Foreword: Sorry for missing the update this past Friday, I unexpectedly had to go out of town! Tis the season and all that, you know? Anyways, hope y'all enjoy!
Several days after Itachi Uchiha's reunion with the Whitebeard Pirates, all the most powerful and prominent figures throughout the Navy, as well as almost a hundred thousand Marines and five of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, were all gathered at Marineford to oversee the execution of Portgas D. Ace. The announcement had just been made to the whole world that Ace was, in fact, the son of Gol D. Roger.
Suddenly, the Gates of Justice opened, and a fleet of forty three pirate ships allied to Whitebeard came sailing through. The Navy kept their eye out for the Moby Dick, but saw no sign of it.
That is, not until it erupted from beneath the waves, emerging directly in the docking bay, far closer than the Navy had ever wanted anyone to get to the executioner's block, flanked by three other vessels. Standing on the deck of the Moby Dick was all the Division Commanders, as well as Itachi, and of course, Whitebeard himself. The strongest man in the world had come to fight.
Whitebeard exchanged some hostile words with Fleet Admiral Sengoku, then used his Gura Gura powers to generate large tsunamis on either side of the base. Aokiji leaped into the air, using his Hie Hie powers to freeze the waves, as well as the water in the bay, locking Whitebeard's ships in place while also giving the Marines a surface on which to charge at the ships.
The pirates immediately jumped from the ships, landing on the ice and charging into the Navy's line. The scene was chaos within moments.
Itachi wasted no time getting into the thick of it, running through and swinging Sasuke with the expertise of a practiced killer, easily cutting down every Marine in his path, before running into the Vice Admirals.
"I'd appreciate it if you all stepped aside," said Itachi. "I've got more important things to attend to than babysitting the lot of you."
The Vice Admirals took offense to this, all launching their attacks at him at once, but the moment they got close, he detonated. He had been a Shadow Clone, left behind while the real Itachi moved ahead. He had made sure to pack extra chakra into that clone, in order to ensure the explosion took down at least one or two of them. Itachi looked back, pleased with the results. Several of them were facedown on the ground, and the rest were struggling to catch their breath. It was unlikely any of them were dead, but that would at least take them out of the fight for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard had come under fire from Kizaru, who was intercepted by Marco in his Phoenix form. After a brief clash, Kizaru retreated for the moment and ordered the Giant Unit to keep an eye out for any airborne enemies like Marco.
Diamond Jozu lifted a huge chunk of the ice from the ground, launching it into the air towards Admiral Akainu, who used his Magu Magu powers to melt and shatter the ice and launching flaming meteorites to assail the pirates from above.
Itachi used his Water Wall Jutsu, angling it diagonally to shield himself and any allies nearby from the incoming projectiles. Once the bombardment ceased, he released the jutsu and continued pushing forward.
Then, Little Oars Jr made his way onto the battlefield, easily destroying the Navy's artillery cannons with his massive blade and providing the pirates the ability to push forward even harder. The Giant Unit moved to cut him off, but were easily defeated when Oars Jr lifted a Navy battleship out of the ice and threw it at them. His progress was soon halted, however, when the Warlords decided to step in, with Kuma blasting him with an Ursus Shock and Doflamingo severing his leg with his Ito Ito powers. Itachi sprang into action, intercepting an attempted follow up attack from Doflamingo with his Haki-coated sword, and countering with a Fireball Jutsu.
Doflamingo cut through the fireball with his strings, staring down Itachi with a sinister grin on his face.
"'Red Eyes' Itachi, supposedly the strongest of Whitebeard's Commanders," said Doflamingo, barely expressing his excitement. "I've been looking forward to the chance to face you."
"I can't say the feeling is mutual, but I have to make you pay for what you just did to my friend."
"Is that so? Well then, by all means, bring it on!" Doflamingo waved his hands, commanding his strings in an elaborate dance, designed to create confusion and uncertainty on the angle from which the attack would hit first.
None of it was effective against the Sharingan, though. Itachi could not only perceive the strings, but easily track and predict their movements. He dodged the strings easily, surging forward and putting Doflamingo on the defensive. Itachi was on him like a demon; every swing of his sword, every movement of his body expertly calculated. An economy of motion that wasted no excess energy and left no openings. Doflamingo could do nothing but defend, using his strings to block each strike. Even his normal cocky grin was gone, as he had to concentrate fully on just not dying. Every time he thought he saw an opportunity for a counterattack, Itachi shifted ever so slightly, avoiding the attack while simultaneously positioning himself for the ideal counter strike.
Finally, Itachi managed to completely break his guard and open him up for a deathblow. As his sword came down towards Doflamingo's head, it was suddenly intercepted by a large, black blade.
"Hawkeye? You actually came to my rescue?" asked Doflamingo, once again donning his signature grin.
"Don't misunderstand," replied Mihawk. "I only intervened because Itachi and I have unfinished business. Otherwise, I would have happily let him kill you."
"Ruthless as always, I see," replied Doflamingo. "Fine, he's all yours. I know better than to get in your way."
Just then, Moria used his Kage Kage powers to spear Oars through the chest, finally putting the big guy down for good.
"If you want to finish what we started, then fine," said Itachi. "I know how fearsome you are, so I'll be going all out from the start, if that's okay. I've been saving this for someone like you."
"Fine by me," replied Mihawk. "Show me what you can do."
Itachi sheathed his sword and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. Concentrating his chakra, he called forth the full Armored Susano'o, wielding the Totsuka Blade in the right hand and the Yata Mirror in the left.
"Come, then!" declared Itachi. "Hawkeye vs Red Eye!"
Mihawk grinned, settling into an offensive stance. "I've been looking forward to this."
Mihawk sent a shockwave at the Susano'o with a swing of his sword, which was easily blocked by the Yata Mirror. Mihawk surged forward, launching a flurry of attacks, but the Yata Mirror was more than capable of withstanding the assault. Itachi tried to counter with a swing of the Totsuka Blade, but Mihawk ducked it, jumping back to get some distance before Itachi could launch a full offense. Itachi, however, launched a Fireball Jutsu, which was practically on top of Mihawk as soon as he landed. Raising Yoru and concentrating his Haki, Mihawk sliced through the FIreball before it could hit. The only damage it did was slightly singing the edges of his coat. The Fireball had merely been to obstruct his vision, though, and when he split it, Itachi was right in front of him, no longer in his Susano'o, extending his arm in a grab attempt. Mihawk slashed at him, and to his surprise, Yoru hit its mark, cutting him across the chest. Even more to his surprise, Itachi detonated on impact, forcing Mihawk to coat himself in Armament Haki to withstand the blast. It had merely been an exploding Shadow Clone. Mihawk jumped straight up in order to get clear of the smoke, and once he did, Itachi stabbed at him with the Totsuka Blade. Mihawk only just managed to block, batting away the tip of the blade just before it would have pierced his chest. As he descended, Mihawk launched several consecutive shockwaves with his sword, forcing Itachi to hold up the Yata Mirror to defend. The instant his feet touched the ground, Mihawk broke left at full speed, circling around Itachi's right flank and launching shockwaves as he went to keep the pressure on. The Sharingan was able to track his movements, though, and just as he moved in to try and cut through the Susano'o, Itachi spun around and blocked the strike, pushing back with the Yata Mirror to force Mihawk into a comfortable range to make another stab with the Totsuka Blade, which was once again deflected.
"The length of that blade makes for an excellent slashing weapon, yet you seem to want to stab me instead," observed Mihawk. "Why is that, I wonder? Does it have some special property that only activates when you pierce your opponent?"
Just as Sengoku was about to enact the plan he had been concocting, voices could be heard from far above, catching everyone's attention, including Itachi and Mihawk. From up in the sky, a Navy battleship was descending onto the battlefield, and from it dozens of people fell; a bunch of people in prison jumpsuits (presumably from Impel Down), Jinbe, Crocodile, a man with an enormous head dressed in drag, and…
"Captain?" gasped Itachi.
"Straw Hat is causing trouble again," said Mihawk. "Guess we shouldn't be surprised."
The ship crashed into the water, in the exact spot where Jozu had ripped out a chunk of ice to throw at the enemy. Itachi used the distraction provided to produce two more Shadow Clones, one of which ran off towards the ship to grab his captain, and the other he sent deeper into the battlefield. This didn't escape Mihawk's notice.
"I hope it doesn't require any extra concentration to maintain them, Red Eyes. I'd hate to beat you because you were having to focus on something other than our duel."
"Don't worry," replied Itachi. "Once the Shadow Clones are made, they have their own will and do as they please based on the purpose I made them for, with no extra input from me. They act autonomously, so I can concentrate fully on the task at hand."
"That's good to hear," replied Mihawk, smirking and brandishing Yoru. "Now, let's continue."
On his way into the battlefield, one of Itachi's clones noticed one of the Warlords, Boa Hancock, looking visibly happy that Luffy had arrived, and relieved that he was mostly okay. Strange. Is she actually an ally? He'd have to look into that later. For now, there was a job to do.
Moria was so busy gloating over the new zombie he'd gained with the death of Little Oars Jr, he failed to notice a familiar figure rushing at him until it was too late. Itachi leapt at him, winding him and sending him crashing to the ground with a swift kick in the gut.
"Remember me?" said the Itachi clone coldly, standing over the collapsed Moria.
"Y-you!" spat Moria. "Itachi! You're the one who forced me to release the shadows back on Thriller Bark!"
"Correct. I'm here to finish what I started back then." Itachi used his Sharingan to hypnotize Moria again, preventing him from fighting back or using his powers to escape. Brandishing a kunai, he sliced open Moria's neck and stuck his hand into the wound. He released the genjutsu, to ensure Moria was aware of what was about to happen.
"This is for killing my friend." said the clone before detonating, the explosion devastating both the inside and outside of Gecko Moria, leaving him dead in a charred heap on the ground.
The other clone dove into the water where the ship crashed, intending to rescue his captain, only to see that Jinbe was already on his way up with Luffy in one arm, and someone else Itachi didn't recognize in the other.
"So, another Warlord enters the scene. And with my captain, no less," said Itachi after they surfaced.
"Indeed," said Jinbe as he set Luffy and Buggy down. "I've heard a lot about you, Itachi. I wish we could've met under less dire circumstances."
"I assume you're here to assist in the effort to rescue Ace?"
"We are. Luffy broke us all out of Impel Down to get here, and Ace is a good friend of mine."
"Good to know. In that case, allow me to clear a path for when he wakes up. Knowing him, he'll want to run straight to Ace when he wakes up. Don't worry about what you're about to see; I'm merely a clone. The real me is currently engaged in a duel with Mihawk." The clone jumped down and ran straight to the line where the pirates and the Marines were clashing.
"Everyone, get back! I'll open up their line myself!" he barked, and the pirates did as instructed. The clone ran headlong at the Marines and detonated, punching a massive hole in their defensive line and allowing the pirates to re-engage amidst the chaos and panic caused by the explosion.
In the meantime, Sengoku had leaked intel about moving up Ace's execution time in a bid to lure the pirates further into the bay. Whitebeard saw through his gambit, though, and instead of an order to advance, he instructed his men to start targeting the Navy's battleships.
The real Itachi was having a hard time. No matter how they tried, neither him nor Mihawk were capable of landing a clean hit. Mihawk was too fast to get hit by the Totsuka Blade, but Mihawk was also finding himself unable to get through the defense provided by the Susano'o. This was becoming a war of attrition, and that wasn't a situation Itachi wanted to find himself in. If this became an endurance match, he'd inevitably run out of chakra. Even though he'd recently discovered through his meditations that channeling Observation Haki through his Sharingan bolstered its effectiveness and halted the blindness brought on by the Mangekyo Sharingan, it also essentially increased the chakra demand for it, since he was using a chunk of the spiritual energy that would normally go towards forming chakra to use his Haki. This meant that he couldn't keep the Susano'o up for as long as he normally could. But to not go blind, it was more than worth the tradeoff.
Mihawk must have heard about the abilities of the Sharingan, as he'd been taking great care not to make eye contact. He had to think of something, fast.
"You seem to be lost in thought," noted Mihawk. "Trying to think of some way to break our little stalemate?"
"Like you're doing any different?" countered Itachi.
"Fair enough. I'll admit, you're quite a challenging interlocutor. I haven't had a fight this good since the days when I would duel Red Hair."
"You're a tough nut to crack yourself," said Itachi. "Although we are on opposite sides, I can't help but respect your skill with the blade. I've learned quite a bit about swordsmanship just from fighting you today."
And also about how to apply Haki, he thought to himself.
Time to try a new tactic. Itachi deactivated his Susano'o, drew his sword, and charged at Mihawk. He concentrated on imbuing his blade with Haki and swung, and Mihawk met it with a block.
"Not using your strange powers anymore? This is quite a gambit, Red Eyes."
"I have you to thank for this, Hawkeye. If you hadn't shown me how to more skillfully apply my Haki, I wouldn't have felt confident engaging you like this."
"Your Haki was comparatively weak when we started this fight. You can't expect me to believe it's gotten that much stronger in such a short time?"
"Pound for pound, it's not any stronger, but I've learned how to apply it much more efficiently from watching the way you manipulate it." Itachi pushed back, breaking the bind. Mihawk was on top of him, swinging his sword in a relentless pattern of offensive pressure. Nothing the Sharingan couldn't compensate for, though.
"You're telling me you can see the Haki within my own body before I even draw it out, then?"
"Exactly," said Itachi, using his Sharingan to track Mihawk's movements, his more sophisticated understanding of Haki to bolster his overall defense, and the information he gained about Mihawk's fighting style to perfectly block every strike.
"Nothing escapes the power of my eyes. I can track even the subtlest of movements, and memorize anything I see. I can even predict where you'll strike next, though your offense is tight enough that I can't really do much besides defend at the moment."
"I see," said Mihawk. "So every move I make teaches you more about Haki, and about me."
While all that was going on, Luffy was advancing towards Ace with the help of Jinbe and Iva. With Moria dead, Doflamingo instead stepped up to challenge him, but was intercepted by Jinbe, and the two engaged in a pitched battle. Then, Iva got caught up in a bout with Kuma, leaving Luffy to take on Smoker and Tashigi by himself. Just when Smoker had him pinned, Hancock kicked him away, threatening to kill him for trying to harm Luffy. She then sneakily handed him the key to his sibling's Seastone shackles.
So, she is an ally, then, noted Itachi.
"Focus on what's in front of you!" exclaimed Mihawk, bringing Yoru down in an overhand slash. Itachi dodged easily, swinging back to force Mihawk to jump back and create some distance. Every hair on Itachi's body was standing on end. This was undoubtedly the strongest opponent he'd ever faced. He was walking a razor's edge, and even the slightest misstep would undoubtedly lead to Mihawk taking his head.
"I see that you weren't bluffing about the power of your eyes," said Mihawk. "Your swordsmanship is improving by the second."
"I appreciate the compliment," replied Itachi. "You're making for an excellent teacher yourself."
"As much progress as you're making right now, I'm afraid simply observing won't be enough to catch up to me. Like you said, your Haki's not getting any stronger throughout this fight, you're just learning how to use it more efficiently. Even if your knowledge of swordsmanship grows to match mine, it won't mean a thing if your Haki isn't strong enough to back it up."
"You have a point there," agreed Itachi. "No matter how much I learn your style and movements, your Haki is simply stronger than mine at its core. No amount of study can mimic your raw strength. That's something that can only be improved through battle. Even so, if I don't keep you busy, you'll end up going after Luffy, am I right?"
"You're correct. As interesting as I find him, Straw Hat is still attempting to free Ace, and as a Warlord, I can't allow him to act unabated."
"Then I will keep up the fight, even though I likely can't win. He's my captain, and it's my job to make sure someone like you doesn't impede his path forward. So, even if all I can do is stall you, then that's what I have to do."
"Interesting. At your current level, you're far stronger than Straw Hat, yet you insist on taking orders from him."
"What can I say? There's just something about him, an infectious spirit that makes you want to follow him."
"I see," mused Mihawk. "It's not his power or techniques. He possesses some quality that makes people want to help him. And on these waters, that is the most formidable power of all."
"I suppose you could say that," said Itachi.
"Well, in any case, since you're still in my way, I'll just have to cut you down. Truthfully, I'd like to let you go. You've improved a great deal in just our short bout, Red Eyes. I'd have liked to let you go so you could return after you've grown even stronger, but this is a war, and there is no room for such mercy."
"Fine by me. I'm prepared to do what I must to keep you from turning your blade on my captain." Itachi and Mihawk clashed again, and while Itachi could keep up, Mihawk definitely had the upper hand. Itachi briefly wondered what would happen if he were struck down here. Would he reappear on that island like when he died for the first time? Would he be sent to some other world entirely, or even back to where he came from? Or was this the last stop, and he would simply die?