A/N: Extra long chapter because you guys waited this long. I actually planned out this scene when I first started working on Relapse Effect so this thing was like 8-9 months in the making.
The least you guys can do is buy me McDonald's (Rolo McFlurry preferred but don't send them all at once or I'll be at risk for diabetes faster than my internet connection which in hindsight is actually pretty slow lol).
Chapter 9: Sunset
Previously...
"The Devil comes when the sun goes down. Let him carry all those long lost souls... home…"
Time appeared to stop for a split second as all eyes focussed on something they couldn't believe. An enormous wind slash with a size unlike any other barrelled over the oceans, completely swallowing the entirety of Kreig Pirate Ship as widened eyes watched in awe. Everyone who hadn't already landed on the deck of the Baratie was lost to the sea. Permanently.
"Legend says that the Devil created the perfect soldier. He never claimed less than victory in every battle he fought," a raspy voice echoed. Several hundred green candle flames flickered through the fog until a coffin-shaped boat came into view. "Of course when that fateful day came where the hands of defeat were finally claiming him as one of their own, the Devil had other plans. Another battle was won that day, but another soul was lost."
The wicked yellow eyes finally connected with those of Zoro's. "It's been a while," Zoro head the voice in his mind speak. With a wry grin, he observed the ruined battlefield before him and Zoro's eyes widened when they returned to him. "Destruction has always been a hobby of mine after all," He laughed.
"Is that?... Can it be?..." Patty muttered. The trio of Usopp, Sanji, and Nami all responded together with varying reactions.
"Dracule Mihawk.'The Wicked One." came a growl, a whisper, and a scream.
Zoro grit his teeth. "What are you doing here?..." Mihawk smirked. "Well you already know why I'm here." He then drew the huge black sword off of his back as his boat wobbled closer and closer towards the Baratie, the green candles surrounding him humming with an otherworldly whir. "I'm here to test the boy."
"Listen very carefully, Baratie chefs," Sanji began. "Most of you already know this, but do NOT engage the man before you. Kreig may be strong, but that man is in another league of his own."
Mihawk made a show of laughing at the whispers around him, all discussing how insane it would be to fight the man. Or even their chances of ending the day alive. "Such a nonsensical point in question such as mere memories cannot hold me down." Mihawk's voice said. "But do not confuse me for one who does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result for that is insanity."
Zoro felt the underwordish chill his own sword gave off. And clearly Mihawk felt it as well.
"Challenging you here, will only yield the same result, especially with that new weapon of yours. I can no longer call myself the master and so I will pass that title on to you."
Zoro stared long and hard at Mihawk before he finally nodded his head in resignment.
"Mihawk, huh?" Kreig whispered under his breath. He stood tall then did something no one ever expected a man of Kreig's caliber to do.
He ran.
Of course the more appropriate description was that he "flew." Kreig fired up the jet-pack embedded in his suit of armour and immediately rocketed into the sky. Of course that was until a quick wind slash cut him down.
Gin and Pearl couldn't believe their eyes. Their captain had just attempted to abandon them. They were not oblivious to the legends of Mihawk's otherworldly strength, but still... captains should never abandon their crew.
"Well, now that all of the spineless scum have been dealt with, let's get on to my true purpose for travelling here and that is I have two announcements to make."
Zoro's head dropped low upon hearing that.
"The first being that I resign my title as the "World's Greatest Swordsman" to the man before you, Roranoa Zoro." Everyone froze. "He will hold that title until he no longer can, which I suppose will be forever unless he slips up."
"Now be a good master and try not to interfere."
Zoro's heart sank as he knew the exact words that were about to leave his former mentor. He knew the worse was yet to come.
"And now for the second announcement..." The piercing eyes of Dracule Mihawk slowly scanned through the individual faces of all that was before him until they finally rested on a certain person. The whole reason he came to the East Blue.
"You there, boy... What is your name?"
"Monkey D. Luffy. The Future Pirate King." Mihawk emitted a hearty laugh.
"Very well, Mr. Luffy. My name is Dracule Mihawk, the former greatest swordsman in the world. I hereby challenge you to a duel."
Luffy hopped from the railing onto the deck of the Baratie amongst gawking eyes.
"Is he really going to fight "Wicked" Mihawk, Sanji?" Patty asked his head chef.
Sanji instead turned to Zoro.
"It's uncharacteristic of Mihawk to simply hand over his title like that. Either he's joking or you guys might be the greatest threat to the oceans since Roger. But I highly doubt that hypothesis."
"Heh," Zoro finally spoke. "You can believe whatever you want."
"What are you guys exactly?..." Nami asked Zoro.
"The Pirate King and the Greatest Swordsman in the World," Zoro said, finally acknowledging his newfound title. "The ones who stand on top of this era."
"Well let's hope Luffy survives to keep that title," Usopp said as he watched his captain finally stare down Mihawk.
"Why me?" Luffy began, breaking the silence. It wasn't said in a rough tone, but one simply emanating curiosity. "I'm not even the best swordsman in my crew."
"A man with one eye once told me that you were going to claim this era as your own," Mihawk said. He shot a smirk at Zoro before finally brandishing his sword towards Luffy. "I wanted to know what he was thinking."
Luffy drew his sword, holding it with both hands between his head and his left shoulder. He took a wide stance, his eye level parallel with his sword.
"Ah, Wushin Style," Mihawk remarked. "I didn't think I would meet a user outside of the Wano Isles. You must have had a very skilled teacher."
"Zoro taught me," Luffy said as his grip over his sword tightened.
"Your stance is well held. A few gaps yes, but nothing time cannot fix. You're not a complete beginner, but you're also far from a master. Let's see where your limit lies."
And with that, both swordsmen charged at each other.
To the ordinary viewer, the fight looked beyond normal. Intense even.
After their initial clash of blades, both swordsmen backed off before launching into another series of attacks. The skilled, complete offense of Mihawk met the agile, nimble, and unpredictable nature of Luffy's swordsmanship. Sparks flew as swords continued to collide with one another as each man danced around the battlefield.
Sanji ordered that the Baratie fins be opened up so that both men had more space to fight. If one were to ask Sanji why he did so, he would have simply replied that he did it to avoid permanent damage to his ship.
But deep down inside, he was a little curious about what made this little crew so special. After the death of his adoptive father, Sanji swore that he would leave fighting behind, becoming somewhat of a pacifist. He was now the person the kitchen looked up to and a violent, quick-to-anger chef would look unprofessional to his staff. Sanji only ever fought to defend, and his own personal pride was never something he even remotely considered worthy.
As soon as this ragtag group of no name pirates showed up at his restaurant, he knew they were special somehow. There was a deep darkness surrounding both the woman and the sniper, but more interesting was the Captain and his right-hand.
Luffy, as he remembered his name, radiated such a limitless untapped potential it was like Sanji was witnessing the apparent heir to the throne that was the sea itself. The swordsman, however was something completely different. While his captain's presence was warm, comforting, and espoused admiration, Zoro's aura was an endless pit of darkness the likes of which the world had never seen.
Despair. Hopelessness. Evil.
It was far different from one of a destructive beast. While the beast had the power to destroy and crush everything around him, Zoro's aura sought to bring humanity to its knees and reveal to them the true wickedness of the world. It would be no surprise to say that even a man of Sanji's caliber shivered at the thought.
The sound of clashing swords brought Sanji back to the world. Whatever both Luffy and Zoro were, Mihawk radiated the same aura.
"You fight with spirit, boy," Mihawk said as he parried a quick thrust from Luffy who performed several backflips in order to gain some separation. "I'm enjoying this little run."
"One-sword style: Three Birds."
Mihawk's eyes heightened in surprise as three windbound projectiles was launched and with a flick of his wrist, deflected them to the side. His eyes returned to Luffy as the rubber man reverted to his stance.
A hearty laugh emerged from the swordsman. "A flying blade attack already? You never fail to amuse me even in the slightest, Luffy," he said with a slight lit to his voice.
Luffy, not oblivious to the gesture, quickly caught on. "This isn't the first time we met, is it Mihawk?"
Once again, Mihawk threw a smirk at Zoro. "You've got a pretty smart captain on your hands, Zoro." Returning to Luffy, he cryptically continued, "From another life, fate has brought us together once again. The man who once knew everything is now the man who knows nothing… well at least for now. But you'll figure that one out on your own, young king."
Zoro's eyebrows shot straight up as the atmospheric pressure morphed once again. He knew Mihawk was never taking his duel with Luffy seriously, but that was until now. The waves around the Baratie rocked as lightning flew across the sky. Mihawk's aura was rose until it could be compared to that of an Admiral. There was no way Mihawk was this strong already, even compared to the last timeline.
"Legends said that God abandoned his favourite soldier when he needed it most. But that's when the Devil stepped in," a demonic voice echoed around everyone present. A deep red glow radiated off of Mihawk as a pair of large black bat-like wings grew from his back. "Or perhaps the legends were all lies and he simply consumed the Bat-Bat Fruit: Vampire Model."
"You're not the only one who's upgraded this time around," Zoro heard the voice growl in his mind.
"Shit, he's got a Devil Fruit!" Gin gritted his teeth. "How the fuck do we win now?!"
A demonic laugh echoed across the ocean as Mihawk plunged his black sword deep within the Baratie deck.
"One-Sword Style: Sundown."
Geysers of lava erupted from the sea deep into the sky as thunder and lightning roared across the bright red landscape now created. Archipelagos and rock formations melted into the lava as the distressed panic of wildlife was heard around them. Mihawk's laugh continued to echo as a tsunami of lava rose high above them and threatened to engulf the Baratie entirely.
"One-Sword Style: Demon Breath."
Immediately, an enormous front of wind barreled itself into the towering wave of fire, completely extinguishing it. All eyes turned to Zoro, whose sword was brandished in the tsunami's direction.
"This is a duel between swordsman, Mihawk. Leave everyone else out of this," Zoro said, his eyes flashing black for a quick second.
"Hahaha, of course!" Mihawk laughed as the landscape settled back to the midnight scene it once was. "As you desire, Zoro."
Both Nami and Usopp's previous fear morphed into courage, and hardened eyes prepared to enter the fray and defend their captain. There was no way they could win, but damn they would go down fighting alongside Luffy.
Zoro simply raised his hand up. "No. This a duel between swordsman. Don't interfere."
"What the fuck are you thinking?!" screamed Nami. "Luffy is going to die!"
She was just about to continue on her rant when she saw Zoro's downtrodden expression. Nami was on the brink of tears and an audible sniffle could be heard by Baratie, Straw Hat, and Kreig personnel alike.
"You mean… there's… there's nothing we can do?..." Nami whimpered.
Zoro's head hung low, but everyone caught notice of the slow subtle rotation. "No…"
Nami couldn't hold back any longer and Sanji rested a hand on her shoulder, while Usopp could only grit his teeth.
"DAMMIT!" he shouted into the sky.
On the deck below, neither Mihawk nor Luffy noticed the commotion around them. Instead, Luffy looked on to the demonic form that his opponent took. Mihawk's skin was now a dark shade of grey while two protruding fangs hung from his upper lip. The whites in his eyes were now pitch-black in colour with tiny yellow pupils.
Luffy was unfazed however. He had his own trump card. He bit down hard on his forearm and bellowed hard as he recalled from his dream and earlier encounter with the Black Cat Pirates. The result was the same hulking, bouncing titan he pictured himself to be.
"Gear Fourth: Bound Man."
Mihawk's devilish smile only widened. "You really are something special, Monkey D. Luffy," he said, addressing Luffy by his full name for the first time. All eyes returned to Luffy now as he took his new form.
"Wha-" Pearl began. "He has a Devil Fruit too?!"
Cheers and shouts were being thrown at Luffy as he returned to his original sword stance. For a second, all hope seemed to return as the rubber captain seemed capable to take on the vampiric pirate before them.
All except for Zoro. Deep down inside, he knew that Luffy had no chance. But his Bushido prevented him from doing anything useful but praying his captain would somehow survive.
"One… One-sword style.." Luffy huffed as he struggled to find the energy to complete his move. "Tarantula Crossing..." he whispered.
Immediately, a flurry of incredibly powerful sword strikes hammered into Mihawk, who managed to fend them off, but not without sliding a few feet back. The effects of the attack, however sent 8 titanic wind slashes careening across the sea around them, rising waves and annihilating anything in their path. Everyone save for Zoro and Sanji nearly flew off the Baratie from the sheer force of the winds.
Mihawk himself slowly brought one hand up to his left cheek. A small gash and very human blood trickled slowly down his face.
"Wonderful demonstration, Monkey D. Luffy. Well met." Mihawk said has he noticed the Straw Hat Captain was on the brink of collapsing. The attack appeared too much for his simple sword to take and Mihawk saw the broken shards of it littered across the deck. "It seems like you can't hold that form for long, but that will only improve with time."
Just as Mihawk finished his sentence, a sudden gasp escaped Luffy and all the air he held within himself forcefully blasted itself out of his body.
"I spoke too soon, I suppose," Mihawk said, as his demonic form was lost and he himself returned to his original state. "That was an… interesting technique. A sword sings in battle with it's master, however it is a shame that it was a weapon not skill that limited the swordsman today."
A huffing, kneeling Luffy raised his head and stared deep into Mihawk's eyes, sending him flashbacks of what this man was truly capable of.
"Shanks," Mihawk said bluntly, which caught the surprise of Luffy. "You're a lot like him, boy. 'Red-Haired' Shanks. And that's his hat as well, isn't it?"
Luffy nodded as struggled to his feet. In a move that shocked everyone present, Luffy held his arms out wide, with a shattered sword in one hand and an empty spirit in the other. Zoro knew the stance all too well and struggled to stay composed.
"What's this, young king?"
"A broken sword is a broken swordsman. My skills have taken me as far as I'll go this lifetime. Finish it."
"A very lame reasoning if you ask me," Mihawk said as he was about to sheathe his sword when Luffy interrupted.
"Swordsman's code," Luffy said as his gaze bore deep into Mihawk's own.
"So be it then."
Time froze for a split second as Yoru entered one side of Luffy's chest and exited the other. Witnesses were left silent and mouths were held wide open.
"LUFFY!"
A/N: Confession time. I actually have this whole thing storyboarded all the way to Skypiea and I've got some ideas on how I'll do Thriller Bark.
The only thing in the way is laziness.