"Dracule Mihawk!"
"…Hawkeyes." The green haired swordsman visibly tightened his grip on the swords. His body tensing and his breath hitching. Just stay there! Why would you run straight into death for something so stupid?
"To think I'd have to drift another few days to take care of the stragglers. Like a cockroach you certainly know how to survive." He spoke with poise and deadly precision. His words cut as deep as a novice swordsman's attacks.
"What is a man like you doing in these seas? Did you not have enough fun destroying our fleet? Seriously, three weeks? Three goddamn infernal weeks, you chased us across the seas you government dog!" Don Krieg screamed in justifiable rage. Imagine running from that for three weeks, even a starved man would have no appetite.
"Do I need a reason? A purpose? The nature of the sea is for the strong to go as they please, that is what strength is… That is what freedom is… Were you not just attempting to enact that freedom now?"
"Free? Free?! Hahaha! A dog of the marines wants to tell pirates how to live on the seas. You're a glorified admiral, you're as much in service to yourself as you are to the world government. That someone like you could tell me how to live freely… Well that certainly is something." You wonder why he destroyed your fleet but are also taunting him… You're kinda asking for it.
"…Another rule of the truly free; is that it doesn't matter what you say, it doesn't matter what you do. I could kill every single person here with two strokes of my sword and leave naught but a pile of rubble and feed for the sea kings in my wake. The news won't remember you, the world won't hear your names, and history will forget that you ever existed, for you never made a mark." I didn't doubt whether he was serious or not for even a fraction of a second. For a guy like that it was all too easy for him.
"Well then dog, warlord, whatever you would like to be called. What are you doing in such an insignificant backwater? They often say that you are the company you keep, don't they? A man of your calibre all the way out here, I'd say that's pretty telling."
"…As you can see, I am alone on this boat. As for company elsewhere… I don't believe a single one of you people qualify for that. Rather than company, it's more like I'm stepping into a particularly cluttered area of my garden. The maids have neglected it for so long that it's become damaged. And as time has passed the bugs and rodents and filth have infested it, now it is time to clear them out. That is all."
"…You must have some terribly trained maids." Don Krieg's hands came to a rest behind his back over the cape.
"Indeed. I suppose that's why they require the warlords."
"Should I be flattered? That you and your bosses see us as a threat?" His fleet was called the strongest in East Blue but calling someone like this was just overkill!
"Threat? No. You think too highly of yourself. A mere bug that had the audacity to travel on my path. Stepping on it should rid me of the problem."
"Hm. I see. I see. Now!" A large net was cast straight towards the man, followed by three cannons shot at the swordsman from different directions. He was keeping him busy whilst his crewmates prepared the weapons, just when did he even do it, he gave no verbal clues at all…
But it didn't matter. Even if they took this man by surprise, he didn't show it on his face. No there wasn't a look of determination or even caution, the swordsman just looked unimpressed. Before I even realised, he had his sword in his hand, the objects had all been split and passed by him harmlessly, falling into the sea 10s of meters behind him and the small vessel carrying him. What was even stranger still was that he holstered his sword once more… Why would he-
A sudden creaking in the distance alarmed me, water rushed around the battered ship of the Krieg pirates as half of the ship begun to sink further down into the sea. He had split the ship… From that distance…
"I thought you would have learnt your lesson from last time… Though, I suppose I can't blame you for trying to cling to your life. Do you have any last words?" The boat shaped like a coffin crept towards the bisected ship, parts still afloat. He walked atop floating wood as if walking on solid ground, his balance undisturbed. I was convinced that if the wood were to disappear, he might just walk atop the water itself.
"…I worked too damn hard for too damn long to stop here!" Don Krieg motioned to grab his wrist and aim at the approaching man. But before he could do another thing, the green haired swordsman stepped onto the ship, slowly levelling two of the three blades he held, the last a white katana still sheathed suspended in his belt.
"Hawkeyes. I've been searching for you for too long. I've heard you are the greatest swordsman in the world, I demand a duel!" He was the only one moving, every other person was shocked still. They didn't know if even a harsh breath might attract the strongest swordsman's attention. Not a single sigh of relief would be uttered until he was out of this sea. Even corpses held their breath in the face of this man, for fear of upsetting him.
"Hmm… I was just finishing up here... But this is more interesting. You're lucky golden turtle, another second and you'd be gone. Stick to hiding in your shell." He turned from the golden giant, not sparing him another glance. "Prepare yourself, kid. I'd try and find something more fitting your skill level, but this will have to do." The enigmatic swordsman drew a laughably small blade from the cross necklace that rest on his bare chest. It was a knife unfit for even dicing or mincing vegetables.
"Are you mocking me?!" In the face of his opponents obvious disinterest, the mosshead was outraged. Spittle spraying as his eyes sharpened into daggers pointing at Hawkeyes very existence.
"Mocking, not mocking. It makes no difference. This East Blue is the weakest of the four cardinal seas. I'm not such a fool that I would hunt a mere rabbit with my full strength. Your defeat is all but assured, do give it your best." He held the dagger, if it could even be called that at chest height. He's strong, I know that everyone knows that, and I didn't need to see him fight to make that assumption. But even that can't be possible, can it? The range, number of weapons everything pointed in the green haired swordsman's advantage…
"Don't regret that when I kill you too easily." His opponent just yawned in retaliation.
"Take this!" His swords flashed as he sent two horizontal slashes in different directions simultaneously at Hawkeyes. In the blink of an eye both swords stood still at a single point. Even with the entire weight of green hair behind the blades. He was unmoved. Weight, mass, power, whatever you wanted to call it. Was like a foreign entity to the dreaded strongest swordsman, something he was exempt from. He parried that attack with ease, like swatting a fly.
"RAAAGHHHH!" A bloodcurdling roar came from the green-haired swordsman. I knew because I had fought him before, he's strong. Enough so that it would be difficult to say who would win between us. Not that I'd ever tell him. But I can say without a doubt just from seeing that other man… That parry wasn't fluke. He can't win. I know that… He knows that… So why in the hell would he even try?!
The two blades came in a flurry against the pinprick dagger of the moustachioed man, wood splintered as he dove about the ship, the floating mass teetering in the water, as the rest of us watched on in awe.
"A sword without subtlety is naught but an iron bar." He continued to parry the flurry of blows as the green swordsman darted about, accelerating and decelerating within a moment, diving and vaulting towards him. But it was all useless.
"What?"
"Can you cut stone, iron, gold, steel, even diamond with that thing you hold in your hands? That which cannot cut everything is not a sword. It is the toy of a child. Children waving sticks do not make for enticing opponents." That's what it looked like. A child being swat away. Play between an adult and a toddler. It was infuriating for him, I was sure. Because I wasn't the only one that noticed, I'm sure that he could see it as well, with even more clarity than I did… That guy. He hasn't moved a single step since this duel started. He hasn't been forced to retreat a single step even whilst using that ridiculous thing that could seldom be called a weapon in any other persons hands.
"How about this?!"
"It's all the same. The number of sticks you hold makes no difference. 1, 2, 3, even more. A true sword trumps them all."
"HAAAAAHHHH!"
"Is this all there is? Should I end it for you?" The two separated a distance, or rather green hair did the other simply allowed it. It didn't make a difference to him. If he wanted to, he could've ended this 'fight' if you could even call it that, at any moment. Green hair grabbed his third sword that hung at his waist, placing the white grip of the katana into his mouth and angling the three blades to meet at a common point. To gather his strength at a single localised area. He's already blocked two swords like that… A third won't change anything. This wasn't an issue of the number of swords or even of technique or strength, he was just outclassed. In every metric possible.
"Three sword style: Oni-giri!" The three sword strokes zoned in on Mihawk.
But like a ghost he stood unbothered by them, each and every sword missing its target. The small dagger lay plunged into the bounty hunter's chest. Blood trickled slowly down the dagger's edge and plopped serenely onto the floor. The flow little more than that of a papercut. The only reason it wasn't fatal was the laughable size of the dagger.
"ZOROOO!" Long nose and his captain screamed and shouted. Both of them reach for something to grab and hold themselves back. Why?! Just go and help him. They weren't afraid of getting hurt whilst saving him, no. They were allowing him to fight this useless battle, for his dream. That was it. He was going to die. And none of you are any help to him, is his dream worthwhile if he just dies here?
"ANIKI!" The bounty hunters shouted in unison as well. This was the obvious result of things, why are any of you surprised. He's fighting the strongest in the world. He has guts but that just meant he didn't realise his own limitations. He is… Soon enough was, an idiot.
"You'll die, step back." The dagger was tiny but if it went any further it could strike his heart. There was no surviving that… Guts, courage and the like could only take you so far.
"I can't…" You can though! Just run away from him, he isn't taking a single step forward… You're just bringing death to yourself by chasing that dream…
"Why? There is nothing for you here. Nothing but death, even this small blade could take your life."
"I don't know… I don't know the reason. But I know… I know for sure that if I take even a single step back with you in front of me, I'll never be able to reach my dream!" Please shut up!
"You'll continue even if it means certain death?"
"Even if it means death!"
"Wonderful. What is your name?"
"Roronoa Zoro." So long green hair, you brought death on yourself. I suppose you got the recognition of the world's strongest. Let's see if that means anything in the afterlife, if it even exists for that matter.
"Marvelous. I've not come across one as strong as you in a long time. A man of that bravery and strength deserves to be sunk by the greatest black blade in the world. Its name is simply Yoru." He reached for the pommel of the monstrous ebony blade hung across his back, a sword the size of a human itself.
"I suppose I should thank you."
"Make your final stand, Roronoa Zoro." Zoro held his swords off kilter in a strange stance. He twirled his swords in his hands, the air itself propelled toward him with the velocity of the blades picking up. Yet the black blade and its wielder didn't move an inch. With the ensuing winds picking up, Zoro rapidly approached the ebony bladed swordsman. And for the first time since this duel occurred, Mihawk joined him striding towards his opponent.
"Three sword style: Three thousand worlds!"
Hawkeyes glided across the destroyed ship, accelerating past his opponent. His sword had already finished its swing, though I could never say when it happened. Blood trickled from the edge of the black blade, the only sound to grace the battlefield was the shattering of two swords as Zoro was drove to one knee.
He slowly stood up, sheathing the last remaining sword and turning to the victor.
"What are you doing?"
"A wound on the back is the greatest shame of a swordsman."
"Marvelous." He brought the blade down in a swift arc cleaving through Zoro's chest, a large scar implanted on the flesh and copious amounts of blood dripping onto the deck, the wood stained by its colour.
And the world was silent for a moment.
But that was all it would last.
"ZOROOO!" The deck splintered and cracked as the straw-hat leader jumped across to the galleon his fists flying wildly towards the swordsman. He dodged them with ease and threatened to slice the entire ship with the monstrous blade in his hands. The captain dodged a moment before his hand would've been bitten off by the ebon clad blade.
"JOHNNY, YOSAKU, USOPP! GRAB ZORO!" With the teetering of the broken, mangled ship. The corpse of the swordsman fell into the sea. If he wasn't retrieved, he wouldn't even get a proper burial, all that work towards a dream just to become fish food in the end… I told you, give up!
"You are friends with this man?"
"He's, my crewmate!"
"I see. Hmmm? That hat as well…"
"Gum-gum rocket!" Both hands drew back and extended past the confines of the ship, ricocheting from the recoil and bounding towards the swordsman. He sidestepped leisurely.
"You say crewmate, are you the captain?"
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" His attacks were frantic, nothing like the casual attacks he threw at Don Krieg. He was rattled. That made him prone to mistakes. Not that the strongest swordman needed to take advantage of them.
"As an ally of Roronoa Zoro, I would hear your name as well."
"Monkey D. Luffy. But that can wait until after I've kicked your ass!"
"Interesting. I don't like your chances. Besides…"
"Gum-gum pistol!"
"There's no need for that. He's alive monkey boy." He's alive?! Mihawk dodged the last punch and allowed Luffy to trip over from his own momentum. Setting down the eyes of the hawk on the straw-hat clad boy.
"Huh?!" Luffy completely stopped paying attention to the threat in front of him, turning to the sea where his friend had been retrieved. The bounty hunters and long nose struggled to tip the near dead swordsman into a small rowboat.
"Kid, what's your goal?"
"Pirate King!"
"That's an even tougher goal to accomplish than beating me."
"How the hell would I know when I haven't even done that yet?"
"…"
"ANIKI!"
"ZORO!"
"Aniki, save your strength. You need medical assistance immediately!"
"…Luffy, can you hear me?!" In the rocking rowboat, his voice gasped for breath. What should've been a weak plea or raspy surrender was harsh and filled with emotion unbefitting a near dead man.
"Zoro! Oi, somebody help him!"
"I promise... I'll never lose again! I'll become the strongest swordsman in the world! You got a problem with that, Pirate King?!" The tears and frustration were evident in his voice. Even after all this… Even after nearly dying so uselessly, you still cling to that?!
"…Nyahaha. NONE!"
"I'll remember your names. Train well, Roronoa Zoro." The ebony blade once again hung along his back, holstered in a moment that no one could capture. Effortlessly he boarded that small coffin to roam the seas and find whatever next unfortunate souls happened across him.
"…Oi, where do you think you're going?! You think you can just scurry out of here after destroying everything?!" More projectiles and shrapnel fired towards the strongest swordsman courtesy of Don Krieg, though none of them ever reached him, the few that got close he batted away with the tiny dagger in his necklace. You just nearly died, why would you attack him again?!
The coffin floated slowly to the horizon, even as it disappeared from view not a single person breathed a single sigh of relief. Relaxing for even a moment whilst that man was around might summon him once more. Everyone other than Don Krieg and Luffy held the air in their lungs, suffocating until the very last moment when they were allowed to respire once more. To move and to live without death looming over them.
"Time to end this. I'm going to pummel you." Luffy stood up once more, brushing debris from the top of his hat.
"That's been going pretty well for you so far hasn't it, rubber man? Feel like another trip into the sea?"
"I'll show you what strength is."
"You're incapable of that. This Woltz steel armour that no other can wield. The ultimate spear that weighs 1-tonne. A fleet of 50 ships. 5,000 men. Innumerable strategies for any situation… I HAVE THEM! ME! NOBODY ELSE! I AM ABOVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD'S SEAS!"
"You're the only one left standing on your side. Both your ships and men have deserted you… All you have are things. Becoming the ruler of the seas… Becoming the Pirate King requires more than that!" Luffy picked up speed and begun to run towards Don Krieg.
"Sanji."
"…Old man."
"Watch that boy carefully. Him and his swordsman friend. Even in the face of a hundred built in weapons or thousands of men… Men like Don Krieg can be defeated by a spear of blind determination. In a life-or-death battle, even a fraction of a second filled with doubt will make you fall to pieces."
"What are you talking about?"
"At the very least that boy doesn't have any hesitation. Is it about weapons to survive? Or is it a faith that conquers the fear of death?"
"Faith…" Even if I wanted to believe, all that kept them alive was sheer force of luck. That swordsman should be dead. Without anything to penetrate that armour, Luffy was the same… If there was anything to believe in… If that faith was real… Maybe I could believe in that dream too, just one more time…
---
Word count: 3269
Mihawk… Hawkeyes… Hawks have two eyes… Hawk T…
I apologise.
For spitting on that thang, that is!
Nah, in all seriousness. I hope I brought Dracule Mihawk's character to life in a fun way. The guy stands on business and absolutely clowns everyone in this arc. Straight up just took a trip to the weakest sea for the fun of it and then steamrolled them because he was bored.
I think Sanji's thoughts during this time would also make sense. Dreams are nice and all, but Sanji has been persecuted for them before, the only person really sharing the same idea was Zeff. He willingly gave up his dream to serve Zeff and as time has gone on, he's grown and become disillusioned of the world. I think this is roughly how he would feel knowing everything we know about Sanji now. Both his backstory in East Blue and what we learn during Whole Cake island. That being said the latter stuff isn't really integral now, it's just something to think about. After all, it happened in his past and he's trying to forget it.
Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know any of your thoughts in the comments below.
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P.S. Another shameless plug. I'm serialising an original novel on both Wattpad and Webnovel under the same author name. It's called Bloody Awakening. If isekai or cultivation is your thing feel free to give it a read. The chapters are shorter, but I do update most days.
These updates will not get in the way of regular scheduling for this and the other three fanfics. At the very least one chapter a month, though I'm aiming for two each.
Until next time.