An unknown inhabited small island in the South Blue.

*CLAANGG!!*

*BOOOMMMMM!!!*

Two swords clashed like they had been doing for the past three hours. Mihawk hadn't yet released her new power, at this point, it was just a clash of Conqueror Haki. It didn't come down as a surprise that Shanks has gotten stronger, but...

"You have been busy" She stated, implying that in order for him to become this strong... there had to be a plethora of enemies. It was something she was used to seeing whenever they sailed together.

As a previous member of the Pirate King's crew, Shanks was usually assaulted and asked about the location of the One Piece, which he didn't know as he hadn't been taken by Roger to that last island beyond Lodestar -the island at the end of the new world.

"Making a name for yourself when paired together with those monsters can be quite taxing" He stated, before releasing a strike that she effortlessly dodged, the expanding wave, however, trashed the island with the ferocity of an earthquake.

"You too have gotten stronger, I didn't think you'd become stronger by taking care of a kid!".

*BOOOOOMMMM!!!*

"My son can be quite naughty and problematic... taking care of him may result way more difficult than fighting a marine admiral!".

*CLAANGG!!!*

"You've indeed gotten stronger, but I don't see the source of-"

Shanks didn't understand why she seemed to be so confident earlier with just this display. It felt like she was holding back unlike usual.

Be careful with what you desire, is a common saying.

The moment the green aura appeared, he felt threat like never before.

"Be careful" She said with all due seriousness... it was the first time she was going to try this on somebody who she knew hadn't awakened the 4th Will.

*RUMBLE!!*

*SLASH!!*

!!!

The attack was given and Shanks gasped, feeling as if the whole world went stagnant, his first sense was not to block whatever she just used... all of his battle instincts were telling him to get the hell out of there.

For the whole length of her sword, a green beam of light was shot towards the skies, leaving a line as far as the eye could see.

*BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!*

The cloudy sky was cleared the next second, giving way to a shining moon bereft of obstacles. A sweating Shanks looked at everything with absolute disbelief and confusion, however... what came was not the explanation he was hoping for, but a second attack.

*SLAASSH!*

'SHE CAN USE THOSE IN SUCCESSION!?'

Mihawk attacked again, this time the slash was vertical instead of horizontal and once again the green flash that touched even the soil of the island, continued endlessly, splitting the island and the sea in half on a never-ending disaster that left Shanks with nothing but a stupefied expression.

She went at it again, but the result of her experiment was not delivered. She wanted to know if Shanks could survive her sword intent as one of the strongest users of Conqueror Haki that she knew, but so far he had only evaded it.

"STOP STOP!"

"..."

Shanks sighed and brushed her sword aside, scattering the remaining Sword Intent in her sword and watching the utter devastation her seemingly normal attacks had caused in succession.

The sky was clear but there was a gnashing green scar as far away as the eye could see, turning the night into a spectacle of light as the green lights danced together with the moon.

Similarly, the island had been split in two and behind her, there was nothing but raw dispersed energy turning the soil underneath into magma.

She felt a lot of her energy had been depleted, but at the same time... she could still keep going for a period.

"What is this!? This is not Conqueror Haki...!"

"Shut up and take one of my swords like a man, Shanks!".

"Do you want to slice me in half?! I'm not Buggy!"

**

**

Shanks led the ship back to Rusukaina in the North. Looking back, Mihawk witnessed how her ability was still shining through the sky leaving a green haze, slicing anything that dared touch it, Sword Intent.

She still didn't know how to get rid of them and it was a problem. Yet another island was left inhabited after a clash of a few exchanges.

"..."

"I have seen this power before... so you can't just come and tell me that it was just Conqueror Haki" The redhead spoke again, that clash alone had shattered the confidence he had in his own growth. Never in his life, had he had a duel in which death was so imminent. But he did recall someone very familiar who could effortlessly exude that feeling.

"Captain Roger was capable of this... he used to call it 'beyond the threshold' but we never understood what he meant and didn't even believe that it existed... my divine departure is incomplete because I lack the insight of this power that he possessed".

"Would you have any word to describe his power?"

"I wouldn't call captain roger the greatest swordsman. His technique was rudimentary compared to yours and I wasn't present when he reaped Dracule Maximus' life... or well, I was present but unable to witness the fight".

Shanks stated awkwardly, it was during this period -after that legendary fight- he was told to be found in a chest by Roger himself... little did any of them know that his being there had been intentional. 

"He wasn't the best swordsman but if I had to define his power... I'd say strength. He had strength that defied any logic... he could effortlessly lift the whole Oro Jackson with the palm of his hand".

"Strength...?" She frowned, 'His 4th Will was related to physical strength?'.

"Yes, those who fought him usually said that a strike of his felt like being struck by a mountain... but the whole time we thought his conqueror haki was just that strong" Shanks' gaze diverted to her, 'Now I know better'.

"I see..."

"There was also another individual capable of this... he was the only one that could face Captain Roger".

"Rocks D. Xebec" Mihawk crossed her arms beneath her chest and stated as if it was obvious.

Shanks nodded, "How did you come upon it? does it even have a name?"

"I call it sword intent... as for how I achieved it... I just did, Shanks. Don't ask me complex questions. It is an insight that requires perspective I can only say that you won't be able to break through while on the battlefield. It is not something you learn fighting... it is something you learn when you broaden your horizons of the reality we live in".

"What is wrong with the reality we live in?" The man wondered, leaving the steer as if saying 'We still have a bit of time so, explain yourself'.

Mihawk couldn't put it in words. She understood the concept by watching Veyron... their daily interactions and the way he fought, the equations he wrote, the way he conceived the world around him. For that boy, it was as if everything was possible as long as he could put his mind to it.

'The way he fought against me, it was as if he was calculating everything beforehand... my every move. It was not fighting instinct, no... his instinct was to calculate. It was when I read those strange symbols that I first thought he was not from this world. I know about the poneglyphs but I didn't recognise that writing'.

She sighed like years of life were coursing through her.

'It was only when I saw a six years old boy standing proudly against my conqueror Haki and even retaliating that I believed that everything was possible in this world. If he could do that... then I should have been able to cut anything. You made me believe, Veyron'.

A part of her wished that Shanks would be able to step into this world as well. It felt liberating... but the definition was complex and the words... scarce.

"What if I were to tell you that there existed a world where there is a lot less freedom? And yet, those who live in it thrive and do whatever it takes to survive and become stronger. They learned the rules of that world and wrote them in a passionate complex code to decipher ways to bend their reality... a reality we take for granted can be twisted and tweaked. If you moved from such a world into this one, wouldn't you feel a lot more freedom? like shackles are removed and there is a lot more you can do".

She closed her eyes, hoping he understood... in simple words that was what she learned from her son. That the reality she lived in could be broken even further, giving way to a magnificent power that defied reality and rivalled the devil fruits.

Alas, her words fell short for a man that yet lived 'caged'.

"Do you mean... a world without the world government?"

"..." Mihawk rubbed her eyebrows in exasperation, 'I don't know why I even tried'.

"Forget it, just hurry up. I want to sleep with my son before departing tomorrow".

"Wait! Don't be like that! explain it to me like I'm a baby!"

"That was the baby explanation, Shanks".