Unfortunately, it is time for us to get a new main teacher. Bogard was supposed to have left about half a year ago, but because Rias joined us, he was able to delay it all this time. We did create a bond, so it was a little hard to say goodbye, but I guess he already did his job. He already taught us all he could. The only thing he still wanted to teach us was how to use armament haki, but he felt that he wasn't the right man for that, as he knew how to use it but was not particullary proficient or exceptional with it. Since he knew I planned on bringing Zephyr, Bogard considered that we would have someone much more suited than him to teach us haki.
I still made sure that he could quit his job as a marine or be transferred to a new department and keep teaching us, but it seems that wasn't what he wanted either. His time with us was over and he had to get back to Garp.
But, as a final goodbye, I still have one more thing planned. We want to show Garp and all of the other marines that these past two and a half years weren't in vain. The marines should see Bogard's experience with us with great astonishment instead of prejudice. They need to understand that he went on to train an elite force and how well he performed. And the best idea I could come up with was to have a match against the marine recruits and, perhaps, even a couple of officials, depending on how well it goes. I explained my idea to Bogard and he agreed to set up the event. He seemed a bit nervous when I presented him with the idea but now, he seems a bit more excited.
The final day inescapably comes, and we all say our goodbyes to Bogard. Everybody tries not to be too sentimental, but he has helped us a lot in the last years. A lot of our progress can be correlated to him. The ones that were even more emotional than I was expecting were the other teachers. They had spent a lot of time working and partying together, as they had somehow convinced Bogard to partake in their "secret" drinking and gambling arrangements. The most affected one was Pout, as he used to spend a lot of time with Bogard, trying to learn as much as he could from him. He learned so much that he will become the one responsible for the new rookies' training and courses, once they arrive. He will try to create a training regime similar to the ones Bogard used, with the help of the other teachers.
Rias opens the portal in the middle of our yard and gives the signal to Bogard. He looks around one last time before walking through the portal. He looks at me, nods and walks through the portal, walking further and further away, as it slowly closes.
A moment of silence arises.
Nobody dares to be the one to break the atmosphere.
Well, I guess that's enough …
Me: Well, unfortunately our time with Bogard is over … but we can't forget what he has taught us … and we must get ready to continue our training! Rias, if you please …
Rias looks at me, smiles and opens a 5m high circular portal. After training her powers to the very limit almost every day for so long, she has greatly increased her stamina, control and understanding of her own powers and limitations. She can now maintain one portal open long enough for all of us to go through. She just needs to rest for a couple of hours before she can create another one.
I am the first one to go through and immediately after I do, everyone comes after me.
Laxus: Boss … where are we?
Bogard: Welcome to the Marine Headquarters!
Everyone was extremely surprised. A couple of the teachers even went to hug Bogard, even though they had seen him less than 5 minutes ago.
I calm everybody down and explain what is going on.
Me: Bogard really did return to his former post, here in the marines, and he won't come back with us. Nonetheless, he agreed to organize one last training session for us! I believe this to be a good opportunity to show everyone here that Bogard's efforts in the last two and a half years weren't in vain. They probably think he wasted this time entertaining some rich kids, so we need to show them how hard we trained! We originally wanted some sort of battle royale between two sides, but we felt that would be a little messy without prior organization, so we kept trying to figure out what our best option would be and Bogard recalled a game we sometimes use to change the routine … Capture the Flag!
Most of them seem somewhat excited while I can still see a lot of them still seem nervous … that's normal as most of the recruits in the marines are already full-fledged muscular adults, with their own pretty intensive training as well.
Me: I am sure you all know the game, but the rules can change depending on how we wish to play, so listen carefully. In this case, we will be having only two teams, us and the Marines, and each side will have to protect two flags and steal the two from the opposing team. The field will be around the whole headquarters base. We can go anywhere except inside the buildings, where the non-participants will be observing our match. The purpose of this game is to test both strength and tactics, either offensive or defensive. We will have 3 matches, whoever wins twice can be declared the winner.
After I finished explaining everything about the match, Bogard started his tour, showing us the most important places around the base and explaining how their typical day goes by. I could tell he was happy to be back here based on his expressions, even though he still kept his cold demeanour. It's rare to see him so happy, even though those that don't know him would not be able to tell the difference.
Even though a big event is about to happen, so many marines kept their focus on their training. A lot of them were visibly exhausted but they kept training, with the same pace and coordination as when they began. Their training seems to be very intense and really strict! No wonder most of the world-famous marines came from here!
Eventually, everyone was ordered to immediately present themselves in the main patio. Within 10 minutes everyone was here, which can also explain why the whole place reeks of sweat. We're right next to the main stage, so we should have a pretty good view but, except for the taller buildings, all I can see are marine recruits and officers. As far away as I look, all I can see are men and woman dressed in white and blue. There should be several thousands of them right here, not including the officials that were inside the buildings, either observing or simply dealing with more important matters.
Everyone is dead silent, saluting towards the center of the stage even though there's nobody there. So many people and not even a single voice can be heard. And just as I am wondering what everyone is waiting for, a big sound is heard and an unrecognizable figure falls down from the skies, destroying what used to be the main stage. So much dust started rising that I still can't tell exactly what fell down. I can't even understand if is a person, an object or a cannon ball that failed to explode. As far as I know, it can be anything, as it was too fast for my eyes to indentify.
Wait … I haven't used my observation haki yet …
And just as I was getting ready to activate it, I heard a couple steps, coughing and a big figure walking away from the huge mess started becoming visible. Only now could I tell who that figure was … it's the legendary Vice Admiral Garp.
Garp: Cough… Ups … Cough … Sorry about that. I was a little late, so I had to improvise. Anyway, Rear Admiral Bogard is finally back so he can finally take you out of my hands. Give him a proper greeting to show him how much you missed him!
In perfect syntony, every soldier screams "Welcome back, Rear Admiral Bogard".
In response, Bogard still has his cold serious look, but I could tell he missed this place.
Garp: Very well. Since you're here I will just go back to take a nap.
Bogard: Uh, Sir?
Garp: Hm? What? Oh, right … right. I believe you all heard from your superiors how you will be having a practice run against some new unit, the Divine Legion. This will take place in a couple of minutes, so everyone that wishes to partake in this should just head towards Captain Gorus as he will be responsible for the marine side at this event. Both Bogard and I agreed not to intervene, but I must warn you: everyone that does not show a proper performance will be punished with twice the training and will have to help clean up this place. Oh, if you do not volunteer to participate you will also have to do all the housework…
Every marine took a big gulp and headed towards who I suppose is Captain Gorus, as they are all volunteering to participate.
Just like that, Garp turns his back around and starts picking his nose, almost as if looking for a deep hidden treasure. This might even be the last time I see him and this is the picture I will stay with …
The one I assume to be Captain Gorus starts heading our way. But before he reaches me, he turns to the side and stops in front of the teachers.
Gorus: So, are all of you going to participate? Because I am worried some of you might be a little too old for this… I don't want one of my men to kill some random old man by accident. Ogogogogoo
All of the teachers ignore his very presence and look at me, almost asking me to deal with him before they do something they shouldn't. I am lucky Gigi is already inside of one of the buildings because, if he was here, that Captain would definitely end up seriously injured, best case scenario.
I use soru and appear behind him.
Me: NO! They won't be participating in this match… Some of us will participate in this match – as I point towards all the members of the main Black Flame Force – But don't worry, we won't all participate at once. Afterall, we wouldn't want to humiliate all of you.
I planned to approach this in a carefree way but, after he chose that approach, I had to take one just as insulting as that one. I couldn't just let him bad mouth us and get away with it.
I though he was going to go crazy over my intimidation but, instead, he seemed more surprised that anything else.
Gorus: Wait, you kids want to participate?? I can tell the old men there have some experience, so they should be a good exercise as long as we try to go easy, but you guys … It would be extremely easy for any of them to mistakenly kill you. Rear Admiral Bogard … are you sure you want to do this???
Bogard: I promised I wouldn't intervene, so this one piece of advice will be the last thing you hear from me … DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THEM.
Captain Borus didn't say anything else and simply looked Bogard straight in the eyes, before nodding, accepting his advice.
He turned around and looked at us. He seemed to count how many of us were there. Once he was finished, he called for 20 marine recruits and ordered them to position themselves while the rest of them moved towards one of the observing buildings. I could tell some of the maferine recruits felt bad that they were chosen while others seemed to want to beat us up and get rid of all their frustration on these matches.
On our side only I, Laxus and Urek remained while the rest moved towards a different building.
I could feel Captain Gorus angry gaze in the back of my head, even without resorting to my haki. He probably chose 20 guys because he believed I would send everyone on our side. The thing is, if he had asked, I would've simply told him I was planning on only having the three of us, even if he had sent 1000 of those recruits.
Once the match started, Laxus and Urek ran towards our flags and stayed back, protecting them, as I headed towards the enemy base. Around halfway, I could feel that about half of the other team was coming towards our base, also following the quickest route, same as me. Our paths would inevitably collide, so I could simply hide behind or on top of the buildings, wait until they were in range, and perform a surprise attack. But I felt they weren't worth all that trouble, so I simply kept speeding towards them.
It took some time until one of them noticed me but, by the time he did, they were already within my range.
I used Flash, a result of my own creation after mixing Geppo and Soru. I created a movement technique that allows me to reach insane speeds in a straight line. Within not much more than a second, I had travelled through the hundreds of meters between us.
Marine: Look guys! He's right th…
The first one I attacked was the one that was about to warn the others of my presence. He hadn't even finished his sentence when my knee hit his chin. All of the other marines were still confused about what was going on, so it was pretty easy to take care of all of them. After the first one, I jumped towards one of the other marines, placed my feet in his face and jumped again, doing the same to 3 other marines, knocking all of them out in the process. The 6th marine got a descending kick straight to the back of his head. The 7th marine tried to punch me but, the moment his body came within range, I threw a hook towards his abdominal area, sending him flying quite far away. The 8th and 9th marine went for my legs, each of them throwing a low kick to a different leg. I jumped high enough to dodge both of them, spun my body backwards for about 180º and kicked both of them in the nose, as they immediately lost their senses.
The final conscious marine is shaking but he still mustered all his courage to dash towards me, trying to go for a grapple. I easily dodge to the side and, with a swift chop to the nape of his neck, I send him to the ground.
The other marines were just as easy to take care of and, within only 15 minutes, the first round was over with a devastating win for our side. I alone easily defeated 18 guys, as there were 4 marines protecting each flag. After I saw how effortlessly I could defeat them, taking their flags was extremely easy. I was wondering where the final two were, but I later found out they took a different route and tried to steal our flags. Laxus and Urek easily defended their own flag, each taking care of the marine that approached them.
After this short first round, we had a little break to rest and decide who was going to participate in the second round.
Captain Gorus approached me to discuss the numbers of the second round. He was really embarrassed as he had no idea his men would be so easily defeated.
Gorus: It seems I didn't attentively listen to Bogard's warning, as I had no idea you would be this strong. Now, I will send 150 of our best silver and golden recruits so I advise you not to hold back and show us everything you got. Unless you think that's too much, in which case I am free to compromise to a lower number.
Bogard had explained to us how everything goes here, including the type of system they are using. From what I understood, their recruits were divided into several ranks such as newcomers, veterans, bronze, silver, gold and diamond.
Newcomers were the ones that have just arrived at marine headquarters and are still getting used to the training regimen.
Veterans were the ones that had stayed here for more than a year but still haven't showed much talent.
Bronze, Silver and Gold are the ones that fulfill certain requisites, considering strength, speed, agility, flexibility, stamina, techniques, knowledge and overall fighting capabilities.
To be a bronze recruit you need to have one or two things you're good at but, to reach gold, you will need to have a lot more. Some Golden recruits immediately reach the rank of captain or even Rear Admiral the moment they graduate as they have that level of strength.
The final tier is Diamond but that happens about once every other century. To be a diamond recruit you need to have the strength of an upper Vice Admiral or even an Admiral while you still are a recruit, so it's almost impossible to happen.
Me: … 150? … ok, could you please tell me what rank were the ones we just fought?
Gorus: Yeah, well … most of them were veterans but there were a few newcomers and bronze recruits.
Me: Oh … then, I will choose the top 15 of our group to participate.
He seems a little surprised. I am not sure whether he expected me to put more or to put less members. Perhaps he simply assumed I would try to convince him to lower their numbers. Either way, this should be really interesting.
I approach my comrades and choose the ones that will participate. I want to be fair, so I choose the strongest 15 within our ranks. As such, by following the ranks, the participants will be me, Urek, Laxus, Goku, Erza, Heracles, Killua, Gon, Yami, Meliodas, Brolly, Vegeta, Ulysses, Kenichi and Natsu. As we learn new techniques and enhance our bodies, the ranks keep changing. The ones with the most progress were undoubtedly Natsu, Meliodas and Kenichi.
Natsu joined us not too long ago but, probably due to our strong bloodline, he is already within our top 15. He's still too young to learn Rokushiki techniques but his martial arts and physique are among the best of us already. From what Gil told me, ever since he could crawl, he tried to spend most of his time watching us practice, so he probably learned a lot before he even joined us.
Meliodas' swordsmanship has improved so much that he was able to quickly climb through our ranks. He was able to defeat a lot of other kids that were faster and stronger than him by simply relying on his skill with the sword. The only reason he is still not higher up is because his physique still hasn't caught up to his skill, so he can't maintain his strength through every fight.
Kenichi's growth doesn't fall behind the other two, as he might even be the one that has grown the most. He used to be such a mild kid, one who would rather spend his time reading, compared to most of the other kids that preferred fighting or running. Ever since Yari arrived, he has shown immense interest in strengthening himself. I think he found a style that he really likes and has become more motivated. Now he constantly seems eager to develop it. Even the books he reads seem to be somehow correlated to it.
We organized ourselves within 5 forces, each with three members.
Team 1 – Heracles, Ulysses and Yami - a defensive team protecting the first flag
Team 2 – Goku, Vegeta and Brolly - the other defensive team protecting the second flag
Team 3 – Me, Kenichi and Gon - a offensive force responsible for attacking one of the flags
Team 4 – Laxus, Erza and Natsu - another offensive force for attacking the second flag
Team 5 – Urek, Killua and Meliodas – a joker like team that would focus on stealth and would quickly try to steal any of the two opposing flags or help any of the defensive teams if the situation demanded it.
I tried to make the best use of each other's skills and to create teams based on how well they work together, trying to avoid creating great disparity in the team's strength. For example, to create a team with the best teamwork, I simply had to put myself with Urek and Laxus, as we are used to each other's moves and know exactly how we fight. However, had I done that, one team would be much stronger than the others, making it easier for those teams to lose or even get hurt, without having any of us there to protect them. Hence why we divided ourselves into three separate teams.
I tried to put those that are more familiar with each other together, without disrupting the teams' strength, which is why Heracles and Ulysses, Goku, Vegeta and Brolly, Gon and I, Killua and Urek and Erza and Natsu stayed together.
Not much afterwards, the field was ready for us, so we positioned ourselves.
As soon as the signal was given, Laxus, Urek and I guided our teams into the opponent's base. I went to the right side, Laxus went to the left and Urek went through the middle so that he could later attack either side from another angle.
It didn't take much time until I could detect our opponents but, unlike last time, they detected us not much after. I could sense about 50 guys running towards us. None of them seemed weak whatsoever, having a few of them with quite decent strength, as far as my haki can detect. Especially the one in the front. He was the first one to notice us. I stealthily kicked a pebble towards his temple, trying to see if I could knock him out while he wasn't paying attention, but he easily dodged it and kept sprinting towards me.
When we were in range, I was preparing to jump towards them, to perform a swift attack, to finish things more quickly, similar to the first round. However, I can see that the stronger marine is ready for the fight, having already taken out his sword, so I stop and do the same. In the last match I didn't even have a need to take out my sword so this should be a pretty good opportunity to test both of our skills.
I analyze the strength of the remaining marines around me and none of them even comes close to this swordsman. I give a signal to Gon and Kenichi, to let them take care of the others while I entertain myself with this guy. There were quite a few marines, and they were much stronger than the ones I faced before, but I feel like Gon and Kenichi will be able to take care of most of them.
Swordsman: I will take care of their leader. Units 1 to 20 fight the other two and help me once you are done. As for the remaining keep running towards the flag. Remember our goal!
Me: Tchhh! It seems your tactics aren't as simply as I assumed… and here I was preparing myself for an all-out brawl.
The swordsman approaches me as the rest start going around me. I pull my sword back, as if I am charging my attack towards the swordsman but, instead, I use soru and appear next to one of the groups trying to go around me.
Me: But still, if you want to go past me, you need to be ready to lose quite a few of you in the way…
And I slash while I am still talking. Of the 30 that were trying to run past us, 10 immediately fell as they were cut. None of them was seriously injured as our swords were unsharpened, in order to avoid redundant injuries. But I still hit them with enough strength to leave them knocked out throughout the rest of this challenge.
As I get ready to attack the others running past me, the swordsman appears by my side and tries to pierce my stomach. I dodge to the side and direct my full attention towards him.
Me: You didn't have to be so impatient… I was just getting ready to face you.
The swordsman ignores my taunting and keeps attacking. I defend each blow and counterattack as much as I can. This fight quickly turned into a swordsmanship duel, as we started ignoring everything else and were focusing more and more on our pure sword skills to face each other.
I throw a sideways slash towards his neck, he blocks it with the side of his blade, spins around and throws a slash towards my abdominal region. I parry it to the side, trying to unbalance him and, as soon as I go for my attack, he jumps forward, passing right by me, and tries to slash at my back.
We keep blocking each other's moves, slashing, piercing and parrying. We are both so excited with the fight that at this point, we aren't paying any attention to what is going on around us. With every attack we accelerate our pace. It got to the point I don't even know what I am going to do in the next second. In beginning, the fight was similar to a chest match, as we needed to consider how the opponent would respond to our moves and how we would respond to their response, and so on. Now, we are just moving based on instinct. I could tell both of us were slowly improving throughout our fight. Eventually we ran out of breath as each of us jumps backwards.
As we are trying to catch our breath, we keep our eyes locked. I can tell I am not the only one that is enjoying this fight.
Me: So … what's your name? … I … don't even know that…
Swordsman: … Raijin …
Me: I' m Zeus … Nice … to meet you …
As we look around, we can see several marines on the floor, but Gon and Kenichi are nowhere to be found. I am sure that they are ok … for now, I should worry about my own fight.
Me: So … are you ready for round 2?
Raijin: Sure! I thought … you never asked …
We both take a final deep breath and, just as we wield our swords once again, the signal that the match is over appears in the sky. We look at each other and put our swords back on our scabbards, somewhat disappointed, before shaking hands.
Raijin: So, who did you think won in the end?
Me: Do you really need to ask? Just look around you … you alone aren't enough to change the outcome of this match.
Raijin: Well, what makes you think I'm the only one with this type of strength? Tony and Durga may not be strong enough to defeat you one on one, but I am sure they are strong enough to hold you back as much as I have!
Me: Nonetheless, I still think we won. You would need almost ten more guys like you to make me fear defeat.
He smiles.
Raijin: If you say so …
Me: But still, I got to ask: are you interested in joining me and my teammates? We could use someone with your strength and talent.
Raijin: Sorry, perhaps in another lifetime. Marines saved me and gave me a home, so I won't leave this place unless they make me!
Me: Fair enough … Very well! May we meet again.
We say our goodbyes and each of us heads towards our own side. If he is that direct and grateful toward the marines, there is no way I can convince him to join us.
When I get to everyone, I can see that a lot of us are quite bruised. The ones in the best condition were the defense teams, as I am guessing few of our opponents even reached that far. At least that's enough proof to assure me that we won... I think...
I approach Laxus and Urek to talk about what each of us had to go through. Urek seems to be a little hurt, but Laxus has bruises all over his body.
I remember Raijin's words. Perhaps his colleagues really did have such strength?
Me: Kakakakak … Were your opponents that strong?
Laxus: It's not that they were stronger than me! … it's simply that there were two of them… if Urek was quicker, I wouldn't be in such a state!
Urek: No! Don't you dare blame me Laxus! We all agreed that you and Zeus would take care of their main forces while I would steal their flags. You're lucky I went to help you and sent Killua and Meliodas to go get the second flag! Next time, I will just leave you to endure a beating as I steal both of the flags.
Laxus: No, how about next time you get your ass kicked while I go pick up some flags?
They were arguing but I could tell they were just messing around as, even among all those bruises on their faces, I could see them smiling and laughing at each other. Unlike what I first feared, these two are nothing like Zoro and Sanji. They are extremely competitive, but they behave in a much healthier way.
From what I understood from their conversation, Laxus had to deal with both of the ones Raijin mentioned while Urek took care of the smaller fries. No wonder he was so hurt. I probably would've ended up the same way.
Gorus approach us and congratulate us on our victory. I assumed he was going to badmouth either us or his recruits, but he behaved quite courteously.
Gorus: As the victory is already yours, we can simply move on and prepare the feast, declaring you the winners of this Divine Legion versus Marines challenge.
We had to pretend to be a force that is being created simply to protect the Tenryubito in order to confront the marines. This was also the excuse given by Gigi to the government so that they would not annoy us about acquiring all those devil fruits. As long as they believed that same strength would be used to protect them, they had no problem with us doing all of these. I was thinking about using the name Black Flame but that seems more like a pirate crew name rather than an elite force.
Gorus: Besides, even if we went through with the third challenge, most of our top recruits are still incapacitated. So, what do you say? Are you ready for a good meal?
Me: Actually, I had something else in mind. How about we still do our third round, but instead of fighting in another game of flags, why don't we just do a couple of one-on-one spars? After fighting with some of your recruits, I could tell they were pretty strong, so a spar would probably sound good to them as well.
Gorus: Hmmm. Interesting idea. Sure, that sounds good to me. Let's just head to the main arena and we won't even need to prepare much. As you are the guests you can choose who goes first and you can even choose your opponents, as long as they agree.
Me: Very well. Thank you, Captain Gorus. Then, I will inform my allies and we will be with you shortly.
I speak with everyone, and all the members of our fighting force wish to participate. We choose each of our opponents, trying to challenge someone that's around our level. We approached every marine we chose and asked them if they were willing to participate in the fight. Most of them were willing. The ones that weren't were quickly replaced with others that volunteered to participate.
We all headed towards the arena and decided to start with our lower ranked members, as we slowly progressed to the strongest. Our side won some fights while we still lost a few. The outcome wasn't the most important thing right now, so we all were in a good mood.
Every fight was very exciting and intriguing, as everyone was around the same level. But everyone is waiting for these final matchups. Heracles fight was one of the most eye-catching ones, as both him and his opponent refused to dodge and simply used all their strength to punch each other away. It reminded me of some of the best heavyweight boxing matches I witnessed in my past life. Even the ending was spectacular, as Heracles threw a perfect uppercut and sent the other guy flying. He literally reached more than 10 meters high before gravity brought him back down.
Goku's fight is almost over, so Laxus and Durga, the opponent he previously encountered, start warming up. All the other fights had a light atmosphere, but Laxus and Durga both put their game faces on and were getting ready for a real battle.
Goku finishes his fight with a roundhouse kick and, as soon as he does, Laxus and Durga get into the ring. The referee was still signaling the fight as over, but the two of them couldn't wait anymore. It's obvious neither of them was satisfied with the result of their fight last time, so now they wanted to do their best.
They shook hands and prepared themselves for the fight. As soon as the bell rang, both of them speed up towards each other. They both focused more on their hands, so the entire thing was pretty similar to a boxing match. You could barely see anything as they kept punching and dodging. Every so often you would see a head bounce backwards, with occasional drops of sweat or blood hitting spectators, but they donn't even flinch and immediately punch back.
Laxus throws a right straight. Durga dodges underneath and punches Laxus twice in the stomach. Laxus coughs because of the impact and takes a couple of steps back as Durga keeps punching, chasing after him, jab after jab, left and right. Instead of closing his guard, Laxus pulls his arm back and punches straight to the side of Durga's face. As his head flops to one side, Laxus throws a right hook to the other side of his face. Durga seems to have lost focus of the fight. Laxus takes that chance and keeps pounding him on the face. All we can see is Durga's head flopping from one side to the other. Everyone was waiting for Durga to fall to end the fight but, out of nowhere, Durga throws an uppercut straight to Laxus' chin, making him fall forward, face first.
The referee was ready to declare Durga the winner, when he realized he wasn't conscious either, as he kept punching the air a few more times before he fell to the ground as well. He must've been unconscious for quite some time. As the agreed upon rules were that the first one to give up, lose consciousness or leave the match range for more than a minute would lose, it became unclear which one of them was the first one to lose consciousness. As such, the first tied match of the night was declared.
It took quite some time, with hundreds of punches exchanged, but the match is finally over. They're both in awful shape, as their faces are so swollen, they can no longer be recognized. I wanted to use the heal heal abilities to heal both of them, but I should hide that power and not disclose it to the marines. At least not until I have enough strength to stop them from taking Erina away from us.
Even though it was deemed as a tie, Laxus told me he felt like he lost because he was the first one to fell down. On the other hand, Durga believed he was defeated because he couldn't remember throwing that first uppercut, meaning he was probably already unconscious when he threw it. Either way, neither of them felt dissatisfied with the fight as they gave everything they had.
The penultimate fight is between Urek and Tony. They had also faced each other in the previous match but they didn't take this anywhere as seriously as the other two. Nonetheless, they both wanted to win now.
Their fight was much smoother and less brutal.
They kept trying to read each other's moves and counter them. It kind of seemed like a game of chess. They hit each other a couple of times but nothing too serious or damaging. It seemed they were just testing each other out.
Tony throws a left jab towards Urek's face. He dodges it and throws a low kick in response. Tony defends with his leg and punches him back, throwing him off balance. Urek does a backflip to regain his balance and while he is still in the air, he uses Geppo and kicks Tony straight in the stomach. Tony tries to regain his composure but, before he can do so, Urek hits him with a downwards elbow to the nape of his neck, rendering him unconscious. The full fight took around the same time as the previous one, but it was much smoother with far fewer exchanged blows, not to mention blood and bruises. Urek leaves the arena pleased with the result, somewhat mocking Laxus, as if to say I won and you didn't.
Immediately after they both get down from the arena, a suspenseful silence arises, as I can feel a lot of eyes on me. At last, it is time for my clash against Raijin. We both approach the arena, as the silence starts to break, both sides cheering for their champion. One would think Raijin was the clear favorite due to the difference in the amount of cheers, but it was simply because there are many more marines than members of our force.
Nevertheless, we could tell everyone is excited about his fight.
We lock eyes, nod as if recognizing one another as worthy, and take our swords out of their scabbards, each taking the position we each felt more comfortable in and silencing the voices around us. We needed no distractions in order to give it our all.
As the bell rings neither I nor him move. We both wait for our opponents to take the initiative. After a few seconds, Raijin gets tired of waiting and decides to take the offensive, as he jumps towards me and performs a horizontal slash. I block the attack with my sword and use it to push him away after our swords clash. I try to continue the same sword movement, transforming the block into a push and then an upwards diagonal slash.
He performs a backflip to dodge the attack and, as he is landing, he uses that same momentum to charge himself and dash at me, even faster than before. This time, he performs a downward vertical slash. The attack is so fast I have no time to dodge and have to block it with my sword. This time, he is the one pushing me away. He doesn't give me a chance to breathe as he keeps splashing and piercing towards me. I have no choice but to continue blocking.
It took quite a while until I could find the opportunity to fight back. As he performs a horizontal slash, I dodge beneath it and finally have the chance to attack. As I have regained my footing, the match becomes balanced once again. We keep clashing our swords, one slash after the other, parry after parry, attack after attack. We were exchanging hundreds of attacks per minute. I am enjoying this fight so much that it feels like only a few moments have passed since it started. Nevertheless, my sore muscles assured me we were fighting for a long time, and the sunset around us reassured me of that as well.
I look at Raijin and I can tell that he was enjoying the fight just as much as me. Still, his exhausted breath easily helps me understand that he is also on his last batteries.
Majeh: The fight was enjoyable, but let's give it our all on one final attack.
Raijin nods, agreeing to what I am proposing
I put my sword back on my scabbard, leaving my hand on the hilt, as I lower my centre of gravity by bending my legs until they are around 45 degrees. Once I am finally ready, I look forward and breath in and out slower and slower. I steadily lower my heartbeat. I inhale a big breath of air and, just as I exhale it out, I dash towards my target, right hand still on the hilt of the sword.
On the other side of the ring, Raijin keeps his sword in his hands, using a two-handed style, unlike the one-hand sword style he had used for most of this fight. He keeps the blade pointed to the sky, directly up, as he slows down his breathing and cools his body temperature. He positioned his left foot in front of his right, slightly bending both of his legs, before he dashes towards my direction, with his sword still pointing up.
Just as we are within each other's range, I start pulling my sword from its scabbard, performing an upward diagonal slash, just as Raijin starts his downward slash. I can feel some strange energy from my sword, but I can't tell exactly what it is. I can also tell Raijin's blade has the same sort of energy.
The mystical energy keeps getting stronger and stronger, to the point I can't control it. Not that I am trying to stop it, as I can tell my opponent is experiencing something similar and neither of us wants to fall behind.
A few moments before our swords make contact, a hand stops my blade. It is Gigi's hand as he decided he needed to intervene. I wasn't even aware he was spectating this fight, so how could I even consider that he might intervene. Just as I was trying to understand why, I see another figure in front of Raijin. It is Garp and he had also grabbed Raijin's blade.
Gigi: Sorry Zed, but we had to intervene. Both of your attacks were too dangerous. You would have seriously hurt each other had we not intervened. You will have to control that energy before you can apply it in a spar.
Garp: ahahhaha, it seems the future has potential. I was not expecting 2 young boys, not even 15 yet, to be so capable already!
It seems they were unable to tell how young I really am and put me in the same bracket as Raijin. I am not even 7 years old yet, but by looking at my physique I guess it is normal to consider I would be almost a teen. Now is not the best occasion to correct him, so let's just move on.
We call the fight over, considering it as another tie and finish the tournament like this.
Everyone cheered me on as I got off the arena. The fight was so long, but everyone kept paying attention until the last moment. On the other side a lot of marines also congratulated Raijin on his good fight. At the beginning of the day, most of them were looking at us as if we were jokes, but now, after all the fights that took place, they were simply proud that a few of them were able to keep up and tie with the strongest of us. I look at Raijin as our eyes lock on to each other. We give an approving nod, recognizing each other's strengths and skills, as we both head to the banquet with our own groups
I am not sure it that mystique energy was haki or something else, but I need to recall that feeling and try it again once I get home.
When we got to the banquet location, there were several huge tables, for hundreds of marines as well as us. They had placed us in the centre of it, and by our side sat a few of the marines we dealt with throughout the day. We socialised for a couple of hours and got to know quite a few of them. Raijin even explained how a marine officer saved him, Puenta and Tony and was their motivation to join the Marines. Now, he was creating a specific branch of the Marines, and they were training so hard to become strong enough to join him. That helped convince me how impossible it would be to have them join me. It is a shame as all 3 of them proved to be very talented, but then again, so did our side.
Finished the banquet, we said our goodbyes and went back home, through a new portal created by Rias. Together with us, came Zephyr, Momousagi and Furinji, as Tokikake was busy on some sort of mission and could not accompany us. Gigi also assured me that Furinji was a better martial artist and would be a better choice according to what I am trying to achieve. I agree with him because, when choosing the candidates I forgot one important detail. I previously chose the teacher considering my memories of the original One Piece timeline, but the information I had was mainly from 20 years in the future. I realized this flaw on my deductions once I saw Momousagi, currently only around 20 or 30 years old. She should still be figuring out how to become stronger herself, so it was a bit of a stretch to ask her to teach us, but fortunately, not only did she comply, as she is still one of the best swordsmen in the Marines. Issho still has not joined and Shiryu might be stronger, but his personality is not adequate for teaching, so Momousagi should still be the best choice.