The hurricane formed by the shockwaves blew for two days and two nights.
During these two days, the sound of clashing swords and the shockwaves on the island never stopped.
When the sun rose on the third day, bathing the world in golden light.
The hurricane and the sounds that had been emanating from the island finally ceased.
"It stopped?"
At the edge of the island, on a large rock.
A Hua yawned. He and Kong Tai had been watching the fight for as long as it lasted.
At first, they were excited, but as time went on, their interest gradually waned.
If not for the constant clang of swords.
And the hurricane formed by the shockwaves, which constantly rocked the Free Bird, they would have long since returned to the Free Bird to sleep.
For these two days, they had cooked their meals on temporary stoves set up by the shore.
"A Hua, go prepare some food!"
Gu Yina withdrew her gaze, her eyes bloodshot. Among them, she had watched the most attentively, and only she could truly see the strength and condition of the two combatants.
She had to admit, "The World's Strongest Swordsman truly lives up to his name!"
From her perspective, Kong Tai had been at a disadvantage from the start. Although he had exchanged blows with Mihawk evenly, most of the time, Kong Tai was in extremely dangerous situations.
Of course, with her understanding of Kong Tai, as long as he didn't want to be, Mihawk, even if twice as strong, wouldn't be able to harm him.
So, while she was amazed by Mihawk's strength, she wasn't worried about Kong Tai at all.
She turned to A Hua and said, "They've been fighting for so long, they must be starving. Go prepare plenty of food."
Then she looked at A Tao and A Luo, "You two go help as well!"
"Understood!"
A Hua and the other two turned to Gu Yina and quickly replied.
Then they turned and jumped onto the Free Bird, heading towards the kitchen.
As the two in the center of the island stopped fighting, the hurricane and waves gradually subsided.
Although the Free Bird was still rocking, people could now stand on it.
So, cooking was possible.
"Kakakaka kakakaka!!"
Indigo chuckled, withdrew his gaze from the center of the island, turned to Gu Yina, and smiled, "Cooking? I'll help too! Our captains have monster-like physiques, they'll definitely need a lot of food to be full after fighting for two days."
"Yes!"
Gu Yina nodded, looked at Indigo, and smiled, "Thank you for your hard work."
"Kakakaka!!"
Indigo waved his hand and turned to board the ship.
*Puchi!*
*Puchi!*
*Puchi!!*
He entered the kitchen.
In the middle of the island, the ground that had been covered in piles of rubble was now devoid of a single stone.
The flat ground was covered in pits of various sizes and countless cracks.
Some cracks went deep into the island, connecting to the ocean, and seawater was constantly surging out through them.
It was believed that soon, a peculiar central lake would form here.
The trees that had stood upright around the area were now bent outwards in a circular pattern. Even though the two had stopped fighting, these trees would forever be fixed in their bent state.
At the edge of a crack, Kong Tai was bending over, with Zankon plunged into the ground before him. His hands rested on the hilt of Zankon, and he was gasping for breath.
"Fighting this guy is too tiring."
Kong Tai raised his head and stared at Mihawk, his eyes filled with joy.
But the exhaustion was worth it. As expected of the World's Strongest Swordsman, he had benefited greatly.
It had greatly improved some of his somewhat stiff swordsmanship.
This kind of battle, which required him to maintain intense concentration at all times and react to impending slashes, was the most exhilarating fight he had experienced since setting sail.
Fighting Mihawk was far more enjoyable than fighting Golden Lion or Kizaru.
Golden Lion was old. Although he could briefly engage and suppress Kong Tai after ripping off the ship's rudder, as Kong Tai improved and Golden Lion's stamina waned, he couldn't provide him with enjoyment in the subsequent battles.
Kizaru wasn't a pure swordsman. Although he could spar with Kong Tai in swordsmanship, he mostly used his Devil Fruit abilities to engage him, so there was no enjoyment in their fights.
Mihawk was different. He was a pure swordsman, and all his battles were fierce clashes of blades. Such a pure collision between swordsmen was like the clash of two passionate boxers, making one's blood boil and filling them with joy.
It was just a bit mentally taxing.
Mihawk's swordsmanship was indeed a significant step above his own.
This was unavoidable. Mihawk's talent was naturally top-tier in the world, and he was in his prime. If Kong Tai didn't have the monstrous physique granted by his spatial abilities, he would never have been able to fight him for so long.
There were many times when Mihawk's blade had actually struck him.
If not for the passive spatial layer constantly defending his body's surface, he would have been injured long ago.
After resting for a while, Kong Tai gradually regained his composure and stopped panting so heavily.
He straightened up, put strength into his right hand, drew Zankon, and with a twist of his wrist, performed a flourish.
*Ding—!*
He sheathed his sword.
Then, with his left hand, he grabbed his wine gourd, bent his thumb, hooked the nozzle with his fingernail, and flicked it upwards.
*Pop—!*
The stopper popped open, and the aroma of wine filled the air.
He raised the wine gourd, tilted his head back, and his throat kept moving.
*Gulp gulp gulp!!*
"Hoo~"
Kong Tai exhaled a breath of wine and grinned, roaring loudly, "Exhilarating!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
Then he looked down at Mihawk and laughed heartily, "You're truly strong! Sparring with you is so much fun."
"Want to have a sip."
Saying this, Kong Tai re-inserted the stopper of the wine gourd and threw it forcefully towards Mihawk.
Mihawk stared at Kong Tai, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile.
This battle had not only brought Kong Tai joy, but had it not brought him joy as well!
Although Kong Tai's swordsmanship was slightly inferior to his, in terms of reaction speed, blade speed, and strength, they were almost equal.
At such a young age, possessing such strength.
Then...
What about the future?
It was worth looking forward to.
He had always hoped that someone would have the strength to take his position as the world's number one.
He didn't care too much about this position.
What he cared about was having an opponent.
The days without an opponent were too boring, too lonely.
*Pa—!*
Mihawk caught the wine gourd thrown by Kong Tai, flipped open the stopper, and just like Kong Tai, he didn't mind whether the stopper had Kong Tai's saliva on it from drinking earlier.
He tilted his head back and drank a few large gulps.
Then he put down the wine gourd, a blush of red flashing across his face, and staring at Kong Tai, he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahahaha!!"
This was the first time in many years that he had laughed so happily.
It was also the first time in many years that he had felt such joy.
Kong Tai was another opponent on the path of the sword, besides Shanks. Of course, he was also a confidant.
From this day forward, they were also friends.
To have made a friend as satisfactory as this, how could he not feel joyful, how could he not feel happy?
He tossed the wine gourd back to Kong Tai, then walked to the side, picked up the wine-red coat lying on the ground, shook off the dust, and put it on.
Then he took off the hat hanging on the tree branch, put it on his head, and once again assumed the appearance of the World's Strongest Swordsman.
Kong Tai watched Mihawk walk over, hung the wine gourd on his waist, hooked his arm around his shoulder.
Turning around, they walked towards the Free Bird at the edge of the island, facing the rising sun.
Their figures, illuminated by the morning light, cast long shadows behind them, like two sharp swords.
Intertwining.