[140] Shadows of Departure

[3600 words]

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[Two Days Later]

The borrowed warship arrived at a remote island bathed in darkness. A thick black cloud floated above, perpetually solidified in place, leaving eternal darkness to grace the island below.

"What a gloomy place," Toki muttered, stepping onto the cold soil.

"At first glance, yes," Damien agreed, smelling the swampy smell of the dark isle. "But the silence has its charm."

The trio breathed in the chilly location while Kuzan oohed and aahed at everything, fascinated by the darkness and all the changes it had imposed onto the wildlife.

…

"It's just me, Vlad."

*Shing!* The sound was light, but it resembled a blade being put away, followed by a light click.

"Taking a marine warship as your transport… It's certainly your style."

Damien smirked at the piercing yellow eyes that walked toward him, Dracule Vlad's face clearing up.

"This must be the second one," he said, examining Toki. 

The words brought a wry smile to Damien's face. Toki, however, felt a little embarrassed under the swordsman's sharp eyes, it felt as if he was assessing her threat level.

"This is Toki, and this is K–"

"Kuzan," the boy finished the sentence, giving a salute with two fingers. 

Vlad nodded a greeting and led them through, "Follow me."

…

"Looks like I caused quite the mess on your island," Damien candidly commented, seeing the carnage left behind—Fallen trees, shattered walls and ruined land.

"We don't choose the disasters that befall us; rather, it's our ability to rise above them that truly matters," Vlad said, not minding the mess. 

"If your partner Aurora had not aided us against the pirate horde, things would have been far worse."

They soon reached the haunted-looking mansion. The green candles lit the halls with their eerie glow, sending shivers up Kuzan's spine. 

"You're here, Damien-kun," came a woman's voice. 

Dracule Mina's smile deepened as her eyes fell upon the other female in the room. "Ara~! This must be Toki."

The green-haired girl curly greeted the older woman. "Aurora-san told me about you. It's nice to meet you finally."

"Ooh, I don't know where he finds heartthrobs like you!" Mina squealed, pulling the girl away to interrogate her. 

With the ladies out of the picture, Damien asked the million-dollar question, "Is he still brooding?"

Vlad sighed, rubbing his weathered forehead. He stared at a small green candle; its flickering flame reflected the ambivalence in his heart. "Not exactly. He just incessantly trains without causing us any trouble, and he barely speaks. I didn't think our son's mature response would be so worrying."

Damien hummed, standing up from the crimson sofa. "I'll talk to him. Kuzan, come with me."

"Uhh, okay."

…

[Outside]

Boom!

Shing!

Bang!

A katana slashed into the thick concrete on a giant pillar. There were already hundreds of cracks and scars on it. 

The sleek weapon continued without pause, yet every strike came at a different angle and with various strengths. It was almost as if the wielder was playing out a sequence in his mind. 

"Yo, Mihawk."

"..." The sword paused mid-air. 

A pair of piercing yellow eyes peered at the towering pirate who had arrived; their sharpness was more evident in the island's perpetual darkness.

"Damien-san…!"

"Looks like you've done well with Kagekiri," the pirate commented in appreciation—the boy was swinging the sword gifted to him.

Mihawk nodded, his mood slightly rising up. Yet it wasn't enough to stop his practice.

Bang!

Damien watched with some intrigue, surveilling the landscape. "You've already collapsed tens of those pillars. Here, try with this one."

Mihawk blinked as he saw the pirate grab a young boy, a little older than himself, by the neck and place him in front of his blade.

"Uhh, this isn't what I signed up for…" Kuzan muttered.

"Go ahead, slash all you want."

*Shing!*

Kuzan twitched as he felt the weapon cut toward him, effectively cutting him in half. The slicing air was followed by an explosive clattering of ice shards. 

A cold chill washed Mihawk as he stared at the blue crystals twinkling in the darkness, glittering like stars.

The hawk eyes trembled and shook with speculation, watching the shards fly back to one another and reform the body.

"I can't cut him… He's a Logia."

Damien nodded at the comment while the lad returned a grin through the frost. "The name's Kuzan!" he exclaimed past the white fog.

Mihawk gave a half-nod, his eyes still examining the intangible and invincible nature of the older boy.

"Let's go inside. Your father seems to have something important to discuss."

"...Okay."

…

The entire group of six people sat across the circle of sofas in the living room. A chandelier of a dozen green candles bathed the room with its green hue. It contrasted with the moonlight from the giant glass wall overlooking the replanted hedge maze.

They had finished a small conversation about mundane things. Toki and Kuzan had acquainted themselves with the Dracule Family, which brought them to a critical point.

Mina and Vlad looked at one another, then at Mihawk and finally at Damien.

"We asked you here in the hope that you would fulfill our selfish wish," Vlad started.

Damien felt a deep reluctance from the two parents, both from their disposition and Vlad's tone.

Mina nodded, looking at the pirate with a smile that evoked emotions from hope to melancholy.

"We want you to take Mihawk with you."

Mihawk was the first to react, though it was without any verbal response. Instead, the boy simply stared blankly at his saddened mother.

"He's only four years old," Damien brought up, crossing his arms. "Aren't you being too hasty?"

"Just the other day, we almost lost our son," Vlad bluntly said with a shaken voice. He took a deep breath before continuing, "...This is no place for him to remain. I can't protect him, and I don't wish to damn my boy to a life of cold, lonely darkness."

He sighed helplessly, sparing a look at the speechless Mihawk.

"The seas are unforgiving to the weak, you know this. Both Mina and I think it's best that you take him away from this dark and decrepit land."

The woman nodded, holding back tears. She put on the bravest smile a mother could offer when giving away her only son: "Please, Damien-kun. I won't rob my child of a healthy childhood any longer."

She reached out to ruffle the sullen Mihawk's jet-black hair, "We may be old, but we can tell when something big is about to happen…"

"The omens are there; the sea grows tense, the winds are far more chaotic this season, and even the skies grow somber by the passing weeks," Vlad solemnly said. "Though I know not if it will affect us, we will not gamble our son's future on it."

"..."

A silence pervaded the large room.

Suddenly, it felt like it had gotten even darker and colder, though the last part may have been Kuzan.

Toki looked at quivering Mina thoughtfully, 'How crushing could it be to be forced to send away your only child?' 

Mihawk, the main character in this scenario, was puzzled. His childish face could not fully showcase the rollercoaster of emotions he was experiencing.

Damien, on the other hand, leaned into the conversation. Meeting the parents' eyes, he bluntly asked, "You're willing to trust me with your son?"

Mina was the first to respond. Her tired face bloomed with an honest smile as she nodded, "It's because it's our son that we can trust you. I don't know why, but I've seen the way you've tried to nurture the boy. I have no doubt you can keep him safe from the coming tides."

"..." Vlad looked at Damien with a sharp glance—he had a different outlook on the matter than his wife.

"I understand what you're looking for. I assure you, Mihawk can most certainly grow into the powerful aid you need," he calmly stated. The one-armed swordsman then lowered his head, bowing toward the pirate. "I just hope you can allow Mihawk to choose his own path."

"Father…!" Mihawk called out, seeing the proud swordsman lowering his head.

Kuzan wasn't mature enough to know what the handicapped man was implying, though both Toki and Damien caught on immediately.

"You're not wrong, Vlad. Like any other pirate, I have my own goals and reasons for everything I do."

He turned to the reticent child, narrowing his eyes, "Mihawk has the potential to be something great; I value that deeply."

Vlad was surprised by the pirate's honesty, letting him continue, "Though I will give you the same promise I gave Kuzan."

"Huh?" The ice boy blinked, unsure how he got pulled into this conversation.

Damien's voice was firm and reassuring, "I can provide Mihawk with the safety you ask for and the chance to grasp his future with his own efforts. He will get what he earns."

Vlad sighed in relief, though not before earning a sharp jab from his wife's elbow, "Don't mind my cynical husband. We both know you'll do what's best for Hawk-chan."

Toki clapped her hands, conveying her brightness, "Damien-san is a nice person, even though he has destroyed a few islands and ended some civilizations! I'll make sure Mihawk-kun will be well cared for."

Both Vlad and Damien gave a wry smile to one another. The parallel between the two ladies was quite evident.

Kuzan also jumped from his seat, giving Mihawk a thumbs-up: "Don't worry. The island we're staying at is very peaceful and jolly, well apart from the eventual storm that can sink a ship or two."

…

The 'deal' was reached—Mihawk would accompany Damien from Yozora Island and stay with him. Although there was much to discuss, time was never an ally, and soon, the pirates returned to the ship, with the Dracule couple bidding them farewell.

"Hawk-chan, remember to write to us often," Mina lightly directed. She held up a transponder snail with the same piercing eyes.

The boy stood in front of his parents, reaching quite tall for his age. The two older folks recognized Mihawk's look of uncertainty. "Don't worry. We'll always be here if you ever want to come for a visit."

Vlad then stepped back, letting the more emotional Mina bid her farewell, accounting for a bear hug that could crush a tree.

…

"I agree with you," Damien said, earning Vlad's curious eyes. "He has the potential and the drive to lift that sword."

The words left the swordsman with a proud look.

"Yoru has waited centuries to be lifted and be shown to the world. Our Dracule Family has always considered it our duty to wave that glorious blade around… I await the day my boy can honour those wishes."

Damien smirked, "Give him a decade."

…

Meanwhile, Mina was embracing the child.

"Be good to Damien-kun; do as he tells you."

The boy clawed his way out from the vice-like grip and nodded. He slowly looked up from the ground, finally meeting the expectant eyes of his mother.

The boy had always been reticent, and after the recent Navy siege, he had grown quieter. Yet even with this, his mother was able to read his thoughts from a single glance. She patiently waited with a knowing smile, allowing the boy to utter his jumbled thoughts.

"I'll make you proud."

Mina's face lit up to brighten the entirety of Yozora. She stood up with delight and lightly nudged him to Toki. 

"This is a goodbye for now."

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Opposite to the warm atmosphere at Yozora Island was a far more somber one elsewhere, all in the same sea of Paradise.

It was at an inconspicuous base hidden under a quiet town in the middle of nowhere, nearly a hundred meters (328 ft) below.

It was huge, spanning dozens of large rooms built with thick concrete and stone. If one looked closely, one would see a bright luster over every square meter of the material used as the structure's frame—it was Seastone!

The alloy of various metals with the seastone made this base essentially impossible to penetrate by ordinary or even extraordinary means. The flag drawn into the blue walls made it obvious who this facility belonged to: the Navy!

.

Within one of the central chambers was a group of men around a sole test subject.

"Kukuku, it's ready!" a man laughed.

He had a thin mustache that matched his short hair in colour, brown. He sported circular tinted glasses that hid his eyes away. He was the man in charge of the Marine Science Unit—Tensai!

The researcher donned a white lab coat over his rather well-dressed body, boasting green collars. A mad grin was stapled to his face as he cackled at the sight before him.

"Go on, don't be shy and put on my masterpiece, Masao!"

His words were mainly ignored by the much taller man wrapped in bandages. Only his pale, scarred, hairless head was free from the mummy-like appearance, yet most who looked at him would've hoped that that wasn't the case.

"Ughh," the man deeply exhaled, not from the anxiety but pain instead.

A throbbing itch had been torturing him for the past few months ever since his 'accident.' Any attempt to calm the itch would force it to double and appear elsewhere, which, alongside the pain of simply moving around, left him in seething rage. 

The yellow irises drove fear into those around him, all but the already mad Tensai.

*Thump* *Thump*

Slow footsteps went off as the Admiral walked up to the suit placed on an armour stand before him.

"Is that gasmask necessary?"

Tensai scoffed from the side, feeling offended. "Do you think I would add it just to make the suit look cooler and more creepy… Do you think that lowly of me!?"

Masao glared at the scientist, growling under his breath, "Whatever." The Admiral reached out for the suit and began to put it on.

…

The main part of the suit was made from the treasured Elastium of Arkaos, a refined ore known for its lightweight and flexible properties that could solidify when hit with force. Thin plates of armour further toughened it.

Tensai was a fan of edgy suits, so he left his trademark black, gray, and purple accents to design his creation.

It was a fearsome sight.

Masao clicked on the pieces, slowly donning the suit. He then grabbed the marine coat, but it wasn't the usual white with yellow epaulets; instead, it was a simple black cloak that ran down his shoulders and onto the ground.

The word "Justice" was imprinted on the back in purple ink.

The damned Admiral took his first breath through the gasmask: "Ghooo-aaaall…"

Some particular properties of the suit provided relief from the insufferable itch. "Bhurrr," he exhaled.

.

"Ah, it's beautiful!" Tensai marvelled, his lips drooling in delight.

"!!!" He suddenly felt a chill up his spine as he saw the burning yellow pupils lock onto him, pulsating from the darkness of the hood that hid most of the Admiral's face.

The genius man gulped and slowly said, "I hope the mask is doing its thing… stifling the itch."

The Admiral nodded. Though the device made his breathing quite loud and distinct, it did an excellent job of helping the marine entirely focus his thoughts.

Haaaa* *Huuu* 

He looked around, finally feeling an ounce of freedom in his own body. 

"Did the Fleet Admiral approve of my request?"

Tensai woke up from his reverie, feeling a cool chill run down his spine—it was the voice; Masao's voice had become distorted and raspy under all the weight.

"Oh, that. Yeah, it's being spread across the world in today's newspaper." He grinned cheekily, approving of the message, "Henceforth you are no longer codenamed 'Kurowashi'..."

The previous Black Eagle was a beacon of hope and light for the Marines, lighting up the darkest of times with his Pump-Pump Fruit and Ox Bell, earning his keep as the Dazzling Admiral.

Now, all that remained was the husk of his former glory, a beast with a desire to take down the pirate who had left him broken and robbed him of his charisma and flair.

Tensai gave out a mad grin, his smile stretching so wide that his glasses almost fell over, "...the world will know you as 'Kurojū' from now on!"

[Admiral Kurojū Image (in Discord)]

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[A Day Later]

A lone marine battleship slowly came to a stop at Mortem Island's shore. 

"How's the first sunny day of your life?" Damien asked, releasing the anchor of the vessel.

His question was directed to a young boy standing under the shade of the warship's mast. 

"I'm almost used to it."

Mihawk looked up and saw the endless evening daylight, somewhat excited. Every so often, he would walk out and into the light, his skin absorbing all that juicy Vitamin D. 

"It's still a little hard on my eyes, all those years in darkness."

Damien nodded in understanding and offered, "I can get you a hat later."

…

There was a small party to welcome the pirates back.

"Another brat?" Solomon's grizzly voice broke out at the sight of the wincing Mihawk.

The boy was trying to travel in the shade of the trees, hopping about from the warm sun.

"Watch out, he bites," Kuzan snapped in Mihawk's name.

The boy scrutinized the shirtless Solomon, his body laced in sweat and bruises. Suddenly, another voice came into the young swordsman's ears, a familiar one. "Mihawk, Damien told me you would stay with us here; welcome."

The boy's lips were slightly raised as he saw the familiar figure of the purple-haired girl.

Some dirt crunched under Damien's boot as he stood beside the lad, his tall frame offering some shade. 

"Aurora, how did Solomon do in your training?"

The words siphoned the colour from the monster's face. "Boss, she's crazy! She spent the first 48 hours holding me down with ten times gravity; every time I moved, she increased it even more! I was eating dirt for two whole days!!!"

Damien hummed. He spared a look at the smirking Aurora and then at the turbulent Solomon, "That is indeed a sin."

Solomon sighed in relief.

"She should at least start off with twenty times the gravity. I guess she was feeling nice."

"..."

Damien walked up and gave a kiss to the girl's forehead, much to her joy, leaving behind a battered and speechless Solomon.

"Alright, we'll have dinner, and then there's something you all should know."

…

Toki had long prepared meals over the past few months. 

Her powers perfectly preserved any cooking. She simply imposed a chronostasis upon it, warding off any possibilities of rot and decay and keeping it nigh-perpetually fresh.

Yet, considering the occasion, Toki wanted to cook it right now.

The main course was a perfectly grilled, mouthwatering Sea Cow Steak. 

One could picture a thick, juicy ribeye steak seasoned to perfection with a blend of coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a hint of smoked paprika. The steak sizzled as it hit the hot grill, filling the air with an irresistible aroma of charred meat and smoky goodness. Cooked to a succulent medium-rare, where the center is pink, juicy, and bursting with flavour and enriched with rare herbs and fantastical spices.

…

[An Hour Later]

*Burp*

"Man, that hit the spot," Solomon muttered, leaning back on a thick log. He ate well enough to ignore the gravitational bruises that left behind at least eight broken ribs and one collapsed lung.

Mihawk and Kuzan sat beside one another, nibbling at a piece of meat.

Toki and Aurora sat next to Damien. The doctor-cook was adding stuff to his plate that disappeared just as fast.

Eventually, he paused in his meal, letting the peaceful moonlight bathe the hearth at the center.

"I'll be off tomorrow morning with Solomon," he began.

He noticed the girls slightly deflated; even Kuzan was sulking.

"No matter what, this should be the last time we split up. Though it will also be the most monumental event of this era, there's no doubt about that…"

His words attracted everyone's attention, noticing the solemnity in Damien's voice.

"Even a pirate with 3 billi' is wary of it? A-ra-ra, now I wanna come with!"

*Bonk* 

A pink bump formed on the boy's head, forcing him to wince in pain. Oddly enough, the scolding had left Damien's knuckles with a hint of frost.

"Not bad, kid."

Kuzan grinned, forgetting the pain as he heard words that were music to his ears.

.

"Anyways. I have given up trying to plan every moment of the chaos to follow," Damien glanced at Toki, who smiled in return. "But that's all the more reason to use the time we have left in training."

"I'm sure the Underworld will be in shambles too," he said, directing his words to Aurora.

The purple-haired girl's expression warped into determination, a firm pair of amethyst eyes fit for the King of Shipping. "Don't worry about me or the Underworld. I'll keep them all in check."

Kuzan and Mihawk turned to one another, nodding with similar conviction. The ice boy grinned, "Hehe, I'll turn anyone looking to touch Mortem into an icicle!" 

Meanwhile, the broken Solomon huffed a burst of energy, momentarily washing the warmth of the fire. "I'll be there with you at the Den of Scum, Boss!"

Damien smirked at the confidence blooming in those around him, satisfied by their outlook. "No matter how long it takes, I will return when the time is right, I promise!"

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Mihawk has officially moved into Mortem, while Admiral Masao has returned to action with a new look. He is no longer Kurowashi and now goes by the codename Kurojū. "Kuro" means "Black," and "jū" means "Beast." → "Kurojū" can be translated to "Black Beast."

Otherwise, Damien and Solomon are set to return to Hachinosu to kick off the most momentous excursion of the Rocks Pirates.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q