Chapter 15: Fated Battle

"H.h.h.hey Liam…. Pirate ship! Look at the size of that pirate ship."

Usopp rushed to Liam but the weight on his arm was making it harder for him to even move properly. 

'Is it finally the time?' Liam thought as he looked at the Krieg ship. But at this moment, a powerful slash came from the side and the whole ship got split in half.

'What? So soon!'

 Liam didn't realize that he forgot the time while training and while they were still stuck on the boat, that man had already arrived.

He stood up and looked at the restaurant. Fortunately, he still forced Zoro to stay there but he can't do anything else. Zoro will eventually come out.

"What's going on? Don't tell me that man has chased us to this sea?"

"We are done for."

"He is going to kill us all."

The pirate crew started shouting in despair. Liam turned his head at Nami and said "Miss. Navigator, pull our ship away from here. We will go and meet with Luffy soon."

Because he interfered earlier, Nami didn't get a chance to steal the ship but he knew she would eventually do it. There was no point in wasting his time here.

"Wait, why are we staying here? Call Zoro and Luffy, we should leave. That man cut the ship in half." Nami caught his hand and shouted at his face.

Liam shook his head and said "No! Zoro won't run away."

"He will die. Didn't you say the difference between them is too huge?" Nami shouted.

Liam shook his head and said, "He will not die."

"How?" Nami asked.

Liam's eyes turned serious as he continued "Because he is Roronoa Zoro."

His serious expression slowly changed as he spoke "Let's just trust him. He is our crew mate after all."

At this moment, Nami lowered her head. Liam turned around but she didn't let go of his hand. While her head was down, she asked "So, you don't think I am your crew mate?"

"Why do you assume that? I am literally asking you to take the ship." Liam suddenly felt lost for a moment but eventually replied.

"You are giving me this ship because you know I will run away with it. You want to chase me away. You never called me by my name even though we have been sailing for days now. You .... Know about me but then, why didn't you say anything?" Nami had a bit of tear in her eyes as she shouted at Liam.

Liam and Usopp were surprised by her outburst, especially Liam. He knew it would be really hard to convince her so he was letting her go. He didn't expect her to wait for him to say anything about her background.

Liam suddenly raised his hand and pulled Nami into his embrace. Nami was surprised by his bold move. At this moment, Liam said "I am sorry. I thought you wouldn't believe us even if I told you that we could defeat him."

"I actually wanted to wait till you will realize his true motive. I know a lot about this place and I thought I could let things happen as I originally thought. But, I never thought your mind will change as we sail forward."

"It wouldn't have changed..." Nami spoke as she drew his attention and then continued "If you hadn't shown me that you can grow stronger by training, my mind wouldn't have changed."

"That bastard always calls himself superior to humans and uses his overwhelming strength to suppress us. I was terrified that if I tell you anything, you guys would die fighting him."

"But, the more you talked about the world, the more I began to realize that we might have a chance. But, I also realized something else. You rarely used my name to address me and today when you addressed that cook, I understood that you didn't fully think of me as a crew mate and... I was right."

Liam bit his lips. He didn't know what to say at this moment.

"I'm sorry!"

Liam finally apologized but unlike before, he didn't try to explain anything. He just silently waited for her to answer. But instead, she asked.

"Can we win?"

A big smile appeared on his lips as he spoke "Of course, we can."

"So, you promise to call me by my name?" Nami asked.

The smile just kept getting wider as he said "Yes"

"Then, I will not charge you anything for taking advantage of me." Nami finally smiled as she separate herself from him.

Liam bitterly smiled. Nami didn't change at all. At best, she was a bit more confident. 

"If you two have finished, can you tell me what should we do?" Usopp asked.

"Alright, let's dock our ship closer to the restaurant and wait. That man has arrived."

At this moment, a man wearing a black coat with a giant sword behind his back. He had a tall lean body with a black mustache and a small beard. There was a pendent hanging on his neck which had the smallest knife in his possession.

His eyes were a bit yellow and had the shape of a hawk. The World's Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk. He was already here. He gently moved his sword as he tossed away the bullets. 

Before Liam and others could dock near the restaurant, Zoro had already started challenging this man.

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"Liam, is it really okay to let him fight? I mean what if he kills Zoro?" Usopp asked with a worried expression.

"Usopp, nobody is allowed to stand behind his dream and him. He has to fight Mihawk even if it means his death. All we can do is pray that Zoro will live through this."

This wasn't fiction anymore. This was a real-world and even if it was fiction before, now it changed because of his presence. It's just how much has it really changed.

Liam's heart was beating really fast. He was really worried about Zoro but seeing Mihawk using the knife inside his pendent, he finally released a deep breath.

He hoped that everything will go as before. Liam moved his gaze to Luffy who was silently watching this duel. Mihawk and Zoro exchanged blows and Zoro started to realize just Liam's words.

The difference between them was really too huge. But, his eyes didn't lose their lusters. They were still gleaming with energy as he strike once again but got pierced his heart.

"Why didn't you step back?"

Mihawk asked with a surprised expression.

"F-f-f-ew days ago… my friend told me that the gap between you and me is unimaginable. But, I still challenged you. It wasn't because I thought he was wrong but if I surrender without even fighting my enemy, I would lose my dream, break my promise to someone, and would never become what I am today." Zoro coughed out blood and answered.

"That's what defeat means." 

Mihawk answered and thought 'So, he didn't challenge me without knowing anything.'

"Then.... I rather die….."

At this moment, Zoro's eyes weren't losing hope or admitting defeat. 

Mihawk pulled out his knife and put it back.

"Kid, tell me your name!"

Zoro raised his swords and started spinning as he replied.

"Roronoa Zoro"

"I shall remember it. Even if your strength is weak, to show my respect to a fellow swordsman, I shall use my black sword, the world's strongest sword." Mihawk took out his black sword and took the stance.

"Die!"

Zoro looked at Mihawk and thought 'So, this is going to be my final blow. I die or become the strongest. There are no other options.'

"Three Swords Style- Three Thousand Worlds"

Splash!

Mihawks' eyes squinted when he saw the trace of a strange aura around Zoro. This was the aura that he was easily able to recognize. It's just that he didn't expect to see it on him.

But still, he slashed Zoro's chest and broke two of his swords. When they stopped behind each other, Zoro turned around and opened his arms.

"What?" Mihawk asked seeing his choice.

"A scar on a back is swordsman's shame." Zoro replied as the blood gushed down his mouth.

"Splendid!" Mihawk smiled for a moment and slashed his sword.

Splash!

Mihawk looked at the scar he had left on Zoro's body and thought 'Don't look for death so early, young man.'

Sanji lost the cigarette from his mouth and shouted "If the results mean death, then throw away your ambition."

Unfortunately, Zoro couldn't hear it. His body fell on the water and Luffy stretched his arm toward Mihawk but mihawk easily dodged it. Luffy collided against the ship.

"Don't worry! That man is still alive."

Luffy's eyes widened and Liam's let out a sigh before a smile.

"My name is Dracule Mihawk. It's too early for you to die. Know yourself, know the world and become strong Roronoa"

At this moment, Mihawk's tone got higher he continued.

"It doesn't matter how long will it take, I will wait at the peak of this world. So FORGE AHEAD WITH YOUR AMBITION TO SURPASS MY SWORD, SURPASS ME, RORONOA!"

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