By the way, the cloak for Demon Mode is similar to the chakra cloak of Naruto's mid-level Nine-Tails forms, the dark red ones, only mine are black and purple for chaos. I also changed Shanks and Teach's actions a little bit so that Shanks actually displays some of his abilities.
Songs
Warlords/Admirals Preparation: Sakusenkaishi Osowareru Mura (One Piece OST)
Joining the Battle: Giant Stronghold, Takeoff! (One Piece OST)
Face-Off with the Admirals: Facing Three Admirals [Hangeki no Noroshi] (One Piece OST)
Vs. Akainu Round 1: Cometh the Hour part A (Bleach OST)
Ace vs. Akainu: Akainu Attacks (One Piece OST)
Whitebeard vs Akainu and Demon Mode Transformation: Madara Uchiha Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)
Demon Mode vs. Akainu: In Your Belief (Asura's Wrath OST)
Vs. Akainu's Transformation: Cometh the Hour Part B (Bleach OST)
Defeat by Kizaru: Powerful Enemies [Kizaru's Theme] (One Piece OST)
Shanks Appears: The Very, Very, Very Strongest (One Piece OST)
Shanks challenging Blackbeard: Blackbeard (Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides Soundtrack)
Luffy's Recovery: In Your Belief Piano Solo (Asura's Wrath OST)
Luffy's Recovery part 2-speech to him: Overtaken (One Piece OST)
Revisit to Marineford: Omake-Pfadlib (Attack on Titan OST)
Combat Animus: Straw Hats, Begin Counterattack (One Piece OST)
"They moved Ace's Execution time up?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's what I came to tell you." responded Luffy.
"I see. How much longer until we get there?"
"About a half hour." responded Jinbe.
"Okay. I think it's time that you called everyone out here. I want to go over the Navy's forces with them."
"Got it." Luffy went to gather them all.
X
Hancock walked into the lounge for the warlords still wearing her cloak over her. Salome followed closely behind and she took a seat opposite of the others that had shown up. She glanced over at Kuma.
"Something wrong?" he asked her.
"Not at all." she smiled.
"I assume that Straw Hat Luffy is dead, right?" he asked again. Some of the other warlords looked over, surprised at what he had just said. She laughed a bit.
"I'd expect you of all people to know that he's not. Why do you think I decided to answer the summons for this war?" They were silent for a moment before Mihawk spoke up.
"You did this for their sake, didn't you?" he asked, as he noticed that she was wearing her necklace. Of the times that he saw her, she didn't really wear that symbol that often. Say what you will about her odd personality, the Pirate Empress was a master when it came to stealth and to keeping things a secret from others.
"So you know about him, then?" she asked.
"Of course I do. I had a nice little visit over at Amazon Lily before I came here." Hancock's facial expression suddenly became bewildered. He was one of the men strictly not to be allowed onto the island, especially because of his Templar status. If he got on, he would have had to fight, or even kill some of her comrades and underlings.
"How many did you…?"
"Not a one. Your sisters gave me the information I required, and I left. As simple as that." Hancock felt relieved, and sighed.
"I know about the two of you." she said. "You give Aaron information on some of the Templars' actions when he needs it."
"Yes, I'm afraid he has that impression on all of us." responded Doflamingo. "Whether it was through the Brotherhood…" he glanced at Kuma; "Or because of a long-time friendship…" he looked over at Mihawk; "Because of anger and betrayal…" he looked at Moriah next. "Thanks to saving your life…" He looked back at Hancock; "Or because he's a member of the family…" he pointed to himself; "Aaron had strong connections with all of us before we became associated with the Brotherhood or Order, and we don't allow ourselves to forget that. We all love or hate him."
X
"Admiral Aokiji, are you ready to head out, sir?" asked the escort. Aokiji picked himself up.
"Is it that time already? Alright, I'm on my way."
X
"Kizaru, sir, we should really hurry up and get there soon."
"I know, but I like to take my time enjoying what this place looks like before a battle. You do know that however well we do, this place will take some damage on it no matter what? It's going to happen. You should appreciate what Marineford looks like at its best. And besides, did you forget my devil fruit's power? I'm the fastest man in the world, I can hurry up before anyone blinks."
"Y-Yes, sir. Forgive my insolence."
"Don't worry about it."
X
"Sir, are you ready to go out there?"
"Tell me, what do you think of pirates?"
"Sir?"
"Just answer the question."
"Sir, from the pirates that I've met in my life, they're thieves and criminals that don't deserve to be around."
"That's the right answer. Could you get something for me? In the top drawer of my dresser, there's a small box. Bring it over."
"Of course." The escort went and retrieved the box, and handed it to the Red Admiral. Akainu opened it and took out a small key resting inside. He walked over to his bedside night table and placed his hand on a bronze dog figure. After turning the head to the right 90°, the back of the wall opened to reveal a black safe. Akainu placed the key into the lock, and entered the combination. After opening it, he took out his Templar necklace and placed it around his neck." He closed the safe and wall again.
"Don't tell anyone about that, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Let's go. It's time."
X
Akainu walked into the room with his ornate ruby and gold Templar necklace in plain view.
"Are you all ready?" he asked.
"Of course. Let's do it." Mihawk stood up and walked out of the room, Hancock followed closely behind. The other three stood up and started walking out of the room after Sakazuki.
"Moriah." He stopped the giant warlord for a moment.
"What is it?"
"I know that you're a relatively new member of the Order, but we like things to get done efficiently, and don't tolerate failure. Because of your recent incident at Thriller Bark, you're status isn't doing too well. This is your chance to redeem yourself. Fail here, and you're finished. Understand?"
"...Yes."
X
"The Navy's most elite soldiers have been assembled from the corners of the world. We number about 100,000 soldiers." One of the officers was telling a subordinate.
"And in the front of all of them, are the 5 current warlords: Bartholomew Kuma, Gecko Moriah, Donquixote Doflamingo, Dracule Mihawk, and Boa Hancock. And at the top, in front of the execution platform, are the Navy's strongest force: the 3 Admirals! Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu!" The three walked out and sat in the chairs in a relaxed position. Everyone cheered.
"They're so...intimidating." one of the soldiers commented.
"Did you two wear it?" asked Sakazuki.
"Right here." they both responded, Kizaru and Aokiji pulling out their own Templar Crosses.
"Excellent. Today is a big move for the Order. Although none of the Whitebeard Pirates are actual members of the Brotherhood, it will spook some of them just knowing that we have the means and power to do so. Plus, we've been handed a golden opportunity to kill of of their Master Assassins. Thanks to Jinbei's refusal to fight in this war, he was thrown into Impel Down for Treason against the World Government. After the war, I'm sure I can convince Sengoku to let us execute him."
"Mihawk." Hancock leaned over to him.
"What is it?"
"Both Aaron and Luffy are coming to fight in this war and save Ace, and I'm sure that they'll drag along Jinbei, Crocodile, and some other notorious figures. What will you do when he shows up?"
"Well at the moment, executing Ace is the top priority. I'm sure thanks to Aaron's past and reputation, and also Luffy's lineage and reputation, that they'll still be targets for those three, but their capture and/or death is none of the Warlords' concern."
"...You're welcome back to Solacia any time, and you alone from the World Government."
"Why are you concerned about that now, Empress? I'm not the type to be interested in Romance and Clubbing."
"I know that, but...I suppose that you're the only decent Templar among all of them. Aaron always told me about the titles that he assigned to the rest of you: 'Traitor', 'Tyrant', and more. You're the only one left that he likes and respects." she said with a sad face.
"Hancock...thank you. I may take you up on that offer after all, too."
"No problem, but you'll have to wait a little bit so I can get back there and check on how things are going."
"Of course. I'm a patient man."
X
"Alright, listen up. These are the forces we're facing. I just used my observation haki to detect their presence at Marineford. First off are the 100,000 navy soldiers stationed there."
"100,000?!"
"Let me finish. That's the least of our problems. Secondly, are the 5 Warlords stationed there. Thanks to Jinbei's betrayal, that's one less that we have to fight, and it's even better that he's fighting with us. Also, sense Blackbeard's away at Impel Down, we don't have to deal with him either. Plus, Hancock won't attack us because of our connections. She'll be on our side as well. But the other ones won't be the same way, I guarantee you that. Kuma, Moriah, Doflamingo, and Mihawk will fight for the marines without question."
"All four of them, huh?" mumbled Luffy.
"Unfortunately, they're not our biggest threat. At the very top of the hierarchy are the Navy's Admirals: Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku commanding the entire army."
"Right. But we already knew that, didn't we?" asked Luffy.
"Of course. But that won't stop you, will it?"
"Of course not! We're definitely going to save Ace!"
"YEAH!" screamed the rest of them.
"Well, I hope you're all ready, because we're here!" announced Jinbei.
"How can you tell? There's Ice everywhere." stated Luffy.
"Aokiji, Luffy."
"Oh, right. We're here!" Everyone face-palmed. "Now we just need a way over the ice into the plaza! Any ideas?"
X
"Huh? Do you guys see something?" asked one of the marine soldiers.
"Yeah, is that...a ship?"
"Why would a ship be falling from the OH MY GOD RUN!" They ran out of the way as the ship crashed into the ice. Everyone got back up again.
"Ace! I'm here to save you! We're all here to save you!"
"YEAHHH!"
"Garp, it's your damn family again!"
"Arghh, Luffy!"
"The one that everyone always talks about. Straw Hat."
"Straw...Hat…!"
"..."
"Luffy!~ I knew you were okay!~"
"Now we have all the warlords here, both new and old!"
"That's one hell of a team he brought with him."
"I didn't expect to be seeing him again so soon."
"So that's him...not only is he the grandson of Garp the Hero, but also the son of Dragon. I guess we'll have to eliminate him as well."
"Luffy, why don't you go introduce yourself to Whitebeard? I'm going to join the war."
"Alright." And with that, I used my chaos powers to turn into a purple and black stream of energy and fly over to the center of the battlefield.
"Hey, what is that?! It's heading right towards us!" Almost immediately, I crashed down onto the ice, leaving a large crater around me. I pulled down my hood, and my necklace, cloak, and cape were blowing in the wind. I activated my Sage's Madness and looked up at Akainu, who also looked back down at me. I closed my eyes, and walked forward, looking back to the warlords in front of me.
"Well, look who it is!" shouted Doflamingo. "I hope we can have some fun, Aaron!"
'Something's different about him.' Mihawk looked at my eyes closely. '! He unlocked it!' "Watch it! He's much stronger than he used to be!"
"What do you mean?" asked Doffy.
"My, my. So many targets in front of me. How could I possibly choose one to start with? Oh, wait. I know who to start with. How about you?!" Before anyone could blink, I appeared in front of Kuma, hardened my arm, and uppercutted him as hard as possible, sending him flying into the air.
"Ggh! What just happened?!" yelled some of the soldiers. I turned to them.
"What just happened is that one of your precious Warlords is no match for me anymore. Give me someone who's more of a challenge." I glanced back up at Akainu, who smirked as he looked down at me.
'I see...So he was able to awaken the power after all. And now he thinks that he's able to defeat me. Cute.'
Kuma fell back down onto the ground with blood dripping from his mouth and nose. I walked past him.
"Just lay there for a while. I have other business to attend to." I began to walk past the rest of the Warlords as well, before a large sword blocked my path. I looked over at Mihawk.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Of course. I know what I'm doing."
"Very well. You brought this upon yourself." I unsheathed my own sword and took a stance against him.
"A new sword, I see. Let's see how well you do with it."
"You'll see that I can get by just fine!" I swung at him, and he blocked it, but his own blade was forced back a little bit.
'His swings...they're much stronger and much more forceful than before. Does Sage's Madness truly increase the abilities of a Sage by this caliber?' His blade lit up a light green color, and he slashed my sword off of his, releasing his energy slash. I dodged by ducking, and the slash went and cut off another large section of the ice. We slashed and dodged continually, and eventually ended up at a standoff once again.
"I can already tell, Mihawk. I've won." My sword began to glow purple, while his glowed green again. We both slashed, and the energy waves collided with each other, but mine swallowed his up, and sped after the swordsman. His eyes widened, and he held his sword up for defense against the blast. He managed to deflect it, but his sword was knocked out of his hands, and spun in the air before landing down into the ice like a sword in stone. By the time the smoke cleared, I stood in front of him with the tip of my own sword pointed at his throat.
"Like I said, you lost." I lowered my blade and sheathed it, walking past him again, leaving him stunned. It seemed like everything had gone quiet. No one in the world thought that another swordsman would ever be able to best the legendary Hawk-Eye Mihawk.
"Here's a fun fact, Navy!" I yelled out. "The world doesn't revolve around you! It's possible for pirates and revolutionaries to cause some damage against you as well."
"Activate the walls before he gets in." commanded Sengoku. The barrier walls started going up and blocked the plaza out.
"Wait a minute...one of the walls isn't activating!"
"Oars is on top of it!" yelled one of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard then jumped up and smashed one of the sides of barriers in, making a passageway for the rest of our forces.
"Time to raise some hell." I commented. Luffy and I began running towards the execution platform, as they were about to execute Ace.
"STOP IT!" Luffy unconsciously released his Conqueror's Haki, knocking out a large number of marines and pirates alike.
"Nice job!" We continued running. Ivankov was following behind us.
"Straw Hat boy, how did you learn to use that power?!"
"Huh? What power?"
"Uh, nevermind!"
"He's not aware of it, Iva. Luffy doesn't really know what Haki is yet."
"I-I see."
"Two more guards, I want you to try again! Kill him!" Two more guards walked up to the execution platform and began to pick up the spears before they were knocked to the ground.
"What?! Who-?!" Crocodile appeared at the bottom of the giant structure.
"Crocodile!"
"Hmph." Sengoku looked back to us and saw us closing in.
"Damn! I need them to be taken care of!" Just then, a giant stream of water blasted over the wall. When it subsided, Luffy stood there holding part of a mast. I walked up next to him and crossed my arms.
"My, my. You finally made it."
"Quite an entrance, you two."
"You guys are pretty scary."
"Finally." I mumbled.
"Finally, what?" asked the Red Admiral.
"Finally you. I had to wait almost 20 years for the chance to fight you again, Sakazuki. I hope you didn't forget about our little rematch."
"Of course not. I've been looking forward to killing you for a long time. And it seems that you could finally fight me on a more even ground, but you're far from being able to kill me."
"We'll see about that."
"Will we? Then let's test your strength out. Show me how you handle this." He charged up his fist and blasted a wave of magma at me.
"How foolish. Armament Hardening. Chaos." I hardened my arm with haki, and then coated it with my chaos abilities. As the chaos came towards us, I simply swung my arm across the blast, dispersing it into the air. Most of the marines gasped.
"He blocked Admiral Akainu's attack?! Impossible! The Admirals are the strongest men in the world!"
"Piece of cake." I told him.
"That's not what I saw."
"Huh?"
"The way I see it is that it actually took a lot of effort to do that. Think about it. You had to use both haki, and the strongest ability of your devil fruit just to keep yourself from taking damage. Like I said, you're not ready to fight me yet."
"...Luffy. I'm sick of listening to them, how about you?"
"Give Ace back!"
"He agrees." Luffy launched the mast at the three, and Aokiji of course froze it and sent it back flying at Luffy.
"Gum Gum Stamp Gatling!" The pieces flew at the three admirals, and Luffy used the confusion and debris to slip away from them.
"He'll never learn." Kizaru teleported in front of Luffy.
"Too slow." He kicked him into a nearby building.
"Luffy!"
"I thought you wanted to focus on me! Meigo!"
"Damn! Chaotic Fist!" I charged haki and chaos around my arm once again and clashed with the Red Admiral. The ensuing shockwave blasted away most of the surrounding marines. Even the Admirals had to shield themselves. As Akainu thrusted another punch towards me, I quickly ducked and kicked him hard in his chin, sending him upward off of the ground.
"Hrggh, Bastard! DIE! Great Eruption!" He blasted more magma at me, but this time it was focused into a single point, so the impact was much greater.
"Chaotic Blast!" I shot a beam of black and purple lightning at Akainu's attack, but it became engulfed and the magma continued to fly at me. I shielded myself, and a great explosion blew through the area.
"Damn it…gah!" I coughed up blood. My armor had been destroyed, only leaving my regular white shirt and black cloak left. My body was bloody and burned.
"Haki...Healing-"
"NO YOU DON'T!" He flew at me and kept punching me in the face, but just with haki. After trying to fight him off for what felt like hours, I fell onto the ground, trying to stay conscious.
"I'm going to kill you slowly, to make sure that you never come back to fight me again. Hellhound!" He began to launch his attack at me, but stopped when he noticed something. I glanced up. Ace was free again, and fighting the marines alongside Luffy.
"Hehe...Haki Healing." I healed myself using the haki I had left. I jumped up and slammed my fist into Akainu's jaw, knocking him back into a wall.
"Luffy! Ace! Let's go! We're leaving!"
"Right!" they both shouted. We started running towards the ships.
'Damn. I hate to have to run again, but I'm still no match for Akainu, he was right.'
"You think I'm letting you get away?! Think again! Men, step aside!" Akainu started running after us.
"You think you can save Fire Fist Ace and just retreat back into safety? You Whitebeard Pirates are imbeciles."
"What?!"
"Stop! He's just trying to provoke you!"
"But, I suppose it's no surprise, your captain being who he is. After all, Whitebeard is nothing but a loser from a dead era!"
"A loser?! Take back what you just said!"
"Ace, no! Don't listen to him!" I yelled.
"He bad-mouthed the Old Man! Take it back!"
"Take it back? I have no intention of doing so. Why would I? Your father, Gold Roger, conquered the entire Grand Line. He gave his life to open the door on a new era, the Great Age of Pirates. A Navy man like me probably shouldn't say this, but that man truly deserved the title 'Pirate King'. What is Whitebeard, compared to that? Did he ever have the guts to fight Roger? All he's ever done is manage to stay hidden in a safe corner of the world and keep himself out of trouble, right? These days, some fools may claim that Whitebeard's name alone upholds peace on various islands. But as far as I'm concerned, he just intimidates the small fry and believes himself to be a hero for it! Ridiculous! Roger maintained his honor for as long as he lived, and even today, his old crewmates hail him as a king! In other words…Whitebeard is an eternal loser, who will never surpass Roger! That is all he is. Everything I've said is the truth." Ace powered up his fire abilities and began walking towards Akainu.
"Now that I think about it, he sure is a pitiful man. Making all of his underlings call him their 'Old Man' or 'Father' or whatever...and sailing the seas playing house."
"Stop it."
"He reigned the seas for decades, yet he never became a king or anything. He got himself stabbed because one of those 'foolish sons' of his believed every word I said, and now he'll die to protect that same fool. Truly an empty existence."
"Cut it out. The Old Man gave us a place where we belong! What do you know about his greatness?!"
"If man does not live righteously, he does not deserve to live at all. You rogue pirates don't deserve a place to belong!"
"Cut it out!"
"Whitebeard will die a loser! A fitting end for a little fish in a big pond!"
"Whitebeard is the great pirate who created this era! DON'T MAKE FUN OF THE MAN WHO SAVED MY LIFE!"
"Stop it, Ace!"
"THE NAME OF THIS ERA IS 'WHITEBEARD'!" Their powers clashed.
"Whitebeard, and you fools who call him your father, share the same fate as losers!" The magma exploded and knocked Ace down to the ground.
"Ace got burned!"
"You were overconfident because you ate a Logia, the strongest of all devil fruits, right? You are merely fire. I am magma, that which burns even flames! The gap in our powers is vast, boy!"
"Ace-ah!" Luffy fell to his knees.
"Luffy, you're at your limit!"
"His Vivre Card…"
"...The Pirate King, Gold Roger. Dragon the Revolutionary. These two men's sons being step-brothers is quite a frightening thought. Your fate has been decided! Regardless of who else gets away, I swear to never let you two leave alive! Now take a good look."
"Wait!" Akainu lunged towards Luffy. I was too far back.
'Damn it! I can't make it in time!' Everything moved in slow motion. When time seemed to return to normal, I looked over to see a dreadful sight. Akainu's fist was plunged through Ace's chest and stomach. When he pulled out, Ace fell onto Luffy's shoulders. The marines continued fighting, and I simply watched on in shock.
"Luffy...I...can't speak loud enough for the others to hear. Please...pass this on to them. Old Man...Everyone...and you, Luffy. Even though...I'm so worthless...Even though...I carry the blood of a demon...Thank you...for loving me!" He slowly let go of Luffy and fell to the ground. I glanced where his Vivre card was and watched it burn from existence.
"Aaron."
"What is it?"
"Luffy, Ace, and Sabo. Those three… I love them with all of my heart, but eventually they'll grow up and head off someplace on their own. And even though I'm their grandfather and guardian… I get older and older with each passing day. And there will come a time when I can't watch out for them anymore. Those three will be a recipe for disaster one day, I can already picture it. I trust you the most to take care of them when they become that age. Will you protect them with your life?"
"...Who do you take me for? You don't even have to ask, of course I'll do it! I'll never let any of them die."
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I glanced over at Luffy. His mind had shattered…
…
I started to feel something. My power was flowing more viciously and brutally than before. I was becoming healed.
"...Jinbei. Get Luffy out of here."
"What?!"
"NOW!" He snatched the boy up and started running towards the warship. Akainu began going after them again.
"Straw Hat!"
"A-Akainu!" Whitebeard appeared behind Akainu and a battle between the two ensued. Before long, he had fallen through one of the tremors that the Old Man created.
"He's still alive...I can sense his haki…" I tracked his movements and saw where he was going. Fighting Ivankov, scarring Jinbei and Luffy, taking Crocodile down."
"I see...that's good that's he's still alive and kicking...because now…" My chaos powers began to swirl everywhere and were shattering Marineford apart. The force was unlike anything anyone had felt before. Mihawk and the other Warlords looked over at me, surprised.
"Demon...Mode…"
Akainu's POV
What was that form? He had never used that kind of power before… His entire appearance was different. His skin had become a cloak of purple and black flowing chaos. His mouth was not visible, but you could still hear his breath and yelling as he transformed. His hair had become more spiked, but the biggest difference was his eyes. They were glowing red, and they weren't the shape of regular eyes either. There were no pupils, no whites anywhere. Just a red glow. He looked like a Feral Demon. His arms fell limply in front of him, and his eyes narrowed towards me.
End POV back to My POV
'Is that what I think it is?' Hancock asked herself.
"So he's done it…" Mihawk told the rest of them. "Sage's Madness Phase 2: Demon Mode."
"AKAINU! I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!" I had lost all control over my abilities. Before anyone could sense it, I bolted across the battlefield, grabbed his head, and slammed it hard onto my knee. Then I grabbed his face again, lifted him off the ground, and smashed his whole body into the ground, burying his body from view.
"CHAOTIC CRASHER!" I screamed as his body was plunged deep into Marineford's plaza.
"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET, YOU BASTARD!" I grabbed him again.
"I should crush your skull right here and now." His eyes snapped open, as he grabbed my hand and flung me into the ground. He picked me up and stared at me.
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to live anymore Aaron. Any last words before I kill you?"
"...Is this all you have?"
"What?!" I clutched his neck, and took his hand off of me, once again lifting him into the air.
"Tell me, Sakazuki...Do you know what it feels like to suffer?" I kicked him hard in the stomach, and blood poured out of his mouth and onto the ground. I threw him into one of the walls of Marineford. By now, the Blackbeard Pirates had killed Whitebeard and taken his powers, and Sengoku was fighting them.
'I'll leave them to him.' Akainu stood up again, out of breath.
"...Why don't you transform?"
"Do you really want to die that badly?! FINE! TRANSFORMATION: HOUND OF HELL!" And with that, his magma cerberus towered over all of the soldiers and faced me.
"A-Admiral Akainu's lost it! He's using his full power!" shouted some of the marines as they were running for their lives.
"Wh-What is that?!" yelled Blackbeard.
"So he's done it…" stated Sengoku, now watching the fight.
"Die." Akainu mumbled in his new form. He shot a beam of fire at me. I simply extended my hand in front of me, and activated my haki. After the smoke had cleared, I stood there and lowered my hand, not a scratch on me.
"Impossible!"
"You're no match for me anymore, Saka. Chaotic Kick." I teleported to his side, and with my leg encased in both haki and chaos, shattered the side of his form, knocking him into the remnants of Marineford, and making the rest of the building topple down. When he came out, he had changed back to his human form, badly damaged.
"HOUND BLAZE!" He charged his fist up in magma, and flew at me. Once again, I blocked it with an open palm, and the shockwave destroyed more of the island behind me.
"I told you that it was pointless, didn't I? Why do you keep fighting? Or maybe it's because you can't accept the fact that a mere pirate like me has become stronger than you." Akainu smiled.
"What's so funny-GAH!" I felt a sharp piercing pain through my chest, and when I looked down, I noticed a sword made of light pierced through my chest. I glanced behind me.
"Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven: Ama no Murakumo." My chaos cloak disappeared, and I had reverted back to my base form. Blood had started staining my shirt, and was now dripping down from my mouth.
"K-Kizaru…" I growled. He forcefully pulled the sword out of my chest, making blood fly out of my mouth.
"A-AARON!" screamed Hancock as I was falling to the ground. My vision started to blur, and I glanced up to see her run towards me. Akainu and Kizaru left to go fight other pirates. Navy soldiers started surrounding me to kill me for good, but collapsed just as quickly due to Boa's Conqueror's Haki. She bent down next to me.
"Haki Healing!" My wound partially closed, but I was definitely out for the rest of the fight this time. My vision returned to normal again, and I sat up with her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be okay, but I can't fight like this. I'm out for the rest of the fight. You should go with Luffy and Jinbei to make sure he's okay. Like I said, I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Now go."
"O-Okay." She took off after Luffy and got aboard Law's submarine. I sighed, relieved. At least Luffy will live. But I worried about when he would wake up.
"I looked over to see how the Blackbeard Pirates were fairing. I was actually pretty close to them now, so I didn't have to use Observation Haki to sense them, I could see them clearly. A navy soldier walked up to Akainu. What was he doing?
'Wait a minute...is that Coby? He'll get himself killed!'
"That's enough! Let's end this now! Let's not fight anymore!" Tears were streaming down his face.
"We're wasting people's lives! Every single soldier has a family that's waiting for them to come home! We accomplished the purpose of this war already, but we're still chasing down the pirates who have lost the will to fight! We could stop, but we're coveting more! We're giving up on our soldiers that could survive if we treated them right away! On top of that, we keep multiplying the number of victims! Soldiers that go down after this...ARE NO MORE THAN FOOLS!" he cried out. I looked down sadly.
'Finally, a marine gets it. That the way the Navy is operating isn't right.'
"...Who are you, you fool? The navy has no use for a soldier that doesn't believe in justice!" Akainu charged up his magma fist again. My eyes widened and I gritted my teeth.
"How much lower can you get, Sakazuki! Are you truly going to publicly execute one of your own soldiers?!" I screamed out at him. But it was too late. His fist was already about to pierce Coby. I looked away, but then heard the sound of steel. I looked back to see his fist blocked by a saber. The man wielding it was:
"Sh-Shanks? Why is he here?" I asked. I noticed that he was wearing his own Master Assassin necklace around him. Coby collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
"You did well, young marine. You risked your life to create a brief moment of courage that has greatly changed the world, for better or for worse." He turned back to the admiral. "Wouldn't you say that's enough, Akainu?" The admiral lowered his fist, and Shanks walked over to pick up Luffy's hat. "I've come...to end this war."
"Zehahaha...So you've come…" The rest of the Red Hair Pirates walked off the ship and stood behind Shanks.
"If anyone still wants to fight...then come! We will be your opponents!" The marines backed down, as they didn't want to fight another Emperor.
"What do you say, Teach? No, Blackbeard?"
"I don't know...maybe I am ready to face you after all…"
"Are you?" Shanks' sword began to glow red, and red energy waves swirled around it. He quickly slashed it into the sky, releasing a powerful wave of red energy that split the clouds down the middle. Red lightning struck from them down to where Shanks stood, and for a second, his eyes flashed red in color.
"I see he hasn't lost his edge…" murmured Hawkeye. He began to walk away.
"Hey, Hawkeye, where are you going?"
"Our orders were to fight Whitebeard and his underlings. Fighting Red Hair was not part of the agreement."
"Zehaha…Perhaps we're not ready to fight you yet after all." I could see the sweat on his face. He was scared of him.
"I got what I wanted. Let's quit now. Let's go, guys." And with that, they left. Shanks sighed.
"Everyone. For now, please respect what I have to say. This war was broadcast all over the world. Let's not exploit Ace and Whitebeard's death more than we already have. I'd like you to leave their burial to us."
"...Alright. Then I leave it to you. Everyone! This war is over!" announced Sengoku. Everyone cheered, and Shanks walked over to me.
"They got you good, didn't they?"
"You should have seen me before, I probably wouldn't be alive right now if not for Hancock. Do you have a doctor with you?"
"Of course. If you sail with us, I can drop you at Amazon Lily, where Luffy is."
"That'd be great, thanks."
X
Shanks and I stepped off the ship and saw Law and his crew, Hancock and Rayleigh nearby. I sighed.
"How's Luffy doing?"
"Not good. He's in the forest now with Jinbei. He's awake, but I fear that he'll never recover from the shock of losing his brother in front of his own eyes." responded Law.
"I see...I'd like to go talk to him. Are you coming?" I glanced back.
"No. It's not the right time for us yet. Luffy would say the same thing. He doesn't to see me just yet, I'm sure." I turned around and started walking towards the forest. Shanks walked over to Hancock who was glancing at my body. My shirt was beyond repair, so I just wore my cloak over my shoulders. My upper body was covered in bandages.
"What's next for us?" asked Hancock, sighing. The other two looked at her.
"I'm not sure. Right now, there's two things we have to think about. Not only the Order, but Blackbeard as well." responded Shanks.
"And after what we saw today, I'm worried about the true strength of the Order. Although Aaron was able to defeat both Kuma and Mihawk with relative ease, Doflamingo is still a major threat, and if the Sage's Madness still couldn't keep even one Admiral down…"
"...And I wonder if I have a solution to that already." Rayleigh inquired.
"Hmm?" Shanks looked at him.
"As they are now, Aaron, Luffy and the rest of their crew are no match for the New World, let alone the Templars. I'm thinking of training Luffy with haki for a while, and Aaron could train with Dragon. The others will find their own ways to do it if we can relay the message."
"That may work, but we don't know how to relay the message to the rest of them."
"I know how. Just leave it to me."
"Alright."
X
"Yes, Ace is gone! But ask yourself what you still have! What DO you have left, Luffy?!"
"My-My crew!"
"That's right." I walked over to them.
"Aaron…"
"Luffy, we're not strong enough to take on the New World right now. We need to train."
"We don't have time! We need to find the rest of our friends and go after the Navy to make them pay for what they did to Ace and the Old Man!"
"...Are you that stupid?" I punched him through a tree.
"What was that for?!"
"YOU MORON!" He flinched.
"Do you think you have any chance against them as you are now?! Even after unlocking my own hidden abilities...I still lost to the admirals. I couldn't even keep one of them down, no matter how much I injured him! Luffy, you need to move on and focus on making yourself stronger. If you stay hooked on Ace's death, not only will you never recover from it, but you'll recklessly charge in hell-bent on pointless revenge!"
"Get over it…?" He punched me back, knocking me to the ground.
"You don't know how I feel! Ace was my brother! I can't just get over it like that! You act like you don't even care that he died!" That sent me over the edge. I hardened my fist with what little haki reserves I had and punched Luffy hard right on his scar. He coughed up blood and fell to his knees. By now, Hancock and Rayleigh were watching from a distance.
"A-Aaron, hold on!" yelled Jinbei.
"Don't care?! Luffy, if anything I was more enraged than anyone else on the entire battlefield! Unlike you, I didn't pass out, and my power and rage took over. If Kizaru hadn't stabbed me...I might have lost myself and destroyed the whole island and slaughtered everyone on it…" Luffy's eyes widened.
"I made a promise to both your father and grandfather that I'd watch over you brothers for as long as I live. How do you think I felt when Ace's death could have been prevented by us, that it was our fault he got killed!" Tears were streaming down his face.
"No, that's not quite true. The real one at fault...was Akainu." Luffy looked up.
"If you want to go and get revenge, that's fine! I'll be right there with you! But we should at least do so armed with the knowledge and abilities to protect ourselves! Your crew would feel the same way! Do you think that Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook would be angry at you for deciding to get stronger? Especially after what happened at Sabaody, they'd probably encourage it! So it's time to do that, Luffy. It's time that we get prepared for what lies ahead of us instead of just rushing in all the time."
"Y-Yeah. You're right!"
"Good." I began to walk away, but glanced back at him.
"Listen, kid." He looked back at me. "I've experienced fates far worse than what happened today throughout my life. My parents were murdered in front of me. My captain died early because of a disease. My family, my crew, tore itself in half due to philosophical difference of opinion. My friends have betrayed me to go work and fight for the other side, against me. But thankfully, there have been friends who have stuck behind me and supported me the whole way, and that's who got me to today: Hancock, Dragon, Shanks, Rayleigh, Jinbei, Mihawk, You, Nami, and the rest of our crew. And that's exactly who you need to help you out now." I kept walking.
"Hancock. Jinbei." I called out.
"Rayleigh, Luffy, Jinbei and I are going to go back to Marineford to ring the Ox bell. After that, I'm going to head to Zou. I'd like you two to accompany me."
"Of course." they both responded.
X
"Luffy, are you ready?"
"Yeah." He went up and rang the Ox bell, then we both threw flowers into the craters. And then we left.
"You should see this." Mihawk handed a newspaper to Zoro, and he read it.
"...Then we have time. I want you to train me!"
"Aren't these two your friends?" Nami took the newspaper and looked at the front cover with the two of us on it.
"...Got it! I can't wait to see them again…"
"I hope they all saw it." I told Hancock while we were sailing for Zou.
"I'm sure they did, that story was printed everywhere, and they read the newspaper anyway."
"...I want you to tell me about your crew. What are they like?" she asked. Jinbei listened in.
"Well, besides Luffy and myself, there's Zoro. Let's start with him. He aspires to become the World's Greatest Swordsman and would gladly lay his life down for Luffy's sake. He also likes to drink...a lot. But he has no sense of direction. You'd probably like him. Nami is the navigator, and I suppose her personality is similar to yours only she doesn't have a devil fruit to use. Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook." I told her about the rest of them.
"We're landing." said Jinbei.
"Good. Let's go." We walked into the main base of the Brotherhood.
"Dragon." I called out to him. Sabo was talking to him. The two walked over.
"Sorry, we were talking. Sabo was just promoted to Master Assassin as well."
"Congratulations." we all told him.
"I've come to finish my training."
"Yes, I heard what happened at Marineford. I don't think the problem is that you're not strong enough. I think you just have to learn to control that power of yours, Demon Mode. That, and there's something else you would like. Follow me, you three." We followed him into a large, electronic training room. There were machines everywhere.
"This." He walked up to one. "Is a virtual fighting program designed for training through experience. All sorts of opponents from the Maines, Revolutionaries, Brotherhood, and Pirates alike are all programmed into here with their real-life abilities. Choose where you want to fight, who you want to fight, and you'll be programmed into the machine and will fight the opponent like it were real life. Think of it as a combat training animus."
"Perfect."
"You two are welcome to stay here too, if you'd like." He looked at the other two.
"I need to get back to Fishman island, actually. I can't stay for long. Sorry."
"And I need to go back to Amazon Lily and Solacia. I'll definitely visit, though."
"Suit yourselves. Good luck to you both."
"Alright then. Let's start this. The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can head back out to see everyone!"
End.