Enma!
Mihawk's eyes sharpened as he stared intently at the black cursed sword hovering in front of the Marine Vice Admiral.
From this sword, he sensed a chilling, oppressive killing intent that sent goosebumps down his spine.
The "King of the North Blue" before him had relied on this very sword's terrifying power to shatter the small island thrown by the Great Pirate Shiki the Golden Lion, preventing Marine Headquarters Marineford from being reduced to a scorched wasteland.
"This sword can maximize the consumption of the user's Haki, and at the moment of attack, it unleashes both the Haki and the sword's own demonic energy," Daren said calmly.
And the moment his hand gripped Enma's hilt, an overwhelming scene unfolded...
Boom!!
An uncontrollable, terrifying aura erupted from Daren's body, turning into surging waves of purple-black energy that roared upward, swirling violently around him.
Like real flames of purple and black, under everyone's frozen, horrified gazes, the energy used Daren's arm as a conduit, pouring madly into the black cursed sword.
It looked like miniature purple-black fire dragons, as the violent Armament Haki flooded into the blade, whipping up a purgatory-like storm that spread out in all directions.
Gecko Moria raised his only remaining arm to shield himself from the oncoming shockwave, his face deathly pale.
The sheer intensity of this Haki... far surpassed anything he had ever imagined!
It was clear—if Daren had unleashed this level of Haki at him earlier, a single blow would have been enough to kill him.
Forget losing an arm; he probably wouldn't even have left a corpse behind!
Momonga's expression was just as shaken.
Watching the strange sight of Daren's Haki being continuously devoured by Enma, causing Daren's body to rapidly shrink and expand in bizarre pulses, he swallowed nervously.
The entire scene was now dominated by the raging purple-black Haki, and Enma showed no sign of stopping. As more Haki poured into it, the eerie black blade began to tremble slightly.
It was almost as if it were humming joyfully.
"I haven't fed you properly in a long time, have I?"
As Enma's master, Daren naturally sensed the sword's excitement and murmured with a faint smile.
Enma was different from other Meito swords. It was a true Cursed Sword.
A Cursed Sword, by its nature, harmed its wielder before harming its enemies.
Haki was its nourishment.
Without sufficient strength, one had no right to wield this blade.
Those who tried would only end up having their Haki drained dry by Enma... and dying.
"In addition, Enma has eaten the Moa Moa no Mi, originally belonging to the 'World Destroyer' Byrnndi World. When activated, it can exponentially increase both its size and speed."
Daren lifted his gaze and looked toward Mihawk.
As an enormous amount of Haki continued to flow into Enma, the blade underwent an eerie transformation.
Strange purple-black flames began to curl and burn along its surface, as if the flame patterns engraved on it had been fully awakened, releasing a chilling, suffocating aura.
The entire island was gradually enveloped by a sinister atmosphere, making everyone feel an uncontrollable chill creep up their spines.
"Ghost energy!"
Mihawk's pupils contracted sharply.
This was a power only those who had walked the path of "Shura" could master. He had once read about it in an ancient tome but never imagined he would witness it firsthand—emanating naturally from a cursed blade!
A sword born from hell itself!
A blade capable of slicing through the flames of purgatory!
"Mihawk, don't die too easily."
Seeing Enma ignite with hellfire, Daren exhaled a long breath and released his grip.
Enma began to tremble violently, and its tip spun on its own...
Locking firmly onto the young swordsman standing a hundred meters away!
The moment Enma's aura locked onto him, Mihawk broke into a cold sweat.
It felt as though he had been targeted by a beast unleashed from the depths of hell, an overwhelming sense of fatal threat enveloping him.
There was no escape!
Yet, his eyes shone brighter and more fiercely than ever before.
He gripped his sword tightly with both hands, raising it high above his head.
His hawk-like eyes were fully focused, locked unwaveringly onto the tip of Enma's blade.
"Come on."
He muttered.
The next moment—
The two attacked at the same time!
"Shoot him, Enma!"
Boom!!
The roaring magnetic field surged to its peak in an instant, propelling the long-accumulated Enma into a streak of shrill black light that shot out silently!
It was as if an illusory black line flashed through the void.
The ground split in two, the ruined buildings were cut cleanly in half, collapsed turrets shattered into pieces, even the air itself tore open with a visible, blurred scar...
Everything—the sky, the earth, and the sea—split apart in an instant!
At the same time,
Mihawk suddenly widened his eyes, took a step forward, gritted his teeth, and let out a furious roar.
He swung his sword down with all his strength!
Swish!!
A massive dark green sword beam, like a hawk piercing through the heavens, howled as it soared!
It collided violently with the onrushing black light!
Boom!!
In the next instant, under Momonga's stunned gaze and Gecko Moria's horrified, twisted expression, an earth-shattering explosion erupted!
A wild shockwave burst out, sweeping across the entire island.
A dazzling white light swallowed everything from sight...
...
No one knew how long it lasted.
It felt like an endless century, or perhaps only a few fleeting seconds, before vision slowly began to return.
Countless Marines crawled out from craters and shelters, their faces filled with the terror of surviving a catastrophe.
Momonga and Moria waved away the thick dust before them, their eyes locked on the center of the battlefield.
There, amid the swirling dust, a slender figure flickered into view.
"Did he block it?"
Momonga pressed his lips together, his expression complicated.
After everything that had happened, he found himself reluctant to see the kid killed by Daren.
Such a monstrously talented future Great Swordsman…
With that burning thirst for victory and extraordinary resolve, given time, this boy named Mihawk would undoubtedly etch his name into legend.
He would claim the title of the world's greatest swordsman!
A flash of black light suddenly shot out from the dust, hovering steadily behind Daren.
Daren looked calmly at the figure emerging from the haze and spoke lightly,
"Congratulations. You blocked my third sword."
The dust finally cleared completely.
Mihawk's condition was revealed to all.
Everyone couldn't help but gasp sharply.
The young swordsman stood there, both hands gripping his sword, his body covered in blood and dirt, looking like a figure carved from blood.
His hands were torn and mangled, a grotesque mess of flesh and blood, with crimson dripping steadily to the ground.
He stood completely still.
His eyes stared blankly at the "Yoru" in his hands.
Crack...
A fine fracture suddenly spread along the blade of "Yoru."
Then, with a sharp clang, the dark-gray tip of the blade snapped off and fell, embedding deeply into the soil.
The sword was broken.