"Such terrifying sword pressure... Could he be on par with Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman?!"
Hancock's long black hair was swept into the air by the force of the sword aura, floating midair as she stared in shock at this unfamiliar man before her, far more formidable than she had imagined.
But that didn't make Hancock back down.
On the contrary, it ignited the fighting spirit within her, compelling her to face this fear head-on.
"You damn pirate! Did you just call me an unreasonable female pirate? Outrageous! Perfume Femur!!"
With a burst of explosive movement, Hancock launched another flying kick at Sero, faster and more powerful than the first.
This time, she channeled the power of her Love-Love Fruit, aiming to petrify Sero and shatter him with a single blow.
"Water Breathing! First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
Suddenly, an unending stream of water surged from the blade of Sero's katana.
With unwavering focus, Sero charged straight into Hancock's assault and swung upward.
"What the hell is that?!"
Midair and mid-kick, Hancock was dumbfounded by the sudden surge of water from Sero's katana.
She had seen many strange things, but not this.
Even so, despite the bizarre technique, Hancock didn't retreat. Instead, she amplified the force of her kick severalfold.
Bang! The katana and her Perfume Femur collided with violent intensity.
The impact released a powerful shockwave that leveled buildings within several dozen meters.
Nearby members of the Kuja Pirates were caught off guard and thrown back, leaving them stunned.
"This man… could he be a swordmaster?"
"He's going toe-to-toe with Lady Boa Hancock!"
"Why is his katana producing such powerful water flow? I'm so jealous!"
"Wait, wasn't the guy who hurt our crew just some sneaky little pirate who relied on ambushes?"
"Lady Hancock will kill that damn male pirate!"
Despite what they witnessed, Hancock being blasted back dozens of meters, the Kuja Pirates still blindly believed in her victory.
"The Water Breathing gifted by the mission reward system is incredible!"
Looking at Hancock, who had just been sent flying by his slash, Sero marveled at how effective Water Breathing was in this world.
After all, seawater naturally counteracts Devil Fruit users.
If Hancock were a Logia-type, he was confident he could have beheaded her in one stroke, especially since she had no clue what Water Breathing was at first.
"Water Breathing! Second Form: Water Wheel!"
To conquer Hancock, he had to defeat her first.
Sero exhaled and then charged across the field toward her.
Midair, he spun his entire body, his water-infused katana forming a circular barrage of sword shadows, like a surging water wheel.
"What kind of weird sword technique is this? Dammit!"
Hancock, momentarily uncertain how to counter the strange technique, was forced to evade hastily.
Maybe because her legs were so long, her speed nearly matched Sero's use of Soru, one of the Navy's Six Powers.
The water wheel missed.
But Sero quickly adjusted his stance and launched another, even faster assault.
"Water Breathing! Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Sero's movement became swift and graceful, and by the time his blade, a torrent of flowing water, sliced toward Hancock, she was only able to hastily block.
She raised her arms, coated in Armament Haki, to guard her head and took the hit from Flowing Dance.
Though the blade didn't pierce her, the impact injured both her arms and head, knocking her back again, this time tumbling across the ground.
It was a humiliating sight.
Hancock sat dazed on the ground, seemingly unable to accept what had just happened.
For Sero, it was the perfect moment to finish her off.
"Water Breathing! Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
He leapt toward the stunned Hancock.
His katana suddenly burst with even greater torrents of water.
But just before slashing, Sero quietly reversed the blade, turning it so the back, not the edge, would strike down.
He swung hard toward the downed Hancock.
Perhaps others didn't notice, but Hancock, being so close, did.
Her eyes instinctively widened in confusion.
To her crewmates, it looked like she was frozen in place, resigned to death.
"Sister!!!"
Hancock's two younger sisters, Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold, instantly transformed into their respective snake forms and rushed to her aid.
But it was too late.
Sero's blade was just two or three centimeters from Hancock's forehead.
At that moment, he weakened the strength of his swing.
Even though the back of the blade wasn't sharp, it could still do serious blunt damage.
Looking at Hancock's stunned expression, Sero was afraid he might crush her skull like a watermelon.
"Are you... pitying me?!!"
Suddenly, Hancock's eyes flew wide open.
An overwhelming Conqueror's Haki burst from her in rage, enveloping Sero at point-blank range.
He felt her fury, pure and terrifying, freeze him midair.
In the next instant, Hancock's Armament Haki-coated right leg smashed into Sero's arm with a loud bang, sending him flying hundreds of meters like a cannonball.
If not for a hill stopping him, he might have flown straight into the sea.
"Tch... Feels like my arm isn't even mine anymore…"
The pain radiating from his right arm made it feel like the bones had shattered.
But otherwise, he was fine.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"You little sparrow! I just got kicked hundreds of meters, and you're laughing at me?!"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"Oh, because I didn't let you fight? What part of 'don't go wild' do you not get? Whatever! It was just a sneak attack anyway!"
Sensing Hancock's growing Haki from afar, Sero knew now wasn't the time to argue.
One arm was injured, but he still had the other.
As a great swordmaster, Sero's left-hand swordsmanship was just as powerful as his right.
"To become a Warlord of the Sea… Hancock's no slouch, that's for sure."
Reappearing in Hancock's line of sight, Sero once again raised his katana and pointed it at her.
His razor-sharp sword aura collided midair with her dominant Conqueror's Haki.
For a few seconds, the blue sky lost its clouds, blown away by the residual shockwaves.
"All of you, return to the ship."
While still unleashing her Conqueror's Haki, Hancock coldly ordered her sisters and the Kuja Pirates to withdraw.
The sisters hesitated briefly, then obeyed, knowing they'd only be a burden if they stayed.
Sero didn't stop them. It wasn't relevant; there was no mission related to them anyway.
"Water Breathing! Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought!"
After patiently waiting two or three minutes, once the Kuja Pirates were out of sight, Sero launched another attack.
Stepping on flowing water, he quickly leapt high above Hancock at an angle.
His katana released a steady stream of water, gentler than the prior techniques.
He slashed irregularly downward, aiming for her head.
"Giant Perfume Femur!!!"
Having kept a close eye on him, Hancock reacted just before impact, spinning and unleashing a powerful upward kick.
The leg was coated in Armament Haki.
Even before contact, the wind pressure distorted Sero's face, and his hairstyle turned chaotic.
"This kick... that wind is insane!!"
His blade struck her Haki-infused leg, and blood instantly burst from Sero's left hand.
He had severely underestimated her power.
Hancock, burning with wounded pride, now radiated an explosive strength that left even Sero rattled.
"I despise men like you… Who looks at me with pity! Go to hell!!"