Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Johnny, and Yosaku were in the 'Going Merry' about a hundred and fifty meters from an abandoned island. Johnny and Yosaku wondered why they weren't on the island, but Usopp explained the fight would probably destroy the island, making them show shocked and understanding looks. Luffy had a massive smile on his face.

"They're about to start! Good thing they are, I can't wait any longer! This is gonna be so much fun!" Luffy shouted out with joy making everyone laugh, but Sanji and Usopp could sense his worry under his excitement.

Sanji was lost in thought as he watched the moss-head get ready to fight for his dream. He couldn't help but think back to their conversation on the way over.

"It doesn't matter if I'm sane or not," Zoro told Sanji when he asked if he was sane going up against that monster.

"It doesn't matter what anyone thinks or if I think I'm going to die. I've resolved myself to achieve this dream no matter what. If I die here, I was never meant to be the World's Strongest Swordsman." He said, not opening his eyes once during the entire conversation. The words forced Sanji to remember the dream that he shared with the old geezer, making him go silent.

He hadn't said a word since. He was constantly thinking about what he truly wanted to do with his life. The fact that he was also remembering the old geezer telling him to leave and find that sea for the both of them wasn't helping.

His thoughts were cut off when he saw two massive compressed, air, slashes collide and shake the island, causing some low waves to reach out to where they were. He lit a cigarette and took a long hit.

'My dream, huh?'

.

.

Zoro watched as Mihawk stared him down, eyes impassive and body unmoving, arms crossed without taking any combat stance. Even then, it felt like he was fighting against something that could barely be described as human. The thought made him smirk and unsheath his blades.

He was the challenger here, so he has to start. He covered his three katanas in as much 'Armament Haki' as he could manage crosses his two katanas across his chest and places the blade in his mouth horizontally behind them.

"Three-Sword Style..."

Mihawk assessed the swordsman who piqued his interest, something he never thought would happen in the 'East Blue'. He felt and saw the 'Armament Haki' on the kid's blades, which all three seemed to be at the very least named swords, which are already hard to find in this sea.

Sadly though, his 'Observation Haki' seemed to be quite lacking as he was barely able to react to his movements before. Maybe he hasn't found anyone good to fight besides the one Red Hair placed his faith in. If so, he envies him. Thinking you're the strongest but finding out you have much room to grow is much better than thinking you're the strongest and not being able to find anyone to fight.

Maybe these feelings were why this swordsman piqued his interest, maybe he was just bored, but he decided to not use'Advanced Armament Haki' until the swordsman had shown his potential. Growing this far in this sea is already worthy of his attention.

But only his attention, nothing more than a bit of curiosity.

Mihawk calmly drew the large black blade 'Yoru' from off of his back and held it straight up and down in front of him.

"RENGOKU ONI GIRI!" Zoro disappears and reappears right in front of Mihawk swinging his katanas across his chest, all three blades being stopped by one that didn't even move since it was drawn, something that made Zoro's pupils shrink as he was deflected back. He shook his head to clear his mind as he jumped up using 'Moon-Walk', before launching himself to continue his attack. Mihawk turned his blade horizontally, which made Zoro's eyes launched himself down toward his opponent.

"Three-Sword Style..."

He puts his katanas in his hands over the one in his mouth and swings forth a forward descending slash with them and as he performs the attack, the aura of a tiger's head is shown behind him.

"EXTREME TIGER HUNTING!"

TING*

Zoro's blades hit right into Mihawk's, the ladder not even moving his sword. Zoro jumped back as he tried to figure out what was going on.

'It's like he knows what I'm going to do before I even do.' Zoro thought to himself in confusion. It was at that moment that Luffy's voice popped into his head.

"I can sense pretty much everything on the island! Shanks told me that there are people who can even see a couple of seconds into the future!" Luffy finished off excitedly, making the two look at him in surprise.

Zoro's eyes widened before giving off a devilish smirk.

'So, I just have to get my 'Observation Haki' to the point I can see the future and I'll be able to attack him evenly? Seems easy enough.' He thought to himself as hewent into a stance holding one of his swords horizontally above the shoulder of his sword arm.

"Three-Sword Style: 1080 Pound Phoenix!" He did a circular swing that launched three compressed air slashes that merged into one large one spiraling toward Mihawk, who had decided to witness the attack before slowly slashing out his blade, creating his won compressed air slash that canceled out Zoro's attack.

Zoro growled as he realized Mihawk's feet hadn't moved since the duel started. He wiped the thought from his brain as he readied himself to charge again.

.

.

Nami, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were completely blown away by the scope of the fight. They saw trees getting torn up and massive parts of land destroyed as massive slashes were coming from the center of the island. Sanji was watching with a blank face, on his third cigarette already, not that he noticed.

Luffy was jumping up and down while laughing his heart out. He loved big fights like this! Though, Zoro wasn't doing very well. He knew he probably wasn't going to win when he sensed the Hawky guy be as crazy strong as his Grandpa and how strong he thinks Shanks is. That didn't mean he wasn't rooting for him though.

Plus, this Hawky guy doesn't seem like he wants to kill Zoro, for whatever reason. Didn't he say some Marine told him to look for him or something?

Who cares? Not him, that's for sure. If Hawky tries to kill Zoro for real, he'll just open 'Gear 4th: SnakeMan', and get over there super fast to help.

'But, that would probably make Zoro mad... Well, let's just hope it ends well' Luffy shrugged to himself. He turned to Nami, who was still wearing his hat, and saw she was looking nervously at the island. He laughed and that made her look over at him with a questioning gaze.

"Don't worry, Nami. Zoro isn't going to die in a place like this." He told her with absolute certainty. She smiled and nodded at him. They both looked back toward the island which was looking more unrecognizable by the second. Luffy had a smile on his face, though there was a bit of confusion there too.

'I was worried about him for a bit there, but I'm pretty sure I just felt some of his 'Conqueror's Haki' for a second there, so he should be fine. Though, how the hell does he have nine swords?'

.

.

If he had been asked about what was expected from the green-haired swordsman before the fight, Dracule Mihawk would've said that he was a way to cure his boredom and not much more than that.

Now, however, he was feeling his heart pump a bit harder as he actually had to exert himself to defend the blows with the amount of 'Armament Haki' he was allowing himself to use for the time being, as the swordsman still hadn't shown his full potential.

He also remembered seeing the 'Kitetsu' blade and the black and gold one he recognized as 'Yubashiri', both blades he had seen or sensed before during his stop at the sword shop in Loguetown.

They had been fighting for who knows how long, and even though he still limited himself to only using the intermediate form of 'Armament Haki', he didn't do so with his swordsmanship. Even so, the young man in front of him has not slowed down a bit.

If anything, this young man has grown into a completely different beast since the start of the fight, making him happy with his decision to see where his curiosity led him.

Zoro was at the end of his rope. He was running out of energy and 'Haki' fast without making any headway. He snarled at his weakness. If he wasn't going to win, he was damn sure going to land a blow.

"Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style: Asura"

Mihawk's eyes widened a bit when he saw the transformation. It appeared as if Zoro gained an additional pair of heads and four more arms, all wielding duplicates of his swords—each appearing twice more, for nine swords total. At the same time, an indistinct, six-armed, asura-like silhouette forms behind him.

The main part of the transformation that caught Mihawk's attention, was the light-green coating around the blades already covered in 'Armament Haki'.

'It's still immature, only the 'Emission' form, even then it's unstable, but that is definitely 'Advanced Armament Haki' The world's best thought to himself.

He applied both 'Emission' and 'Internal Destruction' to his sword and readied himself for what was most likely the end of the fight with how much 'Haki' his opponent was burning through.

"NINE-SWORD STYLE: ASURA: DEMONIC NINE FLASHES!"

Zoro cratered the ground as he launched himself at Mihawk, who slashed out faster than he could blink and sent him flying back.

Zoro was not deterred as he held all three of his 'Yubashiri' out horizontally in his right hand, his 'Wado' and 'Kitetsu III' as usual.

"NINE-SWORD STYLE: ASURA: JEST OF THE DEAD!"

Zoro appeared behind Mihawk, both facing opposite directions. Mihawk was looking contemplative and Zoro had his eyes covered by shadows.

Zoro's'Asura' form faded as he coughed up blood. Mihawk was watching him, still in the same place since the start of the fight, but with a small cut on his left cheekbone.

He wiped his face with his thumb and saw it. His own blood. The sight made him grin as he turned to the green-haired swordsman with a face full of satisfaction like he found what he was looking for.

"You're a 'Conqueror' as well," Mihawk said. Zoro didn't respond as he sheathed 'Yubashiri'.

'So, this is as far as you go.' Mihawk thought to himself as he saw it, assuming the fight was over. He was surprised when Zoro's fighting intent exploded. He saw as Zoro grabbed the katana in his mouth and swung both his still-drawn blades up and out from his body.

"Two-Sword Style..."

Mihawk's eyes widened as somewhat recognized the stance. He immediately charged at Zoro, moving his feet for the first time in the fight, making Zoro smirk as he charged too.

Zoro's swords had a light-green coating around them with a few green flames flickering in and out as the attack was launched with every bit of energy he had left. Zoro didn't notice, but a bit of his 'Conqueror's Haki' leaked into the attack, Mihawk, on the other hand, could sense it clearly.

'If this young man was able to live through a few more grueling battles against the strong, he could genuinely compete for my title one day.' Mihawk thought to himself, making himself grin.

"DUAL DIVINE DEPARTURE!"

FWOOOOOOM*

As he deflected the blades, he was still deep in thought. If you told him the one who sent that attack at him had a bounty of 500,000,000 berries, he would scoff at that and say it's much too low.

Now, he was looking at someone he had never heard of before today, who was as strong, if not stronger, than most Captains in the 'New World' as well as most of the 'Vice-Admirals' of the Marines.

He felt like he was beginning to understand why Shanks got so excited when the 'Luffy' kid was mentioned.

It was like looking at the next generation in the eyes.

BOOOOOM*

Zoro's attack carried from the center of the island they were fighting, too far enough in the sea that the aftershock shook the 'Going Merry'.

The two swordsmen ended up facing opposite of each other. They both stood still before Mihawk looked over his shoulder and Zoro coughed up blood into his hand.

COUGH*

He held his hand up and when he saw the blood, he sheathed his blades, turning around with his arms out. His actions surprised Mihawk. Zoro grinned when he saw that.

"Scars on the back are a Swordman's shame!" He said with a bloody grin, making Hawkeye grin back at him as he cut him across his chest from his left shoulder to his right hip.

"Don't rush to death, young one." Zoro heard Mihawk say as he fell to his knees and turned as he fell to land on his back. He held up 'Wado Ichimonji' above him.

'It seems like you'll have to wait a while longer before you hear my name, Kuina.' Zoro thought to himself as he thought back to his promise to his late friend. His thoughts were broken when he heard Hawkeye speak again.

"My name is Dracule Mihawk! It's too soon for you to die. Discover yourself. See the world! And grow strong, Zoro! However long it may take... I shall await you at the top. Strive with your whole heart and mind to best this blade, fierce one! Strive to surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!" The World's Strongest Swordsman told him before turning to his right. Zoro looked over and saw his Captain rushing towards him. Zoro scowled at the sight.

It's his job as the Vice-Captain to worry about the Captain and the Crew, not have them worry about him.

.

.

Zoro's attack was sent flying into the ground to Mihawk's left, causing everyone on the 'Going Merry' to see about one-fifth of the island get sliced and sink into the water. The sight made Nami, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku pale and made Luffy break out with a massive smile.

'I guess they are done.' Luffy thought to himself as he used 'Razor' to get to them as fast as possible in this form, getting ready to activate 'Gear 4th: Snakeman' if he needed more speed.

It turns out that was unnecessary as even though he could sense Hawky giving Zoro a massive cut across the chest, he sensed no intention to kill, so he figured Zoro did something cool.

He had no idea, he was kinda distracted by the awesome attack Zoro had at the end to tell. Whatever, none of his business.

He could tell that Hawky was telling Zoro something as he made it into the clearing they fought in, making Hawky look at him, Zoro soon followed. It was completely unrecognizable compared to before the fight. As he got closer, he saw how messed up Zoro was from the fight, which made him frown.

COUGH*

That frown got deeper as Zoro coughed up blood. He kneeled next to pretty much unconscious Zoro. Before he could ask if he was good, which he definitely wasn't, he heard Hawky ask him a question.

"Kid, that straw hat that girl was wearing, it's yours isn't it?" He asked as Luffy turned to him. The question made Luffy break into a massive smile and stand up.

"Yeah, Shanks gave me that hat. He told me to give it back to him after I accomplish my dreams." Luffy responded, making Hawkeye smirk at him.

"I thought so. What are those dreams?" He asked again as he saw that familiar fire grow in the kid's eyes.

"I'm going to be the King of The Pirates and start a new era of Freedom." He said, making Mihawk look at him deeply with his piercing eyes.

"That will be much harder than even surpassing me. Will you still do it?" The swordsman asked, making Luffy gain a bit more of a serious look.

"I'll do it, no matter what. No one can stop me." Luffy said, fearless in the face of an immensely powerful possible enemy, making Mihawk do something he hadn't done in a long time. He laughed.

"Hahaha! You two make a good team, I'll be waiting for you on the 'Grand Line'." He told the teen, feeling much lighter than he could remember feeling in a long time. Zoro took this time to return to the land of the living.

GASP* *COUGH* *COUGH*

He snapped his eyes open and immediately coughed up a lot of blood, making Luffy frown at him again.

"Luffy... Can you hear me?" Zoro asked weakly. Luffy was immediately kneeling by him.

"Yeah, I'm right here."

"I'm sorry...for disappointing you. I know you need nothing less than the greatest swordsman in the world. I've let you down. Please forgive me!" He shouted out as he raised his 'Wado Ichimonji' towards the heavens with tears running down his face. Hawkeye looked back, intrigued by what he would say.

"Until the day I beat him... I swear... From this moment forward... I will NEVER LOSE AGAIN!"

As he made his declaration, Zoro felt it. That thing that felt like a rope tied in a knot in his chest that he had been feeling since 'Shells Town', finally came untied.

"You got any problems with that, PIRATE KING?!" He shouted out, increasing the feeling in his chest.

Luffy was almost knocked off his feet from the amount of 'Conqueror's Haki' that suddenly erupted from his Vice-Captain. When his words registered, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Shishishishi! None!" He shouted out. Luffy looked around and noticed Hawky was gone. He shrugged to himself. Oh well, he did say we'd see him again on the 'Grand Line', so we'll just see him then.

He hoisted his Vice-Captain onto his shoulder with a proud smile, happy with how much closer Zoro got to his dream with this fight. That turned into a nervous smile as he felt the blood dripping on his shoulder and saw that he was knocked out again.

"I hope there's a doctor at 'The Baratie'..." He muttered to himself.

Yo! 14th chapter done! If I fuck up something to do with 'Haki', my bad, but this shit is confusing as fuck. Whatever, as long as the main idea gets across. If I fuck something up, then I'll just fix it when someone points it out.

Anyway, this fight might seem a bit short, but please remember how far apart their strengths are, even if it is much less than in canon. Zoro was shown to be able to use a crude form of 'Advanced Conqueror's Haki' on the rooftop fight when he cut Kaido when he was using his 'Nine-Sword Style: Asura' shit, so I figured that 'Advanced Armament Haki' wasn't that much of a stretch, especially since his Master's father was a swordsmith from 'Wano', so it's not that much of a stretch. Also, Zoro did not learn 'Advanced Observation Haki' in this fight even though he said he needed to. He gassed himself way too hard, but he did improve it. He also can't do shit with 'Conqueror's Haki' yet, but it's not like he really needs it at this point, and he'll get better with it as time goes on.

I've also already started writing the Arlong fight as of August 6th(I think) since I've had a lot of ideas for it those ideas were honestly a big part of why I started writing this fanfiction. That and I ran out of shit to read.

Thanks for reading and hopefully see you next time!