30. Another failure.

At first, it was merely a simple sparring match.

Gradually, as time passed, this initially casual exchange of swordsmanship evolved into a formal and intense duel. The crisp clashing of sword tips echoed, accompanied by the shifting of their footwork as the atmosphere of the battle quietly escalated.

"Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, who had begun by offering pointers to Salia, eventually began to treat the fight with genuine seriousness, throwing himself into the duel with his entire being. Salia, meanwhile, transitioned from pure defense to a blend of offense and defense, incorporating Tai Chi sword techniques that allowed her to respond with greater agility to Mihawk’s increasingly sharp and fierce strikes. With Mihawk’s guidance, it was as if her meridians had been cleared; she gradually fused the essence of Tai Chi into the aggressive, lethal moves she had developed on her own. She began to handle Mihawk’s swordsmanship with newfound ease.

Their duel sent sword auras crisscrossing, whipping up a flurry of snow that danced across the sky. Several stray slashes flew toward the Red Hair Pirates, but the crew members, all quite formidable, easily blocked the attacks.

"She’s improving incredibly fast," Shanks remarked, squinting his eyes as he observed the duel with undivided attention. As a swordsman himself, he pursued the mastery of the blade, and at that moment, he couldn't help but feel a sudden urge to cross swords with Salia to see how they measured up.

"It looks like she won't agree to join the crew," Benn Beckman said from the side, objectively, as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

Shanks laughed twice upon hearing this. "Whether she agrees or not, we have to invite her first. You never know when she might change her mind."

Beckman smiled helplessly and teased, "Like you did with the Phoenix?" The Phoenix would certainly never leave Whitebeard, but Beckman hoped that Shanks’ unconventional personality might actually lure the Psychokineticist aboard. After all, a Psychokineticist was a woman of wealth.

"No," Shanks paused, a strange glint in his eyes as he chuckled. "She is far more interesting than Marco." He always felt that this woman, Judith, was a liar who hadn't told them a single truth. Moreover, she seemed to know something about Captain Roger. Shanks adjusted his signature straw hat and laughed softly, "I have a feeling she is a woman of many secrets."

Beckman said nothing, turning his gaze toward the battle not far away. The fight would surely end soon. The Psychokineticist would inevitably be heavily injured, so he decided he should tell Hongo to charge her a bit extra for the medical fees.

The battle nearby had reached a fever pitch. In the end, both sides tacitly began using Observation Haki and Armament Haki. Mihawk’s wooden blade was precise and powerful; after several exchanges, Salia’s body was already marked with wounds of varying depths.

Throughout the process of clashing with Mihawk, her swordsmanship had improved significantly. During her counterattacks, she had successfully left a few sword marks on Mihawk, though they were minuscule compared to the wounds on her own body. Despite this, throughout the duel, Salia still held back, choosing not to push her "Strength" attribute to its maximum value.

"I hope you can last a little longer this time," Mihawk said, his golden eyes fixed on her, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible admiration and anticipation.

"You old bastard," Salia gritted her teeth, a flame of defiance burning in her eyes. She swung her longsword with nimble grace, aiming straight for Mihawk’s sharp-featured face. Her voice was resolute: "I won't lose until I've scratched that face of yours!"

Mihawk was speechless at her bizarre persistence, yet he was highly satisfied with the swordsmanship she displayed as an opponent. "Then, use whatever other tricks you have! Let them all out!" A smile appeared on Mihawk's face as he swung his Armament Haki-coated wooden blade toward her without mercy. His tone was noticeably cheerful, clearly relishing the pleasure this duel brought him. "Otherwise, you are going to lose right now."

Salia could clearly sense the pleasure in the heart of that damned bastard, Mihawk. She couldn't help but grow angry, her expression twisting into a fierce, grimace. He was a swordsmanship pervert! The faster she improved and the stronger the techniques she displayed, the more excited he became, the more he enjoyed the fight. And as his opponent, while Mihawk was happy, Salia was not.

It was supposed to be a sword duel, and she hadn't intended to use her powers. But who said a sword used with powers wasn't still swordsmanship? Wasn't the future Admiral Fujitora a master of combining gravity with his sword? She could do it too!

Her Observation Haki sensed something, and Salia’s body suddenly arched backward. At almost the exact same moment, Mihawk’s wooden blade whistled through the air, grazing the exact spot where she had been standing. Salia dodged the strike by a hair's breadth and immediately countered with determination. With a flick of her wrist, her wooden sword struck out like a coiled viper, aiming directly for Mihawk’s face.

Mihawk, being a top-tier swordsman, reacted just as quickly. He stepped back while simultaneously swinging his wooden blade to clash with her attack. That her attack was blocked was within Salia’s expectations. The two wooden blades, coated in Armament Haki, collided with the roar of clashing metal.

The moment the blades met, Mihawk felt his mind go blank for a split second; his thoughts seemed to be bound by some invisible force, unable to move.

"Psychokinetic Blade: Suppression," Salia muttered, her face darkening. She whispered to Mihawk, "Mihawk, I am not purely a swordsman, you know."

Infusing psychokinesis into a weapon could also launch a mental attack against the enemy. If this move worked on Aokiji, it would work on Mihawk as well. During that brief moment of hesitation from Mihawk, Salia cranked her "Strength" attribute to its maximum. A surge of immense power flooded into her wooden blade as she hacked toward him. In that moment of vulnerability, Salia’s blade snapped his wooden sword in two.

However, just as she was about to strike his face, Mihawk reacted with lightning speed. Salia’s attack was deflected, leaving only a bleeding gash across his chest. Blood instantly stained Mihawk’s shirt.

When Mihawk realized what had just occurred, his golden pupils constricted, his face filled with incredulous shock. Without a second’s hesitation, he used the remaining half of his wooden blade to unleash a strike of terrifying power. The blow, carrying irresistible force, instantly KO'd Salia.

Mihawk’s control over his slashes was truly horrific; he could manipulate the force, size, direction, shape, and distance of his strikes exactly as he pleased. Faced with such a colossal slash, Salia failed to defend; the attack pierced through her entirely, leaving shocking wounds across half her body.

"I... damn you..." Salia stumbled back two steps, finally unable to hold herself up, and fell to one knee, a curse escaping her lips.

She was frustrated. She hadn't managed to scratch his face.

"Damn it..." Even severely wounded again, it didn't stop her from muttering curses under her breath.

Mihawk tossed the broken half of his wooden blade aside and walked slowly toward her. His gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed intently on the woman kneeling before him, his voice laced with disbelief: "You actually possess Conqueror's Haki?"

In that instant of mental blankness, Mihawk had immediately realized what it was—an effect that could only be caused by the Conqueror's Haki, possessed by only a handful of individuals. He had crossed swords with Shanks many times and was no stranger to the power, having gained experience in how to counter it. But he never, in his wildest dreams, expected this woman to possess it.

The sea truly is a miraculous existence, Mihawk sighed to himself.