"Straw Hat, we meet again…"
Dracule Mihawk calmly watched Luffy charge toward him, his sharp eyes devoid of emotion.
"It's a pity Shirogai is not by your side this time. Although I am grateful for the insight he gave me into the sword, the strike that must be delivered will not be withheld."
Whoosh!
The Black Blade, Yoru, flashed as it descended without hesitation.
Boom!
"Hawkeye!"
Luffy shouted as he narrowly dodged the slash.
Boom!
"I…!"
A Marine lurking behind Luffy, attempting a sneak attack, was caught directly in the sword arc. He lowered his head in confusion as his body slowly split apart.
Puff. Puff.
The slash continued forward, mercilessly cutting through every unfortunate pirate and Marine in its path.
"Damn it! Don't you Seven Warlords care about your own people?!"
Vice Admiral Onigumo appeared in front of the advancing slash. His twin swords, along with the eight spider-like blades formed from his hair, were all coated in Armament Haki.
"Ten Sword Style, Thousand Nine!"
Ten blades roared as they struck the ground together, forcibly dispersing the remaining sword energy.
"Tch… what terrifying power."
Luffy gasped, glancing behind him at the dozen corpses left behind. Cold sweat ran down his back.
"Straw Hat, take another step forward and you will be cut down by my blade."
Mihawk calmly swung Yoru once more, sending another slash tearing through the air.
"Seriously, of all times, I had to run into a slash specialist!"
Luffy clenched his teeth and dropped into a crouch as steam began rising from his body.
"Don't stop me! I'm going to save Ace!"
Ignoring the fear gnawing at him, he dodged the attack and surged forward at extreme speed, charging past Mihawk toward Marineford.
For most people, Luffy's speed was already overwhelming.
For Mihawk, it was still insufficient.
…
Before Luffy could even land, Yoru was already angled toward his path.
"Ahhhh!"
Pirates and Marines caught along the trajectory screamed as they were either bisected or lost limbs in an instant.
The blood-soaked sword energy arrived in front of Luffy the moment his feet touched the ice.
"This is bad…"
Luffy's pupils shrank as he stared at the incoming attack.
Crack!
"Hiss…"
The unstoppable slash suddenly shattered, dispersing into nothing just inches from Luffy.
Blood trickled down.
…
Luffy blankly touched the small cut on the tip of his nose and swallowed hard.
He had nearly died.
"Hm?"
Mihawk's eyes narrowed. He had clearly felt something disrupt his attack.
"This is…"
His gaze shifted to the object embedded in the ice.
A date pit.
"Who did this?"
Mihawk looked up sharply toward its origin.
On the distant VIP viewing stand, lavish and completely out of place amidst the battlefield, a young man reclined lazily in his chair, smiling as he waved in a friendly manner.
Shirogai Yamikuro.
"…So you really came."
Mihawk exhaled slowly as he watched Luffy flee deeper into the battlefield. Yoru trembled slightly in his grip, as if longing to return to its sheath.
With Shirogai present, Luffy was untouchable.
"Multiplier, one hundred times Slash!"
Suddenly, a massive black blade formed high above Mihawk. It expanded rapidly before crashing straight down.
Boom!
Ice mist erupted in all directions as the ice fractured violently.
Rumble. Rumble.
Seawater surged upward as a massive gully, stretching all the way to the seafloor, split open beneath them.
"So you're the world's strongest swordsman now?"
World, holding his shrunken blade, laughed loudly as he stared at the unharmed Mihawk.
"Before I was imprisoned, that title belonged to a woman. Come on, let's fight!"
…
Mihawk calmly studied the sword-wielding pirate.
"World, the World Destroyer."
"Oh? You know me?"
World grinned, casually swinging his weapon.
"This era is getting more interesting by the second. Multiplier, one hundred times Slash!"
"Remnants of a former age…"
Mihawk swung Yoru into empty air. Blinding sword light erupted.
Boom!
World's blade expanded instantly, coated in Armament Haki, and collided directly with Yoru.
Crack!
Black lightning exploded outward as the clash sent shockwaves through the battlefield, crushing the ice surface down by nearly a meter.
"What terrifying pressure!"
"Who is fighting over there?!"
Pirates and Marines alike struggled to keep their footing.
…
"Do not delay any further. Initiate the ultimate plan."
Seeing Shirogai intervene to save Luffy, Fleet Admiral Sengoku issued his command through the Den Den Mushi without hesitation.
Waiting any longer would only worsen the situation. That man was a blade hanging over their heads, ready to fall.
"Understood."
Admiral Aokiji dispelled the distant ice mist.
"What is that behind us?!"
As the fog cleared, the pirates froze.
The areas that had been guarded by their rear forces were now littered with corpses.
Standing atop them was a terrifying sight.
"Tyrant Kuma…?!"
…
More than a hundred identical figures stood in silence.
Pacifista.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
They marched forward in perfect unison toward the bay opening.
"So many of them…"
Whitebeard's expression darkened as he stared from the Moby Dick.
"This exceeds our estimates."
"Hmph. We still weren't fully prepared."
On the execution platform, Sengoku looked toward the advancing Pacifista, regret flickering in his eyes.
"It's unfortunate the World Government's latest technology hasn't yet been applied to them."
Buzz.
Boom!
Rumble!
The Pacifista opened their mouths and raised their hands, unleashing indiscriminate laser barrages at everything within range.
Boom!
Explosions erupted everywhere as flames filled the battlefield.
"Why are they hitting us too?!"
"We're still fighting the pirates, we haven't even pulled back yet, ahhh!"
Boom!
Marines were blasted away alongside pirates.
"We were…"
Some died instantly, disbelief frozen on their faces.
"Sacrificing comrades to secure an advantage."
Shirogai casually tossed a nearly fully ripened fruit, chuckling softly.
"It's a shame you still care too much about appearances, Sengoku. You don't dare show this side to the whole world."
As he spoke, several broadcast screens around the battlefield abruptly went dark.
…
Justice was nothing more than a convenient mask for propaganda.