Kuina stared at Cavendish, sensing the man's constantly shifting emotions, a flicker of confusion in her beautiful large eyes.
"Why are his emotions so volatile! Is he a lunatic?"
If he wasn't a lunatic, how could he, with a bounty of 100 million, challenge their team with a total bounty exceeding 2 billion?
She shook her head, pushing aside her thoughts, and looked at Cavendish, a cold glint flashing in her pupils.
Whether the man was a lunatic or not, she only knew he was here to take Kotaro's head. For such a person, death was the only answer.
With that thought, she tightened her grip, and with a "clang," deflected the tip of Durandal.
Then, she swiftly retracted her sword, bent her knees, and assumed a drawing stance.
*Zing—!*
Without the slightest hesitation.
The sound of the sword cut through the heavens and earth. A giant crescent-shaped, silver-white slash shot from bottom to top, fiercely slicing towards Cavendish.
"Danger!"
A fatal sense of danger instantly shattered Cavendish's swirling, nonsensical thoughts. Red light flashed in his pupils as he stared at the fast-approaching slash from below. He quickly drew his sword and coated it with thick Armament Haki.
*Clang—!*
A shockwave surged outwards from the point of impact between the two combatants.
On the back of the giant turtle, Firebird shielded his eyes with his hand, raising his head and squinting as he watched Cavendish struggling against Kuina's slash, a spark of light in his eyes.
He had initially thought this guy was just a nobody, but to be able to fight against Big Sister Kuina, he had misjudged.
He quickly lowered his hand, raised his camera, and began snapping photos of Cavendish and Kuina.
*Click, click, click!!*
Hearing the sounds, his two underlings snapped back to attention and also quickly raised their cameras.
Above the crescent slash, Cavendish gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, his blade blocking the attack, veins bulging all over his body.
Even with all his strength, without the leverage of the ground, he could only be pushed back by the slash's power, inching upwards.
Through the slash, he glanced down at Kuina, astonishment flashing in his pupils.
"Too strong!"
"Is this a Great Swordsman?"
He had seen plenty of experts who fought with their fists or possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
But a Great Swordsman was something he encountered for the first time.
Although he was also a swordsman, his swordsmanship was different from ordinary swordsmen. His style primarily focused on thrusts, not slashes.
After only two exchanges, he clearly felt the gap between his swordsmanship and Kuina's.
With no time to think, he felt the increasingly powerful force from below. He pushed against Kuina's slash, shifting his body to the right, and then used his strength to make Durandal's blade graze the slash, drawing his sword back with a burst of sparks.
*Puff—!*
With Cavendish no longer blocking, the crescent slash tore through the air, grazing Cavendish's left shoulder as it flew towards the sky, quickly disappearing into the horizon.
"Heh heh!! You're really asking for death!"
Kuina looked at Cavendish. As he retracted his sword, she pushed off the deck of the Freedom with her legs and, with a "whoosh," appeared directly in front of Cavendish.
She swung her sword in a half-circle and slashed towards Cavendish's chest.
Seeing the approaching blade, Cavendish could only grit his teeth and brace Durandal against his chest, coating the blade with Armament Haki.
*Clang—!*
The two blades clashed, the stalemate lasting only for an instant.
Under the terrifying force of Kuina's blade, Cavendish's body, like a football, curved and was shot towards the White Horse sailboat.
With a "bang," it broke the head of the white horse statue and then pierced fiercely through the deck of the sailboat, landing inside the cabin.
Then, with a "thump," the entire hull of the White Horse sailboat pressed downwards.
As the hull sank, ripples spread across the sea's surface.
The hull bounced back up due to the water's buoyancy, then quickly sank again. After several ups and downs, it gradually settled down.
Inside the cabin.
"Cough, cough!!"
Cavendish, hunched over, was embedded with his back into the central keel at the bottom of the ship.
As the ship rocked, the entire cabin creaked and groaned.
*Creak, creak!!*
Cavendish braced himself on the floor with both hands and slowly pulled his body out of the keel.
*Ptoo—!*
He turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, looking at the incessantly creaking keel below him and the cracks spreading outwards from the impact point on his back, a hint of madness flashed in his eyes.
There was no escaping now.
He turned around and scanned the surrounding cabin. A few figures were looking at him in terror, but he said nothing.
These were just random people he had picked up, crew from other pirate ships. They were useless, just there to sail the ship for him.
"Faruru!"
"*Neigh!!*"
A white horse pushed through the crowd and trotted quickly to Cavendish's side.
It lowered its head, rubbing against Cavendish's arm, its eyes full of concern.
"I'm fine!"
Cavendish reached out and stroked the horse's mane, his lips curving into a smile.
"You'll hide as usual later. I want to let that guy out."
"*Neigh!!*"
The white horse raised its head, nodded at Cavendish, then turned and walked out of the cabin.
It had done this countless times before, always hiding early.
Seeing the white horse leave, the surrounding figures quickly followed, each finding a hiding spot.
Having followed Cavendish for so long without dying, they already knew his secret.
Gazing at the white horse's retreating back, a flicker of apology crossed Cavendish's pupils.
"I'm sorry, friend. I might stop here this time. I hope you'll be alright!"
From the first exchange, he knew he was likely doomed this time.
The second-in-command on the other side, the blue-haired one, would require him to unleash "that guy" for a chance to match him. But the silver-haired one?
He didn't know.
All he knew was that he was finished.
Even knowing the outcome, he wasn't one to surrender easily. That wasn't his nature.
He sat up straight, raised his head, and looked outside through the hole overhead. His eyes, fixed on Kuina standing on the broken white horse statue, gradually became bloodshot.
"I know you can feel it. You must know my situation right now!"
He silently recited in his heart.
Just then, a hoarse voice filled with violent energy echoed in his mind, "Hahaha!! How ridiculous, how ridiculous! You're still so weak. Are you making me come out to clean up your mess? Hahahahahaha!!"
"I do want you to come out, but this time you have to be on high alert. The opponents this time are completely different from before. Even if there's a sliver of a chance, I don't want to die!"
"Hahahahaha!! What opponents? What opponents can possibly defeat me?"
"Stop rambling and let me out. No matter who it is, I'll tear them apart for you."
"I hope you hold out a little longer."
Cavendish cast one last look at Kuina, sighed, and slowly closed his eyes.
"From now on, it's up to you."
"Don't worry, don't worry, hahahahaha!!!"