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The battlefield was soaked in blood, with flames crackling in the background, casting long shadows over the ruined streets of Mary Geoise. William stood over the broken, writhing form of Vice Admiral Onigumo. His eyes, still glowing with the fury of his dragon form, gleamed with a sick joy. Every step he took toward the fallen Vice Admiral was deliberate, a predator toying with its prey.
Onigumo, covered in his own blood, struggled to lift his remaining arm. His right side was a mangled wreck after William had torn his arm clean off in their brutal battle. He gasped for breath, pain shooting through his body with each shuddering inhale, but his will to fight remained, even as death loomed closer.
William loomed over him, his dark black dragon scales reflecting the flames around them. The transformation had changed him, not only in form but in spirit. This was no longer the boy who survived Ohara—this was a dragon fueled by vengeance.
Without a word, William straddled Onigumo's chest, pressing him into the ground with a force that made the Vice Admiral's bones creak. Onigumo's one good eye widened in panic, but he could do nothing as William raised his fist.
The first punch came down with the force of a hammer. Onigumo tried to cover his face, coating his arm in Haki, but it was futile. William's dragon claws tore through the defense like paper. A sickening crunch filled the air as William's knuckles collided with Onigumo's skull.
The second punch came even harder. Blood splattered across William's chest, and Onigumo's arm fell limply to the side, his Haki shattered. But William didn't stop. Blow after blow rained down, turning the once-feared Vice Admiral into a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
Onigumo's breaths became shallow, his mind slipping into darkness, but the pain kept him conscious. His vision blurred, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth as he tried to form words, but William's fists never slowed.
Each punch was an expression of the years of suffering William had endured. Every impact carried the weight of the lives lost on Ohara. The dragon within William reveled in it, urging him to hit harder, to keep going, to make Onigumo pay for every sin.
Then, William felt it. A presence—powerful, dangerous—was approaching fast.
He slowed his punches, his knuckles soaked in blood, and turned his head slightly. Hancock stood nearby, her eyes scanning the horizon, her brow furrowed with concern. She could feel it too. Someone powerful was coming.
"William," Hancock called out, her voice low but urgent. "We need to go. Someone's coming, and they're strong."
William grunted, wiping the blood from his knuckles. "I know," he said calmly, as if it didn't matter. His eyes returned to Onigumo, who was barely hanging on to life.
With a sickening crack, William grabbed the Vice Admiral by the neck, hoisting him into the air with one hand. Onigumo's body dangled helplessly, blood dripping from his mangled face. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, the Vice Admiral's hatred flared once more.
"I want to make you suffer more," William said, his voice unnervingly calm. "I want you to feel the pain of losing everything you hold dear, of watching your world crumble." His grip tightened, and Onigumo gagged, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "But sadly, I don't have the time."
Onigumo, despite his broken body, managed a weak, bloodied laugh. He spat a mix of blood and teeth onto William's face, sneering as best he could.
"Justice... will prevail," Onigumo hissed through the pain. "My only regret... is not killing you back then with everyone from Ohara."
William wiped his face with a look of indifference, as if the insult hadn't even registered. He simply stared at the dying man before him, his expression cold and detached. "You're right," William replied. "It is your biggest regret... and I will make sure that your regret will also be the world government's biggest regret too."
Without warning, William's free hand shot forward, his claws sinking deep into Onigumo's chest. The Vice Admiral's eyes went wide in shock as William's hand tore through flesh and bone. A moment later, William ripped out Onigumo's heart, still beating in his dragon claws.
For a moment, there was only silence. The heart, slick with blood, pulsed weakly in William's hand as Onigumo stared at it in disbelief.
William held the heart up, examining it with a twisted smile. His head tilted slightly, mimicking Robin's curious mannerisms. "I thought it would be black," he said in a dark, joking tone, his voice dripping with mockery. Then, with a cold laugh, he held the heart out toward Onigumo's trembling hand. "Here, it's still beating. Maybe you can put it back."
Onigumo, frozen in shock and pain, stared at his own heart, the weight of his impending death finally settling over him. His last thoughts were of the World Government, of the justice he had believed in so strongly, now crumbling before his very eyes.
William dropped the heart to the ground as Onigumo collapsed, the life draining from his body. The Vice Admiral's last breath escaped in a weak, gurgling rasp, his eyes glazing over in a final moment of despair.
William laughed out loud, turning to the sisters. "Come on, that was funny, right?" he asked, his grin wide.
Hancock gave him a deadpan look. "William, you are sick," she said flatly, crossing her arms.
William turned to Marigold, tilting his head. "You think it was funny, right?" he asked, almost pleadingly.
Marigold scratched the back of her head, clearly uncomfortable. "I... I guess," she muttered, glancing away.
William smirked, giving Hancock a smug look. "See? At least one of you has a sense of humor."
Hancock rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "Let's just get out of here," she said.
But before they could make their move, a voice rang out through the chaos.
"Stop!"
William turned his head slowly, the sadistic grin returning to his face as he laid eyes on the source of the voice. Standing amidst the smoke and chaos, his face twisted with fury, was none other than Admiral Akainu.
The sight of the man who had unleashed hell on Ohara filled William with a new kind of hatred, one that burned hotter than any flame he could conjure. The man who represented the very justice that had destroyed everything he held dear.
Akainu's eyes locked onto William, his face a mask of controlled anger. But behind that anger, there was shock—shock at the sight of the mangled corpse of Vice Admiral Onigumo lying at William's feet. The heart, still twitching, lay beside the body, a gruesome reminder of what had just occurred.
William, covered in blood and scales, looked at Akainu with the same sick smile that had adorned his face throughout the fight. His eyes gleamed with dark joy, as if the arrival of the Admiral was the final piece in his twisted game.
"Ah, Admiral Akainu," William said, his voice dripping with mock politeness. He glanced down at Onigumo's heart, nudging it with his foot. "I was just about to return this."
The tension in the air was palpable. Akainu's fists clenched, magma beginning to bubble from his hands as his fury grew. William, however, seemed completely unbothered, his dragon-like eyes fixed on the man who represented everything he had vowed to destroy.
"You've come just in time to witness the end of one of your pawns," William continued, his tone casual. "Too bad he couldn't defend himself. Maybe your justice isn't as powerful as you think."
Akainu's rage boiled over, and the ground beneath him cracked as his magma power intensified. His eyes blazed with hatred as he prepared to strike, but William remained unfazed, his sadistic grin never faltering.
"I'll make you regret ever crossing me, boy," Akainu growled, his voice filled with venom.
William laughed, a dark, twisted sound that echoed through the burning streets. "I'm looking forward to it."