Its me, Mario !

ahahahah, I can't wait to write the next chapter!

I don't know yet whether he'll become King of the Pirates, but I'll keep the idea in a part of my mind.

-------------------------------------

I was perched high up, but I couldn't find much, nothing, except for the horde of zombies guarded by ten giants near the port. It looked like they were protecting someone, or at least waiting for something. I had to go up there.

I moved at high speed and found myself facing the giants. Each of them tightened their weapons and pointed their swords, axes, etc. at me.

"Don't come any closer," they said in unison. But at the same time, a mocking voice could be heard behind them.

"Kakakakaka, let him try his luck, he's just a child," looking at me, I knew who he was: the king of death, MARIO. He had a strange mustache that gave him a mystical aura, as if he was capable of many things.

"Get off this island or die," I said, sheathing my sword to summon my two demon king daggers, Baran. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to take me seriously, quite the opposite.

"Kakakaka, Kid, it's you who will die with that arrogance. Brago, take care of this child, you can even kill him." With these words, one of the giants, probably Brago, rushed towards me with his sword and threw it in my direction. But this time, I was different, I could block his attack with just one dagger and counterattack, making the clash of weapons resonate throughout the city, creating a shockwave around us.

But it wasn't over. With my other hand, I created a sharp mana blade that cut off his two hands as planned. The putrid blood of an undead spilled on me, it was disgusting. To make sure he was dead, I then crushed his skull into pieces with a powerful kick. Without wasting any time, I jumped to face a second giant and with astonishing speed, I sliced another giant, rendering him immobile and unable to fight. I also crushed his skull, just like the previous one.

"I feel like my strength increases even when killing the undead."

"Stop that, I'll take care of it myself," Mario stopped the giants with an order and approached me with the shadows he had used for the two dead giants.

"I had given them the shadows of pirates worth over 200 million Berry, what a waste," he said before swallowing the shadows, growing slightly and becoming stronger than before.

On my part, I was starting to be frustrated by this unnecessary massacre he had caused. Tens of thousands of residents were crying while others tried to fight these pirates.

"Go die!" I rushed towards him, a blue and black aura emanating from my body as my bloodlust activated. The next moment, I was ready to strike him. So, I swung in front of me and Mario tried to dodge while laughing.

"Kakakakaka, do you think you can touch m-"

"Who allowed you to dodge?" With the authority of a sovereign, I prevented him from moving and made him come closer to me. My blade started cutting him horizontally, slicing through his vital organs like butter.

"ARRRRGGGGGGGGGG," I could hear him agonizing as a giant attacked me. I had to dodge, leaving Mario still alive, but with those injuries, I doubted he could stay alive for more than an hour.

"You're not laughing anymore?" I changed my daggers for the lightning sword and launched an attack filled with mana with all my strength. A large blue-violet blade, charged with electricity, surged towards him, grazing Mario and severely burning him, while also slicing through the sea behind him for a few seconds.

"Euhh-euhh, kiddddd, I'm going to kill you for good now! GOD MODE, DOPPELMAN!" When he said "God Mode," he absorbed over a hundred shadows, maybe even more than 500, transforming into a fifteen-meter giant, with his wounds starting to heal, even if only slightly. His shadow materialized in front of me, creating two fifteen-meter giants, much more powerful than the other giants.

"... I had anticipated this, but I wasn't prepared for it," I thought as I watched them laugh. But then, my perception detected a man approaching.

"Don't worry, as a king, I won't allow anyone to attack my country without retaliation. Knights, attack!" It was him, the king. He looked like a true knight, with a noble and royal aura. His white hair protruded from the helmet, his massive two-meter body, and his shiny armor were probably worth over 100 million Berry.

The army of knights rushed towards Mario, but eight giants stopped them and cut them into pieces. Each blow from the giants resulted in the death of dozens of knights, and none of the giants seemed to suffer real damage. But the king didn't care and headed towards Mario, this time not stopped by the giants, but by DoppelMan.

"I understand, I'll take care of Mario myself." It was expected, but well, grabbing my daggers again, I disappeared from my position to appear in front of him. But instead, a fist was ready to strike me. So, with the authority of a sovereign, I backed away as quickly as possible, avoiding the blow. But it wasn't enough, as Mario's speed was incredible. He was already in front of me, and this time, his punch didn't miss. I was thrown to the other side of the city.

"Well, I'm alive, that's what matters," I was covered in blood, but still able to move, so everything was fine.

*** Baran's POV ***

The kid had just disappeared from my sight, just like that, in an instant. It was terrifying to see, and this DoppelMan was almost as strong as the real body. Fortunately, his attack pattern was easy to understand. But now that the child wasn't coming back, it was up to me to deal with the two of them. Plus, my knights were in a pitiful state.

And as expected, the two Marios stood before me. And as expected, I wouldn't last more than a minute.

To tell you the truth, I was currently crushed under the rubble of my castle, between life and death.

"Eat this and come fight." It was the voice of that child. Just when I thought it was over, a disgusting taste filled my mouth, as bad as the legendary taste of a Devil Fruit.

"Is this the Devil Fruit from the chest? The one kept for generations? How did this child get it?" I didn't even have time to think as rage consumed me, as if I was losing control of my body. I transformed into a demon.

*** Ashborn's POV ***

I ran towards Mario, but I had to step back because at that moment, a column of flames struck him, engulfing him in burning fire.