Watching Chrysler get instantly killed by Teresa, the man with glasses cursed under his breath.
"Damn those Marines. Didn't they say the Myriad Worlds Pirates only had a captain, two crew members, and two animals? Then where the hell did this woman swordsman come from?"
Looking at the scattered pirate corpses that had been cut clean in half by Teresa, the bespectacled man immediately decided to get out of there first.
This woman was far too strong.
On this island, there were probably only a handful of people capable of matching her.
He wondered whether Tresia, who was also a swordsman, could stand against her.
Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly felt a sword pressed against his neck.
At the same time, Teresa's voice drifted into his ear.
"I've been watching you for a while. You were with that group from the start, weren't you? Where do you think you're going?"
The man with glasses was stunned.
He couldn't believe he'd been discovered even from this far away.
"Shave!"
"Moonwalk!"
Faced with the blade at his throat, he instantly used Shave to escape, then kicked off the air and shot upward with Moonwalk.
His combat ability might not have been exceptional, but as a World Government agent, his escape skills were excellent. No one dared set foot in a lawless place like this without a few tricks of their own.
He glanced downward—
and his pupils shrank.
Teresa was gone.
"Where are you trying to go?"
That pleasant voice sounded behind him again.
It was a beautiful voice, but to him, it sounded like death itself.
Bang!
Teresa smashed him out of the air with the flat of her blade and sent him crashing into the ground.
Boom!
Then she dropped after him like a meteor, slamming into the earth hard enough to leave a crater.
The man with glasses stared at the pair of metal boots in front of his face. Struggling, he raised his head and found himself looking into those silver eyes.
Slash!
"AHHH—!"
Teresa cut off both of his legs in one stroke, then crushed both his arms under her boots.
"You... do you even... know who I am? I'm a World Government agent. Attacking me is the same as attacking the World Government..."
He was trying to use the World Government's name to intimidate her.
Unfortunately for him, Teresa wasn't from the world of One Piece.
Yes, she had information about the World Government in her mind now, but she didn't care in the slightest.
When he saw she showed absolutely no reaction to his identity, he immediately turned toward the surrounding pirates and screamed,
"Whoever saves me gets fifty million—no, one hundred million beli!"
The price he offered was incredibly tempting.
But after glancing at the butchered remains of the Tresia Pirates on the ground, the surrounding pirates all forced down their greed.
A hundred million was a lot of money—
but first, they'd need to survive long enough to spend it.
Teresa made no move to stop him.
In truth, she was curious whether anyone would be foolish enough to come save him.
But it was clear that her display of power had frightened the surrounding pirates badly.
"What a shame," Teresa said softly. "I finally got free from organizational restraints. I was hoping I could enjoy myself a little."
Hearing that, the surrounding pirates felt a chill run down their spines.
So she had actually been hoping someone else would step in.
Since no one moved, Teresa grabbed the bespectacled man and prepared to head back to The Lucky.
But at that moment, a man stepped into her path.
Teresa looked at him.
His chest was bare. He wore a red-and-black wide-brimmed hat, a black cloak lined with red on the inside, and on his back was an enormous black blade.
Most striking of all were his golden eyes, sharp and predatory like a hawk's.
Mihawk had originally come to this island to challenge Tresia, since Tresia was a known swordsman.
But he hadn't expected to arrive and immediately encounter a woman swordsman this strong.
Even though the techniques Teresa had displayed so far were simple, relying almost entirely on speed and power, Mihawk didn't believe for a second that this was all she had.
He was a man determined to become the greatest swordsman in the world.
Faced with a swordsman this powerful, how could he possibly resist stepping forward?
Teresa studied the man before her.
He was simply standing there, but the instincts of a warrior told her clearly—
this was no weakling.
"You want to save him?" she asked.
Mihawk shook his head.
"I didn't step out for him."
"Then why?"
Mihawk drew the black blade from his back and leveled it at her.
"Because I am a swordsman."
Teresa understood at once.
He wanted to test her blade against his.
She casually tossed the bespectacled man toward a nearby group of pirates and said,
"Watch him for me. I'll come get him after I'm done. If he disappears, or if he dies... then you can die in his place. Understood?"
The pirates nodded frantically.
"Understood! Understood!"
Now that Teresa no longer had to worry about the hostage, Mihawk spoke.
"As swordsmen, let us begin with our names. I am Dracule Mihawk."
"Dracule Mihawk? Isn't that the swordsman who's been making a name for himself these past few years?"
"Yeah. They say he's monstrously strong. A lot of people already think he could become the world's greatest swordsman."
...
"Teresa."
Compared to Mihawk's formal introduction, Teresa's answer was only three words.
Mihawk nodded.
"I'll remember that name."
Then he raised his black blade.
But in the very next instant, Teresa was already in front of him.
A cold flash of steel swept forward.
Mihawk had originally been preparing to bring his blade down in a heavy slash, but instead, he was forced into a guard.
Clang!
He was driven back several meters by the impact.
What incredible strength, Mihawk thought.
As a swordsman, he knew better than anyone that, all else being equal, women were naturally at a disadvantage in raw strength compared to men.
But looking at Teresa's slender frame, he found it nearly impossible to understand how that body could generate such terrifying force.
Still, since Mihawk had blocked her opening strike, Teresa wasn't surprised in the least.
If he didn't have that much skill, she never would have taken the initiative to attack first.
She planted a hand on the ground, twisted, and surged forward again, launching a storm of piercing sword thrusts.
Mihawk answered with a rapid barrage of slashes to intercept them.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their blades collided in a blur of sparks.
They moved so fast the onlookers could only catch fragments of afterimages. The gusts whipped up by their sword clashes became a howling wind, forcing the surrounding pirates to squint and shield their eyes.
Gradually, the ground around them began to split apart.
Their cloaks were shredded bit by bit.
The onlookers were forced farther and farther back, terrified of being caught in the aftermath.
Boom!
At last, the two blades met in a violent clash, and both fighters were thrown back by the recoil.
Teresa glanced at the giant sword in her hand.
Its edge was now covered in tiny chips.
This sword had been forged by the Organization using special materials. It was extraordinarily durable. She had slain countless powerful enemies with it before, yet it had never once been damaged like this.
At that moment, she remembered something Kurogane Ren had once said.
Armament Haki could strengthen a weapon's durability.
Thinking of that, she began coating her sword in Armament Haki.
Mihawk glanced at his tattered cloak.
Ever since he'd made a name for himself, this was the first time anyone had cut it up this badly.
At the same time, he noticed Teresa's giant sword turning black.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Armament.
Once the coating was complete, Teresa decided to release her Yoki.
She closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again, her silver irises had changed to gold.
The moment those golden eyes appeared, a pressure rolled outward from Teresa like a wave.
Both Mihawk and the surrounding pirates felt it instantly.
Something in the air had changed.
Mihawk chose to strike first.
He swung his blade in a simple horizontal slash, releasing a massive sword wave.
Teresa leapt into the air and avoided it.
"Get down!"
Teresa dodged the slash, but the pirates behind her weren't so lucky.
Dozens of them were cut cleanly in half, and so were countless houses behind them.
With a single attack, Mihawk had demolished an entire stretch of buildings.
Then Teresa and Mihawk clashed again.
This time, Mihawk immediately felt the pressure grow.
The earlier exchange had been a contest of speed.
Now it became a contest of force.
Teresa's rapid sword strikes had been dangerous before, but he could still defend against them.
Now, however, every time he swung, it felt as though she had already predicted it.
His attacks were being constantly suppressed.
And on top of that, her speed and strength had both risen dramatically.
Yet the more intense the pressure became, the more excited Mihawk felt.
How long had it been since he'd fought like this?
One year?
Two?
Three?
At last—
he had found someone who could force him to go all out.