The Start

I hit the ground hard before rolling onto my back and rating my arms in a cross block to stop Mihawk's punch. My bones shattered before repairing in a matter of seconds, and I roared in pain, returning the favor with a headbutt that staggered the Warlord.

Rivers of blood flowed down my body, mixing with dirt and grim. Mihawk wasn't any better. It was the dawn of the fifth day since we started fighting. With each step, I felt my muscles tear, and it took every ounce of willpower to repair them and push past the pain.

My sword dragged across the ground as I charged at Mihawk as he staggered from side to side. Hearing my large footfalls, Mihawk turned and raised his sword to meet me for what must have been the hundredth time.

Throwing my shoulder into Mihawk, I tackled him to the ground but ended up falling myself, landing on my back next to warlord. We both were at our limits, both mentally and physically, I watched as blood started to pool around me, and I watched it trickled away.

"I think we can call this one a draw." I looked over at Mihawk, "Sure, after five days of nonstop fighting, I don't see why not." Closing my eyes, all I wanted to do was fall asleep and forget about all my worries.

However, that's when I thought about what I came here for, "Mihawk, I need to ask you something?" The warlord didn't respond, but I could hear his labored breathing. "Sometime soon, the World Government is going to ask for your help. Even if it means losing your title, don't answer."

Mihawk was silent for a moment before he nodded and sat up, "Before today, I had nothing to look forward to, no rival, no threat of danger. But over the past five days, I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time.

Standing, Mihawk used his sword as a cane, "The feeling that I am no longer at the top, I have something new to measure myself against. It will be a long time before we meet again, Soren but know that when it happens, only one of us will stand."

Feeling confident in my ability to stand on my own, I faced off against Mihawk and smiled, "I look forward to that day." Turning around, I created a portal and disappeared through the other side.

Stepping into my bedroom, I almost collapsed when someone caught me and lowered me to the floor. Looking up, I could see the outline of Leana standing over me, "Sorry I'm late, but..."

I couldn't finish my sentence as I passed out on the spot, my brain shutting down to preserve the little life I had left.

Sometime later, I awoke feeling sore, battered, and bruised all over, there was an IV drip attached to my arm, and most of my body was wrapped in bandages. Looking around, I didn't see anyone, so I got up, ripping out the IV and any other medical tubing.

Opening my inventory, I reached in and retrieved my pills, grabbing a handful. I eventually worked them down and felt my body start to repair, breaking down the nutrients.

"It's been a while since I was this beaten up." Sitting down on the bed, I rubbed my face as I thought about my fight with Mihawk. He was incredible. His skill had breached the border of humanly possible. It was enough to level the playing field with me using my main devil fruit power.

Realizing I was naked, I got a pair of clothes from my inventory, and afterward, I was already feeling better. "How long was I asleep?" As I reached for the handle, something exploded, shaking the whole building.

Ripping the door open, I looked into the hallway to see everyone running about in chaos. Snapping my finger, I created a portal and stepped outside and was in shock to see what was going on.

It was a battlefield. People ran for cover as cannonballs started to rain down on the beach. Before I could react, I felt the hair's on my arms rise and watched as a comet rose into the air with the crackling of electricity.

Following its path, I noticed the cruise-sized ships surrounding the island, all their cannons trained on my island. As another wave of cannon fire came, I was ready to react when a wall of fluffy white clouds rose and blocked the artillery.

The mist then turned a deathly green before the wind blew it back at the ships. However, a crack of thunder caught my attention, and I turned to see an entire chunk of a ship disappear, the edges of the wood smoldering and turning to charcoal.

Then a giant pair of arms coated in haki rose from the ocean before slamming down onto the same ship. Just as I thought nothing else was coming, there was a blast of heat, and a second sun appeared for a brief second; however, the flames were blue.

The ball of flame descended on the ship, expanding to engulf the entire vessel and everyone on board. Recognizing each of the attacks, I smiled, "With how much you've guys have grown, you'd think I've been gone for months."

Growing a pair of wings, I shot into the air until I was above even the main masts of the ships, "They used a Buster Call on me, such a waste." Holding up my hand, I stretched out with my devil fruit and started to gather all the blood in a hundred-mile radius.

It wasn't long before I had an orb that cast a shadow over the entire battlefield, "Let's make it rain." The ball burst apart, turning into thin needles that were almost invisible but incredibly sharp.

The air turned red as the needles rained down over the ships, some hitting the water harmless but others riddling the deck claiming countless lives.