"Xivi, what are you waiting for? If the boss gets angry, do you think you'll be able to handle it?"
A faint scent of burning lingered around Greensnake's body. Clearly, she had taken a heavy hit earlier and was now urging Xivi to act.
Xivi's face twisted in pain and hesitation, but still, he remained rooted to the spot.
Wayne understood this couldn't drag on any longer. He scoffed coldly.
"What a dishonorable woman."
Sixty Million Volts: Thunder Beast!
Lightning surged across Wayne's body, crackling violently. A massive thunder beast formed in the air, roaring as it launched straight at Greensnake.
This was the strongest technique Wayne had developed so far with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
To Greensnake, the thunder beast was an unstoppable force crashing toward her in the blink of an eye and she knew there was no escaping it.
Desperately, she gathered what little Armament Haki she had and prepared to withstand the impact with her enhanced Zoan physique.
Boom!
The beast let out an earth-shaking roar before colliding with her.
A brilliant flash exploded across the room. Greensnake collapsed, her eyes rolled back, and her body returned to its human form. She lay motionless on the ground.
Wayne confirmed with Observation Haki that she had passed out. Then, he turned to Xivi.
"Now then, let's finish our fight."
"…Alright."
Xivi gritted his teeth and replied with a single word, his aura once again flaring up around him.
Wayne's face turned serious as he raised Yukizoe in his right hand.
"Ittō-ryū: Breaking the Cocoon!"
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Dragon Nest Flash – Fang!"
The two swordsmen dashed forward at once, unleashing powerful sword techniques in a final clash.
Xivi's "Breaking the Cocoon" attack unleashed a black blade aura from a sea of white, wrapped in fierce Armament Haki. It was like a blade being reborn lethal and elegant.
Wayne's "Dragon Nest Flash – Fang" was a refined evolution of his previous technique, faster and more vicious so fast that even Observation Haki struggled to keep up.
In a blink, their shadows crossed.
Wayne stood tall, calmly sheathing Yukizoe.
Behind him, Xivi dropped to one knee, then slowly collapsed to the ground.
Wayne glanced at the tear in his sleeve Xivi's strike had indeed been powerful. But his own technique, faster and sharper, had struck first.
"You're a talented swordsman. Why serve under someone like Slaive?"
Wayne turned to the man coughing up blood on the floor. The remnants of his Dragon Nest Flash were still wreaking havoc inside Xivi's body. He didn't have long.
Xivi smiled bitterly and forced down the blood in his mouth.
"It's not that simple... Forget it. To die by a fellow swordsman's hand I can accept that."
Wayne looked at him with a trace of respect.
"I have a way to save your life. But if I do, you'll serve under me. How about it?"
Xivi gave a broken laugh, as if some final burst of strength had brought him clarity.
"You can't save me... The Slave-Slave Fruit's hold is far stronger than you think…"
He slowly held out his sword, Rakshasa, toward Wayne.
"A swordsman like you deserves a blade worthy of your strength. This is Rakshasa, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords. Treat her well... I believe in you. One day, you'll rise and take the seat that man now occupies..."
Xivi coughed violently, his body trembling. Still, he pressed on.
"Beware the Slave-Slave Fruit... This island... Slaive... isn't what he seems…"
With that, he exhaled his final breath. In his fading gaze still shimmered a strange, resolute light.
They say a man's life flashes before his eyes before death.
Xivi was born in a small town in the West Blue.
At thirteen, he held his first sword a wooden Tang blade, a birthday gift from his father. He loved it dearly and would mimic sword techniques year after year.
At fifteen, he joined a local dojo and began studying real swordsmanship under a respected teacher. Though his master praised his diligence, he lamented that Xivi had started too late to reach true greatness.
That same year, Xivi received his first real sword.
At seventeen, stuck at a plateau, Xivi set out to sea, determined to surpass his limits. He didn't believe in talent only in grit. He practiced swordsmanship twelve hours a day, rain or shine.
By twenty-one, he had become a true swordsman.
But when he returned home, everyone his parents, his relatives, everyone had been slaughtered in a pirate raid.
That was the first time he killed. He wiped out an entire pirate crew twenty-three men in all.
At twenty-three, with no family or ties left, he sailed to the Grand Line, his sword the only thing he had left.
By thirty-two, he had roamed the seas for a decade. He had opened dojos, worked as a bounty hunter, and even awakened the power of Armament Haki. But he had yet to find a blade worthy of him, and his swordsmanship once again reached a dead end.
At thirty-three, he met the world's greatest swordsman Dracule Mihawk. He challenged the man for his title.
He was soundly defeated.
That day, Mihawk carved a savage scar across his chest but spared his life after hearing the words:
"A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame!"
Mihawk left with a parting remark:
"Your skill is decent, but your blade is lacking. A true swordsman should wield a true blade. Find one, then come challenge me again."
At thirty-four, Xivi encountered the unassuming Slaive. For the sake of acquiring Rakshasa, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, he signed a contract that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
In exchange for the sword, Xivi had to serve Slaive for ten years.
But what he didn't know was that the moment he signed that contract, his body and will no longer belonged to him. Under the effects of the Slave-Slave Fruit, he could no longer disobey and he became Slaive's number one enforcer.
A man infamous for his cruelty.
But with Rakshasa in hand, Xivi's strength grew by leaps and bounds. The sword could absorb Armament Haki, sharpening his edge with every strike. Through this, he finally broke through to the level of a true Greatsword Master.
At thirty-six, Xivi never got the chance to challenge Mihawk again.
Instead, he died by the hand of Wayne, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
But he did not die with regret.
Because Wayne was a real swordsman.
And so, Xivi entrusted his dream and his beloved sword Rakshasa to the man he believed could one day take the throne he once longed for.
The throne that had haunted his dreams.
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