A layer of pale purplish-red jade armor covered Bane’s entire body.
Standing atop a piece of wreckage, he finally felt a small measure of security.
The moment Mihawk had released his killing intent, Bane had felt as though death itself were already upon him.
But now, for the brief instant before Thorn Jade Hardening shattered—
He wouldn’t die.
Not yet.
Come on!
Bane roared and raised both hands as though he intended to catch the incoming slash between his palms.
Catching a flying slash barehanded?
Perhaps someone in this world could do it.
Bane certainly couldn’t.
But he needed Mihawk to think that was what he was trying to do.
The true mechanics of [Thorn Jade Hardening] were too valuable to reveal.
Once an enemy understood that it automatically blocked one attack before shattering, the ability would become far easier to counter.
So Bane had to disguise it.
He watched the incoming slash carefully.
Then, at the perfect moment—
Clap!
His palms slammed together.
The flying slash struck him head-on.
There was no possible way Bane could truly catch an attack like that with his bare hands.
But to Krieg and the others watching from a distance, that was exactly what it looked like.
Bane had caught Mihawk’s terrifying slash between his palms.
Otherwise, he should have been split apart just as easily as the pirate ship.
Yet he remained standing.
For a fraction of a second.
Then [Thorn Jade Hardening] activated.
The pale jade armor shattered violently.
Mihawk’s flying slash disappeared completely.
At the same time, the stored force erupted outward in a massive shockwave.
Boom!
The wreckage beneath Bane’s feet was pulverized first.
The sea below him was blasted outward, forming an enormous bowl-shaped depression in the water.
Even Mihawk’s coffin-shaped boat was pushed back dozens of meters by the resulting waves.
And that shockwave represented only thirty percent of the power Bane had just blocked.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes.
His hawk-like gaze had tracked every movement Bane made.
That was precisely why he was puzzled.
He couldn’t understand what had happened.
How had the boy destroyed his flying slash so cleanly?
And why had the resulting shockwave been so powerful?
Was there some strange technique hidden in that clap?
A Devil Fruit ability?
No.
Mihawk dismissed that possibility almost immediately.
He had watched Bane dive into the sea and swim to Krieg.
A Devil Fruit user couldn’t have done that.
Then Haki?
Some unusual physical ability?
Mihawk considered the possibilities for a moment before giving a quiet chuckle.
Trying to puzzle over mysteries wasn’t something he cared to do for long.
If he wanted to know, he could simply ask.
After all, the boy had survived.
More than that, he had blocked a serious slash from the World’s Greatest Swordsman in full view of everyone present.
And he didn’t even appear injured.
Very few people could claim such a thing.
Mihawk knew that better than anyone.
Splash!
Then a shadow fell over him.
He looked up.
Mihawk’s coffin boat had stopped beside him.
For a moment, Bane’s nerves tightened again.
Those hawk-like eyes were even more intimidating up close.
And his greatest defensive trump card was already gone.
If Mihawk decided he wanted another attack, Bane was dead.
Fortunately, Yoru had already been returned to Mihawk’s back.
He didn’t appear interested in attacking again.
He did, however, seem genuinely curious about Bane now.
“Get on.”
Bane didn’t need to be told twice.
He grabbed the side of the small boat, hauled himself aboard, then collapsed flat on his back without any concern for appearances.
He sucked in several deep breaths.
That had been far too close.
Another brush with death.
And this time, against Mihawk of all people.
Bane eventually glanced toward him.
“What? Surprised I’m still alive?”
Mihawk nodded without hesitation.
“I am.”
He looked down at Bane.
“Before you took that strike, I estimated your chance of survival at less than one in a thousand.”
Then his gaze shifted slightly.
“Though there is something else.”
Bane raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Your beard is falling off.”
Bane froze.
He reached for his chin.
Sure enough, the fake beard he’d been using as part of his disguise had come loose and was hanging awkwardly from one side of his face.
His eyepatch was gone entirely.
It had probably been swept away when the shockwave threw him into the sea.
Bane stared at the loose beard for a second.
“Minor problem.”
He calmly pressed it back into place.
They were already in the Grand Line anyway.
Whether his identity was exposed now mattered far less than it had in the East Blue.
Bane sat up.
“So… about our agreement.”
Mihawk glanced toward Krieg in the distance.
Krieg was watching nervously, clearly terrified that Mihawk might change his mind.
A trace of disgust crossed Mihawk’s expression.
Still, he answered calmly.
“You accomplished what I considered nearly impossible.”
He looked back at Bane.
“I will keep my word.”
Krieg’s entire body relaxed.
A stiff smile appeared on his face.
He was alive.
But that relief didn’t last long.
Embarrassment and resentment soon replaced it.
His gaze shifted toward the people around him.
He had caused the entire disaster.
Then, once things went wrong, he had needed someone else to save him.
The crew had seen everything.
So had the survivors aboard the other ships.
Their expressions toward Krieg had changed.
No one said anything aloud.
But the faint contempt in their eyes was impossible to miss.
Then there was Bane.
Bane had been the first person to swim out and save Krieg when he started drowning.
After that, he had willingly risked his own life to protect Krieg from Mihawk’s next strike.
Even though the responsibility had never been his.
It was difficult not to admire that kind of loyalty.
Krieg, however, saw things differently.
The comparison only made him look worse.
And now even Mihawk, who had nearly killed him moments ago, was treating him as though he no longer mattered.
Krieg’s resentment deepened.
Not only toward Mihawk.
But toward Bane as well.
Mihawk ignored him completely.
Instead, his attention remained on the young man aboard his boat.
“Your name.”
Bane met his gaze.
“Bane.”
He paused.
“Disaster Bane.”
Mihawk repeated it once.
“Bane…”
He hadn’t asked before because he saw little reason to remember the names of people who hadn’t earned his interest.
Now, Bane had.
He had survived a serious strike.
That was enough.
“I hope the next time we meet, you will have become a truly powerful warrior.”
Bane grinned.
“I will.”
Then he added, “Though if you’re planning to disappear onto some deserted island somewhere, stay there for a few years first.”
Mihawk gave him a look.
Bane remained completely confident.
A few years.
That was enough.
If he couldn’t become genuinely powerful in that much time even with the System helping him, then he really had no talent.
Mihawk ultimately chose not to ask how Bane had blocked the slash.
Perhaps he would discover the answer himself the next time they met.
Soon afterward, he turned his coffin boat away.
Mihawk left without another word.
The sea gradually settled behind him.
The shattered remains of Krieg’s ship still floated across the water.
So did the bodies of the unfortunate crew members who had died without ever understanding what had happened.
They had done nothing.
Krieg had picked a fight with someone completely out of his league, and they had paid the price for it.
“Set sail.”
Once Bane returned to the remaining ships, Krieg offered him a few hollow words of concern.
Then he immediately ordered the crews to leave.
They abandoned the island entirely and changed course.
Krieg had no intention of staying anywhere near the place Mihawk was heading.
Just thinking about that terrifying swordsman being nearby was enough to make his body tense.
Several crew members clearly weren’t happy with the decision.
None of them dared object.
Bane cared even less.
He had already stopped thinking about Mihawk.
Right now, he had something far more enjoyable to do.
Check his rewards.