This feeling… it was all too familiar.
That black and crimson lightning it sent a visceral shiver down the spine, like some primal instinct begging to flee.
"Mihawk, aren't you the type who likes to show off with basic attacks?"
Ozz's voice was light, almost playful, laced with a teasing undertone that left Mihawk momentarily baffled. Show off with basic attacks?
He didn't understand.
He was just a swordsman pure and simple.
Not good with words, true. But in his eyes, that was normal.
After all, what serious swordsman wasted time on flashy names and theatrical posturing instead of honing their swordsmanship?
But now, facing Ozz, whose entire being was enveloped in a storm of dense, black-crimson light.
Mihawk's finely tuned instincts, honed over years of combat, began screaming. A bead of cold sweat slid down his temple.
This was…
Ozz grinned wickedly.
With a thunderous blast beneath his feet, he vanished forward in a blink launching off with such force that the ground behind him caved in and shattered from the recoil.
CLANG!
Ace, wreathed in crackling black-red lightning, came down like a cleaving force of nature, aimed straight at Mihawk with an earth-splitting strike.
Mihawk responded instinctively. Shifting his stance, he sank his body low and brought down his own full-powered slash to meet the blow head-on.
But it was no use.
SHHHNK!
A flash of red exploded across the air.
In the chaos, Mihawk's famed black blade, Yoru, spun into the sky its trajectory erratic, like a leaf in a storm before it embedded into the ground with a sharp thunk. The hilt trembled violently, as if still echoing the tremendous force it had just endured.
"Why didn't you dodge?"
The black lightning around Ozz's blade dissipated. He looked at the young man before him, his expression twisted with unease.
When his strike had sent Yoru flying, Ozz had already pulled back he hadn't intended to kill Mihawk. That wasn't the point of this.
But this kid…
He charged right into the lingering edge of that blow like some hard-headed fool.
"Dodge?" Mihawk staggered a few steps back, then collapsed to one knee. Blood seeped steadily from his chest wound, yet his face showed no trace of pain. His eyes the hawk's eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
"I'm the man who'll become the world's greatest swordsman. How could I retreat just because I'm afraid of another's blade?
Not even yours, Dotor Ozz.
Never yours."
…
But no matter how noble the words sounded.
A loss was still a loss.
Faced with Ozz's full-force strike, whether in haki, swordsmanship, or sheer power…
Mihawk was outmatched on all fronts.
He'd bested countless famed swordsmen throughout his career but today, he met a monster.
Dotor Ozz.
The moment Yoru was blasted from his hands, he finally understood just how vast the world truly was.
Monsters like this really did exist.
Sabaody Archipelago – Red Light District – Private Lounge, Top Floor
"…That last move of yours was it called Divine Departure?"
Mihawk, shirtless and bandaged up like a mummy by a few scantily clad doctors, lounged on a lavish sofa. Despite their flirtatious attention, he ignored them completely, eyes locked sharply on the man across from him as if he were the real beauty in the room.
Ozz, meanwhile, was reclining comfortably, enjoying a shoulder massage from a petite maid, letting his weary muscles unwind.
Only when Mihawk spoke did he finally crack open an eye to meet that piercing gaze.
"…Nah, that was just a casual swing." Ozz rolled his eyes and replied with feigned nonchalance.
"…"
Mihawk was silent. He wasn't going to argue.
But deep down, he knew.
That move it was exactly the same as the one from Loguetown. That suffocating, world-shattering pressure… It was unmistakable.
"…That black-red lightning was that your Devil Fruit power?"
"You wanna know?"
"…Yes."
"Then beg me."
Ozz grinned wickedly.
Mihawk's face twitched. Even a stoic man like him felt a vein bulge on his temple.
He closed his eyes, refusing to play along.
Seeing that, Ozz finally relented with a chuckle.
"Alright, alright, don't be such a sorehead. That's a form of Conqueror's Haki. I just wrapped it around my blade.
Since I said I wasn't using my fruit power well, I wouldn't cheat on that."
As those words landed, Mihawk's eyes fluttered open once more.
Ozz couldn't help but smile to himself.
What a tsundere, this guy…
But Mihawk ignored the expression entirely. Instead, he looked directly at Ozz with renewed determination and declared:
"One day, I'll grow strong enough to counter that move. But until then…
Let me travel with you, Dotor Ozz."
Ozz only chuckled softly and gave a light nod. "Alright~ I believe in you."
He understood Mihawk well enough.
Looking at the young man's still-boyish features and steely resolve, Ozz could tell this was before the betrayals. Before the Marines. Before the cynicism.
(Author's Note: As mentioned by Oda in SBS Volume 108.)
The day Mihawk chose, like Crocodile, to live under Buggy's banner seeking a quiet, undisturbed sanctuary from the world wasn't born out of cowardice. It was born of disillusionment.
Right now, he hadn't reached that point.
In some strange way, Ozz had just saved him from that path.
Even if Mihawk never realized it.
This was a debt far deeper than the one owed to Doflamingo.
And as far as Ozz was concerned…
Let him pay it off with a lifetime of loyalty.
Across the room, Mihawk took a sip of wine then paused, his brow twitching.
He could feel it, Ozz was thinking something weird again.
A powerful… but strange man.
In the days that followed, Ozz didn't stir up much trouble. There weren't any big, flashy stages worth showing off on anyway.
Most of his time was spent sparring and training with Mihawk on a deserted island. Fighting, honing skills, enjoying a carefree life between battles and bar visits in the Red Light District.
Gradually, the man who would one day become the world's greatest swordsman began to enjoy this life.
Even if every challenge still ended in defeat.
He was growing stronger, faster than ever before.
Just like that, two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Elsewhere, the sea ever restless saw plenty of upheaval, with or without Ozz's presence.
On a ravaged island, reduced to little more than shattered cliffs and flat-topped mountains, two figures stood one seated, one standing.
"Time's about up, huh, Mihawk."
A tall young man, now seventeen, handsome with long hair and a lean, muscular build, sat on a rock.
He looked over at the man in a white shirt, calmly sheathing his blade.
"Yeah… it is."
"Then let's set sail."
The youth's smile was crooked and devilish. Seeing it, even Mihawk broke into a cold sweat.
"Let's go see this era this frenzied, wild age… Bet it'll be tons of fun~"
He stood up, stretching.
"I wonder if the world's gotten more interesting.
Or maybe… it's already forgotten an old relic like me?"
----------------------------------------------------
[ If you're interested to dive into a world of high-stakes games, intense rivalries, and an irresistibly charming lead, don't miss "Gambling Like Crazy, With Super S-Rank Charm! ]
(Next Chapter: "Let's See This New Era, Aboard the Oro Jackson")
Impatient? Same. Hit up my P@treon for future chaos!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"