Duel

Ashen grasped his sword with both hands, channeling his blue flames and Haki into it before he dashed towards Mihawk. His sword cracked with black lightning from his Conqueror's Haki, once he closed the distance, he leaped high in the sky and with a wicked grin he unleashed a massive flame Haki-Coated sword slash.

"Celestial Cleave!!" The slash flew towards Mihawk, who already saw it coming using his future sight and chose to respond by imbuing his sword with Haki and channeling his green aura into it, after that using all his might he proceeded to block the attack.

*BOOOM*-*LIGHTNING* Black lightning covered the entire area, as both swordsmen were users of advanced Conqueror's Haki. The force of the impact caused the ground to crack and the trees to uproot.

Mihawk managed to block the attack and redirected away, but Ashen didn't stop there and used the opportunity to fly down towards Mihawk using his momentum to send a downward sword swing.

"Haha! As expected!"

As Ashen and Mihawk's swords clashed, they were barely touching each other as the collision generated massive shockwaves.

When it came to Haki, Ashen was better than Mihawk in Armament Haki as he's able to use Internal Destruction, and in Conqueror's Haki. But Mihawk is a better Observation Haki user as he's able to see into the future.

Ashen quickly leaped back and unleashed a flying vertical sword attack towards Mihawk along the ground. The latter easily saw it coming using his future sight and dodged it effortlessly, before he closed the distance between them again.

He charged his sword with green aura and delivered a swift slash with tremendous power towards Ashen. The latter proceeded to parry it before he reacted by doing the same thing, but not before Mihawk easily dodged his attack again. But this time he had a split-second opening which he used to move behind Ashen at a high speed and strike his back, leaving large cut.

*Splash* Ashen wasn't fazed by Mihawk's attack as he knew very well how strong is the ability to see the future, but he also knew how to counter it and that is by speed. Ashen was way faster than Mihawk, combining Soru, Hasshoken and his flames he can move at incredible speed, although it may not be enough to completely stop Mihawk's future sight.

'When Luffy was fighting Kaido, he said that even though he can see his attacks using future he can barely dodge it because of his speed, while I might not be as fast as Kaido but I'm definitely faster than Mihawk' Ashen thought to himself 'I will use my speed to fight him, until I unlock future sight…I won't back away from this fight until I do that'

Using a combination of Soru, Hasshoken and his flames, Ashen is able to move at an incredible speed. But this version of it is improved, since Ashen was able to improve his Soru technique, his new flames are stronger and allows him to unleash stronger bursts, and he can as well use his awakened ability to release flames from the ground below his feet to further propel himself, while his Hasshoken mastery improve as well from the last time he fought Mihawk.

*Swoosh* Ashen quickly leaped backwards creating a distance before he quickly changed his location and dashed at Mihawk, leaving a trail of blue flames on his wake. Using all his might and his momentum, he sent a powerful diagonal slash from a different angle.

"So fast!" Mihawk quickly held Yoru with both hands and block the attack, but the sheer force pushed him a few meters back "It seems that your Haki is not the only thing that improved, your speed and your devil fruit…I guess fighting an emperor brings the best out of you"

"I didn't know you were so talkative!" Ashen said as he appeared beside him, his sword swinging towards his neck in an attempt to behead him.

Mihawk calmly sidestepped before he counter attacked by thrusting his sword at Ashen's chest. The latter used Inferno Jet Steps to avoid the attack, before he created some distance between them to prepare for his next attack.

'Judging from how he reacts, I would say that he could see around five seconds into the future, which should be reasonable since he still hasn't reached his prime…I would argue that he would be able to see at least double of that in his prime, after all the nickname 'Hawk-Eyes' didn't come from nowhere' Ashen thought in his head.

12 hours later…

Ashen and Mihawk's duel was getting more intense every second as both of them were going all out. As the fight went on, Ashen decided to use his devil fruit power less and his Haki more, since he saw that this as the perfect opportunity to improve his mastery over it, especially Conqueror's Haki which he unlocked not long ago.

During the fight Ashen's Observation Haki got way better, in terms of intent sensing, presence sensing and his range of observation Haki which became much bigger than it was at the start of the fight, he can now almost sense half the island they were currently fighting on.

Ashen's Conqueror's Haki also improve a lot during the fight, where he managed to go a step further. Instead of only coating his limbs, sword or sword slashes with Conqueror's Haki, he also started to emit it from a distance and across a certain range similar to how he would release a shockwave or a burst of flames which would affect an entire area.

But he still hasn't managed to get the important ability to see the future.

"Huff…Huff…Haha! We're just getting started!"

"Huff…I didn't expect you to last this long without being able to see the future"

Both Ashen and Mihawk looked exhausted, while the former suffered from some bad injuries, the latter only got a few cuts. But there wasn't anything fatal, the two looked like they could easily fight for another 12 hours without a break.

*Clang*-*Clang*-*BAAAM* The sound of their clashing could be heard from across the island.

As Mihawk charged his sword with green aura and channeled his Haki into it, he lunged at Ashen determined to land a fatal blow this time.

'Don't attack blindly…every attack has an intent' With his eyes closed, Ashen was calmly trying to predict Mihawk's attacks 'Every attack has a hint'

*Swoosh* As Mihawk's sword was about to hit Ashen, the latter immediately dodged and struck back with his sword.

"Celestial Cleave!!"

*BOOOOM* with a simple diagonal swing from his Shusui, Ashen slashed Mihawk across the chest while unleashing a massive attack of Conqueror's Haki. The Haki taking the form of a radiant sphere, as it expanded, the shockwave of the attack rippled through the air, causing the ground to shake and creating an awe-inspiring display of power. The black and red lightning emanating from the sphere streak outward, crackling and arcing across the surrounding area, further intensifying the spectacle before it finally exploded.

Because Ashen saw a glimpse into the future, he took Mihawk by surprise and the latter couldn't dodge in time and was directly hit by the attack, leaving him with a serious injury. Not only are Ashen's attacks imbued with Conqueror's Haki but also Advanced Armament Haki – Internal Destruction, which causes internal injuries as well.

"That Conqueror's Haki is something, only an emperor could do that" Mihawk praised Ashen's attack, he was panting heavily while holding his chest from pain "It's still not frequent…but he's starting to see the future the same way I do" Mihawk narrowed his eyes saying that.

"That's thanks to you" Ashen said with a grin, before he wiped the blood from his mouth.

…

Somewhere in the New World,

Two massive ships flying pirate flags can be seen from a distance, the first ship was flying the Red Hair Pirates Jolly Roger, while the second one has the Beast Pirates Jolly Roger.

On the Beast Pirates Ship,

"Kaido-san it's the Red Hair Pirates" said a towering figure with a well-muscled, broad-shouldered frame, long limbs and large, black feathered wings on his back. He's King, the right hand of Kaido, he proceeded to inform him as he stood by his side.

"Akagami?" Kaido questioned.

"Yeah, I heard that they were in Totto Land a few weeks back. They most likely got a copy of Big Mom's Poneglyph before Ashen took it" King calmly stated "Kaido-san, we can go after him instead"

"Worororo! Is that so? I heard he got his ass kicked by that Demon, I hope he can put up a fight" Kaido said with a grin as he rested his Kanabō on his shoulder.

On the Red Hair Pirates,

"Boss! We've got a problem…the Beast Pirates Ship is on our tail!" Lucky Roux informed Shanks who stood calmly on the ship's deck.

"So, it's Kaido…"

"What should we do?" Beckmann asked him with a serious face while holding a cigarette in his left hand "If we start a fight now, we might not be able to win"

"Judging by his personality this won't end with a few words…let's see what he wants first"

By Shanks orders, they slowed down the ship and let the Beast Pirates ship catch up to them.

"Akagami!...You have something I want, give it to me and I might let you go" Kaido declared, grasping his weapon tightly clearly showing the opposite of what he said.

"Kaido, I see that you are not here to talk after all" Shanks replied with a menacing tone of voice while holding his sheathed sword hilt.

"*Smile*…I was going after that demon, but…blame your bad luck for coming my way" Just as Kaido muttered those words, he jumped out of his ship, charging towards Shanks at blinding speed while swinging his Kanabō horizontally, leaving a trail of dark lightning behind him.

"Raimei Hakke!!"

When he saw that Shanks quickly unsheathed his sword and lunged at Kaido, encountering his attack with his.

"Kamusari!"

*BOOOM*