Dusk crept in quietly as night gradually blanketed the sky.
In the dormitory prepared for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Jinbe, Gecko Moria, Crocodile, and Donquixote Doflamingo sat together in the living room, exchanging awkward glances.
For two whole hours, no one spoke a word. They simply stared at each other, the atmosphere unbearably tense.
The reason was simple: before moving into this dormitory, all their personal belongings, including their Den Den Mushi and any money they had, had been confiscated by Xayuki, leaving them penniless except for their clothes.
What irked Crocodile the most was that even his cigars had been taken away by Xayuki, making it a luxury to enjoy a smoke to ease his frustration.
"I'm going out for a walk!"
Finally, Jinbe broke the silence and decisively stood up.
"I'll join you!" Crocodile, unusually, extended an invitation. "After all, given our current status, any misstep could easily provoke the Marine officers here. Especially you, Doflamingo. If I recall correctly, during the last Seven Warlords meeting, you bullied quite a few Marine officers and soldiers, treating them like your puppets."
Doflamingo grinned, his trademark laugh echoing. "Fufufufu," I suddenly find myself missing Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Why don't we all go together?" Jinbe glanced back at the three of them before pulling out a few Belly bills from his pocket as if by magic.
Upon seeing this, Crocodile's eyes lit up instantly—he had never been so broke in his life. "As expected of Jinbe, the Sea Knight! Generous as always! But... these few Belly aren't even enough for a single cigar. After all, I only smoke—"
Before Crocodile could finish, Jinbe's eyes widened in anger. "Who said I was buying you cigars?!"
"Buzz—"
"Buzz-buzz—"
Suddenly!
A low-frequency vibration, dizzying and overwhelming, approached from afar, accompanied by visible ripples that swept across the dormitory rooftop.
"What's this—"
"A shockwave?"
As the ripples flashed past, both Doflamingo and Crocodile instinctively looked out the window, exclaiming in unison, "Mihawk!"
Before their words had fully settled, the two leaped out in quick succession, using their Devil Fruit abilities to ascend directly to the rooftop of the dormitory.
Jinbe and Moria reacted soon after, following closely behind to join them on the rooftop. Together, they looked in the direction of the shockwave emanating from the training field.
In the distance, they saw a terrifying purple blade flame clashing fiercely with an even more immense black-and-red sword wave. The impact caused the air to vibrate with low-frequency tremors, and shockwaves rippled outward, distorting the void as they spread in all directions.
Before the four could react further, the two intertwined shockwaves suddenly shot skyward, vanishing into the darkened night sky.
Boom—
A thunderous roar erupted from the heavens.
The night sky split open, revealing a crack through which golden light poured down, illuminating Marineford, which had just been engulfed in darkness.
At first glance, it seemed as though a gateway to the heavens had been opened in the night sky. The sight left the four Warlords swallowing nervously, while Marine officers elsewhere either opened their windows or stepped outside, staring in stunned silence at the celestial phenomenon.
Splitting the heavens, piercing the clouds?
Outside the training field—
The group of Marine officers who had followed Xayuki to watch the duel had all been sent sprawling to the ground by the collision of Mihawk and Xayuki's sword waves.
Yet, as if oblivious to their own predicament, they stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded under the golden light that now bathed them.
Meanwhile, Xayuki, having casually deflected Mihawk's sword wave with a single strike, suddenly frowned.
The next moment—
Bang!
A loud, unexpected crack echoed, causing Mihawk, who had been preparing to charge forward, to halt in his tracks.
Turning toward the sound, Mihawk saw Xayuki's sword shatter into fragments, disintegrating into dust that scattered with the wind.
Even Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, couldn't hide his shock at this sight.
As the preeminent swordsman, Mihawk understood all too well what this meant—it meant that the sword in Xayuki's hand couldn't withstand the sheer force of his terrifying swordsmanship!
The ordinary blade Xayuki had wielded simply wasn't capable of enduring the clash against Mihawk's Black Blade, the strongest sword in the world.
Xayuki had managed to block Mihawk's attack by imbuing the blade with Armament Haki and reinforcing it with Conqueror's Haki. However, the sword ultimately couldn't bear the weight of his power and shattered.
In that moment, Mihawk finally understood why Xayuki, despite possessing the strength of a great swordsman, had used Gion's Konpira during the Seven Warlords meeting instead of his own blade.
Simply put, ordinary swords couldn't handle Xayuki's overwhelming swordsmanship.
"Hold on, hold on~"
Just as Mihawk was processing his thoughts, Xayuki suddenly turned and walked toward the weapon rack at the edge of the training field. "Let me grab another one, and we'll continue!"
Hearing this, Mihawk's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Another one? Forget it. Even if you used every weapon on that rack, it wouldn't make a difference!
Suppressing his thoughts, Mihawk glanced at the night sky, which had just returned to darkness after the heavenly gate had closed. Though he hadn't experienced a truly exhilarating battle, as the world's greatest swordsman, he knew that if Xayuki had been wielding a proper blade like Konpira, the outcome would have already been decided.
After a brief silence, Mihawk took a deep breath and called out to Xayuki, who was now standing by the weapon rack. "There's no need to continue. Our agreement ends here!"
"???"
Xayuki, who had just picked out a satisfactory long sword, turned around, his face full of confusion.
What do you mean, no need to continue?
This was about the reward—a Supreme Grade Sword! How could they just stop?
As Xayuki was about to call Mihawk back, a system notification suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Ding—"
"The system has detected that Dracule Mihawk has forfeited the battle. Based on the system's judgment, you are declared the victor!"
"You have been randomly awarded one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords!"
"Would you like to claim it now?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected reward, Xayuki blinked in surprise. Deciding not to rush, he looked at Mihawk and said straightforwardly, "Since our duel is over, let's talk about Rear Admiral Noah."
"Although I wasn't in the Marines when you killed his former superior, he's my subordinate now."
"But you've helped me in the past, and everyone knows I always repay my debts!"
"So let's strike a balance. From now on, you'll serve as the Marine Headquarters' swordsmanship instructor. Train Noah and the other sword-wielding officers for me!"
Raising his voice, Xayuki added, "I won't let you work for free—how about a monthly salary of 100,000 Belly?"
Mihawk glanced at Noah, who was being carried on the back of a Marine officer, and replied coolly, "Have them gather at the training field by noon tomorrow."
"Noon?" Xayuki was momentarily puzzled.
Mihawk's mouth twitched slightly. "Aren't you planning to include the Seven Warlords in the Ideological Remolding Program?"
Realizing what Mihawk meant, Xayuki nodded repeatedly. "Ah, right, I almost forgot about that!"
Without another word, Mihawk strode out of the training field.
"Ding—"
"The host has successfully received a random reward: one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords!"
"Would you like to claim it now?"
"Claim it, claim it—"
Without hesitation, Xayuki chose to claim the reward.
As soon as he made his choice, the space before him began to distort.
Moments later, a long sword appeared in mid-air. It had a European-style hilt, a slender blade, and a crescent-shaped tip wider than the blade itself.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, on successfully claiming a Supreme Grade Sword!"
"This sword is named Ace, the former weapon of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Since the name 'Ace' was given by Roger, you may choose to keep it or rename the sword."
"Would you like to rename it?"
Roger's sword?
Gripping the hilt, Xayuki raised the blade, examining it closely before muttering, "I'm the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, and you give me a sword used by the Pirate King?!"
Despite his complaints, Xayuki quickly made a decision. After all, something was better than nothing.
"Rename it!"
"Please provide a new name for the sword."
"Let's call it—"
After a moment's thought, Xayuki declared decisively, "Justice!"
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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