Akainu, down on one knee, panted heavily, his rasping breaths escaping in plumes of steam mixed with blood and lava. The gaping wound on his chest crackled, the magma seeping from his body struggling to seal the gash Yoru had inflicted. His trembling fingers dug into the melting ice, but his eyes—those twin embers of fury—burned with a rage that seemed unquenchable. Mihawk stood a few meters away, Yoru resting casually on his shoulder, staring at him with unrelenting coldness, his black coat billowing in Marineford's salty wind.
Suddenly, the admiral jerked his head up. Slowly, he rose to his feet, ignoring the pulsing agony in his chest. Magma erupted from his wounds like a reawakened volcano, coating his body in a shimmering, liquid-red armor. "It's time… for justice to prevail!"
Leo felt a chill race down his spine.
Akainu slammed both fists into the ground, and the ice exploded in a blast of lava—a towering geyser that hurled scorching shards in every direction. The air grew stifling, thick with heat and ash, as the admiral charged, his entire form a living storm of magma.
Mihawk leaped back, Yoru rising to block the first strike—a lava fist the size of a boulder crashing down with brutal force. The impact rattled his arms, and a wave of heat singed the hem of his cape.
Holy shit, he's unhinged! Leo thought, torn between terror and exhilaration. Akainu was holding nothing back—each move faster, wilder, more destructive than ever.
The admiral pressed on with a flurry of blows, his magma fists hammering down like molten sledgehammers. Mihawk sidestepped the first, sliced through the second with Yoru, but the third grazed him, a tongue of lava catching his cape. The black fabric ignited instantly, orange flames dancing along the edge like ravenous snakes. Leo screamed internally.
My cape! Damn it, that sucks!
But instead of panicking, he felt a spark ignite within him—a hunger to push further, to see just how far this legendary body could go.
Alright, Akainu, you wanna play? Let's play! He poured his will into Mihawk's muscles, and for the first time, he felt a perfect sync between his mind and this overpowering frame.
Come on, Mihawk! he whispered mentally. Show him who's boss!
Mihawk tore off his flaming cape with a sharp yank, letting it fall to the ice where it burned into a smoldering pile of ash. Free of the hindrance, he straightened, gripping Yoru two-handed as a black aura—denser, more oppressive than before—engulfed the blade. His golden eyes flared with newfound intensity, and for the first time, Leo sensed the true power of the world's greatest swordsman awakening.
Akainu, seeing the shift, roared in defiance. "Come on, pirate!" He lunged, his right fist morphing into a lava spear—"Dai Funka!"—that sliced through the air with a piercing whistle. Mihawk didn't back down. He planted a foot forward, and Yoru descended in a vertical arc, unleashing a black energy slash like a titanic wave. The two attacks collided with a deafening BOOM, magma and Haki clashing in an explosion that carved a twenty-meter crater into the ice.
Lava sprayed like a geyser, but Mihawk pressed through the storm, his blade cutting the air at inhuman speed. He aimed for Akainu's flank, and Yoru bit into the magma, leaving a smoking gash across the admiral's shoulder. Akainu grunted, retaliating with a backhand that sent a horizontal wave of lava surging forth. Mihawk dodged with a leap, landing on a half-melted ice slab, his boots slipping briefly before steadying.
Leo was in a trance.
This is the real Mihawk?! He's a monster!
But he was just as stunned by Akainu's resilience. Despite his wounds, the admiral charged again, his entire body a roaring magma silhouette. "Inu Gassen!" he shouted, and a pack of lava hounds—bigger, more numerous than before—barreled toward Mihawk, their searing fangs snapping in the air.
Mihawk spun, Yoru becoming a black whirlwind. He cleaved the first hound with a diagonal slash, vaulted over the second, then drove his blade into the third, shattering it into lava fragments. But a fourth slammed into him full-force, its magma jaws sinking into his left forearm. Pain shot through Leo like lightning.
Ow, damn, that burns!
Mihawk's flesh sizzled, a glowing red mark searing into his skin, but he didn't flinch. With a backhand swing, he smashed the beast apart, and a black energy wave swept through the rest of the pack, reducing them to incandescent droplets.
Akainu seized the opening. He lunged, his right fist cloaked in a concentrated orb of magma—an attack he hadn't used yet. "Meigo!" he roared, aiming for Mihawk's chest.
Leo sensed the danger a second too late.
Crap, this is gonna hurt! Mihawk crossed Yoru in front of him, but the impact was brutal—a blast of lava and raw force that hurled him back ten meters. He crashed onto the ice, rolling to the side before jamming his blade into the ground to halt his slide, a black streak marking his path.
The admiral advanced, his breathing ragged but triumphant. "You're weakening, Mihawk!" he snarled, raising both fists to summon an even larger meteor shower. "Ryusei Kazan!" Lava orbs soared into the sky, bathing the bay in a blood-red glow, then plummeted in an apocalyptic deluge.
Leo, panting in his mind, felt a surge of excitement despite the pain.
Okay, he's tough, but so am I! Let's go all out!
He willed Mihawk to stand, ignoring the burn on his arm. The swordsman planted both feet into the ice, and a purple aura—Conqueror's Haki—erupted around him, more intense than ever. Leo shouted internally.
Here we go!
Mihawk raised Yoru overhead, and a colossal black energy slash—wider, faster, more devastating than any before—roared forth. The wave sliced through the meteors mid-flight, exploding them into a rain of lava that scattered across the bay. But it didn't stop—it barreled straight for Akainu, cleaving the air and ice like a divine scythe.
The admiral crossed his arms, his magma forming a blazing shield. The slash struck the defense in a titanic clash, and for a moment, the two forces seemed locked—magma versus Haki, justice versus raw power. Then, with a deafening crack, Akainu's shield shattered. The blade carved through his chest, a deep gash splitting from his left shoulder to his right hip. He screamed, magma spraying around him, and dropped to his knees, his fists sinking into the ice to keep from collapsing entirely.
Mihawk stood still, lowering Yoru until its tip brushed the ice. His golden eyes locked onto Akainu with cold intensity. Leo, in his head, was speechless.
I… I did it?! He's down?!
TO BE CONTINUED...
Follow me on P@treon for more chapters! +30 chaps available with more other fics
[email protected]/Hemlet (Remplace @ to a)