The Awaited Moment! Clash Between Kenshin and Stephen

The Deciding Fight
''Stephen is seen outside, in the streets, looking at what was his palace until some minutes ago. Since all the remaining crystals were in the basement of the palace, they got crushed.''

Stephen:*shadowed eyes*10 years...going to waste like this...

Stephen's body starts trembling in anger.

Stephen:*angered look*SASAGAWA KENSHIN!!

''His entire body turns into a cloud of black smoke and he launches himself towards the place where the noise was coming from earlier, as a jet of black smoke. Meanwhile, Marimo and Revy get surrounded by Stephen's army. The soldiers, afraid, attempt to attack the two.''

Marimo: This is the part I didn't want to deal with, these annoying soldiers.

Revy: It's gonna take us a lot of time, and you gotta hold back to not...

Marimo:*serious look*Yeah, I know.

????: I guess we can take care of them for you!

With surprised looks on their faces, Marimo and Revy turn around, where the old man was leading a rather large group of men.

Marimo:*smiles*So my words reached you in the end.

Old man: I understood that this is what we have to do from the very beginning, however, these guys needed some time to think about it. I think your final words before leaving the mine were what really convinced them.

Revy:*surprised*Mine? What are they talking about? Who is this old man?

Old man:*smiles*An old pirate who still has some fighting spirit inside of him.

''A soldier is seen sneaking behind the old man. Once he gets really gets, he takes out his sword and swings it at the old man, aiming to execute with. With a confident look on his face, the old man simply opens his palm and as soon as it touches his hand, the sword is sent flying, together with the soldier.''

Revy: What's...that power?

Marimo:*wide grin*Oh...so it seems you seen some of this world, if you're able to use Busoshoku Haki.

Old man:*grins*Don't talk to me like that, brat! Now, it's been some time since I touched a sword, so I'm sorry if I'm not exactly skilled.

''Using his Devil Fruit, Marimo lifts a sword from the ground using an energy field and sends it flying towards the old man. With a look full of excitement, the old man catches the sword and in an instant slashes a group of soldiers that were close to him.''

Old man:*shadowed eyes and smiling*Tch...I really got old, since I never cut this deep.

Revy:*serious look*[That was very similar to the way I wield my sword, but his skills...are on a completely different level.]

Old man: ALRIGHT MEN!! PICK YOUR WEAPONS AND LETS OBTAIN FREEDOM, TOGETHER!!

Men: YEAAAAAAAAAAH!!

Full of excitement and courage, all the men, despite their weak looking bodies, pick some weapons and start fighting in the best way the can.

Revy: Are them really...the people who disappeared?

Marimo: Yeah, they were forced to work in these mines until the day they die.

With Marimo leading them, the group of men chargers towards Stephen's soldiers and start taking them out rather easily.

Old man:*wide smile*Hey, Kenshin! Are you really that tired after your right? So far, I took out more people than you!

Marimo:*arrogant smile*Don't get too full of yourself, ancient swordsman!

Old man:*laughs*Ancient swordsman?

''Stephen's troops keep coming, but they all get taken out without any problems. Despite the fact they are still outnumbered, Marimo's group is completely dominating the fight, the men's wish for freedom being too strong for some simple soldiers to stop them.''

Revy:*smiles*You really managed to do this on your own...

''A surprised look appears on Revy's face. Her smile slowly disappears as tears appear in her eyes. At some distance from where the fight was taking place, a large group of people from all parts of the island gathered all the weapons they could, to join the fight for freedom.''

Revy:*tears rolling down on her face*Everyone...

Old man:*warm smile*These are happy tears, am I right?

Marimo:*smiles*Is that your way of celebrating? Cause we're still far from taking this island back, so come here and fight as well!

Revy tightly grabs her swords, wipes her tears, then steps in front of everyone.

Revy:*smiles*Yeah...lets go, everyone!

All the people from the country fight with their lives on the line and after just a few minutes, Stephen's troops are reduced to a very small number.

Revy:*panting, but smiling*This...this is almost over!

Marimo:*shadowed eyes*Right, your part, that is.

Revy: What are you talking about?

Marimo: You should step away now since your part is over.

''Everyone is able to notice Marimo's change in attitude. A killing intent can be felt around him.''

Marimo:*grins*He's coming.

In front of Marimo appears a tall figure wearing a long, red coat.

Marimo:*sharp look*You really took your time to come here, Stephen.

Stephen:*cold look*Sasagawa Kenshin, we finally meet.

''All the people look in shock, since they see Stephen for the first time. Only these who were trapped in the mine actually met Stephen before. Stephen takes a look at the crowd and the old man catches his attention.''

Stephen: So you escaped as well.

Old man: Yeah, but this time, I won't be the one fighting you. I know I can't win against you anyway.

Revy:*surprised*You fought Stephen before?

Old man: That's the reason why I was sent to the mine. I'm not actually from this island.

Revy: Why would you try to get to this island then? With all the darkness around it.

Old man:*serious look*I wanted to protect some persons that I love, but I failed. I'm sorry for that.

Revy: [Why would he...apologize to me? Can he actually be...? No, it can't.]

Marimo and Stephen keep looking at each other.

Marimo: Sorry, but I think it's a bit too late for you to get away from us.

''In the same time, Marimo and Stephen release, each, a wave of Haoshoku Haki. All the people and soldiers are seen falling on the ground, except for Revy and the old man.''

Marimo: You two, please protect them.

Old man: Alright. Take care and make sure you win this.

Revy is seen holding her swords tightly.

Old man: What are you gonna...

Revy: If I will have to, I'm gonna fight as well!

Old man:*serious look*You shouldn't! I'm sure you are strong, but this guy is clearly out of our league. The only thing we can do is listen to Kenshin's order and take care of these people.

Revy: Whatever you say.

Old man:*smiles*[She's not gonna listen to me, is she?]

Stephen: You probably know very well what you did, am I right?

Marimo: Yeah. I destroyed everything these guys over there worked for in 10 years.

Marimo's answer angers Stephen, who suddenly disappears.

Marimo: [His speed...I wasn't able to see a single movement from him, he just van...]

''Stephen appears behind Marimo and swings his leg towards Marimo's face. Before he could even react, Marimo gets hit and is sent flying into the closest building, which was actually pretty far away. Without wasting a single second, Marimo gets up and tries to draw out his swords, but Stephen appears behind him and grabs his arm.''

Stephen: I will finish this before you even draw out your...

''Marimo, with a very calm and confident look on his face, creates a powerful pressure in the air using his Devil Fruit. Since he feels like his hand is getting crushed, Stephen is forced to jump away from Marimo, who simply draws out his swords and takes his usual Hachitoryu stance.''

Marimo: At first, I just wanted to have a fight with you. Now...it's not about what I want to do, but what I have to do. I can't lose against you.

''Marimo starts walking towards Stephen and suddenly, he disappears. Stephen moves his eyes in all directions, carefully looking for Marimo, who appears on his left side.''

Marimo: But then again, I'm the type that only prepares a way to fight and a way to celebrate after winning. So losing is not exactly an option.

''Stephen quickly turns around, aiming to punch Marimo. Before his fist would land, Marimo's swords burst into flames, slightly burning Stephen's right hand. Once again, Stephen jumps away from Marimo. Using his incredible strength, Stephen lifts up a huge part of a building and throws it at Marimo. With a very calm look on his face, Marimo swings his sword once, cutting the huge block in half. The two big pieces fall right near him, creating a cloud of dust after the impact.''

Marimo: Fire Demon's Shadow Attack!!

''Taking advantage of the dust around him, Marimo releases a large number of fire slashes towards Stephen. Using the power of his Devil Fruit, Stephen simply lets all the attacks pass through his body. Suddenly, a normal slashes cuts Stephen on his left shoulder.''

Stephen:*annoyed look*Tch...

Marimo walks out of the dust, with a satisfied smile on his face, since he managed to cut Stephen this early in their fight.

Marimo: So I gotta deal with an annoying Logia?

Stephen: Not exactly. My Devil Fruit is not a Logia.

Marimo:*serious look*[Is he trying to trick me? My attacks were simply passing through his body earlier...]

Stephen: Since you defeated Chishin and have such a high bounty, I guess I should take you more seriously.

Stephen takes out a card from one of his belt's pockets.

Stephen: These are called Tarotokado (Terra Cards), and each one of them has a special ability.

Stephen dashes towards Marimo and destroys the card in his hand, then disappears.

Marimo: Don't think that you're gonna surpass me in speed twice.

Marimo quickly turns around, and after a split second, Stephen appears there with a very large axe in his hands.

Stephen: This is the reason why you were actually able to keep up with my speed this time. Attack Tarotokado!!

''Stephen powerfully swings the axe down on Marimo, who barely blocks the attack. Due to Stephen's immense strength, Marimo starts getting pushed into the ground. To escape from this situation, Marimo releases a powerful wave of energy. However, knowing that Marimo is gonna do that, Stephen lets go of the axe and breaks two more cards, creating two swords this time. He thrusts his swords forward, aiming for Marimo's chest.''

Marimo:*serious look*I know for sure you're not a swordsman.

The two swords break as soon as they hit Marimo's body.

Marimo: Fire Demon's Roar!!

''Firstly, Marimo releases a weak wave of energy around him imbued with Haki, in order to prevent Stephen from simply letting Marimo's attack pass through him. Then, he starts swinging his swords in all directions, releasing countless burning slashes and rampaging waves of fire. In just a few seconds, the entire place where they fighting gets completely destroyed and Stephen is seen sliding on the ground backwards, with a few cuts and a few burn marks on his body.''

Marimo: Fire Demon's Army!!

''Marimo starts releasing countless burning slashes forward. Stephen takes out a different type of card out of one of his belt's pockets.''

Stephen: Element Tarotokado!!

''Stephen breaks the card and a huge wall of water appears in front of him, blocking all the slashes. Quickly after, he takes out another card and points it at Marimo before breaking it. A wave of wind blasts is seen hitting different parts of Marimo's body.''

Marimo: Blazing Blades: Death Cycle!!

''Marimo places all his swords in front of him, in a circle, creating a ring of fire. Marimo coats his legs with Busoshoku Haki, then dashes straight through the ring of fire. As he is running towards Stephen, he is leaving a trail of flames behind.''

Marimo: Blazing Blades: Burning Devastation!!

''Marimo starts swinging his swords towards Stephen. Quickly, Stephen breaks a card, creating a wall of water in front of him. Marimo kicks the wall of water and releases a wave of flames from his leg, destroying the wall and creating a free way for him to Stephen. Once again, he swings all his swords, aiming to cut Stephen into pieces, however, all his swords stop in the air after hitting what seems like an invisible barrier around Stephen.''

Stephen: Trap Tarotokado!!'

Marimo: [Tch...he's not even fighting seriously yet.]

The barrier shatters into pieces as Marimo jumps away from Stephen.

Stephen: This type of card has two uses. Look around you.

''Marimo does as Stephen says and looks around him. Unable to see anything, Marimo decides to attack Stephen again, but he hits an invisible barrier after one meter.''

Marimo: This didn't stop me earlier, why would they now?

Marimo releases huge waves of flames everywhere around him, aiming to destroy all the invisible barriers.

Stephen: Before you did that, you could take a look at the ground as well.

Marimo looks at the ground and sees a card that started burning due to his attack.

Stephen:*sharp look*Get destroyed...with your own element. Element Tarotokado!!

''Suddenly, incredibly powerful flames are seen inside the cage made of invisible barriers. Unable to resist much, the barriers shatter into pieces. The whole area where Marimo was is seen covered in huge flames.''

Stephen: I'm sure that wasn't enough to take you down, so I guess I'm gonna...

Stephen attempts to take another card from his belt's pockets, but he notices that his belt disappeared.

Marimo:*shadowed eyes*Are you sure you were slower earlier because of that axe?

Stephen looks behind him with a very surprised look on his faces and sees Marimo with his belt.

Marimo: These are just some annoying tricks. I guess these cards weren't made from your Devil Fruit, but from another. Anyway, playtime is over.

''Marimo releases a wave of flames from all his swords at once, turning the belt into ashes in just a few seconds. After, Marimo makes a friction between his swords and the ground and beside the flames, eletrcity is created around his swords.''

Marimo:*shadowed eyes*It doesn't matter if you take me seriously or not...because either way...

''Marimo gets in a crouching position and gathers a lot of energy in his legs. After a second, he releases two very strong jets from his legs, sending him flying very high in the air. Once he gets close to the darkness that was covering the entire sky, Marimo creates a huge blade of flames and electricity from his swords.''

Marimo:*determined look*I'M GONNA TAKE YOU DOWN NO MATTER WHAT!!

Some parts of Stephen's body become black smoke.

Marimo:*shadowed eyes*I shouldn't forget that this is not just a fight that I have to enjoy anymore...this is a fight to save many lives...that's why...

The blade made of flames and electricity lights up the entire sky and actually makes some of the darkness that's covering the sky disappear.

Marimo:*piercing look*I'm gonna cut you down as soon as possible, Stephen.

Marimo swings all his swords at once towards the ground, sending the huge blade of flames and eletricity flying towards it.

Marimo: Fire Lightning Demon, Ougi: Demon's Wrath!!

''Stephen calmly watches the slash as it's coming towards him. Once it's about to hit him, Stephen quickly catches it between his hands that are imbued with Busoshoku Haki and tries to hold it. His body gets burned, eletrocuted and cut, but he knows that if he lets go of the slash, he might even die. With a superhuman effort, Stephen throws the slash towards the place where the people that were knocked down are.''

Stephen:*maniac look*It would be interesting if it's you the one who kills them and not me!

Marimo:*shadowed eyes*You idiot, that slash can only hit one target.

''With a shocked look on his face, Stephen looks behind him. Before he could completely turned around, blood is seen splashing in all directions from his back as he gets a huge cut. Screaming in pain, Stephen falls on his knees.''

Stephen:*angered looK*How...HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??

Marimo lands on the ground, close to Stephen.

Marimo: The first slash I hit you with. If you remember well, all the slashes I sent towards you were burning ones, except for that one that actually cut you. That was one of my special slashes, one that puts a special mark on you that I can trigger whenever I want. When that mark is triggered, one of my slashes is gonna follow you until it cuts you.

Stephen:*coughing blood*That...that doesn't make any sense! How could you track me with a slash?

Marimo:*wide smile*Because of my Devil Fruit of course! Didn't you think...my swords might actually have their own will?