. It was as if he had completely disappeared.
Rambo, who regarded Akira as his idol and goal, had started his own investigation in order to find Akira. Akira's disappearance had already happened several years ago.
So Rambo had spent nearly half a year to find out about the events back then. He knew that Akira had disappeared after fighting the world's greatest swordsman Hawkeye.
Thus, in order to find Akira, Rambo had turned his attention to Hawkeye. To this end, he had also challenged Hawkeye. Today was the day that he had agreed to with Hawkeye.
He would duel with Hawkeye today. The location was the small island where Akira and Hawkeye had dueled back then.
The small island where Akira and Hawkeye had dueled back then had long been uninhabited, because the sword intent that remained on the island hadn't disappeared for several years.
It was very dangerous, and it was impossible to live there. So all of the residents on the island had been transferred back then, leaving only an empty island.
Because Rambo wanted to find Akira, he hadn't challenged Hawkeye in a high-profile manner. Instead, he had done it privately.
So besides him and Hawkeye, no one else knew that they had agreed to duel today.
After half a year of growth, Rambo had become a well-known swordsman on the Grand Line. So Hawkeye hadn't refused his challenge. Instead, he had arrived at the agreed location on time.
"You're the swordsman Rambo, who's known as the 'Sword Demon'?"
Hawkeye looked at the man in front of him, who was in his early twenties. His expression was slightly surprised.
He knew that a swordsman, who used swords like ghosts, had appeared on the Grand Line recently.
He had even defeated Gekko Moriah, who was also one of the Shichibukai. However, he hadn't expected that this 'Sword Demon' would actually be so young.
When Rambo and his father had been rescued by Akira back then, Rambo had only been a little over ten years old. Ten years had passed. Rambo was no longer the kid from back then.
Instead, he had grown into a pirate who was even stronger than his father. He had also become a well-known swordsman on the Grand Line.
Although he was not old, he was filled with the tenacity and sharpness that a swordsman should have.
"Yes, the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye. Your name is deafening. I've been hearing your name ever since I started learning swordsmanship."
Rambo stared intently at Hawkeye. He said slowly, "However, the reason why I'm challenging you today is not just because of your name. I also want to clarify something with you."
Hawkeye asked, "What is it?"
Rambo said, "I know that you had a duel with a 000 person on this island a few years ago. What I want to know is, what happened to the man who dueled with you?"
Hawkeye's expression changed. His gaze became sharp. He said in a deep voice, "No wonder you asked me to duel in this place. So you know the 'Shinigami' Akira?"
Rambo said, "He's the person I respect the most. He can also be said to be my teacher. He's the guide on my path of swordsmanship. I know that he disappeared after his battle with you back then. I want to know where he is now, and what happened?"
"I see."
A look of understanding appeared on Hawkeye's face. However, he refused, and said, "But I'm sorry. I won't tell you what happened to him, because I once promised him that no matter who asked me, I wouldn't tell them the truth."
Hearing Hawkeye's words, Rambo's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Are you saying that he's still alive?"
"Of course." Hawkeye said.
"That's good, that's good."
A look of joy appeared on Rambo's face. He had thought before that Akira had had an accident during his battle with Hawkeye.
Now that he heard Hawkeye's answer, he was finally relieved. He didn't think that Hawkeye would lie to him, because the other party simply didn't have this need.
"Where is he now?"
Hawkeye said, "I said that I won't tell you. This isn't what I decided. It's what he requested."
Rambo asked, "Then what do I have to do for you to tell me?"
Hawkeye said, "That depends on whether you can defeat me."
A look of solemnity appeared on Rambo's face. He said, "Then I'll give it a try."
Hawkeye said, "I've seen Akira's swordsmanship. However, it's rumored that your swordsmanship is like a ghost, and it's unpredictable. It should be very different from his, right?"
Rambo said, "Only those who have seen it will know what my swordsmanship is like."
"Come on!"
Hawkeye drew the Black Sword Yoru. No matter what, Rambo was a well-known swordsman. He was even able to defeat Gekko Moriah, one of the Shichibukai. His strength should be very strong. So he directly used the Black Sword.
Rambo's sword was very ordinary. It looked like a normal katana. Actually, this sword was also a famous sword, a Grade 50 Skillful Grade. This sword had been obtained by his father, Jeffrey White, at a great cost.
After all, as a swordsman, his strength would be greatly reduced if he didn't have a good sword.
Don't look down on this Grade 50 Skillful Grade. It couldn't compare to the Grade 21 Great Grade and the Supreme Grade 12 Craftsmen. But think about it.
The world was so big. There were only a few dozen Great Grade and Supreme Grade swords. How many swordsmen were there in the world? So it was very difficult to have a Grade 50 Skillful Grade.
It was just that judging from Rambo's current strength, this sword was somewhat incompatible with his strength.
Rambo's swordsmanship had been taught by Akira at the beginning. Although Akira didn't walk the traditional path of a swordsman, that didn't mean that he didn't understand traditional swordsmanship.
Having experienced that world of information explosion, he had countless pieces of information in his mind.
His swordsmanship theory and vision were definitely much greater than the swordsmen in this world. So teaching Rambo was completely effortless.
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