"Normal conversation"
'internal dialogues'
"The man I've been looking for..." Zoro muttered as he observed Naruto fight Mihawk "Hawk-Eye Mihawk, The world's strongest swordsmen. He stands above all other swordsmen in our world. I never thought I'd be able to meet him this soon," Zoro gulped as he placed his hand on his sword, "It's finally time to fulfil my promise.."
Luffy placed his hand on Zoro's shoulder, stopping him from interfering in Naruto's fight.
"Let Naruto finish first," Luffy stated, "It would be dishonourable to interfere in a fight between two swordsmen, you told me that yourself."
Zoro tightened his grip on his sword then sighed as he let go of it "You're right, I would be pissed too if someone interfered in my fight".
Jumping back to create some distance between them, Naruto smiled.
"You're having fun" Mihawk stated, "Looks like I am not much of a challenge for you".
"Don't bullshit me" Naruto replied "I can tell you are holding back immensely. I can't compete with you in terms of physical strength, not yet anyway. So how about I test my swordsmanship against the world's strongest".
"Want to measure yourself against me" Mihawk replied. "I accept".
Dropping one of the swords from his hand, Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, they had changed from his usual blue eyes to the scarlet ones.
"What happened to his eyes" Usopp muttered "I've never seen eyes like those before".
"Probably a devil fruit" Johnny replied.
"That's impossible! I've seen him swim in the ocean".
"Quite now" Yosaku whispered, "He is making his move".
Naruto dashed ahead and began to swing his sword in an erratic but somewhat smooth manner.
Mihawk easily kept up with him. He slowly began to increase the speed of his swordplay and seemed pleased when Naruto was still keeping up with him.
"It's beautiful" Zoro muttered as he stared transfixed at their fight.
"What do you mean?" Usopp asked, "They are just smashing their swords against one another".
"You're not a proper swordsman, so you wouldn't understand what's going on," Johnny replied, not taking his eyes off them.
"Mihawk is adjusting Naruto's stance while showing him all his weaknesses" Zoro replied, "He is teaching him as he fights!!!".
Slowly, Naruto began to get overwhelmed as Mihawk continued to increase his speed.
'Shit!' Naruto cursed 'Even with my special eyes, it's getting harder to keep up with him, I'm losing sight of his sword".
Several minutes passed by as Mihawk continued to increase his speed, forcing Naruto to his limit.
'I can't keep up!' Naruto thought as he tried his hardest to keep track of his sword, several small cuts opened up on Naruto's body as Mihawk refused to relent.
"He has reached his limit" Zoro stated.
"Zoro-senpai can you keep up with them," Yosaku asked "I stopped following their moves when Naruto changed his eyes.".
"I stopped following mid-way through" Zoro replied, "But I can tell Naruto is beginning to get overwhelmed" he finished as he tightly gripped his sword.
'Am I this far behind?' he thought to himself in shock, 'Are our abilities this far apart?! that can't be right! There's no way I'm this far behind' He refused to believe the harsh truth that was presented to him.
He was broken out of his stupor by the sound of a sword shattering.
Mihawk had broken the sword in Naruto's hand.
Dropping the sword in his hand Naruto replied "This was more enjoyable than I thought but I know when I'm beat".
Tossing a sword at Naruto, Mihawk replied "You are still standing, If you can stand you can fight" Mihawk announced.
Before Naruto could reply, he was on to him again. This time, Mihawk didn't seem to be holding back. Forcing Naruto in a corner, he suddenly swung his sword at Naruto's neck. Time slowed down as Naruto witnessed the sword inching towards his throat. With a sudden burst of speed, Naruto brought his sword up just in time to deflect Mihawk's swing.
"What the hell" Naruto exclaimed as he distanced himself from Mihawk.
"Impressive" Mihawk muttered "Look's like you've managed to break past your limits".
Not understanding what Mihawk meant, he glanced at his sword when Mihawk motioned him to.
Instead of two, three tomoes were swirling around Naruto's eyes.
"Do you want to stop?" Mihawk asked as he pointed his black sword at Naruto.
Naruto was silent as he kept staring at his reflection.
"Let's continue" Naruto muttered as he dashed at Mihawk and engaged him with renewed vigour.
"What the hell happened" Yosaku muttered "I thought Naruto didn't want to fight him".
"Fighting is like a drug, once you've tasted it to its fullest extend like Naruto has, it's hard to refuse to it" Zoro replied.
This time around, instead of pushing Naruto, Mihawk was fighting him at his pace.
"Is it just me or is Naruto starting to copy Mihawk's moves".
"He is" Luffy replied "Mihawk seems to be teaching him".
Naruto continued to copy's Mihawk's moves for several more minutes until he finally dropped his sword and fell to the deck face first.
"That's it for me" Naruto replied as he attempted to catch his breath "Thank you for the lessons Mihawk-sensei".
Usopp and Yosaku immediately rushed to Naruto's side to check upon him.
"He is just exhausted" Mihawk replied as he tucked his sword on his back.
Approaching Mihawk, Zoro started, "I came out to the oceans in search of you, I had a single goal in my mind when I left my village".
"And what was that?" Mihawk asked.
"To defeat you and become the strongest swordsmen in the world!" Zoro replied as he tied his bandana around his forehead.
"Hmph... How foolish" Mihawk replied as he turned away from him "You've witnessed our fight, do you honestly believe you could do better than him."
"I wouldn't know untill I try" Zoro replied unsheathing all his katanas.
"Too bad for you, I've had my fun for the day" Mihawk replied as he began to walk away.
"Fight me!" Zoro exclaimed as he saw Mihawk ignoring him.
"Fight?" Mihawk repeated "How pitiful, weak one... If you were a competent enough swordsmen you would've seen the disparity in our abilities before we even crossed blades. Is it your courage or ignorance that causes you to turn your sword on me after you just witnessed my swordsmanship first hand.*
"It's my ambition!" Zoro exclaimed. "I know I have no chance against you but I can't go back on my promise. Not when its right before me!"
"It's his life's goal" Naruto grunted "Just humour him".
"Just because I humoured you doesn't mean..."
"He fainted" Usopp interrupted causing Mihawk to glare at him.
(Zoro vs Mihawk will go the same as the anime, with Zoro losing and receiving the scar across his chest)
Naruto stirred up by the sound of people partying. Walking out of his boat, Naruto followed the sound and reached a small camp with lots of pirates drinking and singing songs.
"Oh! you're up" A man spoke as he walked up to him, he had long grey hair tied up in a ponytail and a large X-shaped scar on his left temple, he also carried a rifle on his shoulder with a cigarette in his mouth "You've been asleep for a day now".
"Where am I?" Naruto asked as he picked up a piece of meat and started to eat it.
"You're at our base camp near the Polestar Islands" the man replied.
"And who are you?"
"My name is Ben Beckman, I'm the first mate of our crew" he replied "Enough talking, the captain is waiting to meet you".
Walking through the camp, Naruto's eye caught sight of a girl with long flowing red hair. Transfixed by her beauty, Naruto ignored everything the man beside him was saying and kept his eyes locked on the girl.
A loud snap broke his trance, causing him to look away from the girl and towards the hand which was waving at him.
"Is he Ok?" The red-haired man asked as he stopped waving.
"He is still adjusting I guess" Ben replied "Probably disoriented from the long nap".
Spotting Mihawk sitting beside the red-haired man, Naruto finally spoke up.
"Mihawk!" he exclaimed "What the hell happened, how did I come here, Where are Luffy and his crew?"
"I just explained that to you" Mihawk replied as he took a sip from his wine glass.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention" Naruto replied as he scratched the back of his head.
"I noticed" Mihawk replied with a knowing smirk.
"I am Shanks, the captain of this crew" the red-haired man introduced "I've heard a lot about you from Mihawk".
"Shanks?" Naruto repeated, "You're that pirate that gave Luffy his straw hat".
"Yes," Shanks replied "That was me".
"As I was saying" Mihawk continued "You fainted after our fight and since I find you somewhat interesting, I decided to bring you along to meet a friend".
"Look, I enjoyed our fight just as much as you did but I just don't swing that way" Naruto spoke "Sorry".
Shanks broke out in a fit of laughter and began to roll on the floor, laughing hysterically.
"I meant, I found your eyes interesting" Mihawk corrected himself.
Shanks began to laugh even harder, banging his head on the ground while pointing at Mihawk.
Mihawk suddenly got up from his chair causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stared at him with their breaths held.
He kicked Shank in the stomach causing him to start coughing.
Everyone else returned to partying, ignoring their captain and Mihawk's antics.
Calming down after the kick, Shanks straightened himself and gulped the alcohol from his mug.
"So, why did you bring me here anyway," Naruto asked as Mihawk returned to his chair.
"Shanks had described something similar to your eyes back when we were young, I thought you would like to know more about them too".
"That's some weak-ass reasoning, I could already know what these eyes are," Naruto replied.
"Do you?"
"No" Naruto replied, "But my guess is, you were curious to know more about them so you kidnapped me".
"I would hardly call it kidnapping, I just put you in your boat and sailed you here without your knowledge."
"That sounds like kidnapping with a few extra steps".
"Anyway," Mihawk deflected "So what do you know about them".
"I don't even know what you're talking about" Shanks replied "What eyes?"
"Show him" Mihawk ordered.
"I can't actually control them" Naruto replied with embarrassment "They just appear whenever I get into a fight".
"That can be arranged" Mihawk replied.
"Kushina!"
The same red-haired girl which Naruto saw earlier, walked towards them after her name was called.
"Looks like fighting isn't the only thing which causes them to appear," Mihawk remarked as he saw Naruto's eyes transform.
"What is it chicken eyes?" Kushina "Did you need something"
Naruto stifled his laughter as Mihawk glared at him.
"Stop calling me that!".
"Whatever, Did you need anything?" she continued.
Ignoring her Mihawk pointed at Naruto's eyes "That design, you showed me something like that when we were younger".
Getting up from his seat, Shanks walked closer to Naruto and leaned in to study the eyes carefully.
"I remember now!" Shanks exclaimed after few seconds, "I had seen it on a Polyglyph, Our crew's archaeologist wasn't able to decrypt much of it but I do remember the word beside the design similar to your eyes, it was called Sharingan".
"If I am not needed here then I'll be taking my leave" Kushina suddenly spoke up.
"Wait" Shanks called "Don't you want to see what they can do".
"No" Kushina replied as she quickly began to move away.
"Let's see what they can do in a fight" Shanks suddenly announced causing Kushina to stop and turn around, "And tell you what, If you can defeat him, I'll let you set sail to the sea like you always wanted to".
"Alone!" Kushina stated, "And no stalking me with tiny rowboats like last time".
"You are confident in him right" Shanks whispered to Mihawk who gave a short nod.
"Agreed!" Shanks exclaimed.
"You stalk girls in tiny rowboats?" Naruto asked in disgust.
"Hey! she is my sister, I can stalk her however I want".
"Wow! creep much".
"You promise?" Kushina asked.
"Yes, I'll let you sail"
"Then let's get started!".
Now, standing in an open field facing Kushina, Naruto's heart suddenly began to beat faster.
"Hi" Naruto started, "Nice to meet you".
Kushina just tilted her head forward causing her hair to fall forward, covering most of her face.
"Ok then" Naruto replied as he got in a loose stance.
Standing between the two, Ben raised his hand "Start!"
Kushina immediately rushed in to punch his face but Naruto was able to easily dodge it, Kushina tried again, this time using kicks as well but Naruto was able to dodge and deflect them all very easily.
"I understand what you meant by reading all the opponent's moves" Shanks spoke as he observed the fight, "He is predicting her attacks before she even begins ".
"Looks like after gaining another tomoe in our fight, his perception has increased. His reaction wasn't this quick when he was fighting me."
Kushina's eyes suddenly gained a red tint as her attacks became more precise. Naruto was now having some difficulty dodging her attacks but he was still able to deflect and counter them without any issue.
'She is somehow reading all my attacks and reacting to it just as quickly as me' Naruto thought as he deflected one of her punches then immediately raised his hands to block the palm strike.
"He is keeping up quite well" Yasopp stated "I thought you said he doesn't have any knowledge of Haki, how is he still reading her attacks. I know Kushina is a bit of an amateur with her Haki but she is still skilled enough with it for any of us to take her seriously."
"It is true, he doesn't have any experience with Haki but my guess is, those eyes are helping him predict her moves" Mihawk replied.
Jumping back to create some distance Kushina spoke "You're good".
"Finally decided to speak up" Naruto replied, "I thought I offended you somehow, but that's impossible, I have never met you before in my life, I wouldn't forget such a pretty lady."
Kushina turned red, from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. Unsheathing her katana, Naruto was surprised to see its red blade instead of the common silver ones.
Unsheathing his own sword, Naruto prepared for her onslaught.
As the fight continued, Naruto still seemed to have the upper hand as he was easily parrying and blocking her attacks.
"Isn't that..." Shanks started.
"Yes," Mihawk nodded "Those are my moves. He copied them after witnessing me use them only ones."
"Quite an impressive feet".
"Stop that!" Kushina suddenly yelled.
"Stop what?" Naruto asked innocently.
"Stop copying me!" Kushina exclaimed as she swung her sword at Naruto.
Copying her movements precisely, Naruto swung his sword too.
Kushina seemed to get more furious with each swing as Naruto continued to copy all of her movements.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Mihawk asked.
Shanks nodded dumbly.
"He is copying her movements with incredible accuracy" Ben spoke "It is not an impossible feat, someone with an advanced observation haki can do the same but it is only possible after years of training".
"I agree" Mihawk nodded.
Kushina's blade seemed to suddenly change colour, turning a deep black from red.
"Oi oi!" Yasopp exclaimed, "Shouldn't we stop her now, the kid can't use haki".
"Now comes the interesting part" Mihawk stated "Observe his sword".
They did as Mihawk told and sure enough, after the first strike, Naruto sword seemed to be getting coated in Haki as well.
"It's not perfect but just before he clashes swords with her, the point of contact on the blade is getting covered in Armament haki" Ben stated.
"Yes," Mihawk replied, "I noticed it when he was trying to fight a pirate with a metal armour, then again in my fight against him, he was unconsciously using it to sharpen and strengthen his blows."
"How did you do that?" Naruto asked in surprise after he noticed the change in colour of her sword.
"This.." Kushina pointed at her sword as a sudden idea popped in her mind, "How about a deal, I'll tell you about it if you surrender".
"I'll agree only if you join my crew" Naruto counter proposed.
Kushina scoffed "You don't even have a proper ship, why would I agree to join you"
"Don't you want to sail the seas without your overbearing brother?" Naruto replied "Besides, I plan to buy a new ship before entering the Grand Line. I have already collected enough funds for it. So, what do you say, deal?"
Kushina was silent for a while before nodding her head "Deal. But I'll leave if you try to do something fishy with me again".
"Again?"
"Nothing" Kushina muttered as she hid her face behind her hair again "We have a deal".
"Ok then, tell me how you did that" Naruto asked.
"It's called Haki" Kushina started "It is the power of one's spirit, every living being in the world are capable of using it however most never notice it or completely fail to awaken it. It is dormant in every living person, only with Intense training can one awaken it, It also awakens when one goes through an intense emotional turmoil.".
Naruto was surprised at this revelation.
"There are three types of Haki, The first one is known as Armament." Raising her hand as it began to change colour and turn black, Kushina continued "This black colour signals the use of Armament: Hardening, it strengthens the user's body, granting them increased power and endurance. With this, you can also attack a logia devil fruit user's body." seeing his puzzled expression, she sighed "You don't know much about devil fruits do you?".
"Only that they give its user a unique power and take away their ability to swim" Naruto replied.
"I'll explain to you more about them later, for now, let's concentrate on Haki" Kushina replied. "You've been unconsciously using this haki but a very weak variant of it when you fight, that is how you were able to keep that cheap sword from shattering apart after it clashed against my sword, it is called Armament: Enhancement." raising her sword, she coated it in Haki "The use of Armament on an object is Imbuement."
"The next is Observation haki" Kushina started "This form of Haki grants the user a sixth sense that allows them to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of others, as well as gain some precognitive abilities. There is no visible indication of it when it is been used so it's hard to tell if it is being used or not but with enough training, you can sense whether your opponent is using it as well. With proper training, one can sense the presence of others, even if they are concealed from view or are too far away to see naturally."
"Does it look like some type of aura?" Naruto question "Because I can see yours".
Kushina looked surprised that he unlocked Observation haki so quickly, usually, vigorous training is required to achieve it.
"But I can only see yours" Naruto continued.
"You have probably just unlocked it that's the reason why. Haki is like a muscle, the more your use it, the stronger it'll become. With training you would even be able to sense across vast distances".
"How far can you sense?" Naruto asked.
"If I concentrate really hard, I can sense all the way till Rogue town." Kushina stated, "Observation Haki can also be used to measure the strength of an opponent using their aura, the brighter the aura the stronger the person is".
"How is my aura?".
"It's... not weak" Kushina replied, not wanting to tell him how bright his aura was.
"Observation haki also lets the user sense the intent of others in the immediate future allowing them to predict what someone is going to do, it's like a pseudo-form of precognition."
"I guess you were using this to read my attacks"
Kushina nodded.
"It's extremely helpful in combat situations as it allows the user to predict the path of an enemy's attack, either to dodge or counter them. The advanced form of this haki allows the user to even see a short period into the future, don't mistake this advanced form with its predecessor, where only intuition is used to predict what happens. I don't know much about it either since Nii-san refuses to tell me about it until I master the basics."
"And what's the third type," Naruto asked, extremely interested to learn these new powers.
"The third and the last know type of Haki is the conqueror's Haki. It is a rare form of Haki that allows the user to exert their willpower over others. This Haki is not attainable through training, only one in several million people manifest this ability. It is said that whoever possesses this Haki has the qualities of a true king and are know as Supreme Rulers. I don't know much about it but I do know that my brother possesses Conqueror's Haki" She finished, pointing at her brother, who happily waved at them.
"Let's get this over with then" Naruto suddenly stated.
"But you said-"
"I know, I said I'll surrender if you reveal that technique but after learning about Haki I'm even more excited to experience it firsthand. And I know you've been holding back, probably because I had no knowledge of Haki, but now you don't need to"
Naruto replied as he too covered his sword with armament haki.
Kushina was shocked to see him display a conscious use of Haki so fast but she hid her expression behind an impassive mask and gave a quick nod.
"Don't hold back" Naruto stated "You're my first so I want to enjoy it as much as I can."
Kushina blushed at the innuendo but just as quickly adopted a serious expression and dashed at him, covering her katana with Haki as well.
As their swords clashed, Naruto could feel the immense strength Kushina possessed as he struggled a little to hold back her strikes.
By the fifth strike, Naruto's sword shattered into pieces causing him to jump back.
"But I was using Haki to strengthen it" Naruto muttered as he threw away the useless sword.
"In a clash of Haki, the one with more experience always wins, more experience means more power." she stated, "That was your first time consciously imbuing an object with armament haki, I was surprised that the sword lasted as long as it did. Now, do you surrender?" Kushina asked as she pointed her sword at Naruto.
"I want to continue our fight..." Naruto replied "But a deal's a deal. I surrender". he said as he raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender
"Did you notice?" Mihawk asked as the two of them walked towards them.
"Of course I noticed" Shanks replied "His Haki was stronger than her's, his sword only shattered because it was already at its limit not because he had inferior Haki".
"Well, sorry for disappointing you" Naruto apologised as he approached Mihawk.
"Apology is not needed, I had no investment in your fight. It didn't matter to me whether you won or lost" Mihawk replied "Shanks on the other hand..."
Turning around, he spotted Shanks holding onto Kushina, screaming "No! Don't leave me!".
" So, what did you think about the fight" Naruto inquired.
"It was mediocre at best" Mihawk replied as he turned away to leave, "I would suggest you to not use those eyes till you sail past the Paradise. Though they bestow you with a wide range of abilities, they will slow down your overall progress in the long run as you'll become more dependant on them and not reach your full potential."
Naruto nodded, he could see it happening because ever since awakening his eyes he has been constantly dependent on them during his fights.
"I understand" he replied.
"I'll be waiting for you in the New World, don't die till you reach there" Mihawk stated as he walked away.
Waving him farewell, Naruto turned around to see Shanks still holding onto Kushina's leg. Finally having enough of her brother's antics, Kushina pushed him aside and ran to ship before he could get hold of her again.
As soon as Kushina was out of sight, the entire atmosphere turned dark as every crewmember surrounded Naruto.
Getting up from his place on the ground, Shanks slowly approached him. With every step he took, Naruto could feel the pressure on his shoulders increase.
'Suffocating...' Naruto thought as he heard several of Shank's crewmate began to fall to the ground, unconscious and foaming at their mouths.
"I've raised her like a princess since she was a child" Shanks stated, gone was the jovial man from before, The man who now stood before him was the feared pirate that even the marines thought twice before crossing. "If, for any reason, I find her sad or unhappy..." he paused as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked straight into his eyes "No one will ever find out what happened to you, there will be nothing left. I'll erase you from this world..."
Naruto gulped.
"Nii-san!" Kushina called out as she came out from the ship "Did you steal my panties again".
The atmosphere immediately brightened as Shanks turned around yelling "Of course not, the wind probably knocked them off into the sea again" he quickly ran to her causing her to run away from him, "Don't leave your brother alone!".
"He only acts foolishly in front of his sister, we all do because we love her as our own and always want to see her happy" Ben stated as he watched Shanks chase after Kushina, "Shank's once told me that her smile is his most precious treasure, and his treasure is our treasure. I don't think I need to repeat this but..."Ben drifted off as he turned his back towards Kushina and whispered "No one will ever find your body...", Naruto gulped at the sudden change in his demeanour, "No one..." Ben left the threat hanging as Kushina called for him.
Naruto quickly made his way towards Kushina before anyone else could tell him how innovatively they'll kill him if something happened to Kushina.
"I've got a farewell gift for you" Shanks stated as he walked her and Naruto at the other end of the island, "I planned to gift it to you on your 18th birthday but I guess it can't be helped".
"I present to you ... THE RED QUEEN!" he exclaimed, motioning at the ship docked near the beach.
The ship was beautiful, It had a red coloured hull with two masts standing proud, white coloured sails waved with the winds. It also had a beautiful figurehead of a royal lady with a red coloured crown on her head.
"Thank you, Brother!" Kushina exclaimed as she tightly hugged Shanks.
"I've had all your stuff transferred in the ship" Shanks informed, "Now get going before I change my mind!"
Kushina kissed Shanks on his cheeks and quickly ran towards her new ship.
He caught Naruto's shoulder before he could leave as well, "Remember... Nobody...".
"Let's go Naruto!"
Naruto quickly shrugged of Shank's hand after saying a quick thank you for the ship.
Watching them sail away, Shanks asked "Was I too hard on him?"
"All things considered, we went quite easy on him" Ben replied.
"I agree" Yasopp agreed "I didn't even get the chance to threaten him. I even prepared some threats in advance."
"You did the right thing" Ben stated as he saw his captain's sad face "And don't forget, we'll be there if he ever screws up".
That bought a small smile on Shanks's face "Yes, we will".
Guys, please follow the story and write reviews, whether you enjoyed it or not, It encourages me to write more and better improve myself.