Mihawk was upset but there was nothing he could do if the opponent wasn't willing to give his all.
He couldn't have his duel today.
"Unfortunate indeed. "
The red and black lightning, which had been violently tearing the atmosphere of Marineford to shreds just seconds prior, began to dissipate.
Mihawk followed Light's gaze to the scaffold. His sharp intellect, honed by years of dealing the vast sea as a neutral party quickly pieced together the False Deity's sudden shift in intent. He understood the priorities in Light's mind.
The Warlord slowly lowered the tip of Yoru.
Mihawk's face, usually an emotionless mask, cracked. A faint, knowing smirk touched his stoic features as he analyzed the sheer conviction burning in the False Deity.
"...I see," Mihawk murmured. His deep, resonant voice carried a rare note of anticipation.
Cling.
He lifted the colossal Yoru and smoothly slid it into the magnetic harness on his back, the heavy black steel settling with a resonant cling.
Light may have his reasons but he couldn't let him go just like that. At the very least-
He would make the opportunity.
"False Deity."
"If not now then..."
"You and me, after this war."
Light Yagami looked at the Warlord.
His eyes were still locked onto the hawk-like eyes.
"Duel of the Swordsmen."
"Deal?"
Light couldn't help but give Mihawk an annoyed look. Hasn't he had enough fun already?
Mihawk continued looking. He wasn't a bit ashamed.
"...Fine, deal." Light answered. His voice was flat, and full of annoyance.
'Heh.'
'Got you.'
Mihawk smirked. And without another word, without a single glance back at the battlefield that had terrified the world, the World's Strongest Swordsman simply turned his back on the False Deity, not afraid of a sneak attack.
A swordsman would never attack the back.
He began to walk away, abandoning the center of the plaza, completely lose interest in the Paramount War now that his ultimate duel had been delayed.
"W-what happened?"
"He simply walked away!"
"What! No longer fighting?!"
"Hahaha! I won't have to worry about suddenly being bisected now! This is good too!!"
The surrounding combatants—elite Marine Captains and New World veteran captains alike—were left in a state of profound, paralyzing confusion. They had braced themselves for the ultimate clash of Kings, only to watch the duel simply... dissipate.
Light didn't waste a single second dwelling on Mihawk's departure. His focus narrowed until the entire world consisted only of the execution platform.
He didn't run to the scaffold. To do so would invite Admirals to intercept him, creating a new stalemate. He could count on the other bigwigs to help but he was pretty sure he wasn't counted among the 'allies'.
If anything, the majority on both sides would probably be happy to see him get out of the picture!
They might not even believe him.
But sometimes, not everything has to be planned.
A simple method was all that was needed.
Light took a breath, expanding his chest.
His body was naturally as strong as an Ancient Zoan fruit user in Hybrid Form.
His Life Force was at Level 20, that was no joke.
Then.
Boom!
Light's voice tore through the battlefield.
"OYE LUFFYYYY!"
It was loud. So loud.
The voice vibrated directly into the ears of its target, and everyone else's a hundred yards away.
"Your time is up! They are moving to prematurely execute Ace..."
"RIGHT... NOW!"
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
Boom!
"NANIII???"
A wave of profound, devastating confusion swept over the pirate forces.
Clang!
Whitebeard, currently locked in a brutal elemental stalemate with both Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji, paused his clash. He leaned heavily on his bisento, his golden eyes narrowing in deep skepticism as he looked toward the scaffold.
"Pops? What's going on?" Jozu asked, wiping a traces of blood from his diamond arm as he helped hold the line against Vice Admiral Onigumo.
"Sengoku... " Whitebeard rumbled, his voice filled with a father's deep distrust of Marine tactics.
"This False Deity... he says the execution is now. But the time hasn't come."
"Sengoku is a man of strategy...he could indeed do this."
"But... he hasn't been able to turn off the camera Den-Den Mushis yet."
"He would not risk the Marine's reputation."
Whitebeard reached a conclusion.
"The brat in the black coat must be lying to sow chaos."
"Just... keep an eye out, Marco."
Whitebeard didn't believe Light, but he keeping an eye out was still something he would do as a father.
Marco the Phoenix, currently regenerating from a volley of ice partisans launched by Aokiji, agreed.
"Yes Pops!"
"Pops is right, boys! Don't let your concentration slip! It must be that bastard's trick!"
"The time hasn't come yet!"
But even as they spoke, the Whitebeard Commanders doubled down on their intensity. They might not trust the source, but the very thought that Ace could die in the next minute ignited a frantic, desperate adrenaline in their veins.
GRIP.
"Gurarararara!"
"Step aside, Magma-brat!"
Whitebeard roared, clenching his massive fist. A vibrating orb of quake-energy gathered around his knuckles, humming with the frequency to split the island.
"AS IF! YOU RELIC!"
Boom!
"YAAAAAAA!"
TSSSSSSS.
Admiral Akainu didn't hesitate. He was locked in a volcanic fury. He transformed his entire body into a churning, bubbling mass of dark red magma. The sheer heat radiating from him was actively melting the frozen bay, turning the ice into a boiling, scalding pool of water.
"METEOR... VOLCANO!"
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom!
Akainu launched a relentless barrage of colossal molten hounds into the air, raining them down over Whitebeard and the advance pirate fleet.
The Admiral wasn't skeptical of the premature execution; he knew it was true. To Akainu, an executed Ace meant total victory and the eradication of the "Devil's Bloodline." He intensified his assault, intending to pin Whitebeard down so the Emperor could do nothing but watch his son die.
"Ara ra..."
Aokiji, usually lazy, was now equally serious, shooting massive glaciers and partisans to keep Marco and Jozu separated. The elemental warriors of the battlefield had accelerated their conflict to an apocalyptic pace.
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
A mile away, on the eastern flank, the Dark King was experiencing the same crisis.
"Ha... Ha..."
Silvers Rayleigh exhaled a ragged, heavy breath. A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead, freezing instantly only to be vaporized by the blistering heat radiating from his opponent.
Zoom! PEW! PEW! PEW!
This battle couldn't be breezed through like the one at Sabaody's.
Rayleigh was currently surrounded by twelve identical light-clones of Admiral Kizaru, who were synchronized to unleash a synchronized flurry of light-speed slashes from their Ama no Murakumo blades.
"Ha... Ha..."
"Quite the trick, Borsalino..."
Rayleigh, gripping his simple, black-coated straight sword with both hands, using high-level Internal Destruction Haki to survive, was holding the line, but the sheer stamina was draining him.
Kizaru wasn't unscathed either. To have fought the Dark King up until now, his clothes were half-tattered by now. One particular 10 cm slash wound on his forearm had turned his sleeve red.
Damn it he really was trying today!
And not to mention!
Anybody could see the footwear-print on his forehead! He was kicked in the face!
Fighting a serious Rayleigh wasn't an easy job!
At Light's warning, Rayleigh paused. He parried three clones simultaneously, his Observation Haki analyzing the scaffold.
"The False Deity..." Rayleigh muttered, his weary voice weary but fierce. "No... Why would he lie now? His killing criteria leans on the Government side more than any of us."
Light's warning resonated deeply with Rayleigh. The Dark King had watched Light operate.
"And he wouldn't try to fool Luffy!"
The Reaper of the South Blue didn't just sow chaos for amusement; he systematized targets. Rayleigh realized, with a sinking dread, that if Light said the execution was happening now, it was happening now.
"That must mean..."
"Sengoku must be truly desperate!"
The Dark King realized that every single pirate in the bay had been operating on a false timeline.
"Yata no Kagami."
Rayleigh focused entirely on the real Admiral Kizaru, who had materialized a hundred yards away, casually forming a mirror to initiate a 'Yata no Kagami' light-beam travel.
BOOOOM!
"Borsalino!" Rayleigh growled, his aura exploding with Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
The spiritual pressure violently erased six of the Kizaru clones in his immediate vicinity. "The dance is over! Move out of my way!"
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A/N: Yo my exams finished. Would start resuming my other fic soon. Cheers!
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