"You see…" Mihawk growled, wiping the blood from his lips, "…even legends bleed."
The giant burst into laughter—a hoarse, rasping laugh mixed with bloody coughs. "HA… HAHAHA! Well said!"
"You're weakened, old man," Mihawk shot back, his cold voice cutting through the clamor.
Leo was exulting inside.
I said it! Badass as hell!
Whitebeard chuckled. "And you talk too much for a loner."
With a mighty blow, he shoved Mihawk back, sending him skidding across the ice for several meters. But Mihawk drove Yoru into the ground to halt his slide, a black streak marking his path. Without missing a beat, he unleashed another energy slash—a green-and-black wave streaking straight for Whitebeard.
The Yonko slammed his bisento into the ice, a barrier of vibrations deflecting the attack skyward. The slash cleaved a cloud in two, sending a shower of frozen debris raining down on the bay. Seizing the distraction, Whitebeard charged again, his right fist wrapped in a sphere of Haki and tremors.
Mihawk dodged by a hair's breadth, the strike grazing his shoulder and obliterating an entire section of ice behind him. Water erupted in a geyser before crashing back down in crystalline shards.
Leo felt a surge of panic.
He's too strong! Even with Mihawk, I'm not sure I can beat him!
But Mihawk's body betrayed no fear. With supernatural grace, he countered, Yoru aiming for Whitebeard's flank. The blade sliced into the Yonko's flesh once more, a spurt of blood staining the ice. Whitebeard grunted but didn't falter. Instead, he swung his bisento in retaliation, forcing Mihawk to leap back.
For a moment, the two warriors stood still, panting—or rather, Whitebeard panted. Mihawk remained composed, his breathing steady, golden eyes locked on his foe. The ice around them was a wasteland of cracks and debris. In the distance, the battle raged on, but here, it was as if time had frozen.
"You're stubborn, Hawk," Whitebeard said, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "But it won't be enough."
Leo tightened his grip on Yoru and lunged again. This time, he feinted a frontal strike, baiting Whitebeard to raise his bisento in defense. At the last second, Mihawk pivoted to the side, targeting the Yonko's legs. The blade sliced through the air, grazing Whitebeard's thigh and forcing him to brace his bisento against the ground to keep from toppling.
A hand clutched his chest where the blood flowed heaviest. "Gurarara… it's not… you who…"
His pupils dilated. A low gurgle rumbled in his chest. Whitebeard staggered, one knee slamming into the ice with the sound of a falling tree.
"Heart…" he whispered, veins bulging in his neck like ropes. "Not… now…"
Leo understood instantly: A heart attack. Just like in the manga.
Whitebeard struggled to rise, his defiant gaze fixed on Mihawk.
"Don't think… it's over… little hawk…" he gasped.
Before Mihawk could respond, a glowing red shadow erupted from his left. Akainu, the magma-fisted admiral, had spotted the opening. "It's over, Whitebeard!" he roared, hurling an incandescent fist straight at the downed Yonko.
Leo reacted on pure instinct. Yoru rose in a blinding arc, a black blade aura surging forth to intercept the attack. Akainu's magma was sliced clean through, exploding into molten droplets that scattered across the ice, hissing with steam. The admiral recoiled, his face contorted with fury.
"Dracule Mihawk!" Akainu spat. "You dare defy justice?"
Mihawk didn't spare him a glance. He turned to Whitebeard, still kneeling, and drove Yoru into the ice before him. His voice rang out, clear and commanding, above the chaos.
"Speak your last words to the world."
Silence fell over Marineford. All eyes—pirates, marines, Warlords—turned to the two legends. Whitebeard, breathing heavily, raised his head, a bitter smile on his lips.
Leo felt his heart—or Mihawk's—pounding in his chest. This is it. History changes here and now.
Leo knew before Akainu even moved. The admiral lunged again at the weakened Yonko, his magma fist blazing white-hot.
"FINISH HIM, WHITEBEARD!" the human volcano bellowed.
But Yoru was already in motion. A wave of black energy swept forth, cleaving Akainu in two before he could strike. The admiral's upper half crashed farther off, his magma struggling uselessly to reform.
"WHAT?!" Sakazuki thundered, his face twisted in incandescent rage. "MIHAWK, YOU BETRAY THE MARINES?!"
The swordsman planted himself between the dying Whitebeard and the world. "A dignified death, I said." His golden gaze swept over the admirals, the Warlords, the pirate horde. "Step forward, and you'll learn the meaning of disgrace."
A murmur rippled through the bay. The oldest among them remembered—centuries ago, another swordsman had held the Gulf of Perdition against a hundred ships. Mihawk, now, stood against an entire era.
Whitebeard laughed weakly, blood staining his teeth. "Funny… hawk…" His hand groped toward the scar on his chest—the one "that guy" had given him. "Ace…"
Mihawk didn't turn, but his voice carried clearly: "He'll live. I swore it."
A radiant smile split the giant's ravaged face. "Then… LISTEN, ALL OF YOU…" His voice faltered, then surged with final strength, amplified by the Gura Gura: "THE ONE PIECE…!"
Silence descended. Sengoku went pale on the platform.
"…IS REEEAAAL!!!"
Whitebeard's roar shattered the last intact windows of Marineford.
Mihawk yanked Yoru from the ice with a sharp tug, the black blade gleaming with a sinister aura under the lightning-streaked sky. Whitebeard, standing, heaved ragged breaths.
The Yonko's bellow—"THE ONE PIECE IS REEEAAAL!!!"—had frozen the battle in collective shock. Pirates and marines, Warlords and admirals, all seemed suspended in a timeless moment, their eyes locked on the dying giant and the solitary swordsman before him.
Leo, within Mihawk, felt a thrill of exhilaration surge through him.
It's done. He said it. The world will tremble.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Schedule: 2 chaps/Tuesday
Follow me on P@treon for more chapters! +20 chaps available with more other fics
p@treon.com/Hemlet (Remplace @ to a)