[2154 words]

I see why people drop chapters in the morning as it gives them a headstart with power stones 😨 ​​

Bounty Update.

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(Long have we waited for the rightful wielder... we will wait no longer!)

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The air was literally cut apart as the voice howled in anger, reducing the nearby area into finely cut pieces.

Vlad immediately unsheathed his blade as he blocked the blast of energy and protected the vulnerable Mina.

Aurora used her powers and formed a shield.

I simply took it head-on, it tickled.

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I knew right away that Mihawk had awakened the ability to hear the Voice of All Things when I saw his reaction, but now I understood the reason.

Left in a stone for 750 years would make anyone impatient.

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"Mihawk, come here," I said, my Haki still flaring as the blade made no attempts to lower its assault.

Mina was a bit hesitant but after Vlad's approval, the boy slowly moved forth.

He was no longer being subjected to the sword's Voice but the aching pain seemed to remain.

.

He stood straight, directly next to me with no hesitation.

His parents and Aurora watched from a distance.

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"Mihawk, the voices you heard were from Yoru. It seems after your declaration, they grew impatient." I explained.

He nodded.

{{Yoru, you have already waited so long, you can wait a few more years till he is ready.}} I said.

Yet the sword was adamant.

(We wish to be freed from these shackles... we will wait no longer!)

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The blast of energy increased as I flinched and moved in front of Mihawk to shield him.

"You are rather stubborn for an 8 century-old sword…" I sighed, wondering how to fix this.

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I then felt a tug on my coat as I saw Chibi-Mihawk nudging at me.

"Nii-san, let me speak to him."

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I frowned, though letting him go forth, I didn't want my future crew member hurt but I doubt Yoru would kill its desired wielder.

*Sheeeee*

A cold whisper of wind resounded as Mihawk traced his small hands over the black blade.

"I wish to wield you as well, but only when I am ready. Please, give me more time and I shall free you from your slumber!" He said with great determination.

"..."

*Fwooo*

The air slowly calmed down as I felt the raging energy lessen and slowly disappear.

(Hurry then, child, grow strong faster lest we grow impatient once more!)

With that said, the sword spirit slept once more as the air halted.

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I looked at the boy, his yellow eyes seemed sharper than usual.

He was lost staring at the blade as I walked towards his parents.

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"The blade seeks its freedom and finds him worthy," I said and they understood.

Vlad seemed proud while Mina just seemed worried.

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The woman stared at her child and then looked at me with some sadness.

"Damien-chan, will you do us a favour?" She said.

Vlad nodded as it seemed as if it was something they had discussed prior.

"Go ahead..." I said though I had a clue of what it may be.

.

*Sigh*

Mina gave a long and heavy sigh as she asked,

"Damien-chan, we would like you to take our child with you. He trains endlessly here but we think it best for him to go with you."

Vlad added, "Right, and like a few years ago when the pirates came here and caused the death of my brother and father, I doubt I could protect Mihawk if it happens once more."

He then gestured towards his missing arm and his older age.

.

If some fiends were to find this island then surely they would be defenceless.

I then heard an abrupt movement from the side.

Mihawk was blinking his yellow eyes as he gazed at his parents.

"Mother, father..."

Mina rushed out once more and embraced her child and slowly consoled him, "Hawk-chan, I know you have always wanted to go with Damien-chan but never asked for what we might say. But know that no matter what happens, you will always be my little Hawk-chan."

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She then just stood there, continuing the hug.

I looked at Vlad.

"Vlad-san, are you sure of this? You say this island is not safe but the seas are just as perilous." I asked.

He nodded, "I know, boy, but I have a feeling that you will take care and help him reach his goal."

"We may be his parents but we shall do whatever it takes to help him reach the height he so dearly craves."

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I nodded, "Very well, I will take him with me. Do know that I will leave for my other crew in a year or so but I will ensure his safety while I am gone."

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I then whistle as a sparrow flies down.

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"Her name is Ruby, she is a very fast bird, you can use it to communicate with the boy whenever," I said as Ruby flew to Vlad's shoulder.

"Chirp!"

The man nodded in satisfaction as I then turned my attention to the mother and child.

"Perhaps we should leave in a few days." To which they agreed.

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[Fooljack Peaks, Paradise Sea]

(Clone #2 POV)

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I was still working on my Observation as I could feel the unrest in the base.

The World News Agency heads are running without end while the Cipher Pol agents are swarming around yelling orders and pressuring the 4 Directors to hurry with the news manipulation.

It seems the mini-Reverie attack had sent some shocks in their core.

HA!

Let's not forget about the destroyed G-4 which probably took billions of berries to make...

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[2 Days Later]

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"Hawk-chan, answer little Ruby as soon as she comes to you!" Mina said as she let go of the boy from her tight hug.

She had been keeping him like a teddy bear all these 2 days and finally released the boy.

Vlad just gave him the manly goodbye while he hid his tears.

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Aurora and I stood a few meters away as they finished their goodbyes.

"Damien-chan take care of my little Hawk-chan."

"Remain prudent, boy."

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I nodded with a smile, "Mihawk will return to retrieve Yoru soon, do wait till then."

"Aurora," I said as I looked at her.

*VWOOOO*

The girl nodded and my shadow started to warp into a portal that seemed to pull things in. I had told her about my clone's shadow travel yesterday and it seemed to work.

She now has linked my main body's shadow to the clone at Mortem Island so it will save us some time to actually sail there.

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I look to the side and at the boy.

Mihawk was trying very hard to hide it but I could see the tears in the corner of his eyes.

He wanted to say something but couldn't get it out.

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I tapped his shoulder and whispered, "Say it lest you regret it."

He looked at me then nodded.

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He rushed out from my side and jumped onto Mina as he hugged her with affection.

"I will make you proud." He said as the tears finally rolled out.

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Aurora smiled as she saw him and remembered her parents while I just waited.

"Go now," Vlad said as the boy slowly walked towards me with a smile, ready to venture out.

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"Let's go."

We then descended into the ground and everything went black.

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[Marineford]

[A Few Days Ago]

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*Snore* *Snore*

Deep sounds of a man sleeping peacefully could be heard upon a warship with a dog figurehead.

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"Vice Admiral Garp! We are arriving at our destination!" A commodore reported.

Garp's snot bubble popped as he stood up and smacked his lips with a yawn.

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"Oh... get me my coat... and don't forget my crackers!"

-----

Garp, donning his white marine coat as he stepped onto the major port and seemed solemn.

"This is looking quite bad..." He muttered as his Observation spanned around.

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He then glared to the far east, "G-4 is destroyed as well. This is terrible."

He then looked at a Rear Admiral, "Call Kong-san and ask for immediate support, Amethyst Kingdom is flooded and our base is destroyed."

"The rest of you, go around and help anyone in need."

"Bring together all in proper health and ask them to gather the wounded in one area."

"Medic team, go and do your job."

""""""HAI!""""""

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Garp is usually quite playful but when it comes to such disasters, naturally he will do his part.

*FWOOO*

He then soru-ed as he went looking for a certain someone.

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'Hmm, the walls are only destroyed on one side which means a big fight happened away from here.' He calculated.

'Plum Island... Zephyr, just who did you fight for it to go so badly?' Garp thought as he Geppo-ed over to the small marine make-shift base near the center of the capital city.

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Of course, though he was defeated, Zephyr had recovered and started to do what he could with the little number of troops he had.

---

*Thud*

Garp lands onto the field as the nearby marines salute in respect.

He looks around as he eats his crackers and finds the Black Arm.

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"Oye! Zephyr! Kong-san will be pissed if you don't have a proper answer for this mess." Garp casually said.

The Rear Admirals nearby froze as they knew Zephyr tends to be very thorough with his Justice, and this disaster is nothing to be proud of.

.

Garp then froze and blinked his eyes for a few seconds.

"Oye, oye, you actually lost your right arm!?" Garp thundered out as he dropped his crackers, his mouth widening into an 'O' shape as he saw the stump.

'The Black Arm had... lost his arm. Do we call him Black Stump Zephyr from now on?' Garp thought as he picked his nose.

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The man in question glared at Garp with a stare that could melt obsidian as he sighed.

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"Garp... it was my fault. I didn't expect that boy to have such power." He said with regret.

Garp raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? A boy? Not any of the old geezers like us?"

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Zephyr nodded as he touched his stump with his left hand, "Compared to us, he is a boy. You met him, no? Einar D. Damien."

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The Fist scratched his head and then clicked, "Oh! That brat who influenced my stupid son! Where is he? Let me give him my Fist of Love!" He said with an annoyed tone.

To which Zephyr shook his head, "He is a lot stronger than we guessed, too strong for his age..."

...

The 2 continued their chat and Garp finally reported to Kong.

The latter naturally started roaring out in a fury of the news, Garp though, just hung up.

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[Mortem Island]

(Clone POV)

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7 days have passed since my main body left for Aurora and only 3 days since our clash.

The news should be arriving any second now...

"Squawk!"

A seagull descended and floated above me.

A newspaper in its claws.

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I ruffled its little head as it squawked in joy and gave me the recent news.

Kuzan also appeared near me, along with Toki as they heard the bird's cry.

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"Oh, Damien-san, did your real body do something big again?" He asked with curiosity.

I hummed as I threw the newspaper at him.

*Rustle*

He flipped open the page as saw the major headline and gave some comments.

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"Oh, the Hub of Paradise eh? The Amethyst Kingdom..." He said as he read the title.

...

"Arara! Another neechan with big bazongas has come!"

...

"Oh, Black Arm Zephyr!"

...

"Oh look, it's Damien-san fighting Vice Admiral Zephyr!" He said excitedly as he saw the image of us clashing.

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"Oh wow... Damien-san's creepy form..." He muttered as he saw me using my Empyrean Descent.

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"Arara, you actually defeated him!" He said as he nodded with an enthusiastic expression.

I was thinking of giving him a Fist of Love for his surprised tone but something else happened.

*Swoop*

A thin hand swiped the newspaper as Toki looked at the image.

She blinked over the pictures and zoomed into my body.

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"Damien-san... it says you fought for over 30 hours and you look really injured, are you alright?"

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Her voice was layered with a tone I recalled from my main body as she looked at me with worry.

I just smiled and reassured her, "My main body is perfectly fine, if anything I have grown stronger than before."

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She nodded slowly as Kuzan retook the newspaper and flipped to the next page.

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"Oh... you blew up G-4, no wonder the newspaper arrived so fast." He commented.

And it was true, it usually took 7-9 days for them to 'filter' the news to their desire but this time it only took 3 days. Probably because it just could not be hidden as it was linked to tens of kingdoms and even some Reverie seat holders.

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Toki just nodded as she sat down while the ice-boy kept reading the juicy details.

His eyes suddenly popped.

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"Oh-oh! Damien-san, look, your bounty!"

.

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author's Corner:

Seeing you pissed off from the cliffhanger brings a smile to my face.

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Random Trivia:

Would you rather have to use sandpaper instead of toilet paper or hot sauce as eye drops?

Thanks for Reading!