*Chapter 130: Mihawk's Thirty-Five Consecutive Wins*

The battles between swordsmen can sometimes be even more reckless than those of brute warriors. The sharp slashes from their swords can easily slice through mountains. No matter who their opponent is, they might not be able to stand against them.

Because of this, swordsmen of this caliber have countless followers across the seas. They are seen as the quickest way for commoners to rise to power. However, true swordsmen are rare on the seas! Someone like Hawkeye is the purest example of a swordsman. And he is also the most powerful.

Boom!

Boom!

The walls behind the two fighters were already full of holes. Numerous slashes flew towards the stands. The spectators weren't protected; they could only hope that a powerful person was sitting nearby. If there was, they might have a chance to survive.

On the battlefield, the two fighters displayed their full strength. The arena, unfortunately, was not up to par, limiting their ability to continue fighting. Otherwise, this battle might have lasted a day and a night.

Mihawk swung his blade and leaped up, delivering a powerful strike. Boom! Smoothie clashed with Mihawk, causing thunder and lightning to flash throughout the arena. Waves of energy spread in all directions. Dust and sand filled the air, forcing countless people to squint as they continued to fight. Amidst the dust and smoke, sword lights flickered. The arena shook as if it might collapse entirely.

"Smoothie is going to lose!" Lucky Roo, sitting in the stands, took a bite of meat and stared intently at the two fighters. They had thought they would need to help Mihawk, but the Dressrosa stage turned out to be perfect. They didn't even have a chance to enter the fight; they could only watch from the stands.

Ever since Red-Haired Shanks lost an arm, Mihawk hadn't sought out the Red-Haired Pirates. Mihawk had said that fighting Shanks now would be unfair, as it would be like bullying him. They hadn't seen Mihawk in a while, and now, Mihawk had become even stronger. His presence was nearly as formidable as their captain's, which made sense since Mihawk was purely a swordsman.

"Mihawk is a monster. He'll likely become the world's greatest swordsman in the future."

"So, what about our captain?"

"Our captain? Mihawk doesn't even care about him, so what kind of swordsman is he?"

"Hahaha!"

The two men laughed to themselves. They were likely the first in the entire sea to make fun of their captain like this. After all, their captain never cared about such empty titles. Shanks never competed for things like that.

"But, Lucky Roo, did you notice? Luffy is in Dressrosa."

"That's Garp's grandson! Of course, he's here. But it might not turn out the way the captain expected. Dressrosa's appearance has brought too many uncertainties to the sea."

"Let's tell the captain about what's happening in Dressrosa. This place is full of strangeness."

"Maybe... we should secretly take Luffy away."

"Lucky Roo, don't say such crazy things. Garp is still here, and Zephyr is with him. Even if the captain himself came, he wouldn't be confident he could escape from those two."

"It's a shame that Luffy got caught here."

Lucky Roo felt disappointed that they couldn't cause trouble. Luffy was someone their captain cared about. They had expected him to continue growing in Windmill Village, but now... who knows what will happen? He might grow up in a twisted way. But it didn't matter to them. After all, they're not the captain. They'd leave that headache to him.

The battle soon found a victor. The two fought fiercely, shaking the ground beneath them. Eventually, the arena split into several pieces, and they balanced on the debris. In the end, Mihawk claimed victory! Victory came quickly, followed by another.

The audience erupted in cheers. These fights had been of such high quality. The last two opponents were members of a major pirate crew, each one incredibly powerful. Their bounties were terrifying, and they were some of the best on the sea. No one could even criticize Mihawk.

After three warm-up matches, the arena was in full swing. After Smoothie's defeat, other swordsmen began to take the stage. Even those with bounties of several hundred million berries met the same fate in front of Mihawk. One after another, they were carried off, and the crowd slowly grew quiet.

Mihawk was now on a winning streak, having won twenty consecutive matches. The fight had gone from day into night! The arena was still packed with people. No one was willing to leave; they all wanted to witness this moment. They wanted to see Mihawk reach the pinnacle of the sea.

"Mihawk-sama has won twenty-one matches in a row! Who's next? I ask, who dares to challenge him?"

The announcer stood on the high platform, roaring with bloodshot eyes. He was thrilled to be hosting this match, witnessing the birth of a new king. He was incredibly excited, hoping that more strong challengers would come forward. He wanted to see who could defeat Mihawk!

At this point, the 1.5 billion berry prize offered by Raijin didn't matter anymore. What had started as a game became serious as Mihawk's winning streak continued. Tomorrow's headlines were easy to predict.

"Is no one brave enough to challenge Mihawk-sama? Damn it! Where are the swordsmen who came to Dressrosa? Do you all willingly choose to be mere background characters? Don’t you want to stand in the center and receive everyone's cheers?"

"If Mihawk-sama is defeated now, he will likely become a legend, a swordsman praised by countless people across the sea, his fame spreading far and wide!"

The announcer's passionate words stirred the ambitions of many. Soon, four or five people signed up, and even more lined up to do so.

A mysterious smile spread across the announcer's face, and he felt deeply gratified. He could help Mihawk-sama at this moment, which would be the only right thing he'd ever done in his life.

There was no time to stop now; more swordsmen would soon be rushing to Dressrosa. For now, defeating just two commanders of a major pirate crew wasn’t enough. The challenge needed to go even further.

*Only in this way, when people call Mihawk the World's Greatest Swordsman, there will be no disputes.*

Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed!

A swordsman in front of Mihawk collapsed to the ground, a deep wound on his body devouring his life.

Phew!

Even Mihawk, with his extraordinary stamina, was now breathing slightly heavily. His once-neat clothes were covered in dust, and now Mihawk himself looked a bit dirty.

But! Despite his appearance, Mihawk grew more and more fierce with each battle. This gauntlet of fights required him to wield his blade with full strength each time. Every opponent was new, pushing Mihawk’s understanding of swordsmanship even further.

Yet, there was no end in sight to this battle! Mihawk didn’t know when it would stop, nor did he care. His only goal was to defeat every swordsman that stood before him, using them as stepping stones to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. As long as he did that, nothing else mattered.

*"That makes thirty-five! Who's next?!"*

"Is this battle about to end? Mihawk-sama is almost exhausted. This is the best chance to defeat him! What are you all waiting for?" The announcer's impassioned shouts echoed, but it was useless now.

Last time, they managed to deceive fourteen people into challenging Mihawk. But all that did was give Mihawk a brief moment to catch his breath. As for the rest, they were fools! Mihawk’s clothes weren’t even torn. Even if he was acting, shouldn’t he at least pretend to be exhausted? What was he doing, making fools of us?

The audience quietly watched as Mihawk became an insurmountable mountain before them.

*"What a shame... Is the battle really ending here? Wait, someone signed up!"*

"Let me see... It looks like Mihawk-sama's next match is going to be a tough one!"

"This next contestant is special—one of the top officers of the Beasts Pirates."

"King, Kaido's trusted right-hand man, with a bounty of over a billion berries. And he's a Devil Fruit user. Mihawk-sama better be careful with this one."

"But who would have thought that even the Beasts Pirates couldn't sit still?"

"This competition for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman is getting more and more interesting."

The announcer could hardly believe what he saw in the contestant's information. Who would have thought that even the Beasts Pirates would step into the ring? Then again, it made sense—what pirate didn’t care about their reputation? Most pirates sought fame on the seas.

*"Hey, hey, hey! Even the Beasts Pirates are getting involved?"*

"I never expected this. Even the Beasts Pirates can't sit this one out."

"Hahaha! The real battle is about to begin. The previous ones were so boring, I almost fell asleep."

"Yeah, a clash between true powerhouses is the only real fight. Those earlier guys were too weak."

As soon as they heard the name "Beasts Pirates," the entire audience came alive. They never expected that even King, the All-Star, would show up. This competition for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman was becoming more and more intriguing. The crowd went wild! After all, they had bet on Mihawk without a second thought and had made a fortune. Now that King had arrived, they were curious about the odds.

Mihawk stepped back into the arena. Although there were fifteen-minute breaks between each fight, Raijin hadn’t provided him with any food to replenish his energy. Even a little red wine would have sufficed! Now Mihawk was beginning to feel a bit tired.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A figure flew rapidly through the air, standing in mid-air with two large wings flapping behind him.

*"Looks like I arrived just in time! After so many battles, you’re not at your peak anymore, are you?"*

"I'll allow you to rest a bit before we fight. That way, no one can say I took advantage of you."

King hovered in the air, coldly watching Mihawk!

(End of the chapter.)