Third-person POV.
A multitude of Marine ships could be seen surrounding an island. The ships attempted to enter the area but were stopped.
Out of nowhere, a ship was destroyed; frenzied lightning erupted from the wreckage. As it sank into the depths of the Calm Belt, a woman with black hair and red eyes, about 6'4" tall, could be seen. She wore typical Amazonian attire with gauntlets; beside her, she held a giant white hammer with yellow stripes.
Days had passed since the Levely; the Shichibukai post had been dismantled; and the pirates who were part of this system were once again being hunted by the Marines.
Marine 1: "Damn it, it's her," he said, watching the ship slowly sink and his attacker perched atop the wreckage, surveying the warships.
Marine 2: "Yes, she's the Kuja Pirates' berserker, Luna Manmayer, with a bounty of 1,000,000,000 Belly."
Luna hadn't had a bounty, but now that the Kuja Pirates were once again enemies of the government, she was given the modest bounty of 1,000,000,000 Belly.
Before the marines realized it, the hammer was already upon them, and in less than a second, the ship was pierced and, by default, destroyed.
Luna snapped at the situation. In addition to the marines, Blackbeard's pirates had also arrived; she could only follow her adoptive mother and captain's instructions on how to deal with the marines while she kept an eye on the pirates.
She had called her father for help, but sadly, Dante wasn't available; first, he was far away; second, he was dealing with something of equal or perhaps even greater importance at that moment. The good news was that her cry for help was answered by the former empress's husband.
As she was lost in thought, she sensed something dangerous approaching. She leaped out of the way, cutting through the water and creating a waterfall.
"I expected nothing less from someone who shares my blood, someone capable of reacting so quickly," a man's voice said.
Luna turned to face him and recognized him immediately.
Luna: "Vice Admiral Gilgamesh."
The two siblings stared at each other from about 20 meters away.
Gil: "Koby, you and the others train the island. I'll take care of her," he said, readying his spear, ready to attack.
Luna: "Not that I would allow that," she said, extending her hand as bolts of electricity coursed through her body.
In just two seconds, the Mjolnir he had thrown earlier returned to his hand, and with the combined force of the two, he spun it at Gil. Gil merely smiled violently, intercepting the attack with his Durindana.
And so began the battle between the two brothers that would shake the entire Calm Belt.
...
Dante's POV
I had a newspaper in my hand, which alerted me to the changes that had occurred in the world.
Big Mom and Kaido had fallen, and in that fall, two figures rose: Straw Hat Luffy and Buggy the Clown.
Luffy, along with his ally, had managed to defeat two Yonko in Wano, with the help of his new ally and commander of the Straw Hat fleet, the Spade Pirates.
No one expected it; only those who knew Ace knew this could happen. Many believed Ace would become a Yonko, not that one could be among them.
Thanks to this, Luffy's threat level was increased, so his final bounty was 3,500,000,000 Belly, about 500,000,000 Belly more than his original bounty, just for having Ace (with a bounty of 1,222,000,000 Belly) under his command, and by default, characters like Namur (with a bounty of 256,000,000 Belly), Vista (with a bounty of 309,550,000 Belly), Juzo (with a bounty of 367,000,000 Belly), and Yamato, the Oni Princess, with a bounty of 890,000,000 Belly.
Basically, the Straw Hats' strongest allies.
But the problem was the other guys. Buggy the clown.
With his implementation of hunting Marines, he's put himself in the crosshairs of the World Government. And frankly, that's something I don't like. However corrupt the Marines may be, they're a minority in my opinion, since the majority protect and hunt down bad pirates, or pirates in general.
The Marines' mentality and sense of duty aren't bad; the problem is the execution, which has left them in a rather poor light. Especially since they put a bounty on Marie and a huge one on Gil, and I can't allow that.
Luna called me earlier, but I was away looking for these guys at the time. If I had gone when she called, I wouldn't have arrived in time; I could only trust Luna and Rayleigh. From what I understand, Gil was there and fought against Luna. The battle was interrupted to save the Marines who had been turned to stone, among other things, but from what I gathered from Rayleigh, Luna was badly injured, with a punctured lung and several other cuts, while Gil ended up with an arm almost destroyed and several burns all over his body.
They were both doing their jobs, so they couldn't do or say anything.
Getting back to the main topic, I'm currently in pirate hunter mode. Since Buggy was rescued by Mihawk and Crocodile joined them, they moved to another location, an unknown place, which is why I'm still searching. But thanks to T-Bone's death, may the good man rest in peace, I was able to discover where they are, since I'm tracking the man who killed him and is after the reward.
The crucial question was whether to let them live or kill them. There's one I'm definitely going to send to his grave, but what about the others? I'll probably decide as this whole thing unfolds.
As I sailed toward where I was, I could already see the island. And as I got closer and closer, suddenly fireworks went off.
At first I didn't understand, but when I saw that they had launched several Buggy-brand cannonballs at me, I understood.
With Ebony and Ivory, I shot the bullets before they reached me, since I didn't want them to destroy the Skíðblaðnir.
My plan was to pose as someone who wanted to work with them and then capture him without them noticing, but I think he has good enough hearing to know when to "warn and attack."
I jumped and, using Geppo, headed for the island. I had to dodge several shots, bullets, and aerial attacks.
When I reached the shore, none of the pirates moved; they were too scared to do anything. Suddenly, one mustered up the courage to try and attack me with a sword, but when I stared at him, he stopped and fell on his backside, and I was frozen solid. Ironic.
So I walked straight to where the main clown tent was.
Mihwak was waiting at the entrance of the tent; he just stared at me, which I returned. You can see the stitched scar on his cheek, since that thing is already completely open, and I don't think Zoro or the ghost girl knows how to treat a wound.
At that moment, a clown with a red nose and a face somewhere between anger and absolute fear appeared from the ledge of the tent.
Buggy: "What does all this mean?" he said in his booming voice.
I just stared at him and smiled, which seemed to frighten him, as he retreated deeper into the Grim Reaper's shadow, though still out of sight.
Dante: "I've only come to finish a duel from about two years ago that I couldn't settle," I said, shifting my gaze from Buggy to Mihawk. It wasn't the whole truth, but it was something.
???: "You think we're going to let you do whatever you want in our territory?" a man's voice called out. When I looked, I realized it was Crocodile, a cigar in his mouth, his expression very serious.
Dante: "Exactly," I said, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and stare in disbelief.
Pirate 1: "Who the hell do you think you are?" I heard someone shout, and the others joined in.
Pirate 2: "Don't get too cocky."
Pirate 3: "Yeah, the great Buggy will tear you to pieces."
I just listened and wondered how Buggy achieved this level of adoration; witnessing this in people, I can only say that this clown of crime, this coward, is quite something.
(Note: The "coward" part is to differentiate him from the jokester, the laugh-out-loud, Mr. Society, or whatever you call him in your countries).
While listening to all that, I took the opportunity to pull the Fusion Sword out of my inventory. When I did, everyone fell silent.
Dante: "Are you done talking yet?" I asked, wiping my ear. Hearing nothing, I decided to act. "Let's begin then," he said.
I forcefully stomped the ground, shattering the floor into a spiderweb pattern, unleashed Conqueror's Haki, and transformed into my complete form in a second.
And without wasting any more time, I launched myself at Mihawk, who managed to block my attack by curving his sword to avoid being dragged.
The entire area was devastated by the force; the giant reaper was instantly destroyed, and Buggy was sent flying into the distance, Team Rocket style.
In the ensuing struggle, I pushed him back and slashed him, which he managed to block, but this time I sent him flying backward.
Using Soru, I reached my opponent, who was able to block almost all of my attacks. I was flying at top speed, slashing wildly. What was surprising was that Mihawk was able to react to the attack, but no matter how fast he reacted, his attack speed was no match for my movement speed.
After landing a few more decent slashes, Mihawk drew his sword and tried to cut me, but I managed to block his attack. Now he had the upper hand, but not by much.
I released one hand and summoned Ebony, coated the pistol and bullets with Haki, and fired three quick shots.
Mihawk managed to move Yoru to block two of the three shots, one of which struck him in the shoulder.
He stared at me in disbelief, as if he didn't understand what was happening.
Dante: "What was the difference, except for last time, when it was just a clash between swordsmen? Now it's you and me facing off at full strength; it would be foolish of me not to use my entire arsenal against you, wouldn't it?"
Mihawk, being Mihawk, said nothing about that, simply positioning himself to intercept the next attack. But before I could ask for payment, I felt myself sinking. When I looked down, I saw quicksand pulling me under.
Déjà vu. I thought to myself as I blocked a slash from Mihawk. I glanced to the side to see Crocodile walking slowly with a sand tornado forming in his hand.
With sheer brute force, I shook Mihawk off me and flew away from the ground.
I quickly launched a slash at Crocodile, but he had already expanded into the sand, dodging the attack.
Dante: "It's rare to see an old dog learning something new; that straw hat beating must have done wonders for your head," I remarked, trying to provoke Crocodile into acting impulsively. Instead, I only got a sandstorm to the face.
Looking around, I dodged another slash from Mihawk, only to have multiple sand snakes appear beneath me, trying to devour me.
I had to get out of the sandstorm. I could sense Mihawk, but not Crocodile; it was as if he were everywhere and nowhere at once.
So, destroying the sand creatures attacking me, I flew out of the storm. As I flew out, several torrents of sand attacked me, which I easily dodged.
When I got out, I ran into two of Buggy's oldest henchmen, the lion tamer and the one with the squid. The moment we saw each other, they tried to attack me, but with a single blow, I knocked them both down, leaving them on the ground, unable to move.
I quickly ducked to dodge Mihawk's Haki-infused slash, and we engaged in a sword duel.
Crocodile: "Dezāto guarnde esupāda," he said, dodging a sand attack, allowing Mihawk to land a cut on me. The damage wasn't visible, but it severed my shoulder.
Dante: "How annoying," I said with a click of my tongue.
Crocodile tensed when I stared at him.
Mihawk didn't stop there; with all the speed and strength he could muster, he lunged at me. My fluid swordsmanship was polished enough to counter several of my attacks.
Crocodile flew through the air with his sand, closing the distance and beginning to attack me from afar, careful not to harm Mihawk.
The situation was frustrating; I had to focus on Mihawk, as his slashes were enough to damage me; he wouldn't sever my arm, but he would leave it unusable, all while I had to deal with the annoyance of him attacking with sand from a distance.
I had to dodge two different attacks simultaneously, because if I blocked one, the other would give him time to damage me, and what I couldn't allow was for Crocodile to touch me, as he could drain all the water from my body, making it easier for Mihawk to kill me.
Deflecting the sword, I let him attack me in a non-vital area while also defending with Haki. I managed a relatively harmless attack, but it did leave Mihawk slightly more vulnerable.
Quickly, summoning chains, I wrapped Yoru in them, giving Mihawk no time to react. With a powerful blow, I sent the swordsman flying, knowing he wouldn't let go of his blade.
Taking advantage of the swordsman's absence, I summoned Tonbogiri and launched it at Crocodile. He didn't see the attack coming, and the Haki-coated spear struck him head-on, piercing his chest.
By the time Crocodile realized what had happened, it was too late. I was already in his grasp and swiftly pulled the spear from his chest, causing a gush of blood to spurt from his chest and mouth.
With a kick to the chin, I lifted him into the air. I saw his five remaining life bars, and without hesitation, I swiftly severed them with my spear. He couldn't do anything, as he was still stunned from the blow.
When I finished, Crocodile fell to the ground, lifeless. Severing his life bars had reduced his lifespan to zero, killing him instantly.
Dante: "If you had stayed out of it, I might have just returned to Impel Down, alive."
Several slashes flew in my direction. Using Soru, I moved out of the way, avoiding the attack. Only for Mihawk to appear above me with a vertical slash aimed at my position.
Taking a step to the side, I dodged the attack, barely missing my hair, as Mihawk bent his sword and delivered a diagonal slash to my head.
I managed to block the attack using Tonbogiri. With my free hand, I summoned Ivory and emptied the magazine into him.
Mihawk was hit by the first two bullets, one in the arm and the other in the lung, while the others missed, as he managed to escape his position.
With a snap of my fingers, several swords appeared above Mihawk; at the same time, I reloaded Ebony and Ivory's bullets.
The swords fell upon my opponent as he emptied the pistols' magazines.
Once the firefight ended, I saw a badly wounded Mihawk, with two spectral blades embedded in his shoulder and intestines, along with several bullets in his body, but none in his heart. This was because he had angled the blades to deflect those headed for it.
Dante: "It's not much fun when you're attacked from two different points."
I holstered the pistols, picked up the Fusion Sword embedded in the ground near me, and created a similar broadsword.
Dante: "I have to admit, your swordsmanship far surpasses mine; I discovered that the last time we fought. I tried to kill you with all my might, using only swordsmanship, but I only managed to leave a scar and send you tumbling into the water. If it weren't for my strength and speed, you would have defeated me." I said, stretching.
Mihawk: "You were never a swordsman," he spoke for the first time. "You never wanted to learn any sword style, nor any martial art, but I know why. I see beyond others, and what I always saw in you was an assassin, not a swordsman or a fighter. That's why you trained your speed, to defeat your opponents in a single move, and if that didn't work, you overwhelmed them with brute force. That's why I was surprised you tried to become a hero."
The word "attempt" struck me, as if what I'd done was more than a spectacle or a botched attempt at doing something right. And that enraged me.
Dante: "I see," he said with a cold, calm fury. "Then fall before this would-be hero, great swordsman," and with that, I launched myself at him like a beast, coating my swords with both Armament and Conqueror's Haki.
I couldn't ignore the Spectral Greatsword with Armament Haki, but I could with Conqueror's Haki, which was odd, but I wasn't going to complain in the middle of a fight. It must be because it's not a physical object but a spiritual one, even if it is touchable.
The clash of the three swords generated a shockwave, which made Mihawk take a step back, but I remained still; that only demonstrates the difference in physical strength between us.
Mihawk launched a slash; As I dodged it, I realized the attack sliced through everything in its path, creating a chasm that looked deeper than the one I made in Totto Land.
I kicked him to create some distance. I had a way to defeat him in an instant, but I needed him to lower his guard.
With my mind already clear on what I was going to do, I launched another attack, but this time I wasn't going to defend myself; if he slashed at me, I would make sure to deliver three slashes to him.
And so we engaged in a back-and-forth exchange of blows; I only defended myself by using Haki on the areas where Mihawk attacked, but there weren't many, since I was more focused on preventing him from being cut in a single blow. My Armament Haki is better than his, so he has to defend himself against my attacks if he doesn't want to lose a limb.
Mihawk's precise movements prevented my attacks from being fatal, managing to deflect them or make them hit less vital areas. I could see the pressure in her expression. She was no longer calm nor cold.
Her face was covered in sweat; the way she was pushing herself to the limit to avoid succumbing to the sheer brute power he possessed was admirable.
At that moment, I acted.
I saw Mihawk stomp his foot fiercely, bending his body and destroying the spectral greatsword he had summoned with a single slash. Then he shifted the pressure point to his other foot and moved the Yoru, parrying it and causing me to lose the Fusion Sword.
I was unarmed, my hands empty, and he already had the Yoru raised, ready to deliver a diagonal slash and slice me in two.
Mihawk's eyes widened in realization, but it was too late.
BANG!!!
A shot rang out, and Mihawk's body was torn in two.
In the hand where the greatsword had been, he had summoned a specific weapon, the AT, ready to fire.
With its tank-destroying bullet, the short range of the weapon, and the fact that it was covered in advanced weapon haki, the shot that was aimed directly at Mihawk's stomach destroyed him, splitting him in two in a very grotesque way.
If I hadn't used Conqueror's Haki and that feint, I might not have been able to do that.
Mihawk's lower half had flown far away, but his upper half had landed not far from me.
I walked over to where he was to see him.
Dante: "I'm surprised you're still alive after that; I thought you'd die instantly."
I saw Mihawk, with only his torso, arms, and head. Blood was dripping from his lower half and mouth, but there was still light in his eyes, though it was slowly fading.
Mihawk: "From the first time we met again, I knew we'd end up like this, and to be honest, I don't mind dying at your hand; it's better than some other insect," he said with his last breath before dying.
And so my count of Celestial Dragons I've killed goes from 3 to 4.
I returned to my normal form to see how many cuts I had; The terrible one was the one that hit me in the shoulder when Crocodile was still alive.
I looked around, completely destroyed and covered in sand. I saw the corpses of Mihwak and Crocodile, the bodies of Buggy's two henchmen about to depart for the afterlife. Buggy himself was complaining about the fall at the beginning. Mr. 1, or whatever his name is, was off to the side, showing he was smarter than his boss, next to a woman who was just waking up from her faint.
The rest of Buggy's pirates were either dead from collateral damage or unconscious from the Conqueror's Haki I used at the start of the fight.
I walked slowly toward Buggy, who was complaining about his life. By the time he realized I was behind him, it was too late. With one kick to the temple, I knocked him unconscious.
[Congratulations, you have defeated the Yonko Buggy; his bounty is 10 PL.]
Something is better than nothing.
...
After a while, I arrived at the La Marina G8 branch.
When the panic hit, it was immediate. Nobody knew what to do: attack me, surrender, warn someone, or play dead.
I took the clothes of one of Buggy's henchmen, who was white, copied his outfit, and made a white flag with a stick to signal that we were at peace.
After a while, Marie, the mother of my firstborn, arrived. I hadn't seen her in a long time. I can only say that she aged like fine wine.
Things were easy with her—just a normal conversation, a few suggestive remarks and provocations, nothing more, since she had a reputation to uphold, and I was a married man.
With Mihawk's and Crocodile's heads, along with the capture of the Yonko Buggy, Daz Bone, Alvida, Mohji, Cabaji, and Galdino, among others, and the lion I set free, I obtained a total of 8,948,000,000 Belly.
I don't know how he got that kind of money, but I'm not really complaining. I was able to work as a bounty hunter thanks to my reputation and the fact that the Marines still respect me; there were only a few who hated me. I had, relatively speaking, defeated a pirate crew that had them terrified, so right now they practically worshipped me.
While I waited for the money to arrive, I received important information from Marie.
Garp had just been captured by Blackbeard in exchange for saving Koby. Almost all the members of Sword had gone to the rescue, including Gil, who wasn't officially part of the crew but went anyway. All things considered, he couldn't do much, since he hadn't yet recovered from the wounds Luna had inflicted.
Gil told him that it was Garp's decision to stay and fight alone, and that out of respect they all obeyed him, except for Koby and Gil, but in the end, due to the circumstances and to save Hachinosu's slaves, they had to leave.
If Gil hadn't been injured, he would have stayed and fought alongside Garp.
Right now, he was on his way back to G8 to check on the wounds of the Sword members and the former slaves. So he'd probably end up finding them.
At that moment, my backpack started beeping; when I looked, I pulled out a Den Den Mushi. When Amrie saw it, she raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
The snail transformed into a snail version of a dragon.
Without caring about my life, I answered right then and there.
Dante: "Hello?"
Dragon: "Dante, I need your help; we're ready for the plan to take down Mary Geoise."
I stared at the Den Den Mushi and looked at Marie; she looked at me as if I had two heads to pass her to the snail.
Dante: "Hey, I'm currently in the Marines' G8."
The Den Den Mushi was silent for a while.
Dragon: "Damn."
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Hey everyone, I just wanted to say two things.
First, Crocodile's defeat was going to be shorter, but considering his bounty, I decided to give him more prominence; this is because he was defeated by a pre-timeskip Luffy. He's very dependent on his Devil Fruit, and I feel like he couldn't have gotten very strong in these two years.
Second, I don't know where to place Dante's current level; I feel like he's at the very top of the Yonko level, but I don't know if he reaches the level of Pirate King. There are people like Garp Prime, Roger, Rocks, or Whitebeard Prime at that level. But I feel like the current Dante would have defeated the old Whitebeard without a doubt.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.