One Piece: Starting at the War of the Best

When Vista said this, his tone was firm. As a fellow swordsman, he could better understand the gap between them — he and Mihawk were simply not on the same level.

"Still, that's impressive enough. Mihawk is the man who dueled with Red-Hair. Even the old man can't stop praising him."

Although Vista said that, they still felt that Katie was incredibly strong. Even Vista himself thought so. After all, even if it had been him in that fight, he might not have done any better.

It wasn't just the commanders of the Whitebeard divisions who thought this way — almost everyone who witnessed the scene had the same thought.

They had to admit they had underestimated this young woman who had suddenly appeared.

"Hahahaha… another unruly fellow. How interesting, truly interesting."

Behind his sunglasses, Doflamingo stared relentlessly at Katie's figure, lost in thought.

Body following the blade, blade moving with the hand — in that moment, Katie entered an unprecedented state of focus. The whole world seemed to vanish, leaving only his sword and the enemy before her. Unconsciously, she had stepped into the profound state of "oneness between woman and blade."

Eyes narrowing slightly, Mihawk's expression changed again as he looked at Katie. The transformation Katie underwent didn't escape Mihawk's eyes — he knew exactly what this state meant for a swordsman. The strength he was about to add to his next strike was slowly withdrawn.

The state of "oneness between man and blade" is one all swordsmen dream of. It's not just about extreme concentration — it brings heightened awareness, sharper perception, and unprecedented understanding of oneself.

In this state, a swordsman can fully integrate all of their abilities. Things they previously couldn't comprehend or breakthroughs they couldn't reach suddenly become clear — like poking through a thin sheet of paper.

Of course, this state is extremely rare, almost entirely dependent on luck. Some may never experience it in their lifetime. Even Mihawk himself had only entered it three times, and each time had brought him enormous improvement.

At this moment, Mihawk's gaze toward Katie carried a sense of appreciation.

At first, Mihawk had challenged Katie purely out of curiosity — to see what kind of strength this young woman, who had thrown the Navy's plans into disarray, truly possessed.

From their very first exchange, Mihawk was surprised — though he didn't show it on his face, his heart was stirred. Katie already had her own sword intent! Mihawk clearly felt the tearing power within Katie's strikes. He couldn't understand how someone still in the swordsman stage had already grasped sword intent, a feat even many great swordsmen hadn't achieved.

Sword intent cannot be achieved by effort alone. It requires effort, talent, and opportunity — all three.

It is an external manifestation of one's willpower. There's no real method to learn it because everyone's will is unique. It can only be understood, not taught. Even the young man Mihawk had once favored was still far from grasping it.

But Mihawk had underestimated Katie too early.

After witnessing Katie's uniqueness, Mihawk's fighting spirit flared, and he increased the force of his blows, knocking Katie down twice in quick succession.

Just when Mihawk thought Katie had reached her limit, Katie's swordsmanship exploded — in an instant, breaking through the barrier that stopped countless swordsmen and stepping into the realm of a great swordsman.

And yet, it didn't stop there. In their next exchange, Mihawk was shocked again: besides the tearing sword intent, Katie possessed a second sword intent — spatial fluctuation!

The moment Mihawk sensed it, his first thought was: Impossible. Possessing one sword intent is already extremely rare. Having two is almost unthinkable — especially one related to space. Sword intents vary in strength, but anything tied to space is never weak.

Yet the following collisions confirmed his perception — Katie's sword truly held spatial power.

At that moment, Mihawk even felt a twinge of envy. To have grown to this level before the age of twenty — at Katie's age, Mihawk had only just become a great swordsman, still far from comprehending sword intent. Compared to Katie, he had no real advantage.

But Mihawk also noticed a flaw: while Katie's powerful sword intentions gave him incredible strength, they also brought a difficult problem — conflict. Katie couldn't yet harmoniously control both powers.

And that was the moment Katie entered the state of oneness with the sword. Though there was no hard evidence, Mihawk had a strong intuition — once Katie exited this state, she would solve this problem and master both powers more effectively. And Mihawk's intuition had always been accurate.

At that point, Mihawk could have struck and interrupted Katie's state at any time — but he chose not to.

It wasn't about pride or respect for an opponent — he simply didn't want to.

Ever since Red-Hair lost his arm, Mihawk hadn't faced a worthy opponent.

Standing alone at the top for so long, Mihawk had grown tired. He longed for someone who could push him into a no-holds-barred, all-out battle.

Zoro from the East Blue had shown a glimmer of potential — but Mihawk wasn't sure if he could truly grow into a worthy rival. In contrast, Katie had a far better chance. That's why Mihawk not only didn't disrupt Katie's enlightenment — he actually played the role of sparring partner, feeding him moves.

Because Mihawk had absolute confidence in his strength — this was the pride of the world's strongest swordsman. No matter how terrifying Katie's talent might be, Mihawk believed that even if Katie reached his level in the future, he would still come out victorious.

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out again as Whitebeard and Akainu unleashed another powerful clash. The shockwaves spread across the entire battlefield.

Katie's expression changed as her body once again reconnected with the outside world. His consciousness left that mysterious state. She sighed with regret — she couldn't return to that realm now, even if he tried.

Still, she had resolved the internal conflict. Though it lasted only a few minutes, her strength had greatly improved. She hadn't gained new skills, but she had significantly refined her control over his existing abilities — especially over the spatial powers granted by Void Slash's First Release.

"Thank you for allowing it."

Though she'd had little awareness of the outside world earlier, Katie still knew what Mihawk had done. As an opponent, Mihawk hadn't interfered — instead, he had helped her train. Katie admired that deeply.

"No need. Now that you're back — let me see just how far you've come."

"As you wish."

Katie didn't hesitate at all in accepting Mihawk's challenge — she, too, wanted to see how powerful her swordsmanship had become.