Task:

"Clear your mind, let your instincts do the rest...."

Taking place some years ago on Wano in a dojo. Two boys were practice sword fighting with wooden katana, one boy appearing to be slightly older than the other. The sound of the two grunting and wood colliding can be heard, echoing this nearly empty dojo. Soon the slightly older boy would overpower the younger one, causing him to drop his weapon and fall back first on the floor. An adult samurai who was overseeing this shook his head at this horrible display before getting up.

"Get up." the man said to the boy with a stern tone. "B-but, father...my bac..." before the boy could finish, the samurai picked him up by the collar and threw him against a wall with a loud thud. "Do you think that an enemy would show you mercy just because you hurt your back?" the man asked before he stomped over to the now cowering little boy. "Look to your brother." the samurai said before pointing to the older boy who had a stern look on his face as well.

"He has the right idea. He doesn't let something as trivial as pain guide his actions. Do you know what he uses, Law?" the samurai asked before kicking the young boy in his stomach, causing him to lose his breathe and crouch over, shaking violently. "Instincts, child." the samurai continued before throwing the young Law's wooden katana towards him. Now get up. You're not finish."

Before Law could try and reach for his practice weapon, his mother slammed open the door, causing the older boy to quickly look in that direction. She looked down at her youngest son who was in pain with worry in her eyes as he looked back up to her, shaking and with weakness in his eyes as the samurai, her husband casually drank some tea on a chair nearby. She then glared at him who simply glanced back in return.

Taking place some years after the events in Wano, but now in Baterilla. "Momma, momma look!" a young boy said, yelling as he ran from the front porch of the house he resided in to a woman who was approaching said house. The boy then held up a scrapbook with a drawing of the house and a family of two adults and a child standing beside it with smiles on their faces.

The mother gently took the scrapbook from him and inspected it before smiling softly. "It looks beautiful, Marcel. Certainly the work of a true artist." the mother said as she snuggled her little boy closely, causing him to chuckle a little. "Soon, I'll be a true doctor just like you, and a true samurai just like Mr.Tatsumi. I've been studying as well as practicing a lot." the young Law claimed, causing his mother to giggle.

"Oh, I believe you will, but wouldn't it also be good for you to take a break from time to time. You should go out and play with the other children around the island." the mother said as she ruffled Law's black hair. "Oh, and I told you this before. You don't have to call him Mr.Tatsumi anymore." she said with a small smile before Law shook his head. "But he's not my real father." the mother frowned a little before saying, "W-well yes, but..." the mother paused, looking down a little, having brief flashbacks of all the abuse Marcel has taken from his real father. as Marcel looked to her with a puzzled expression.

"Momma?" Law said, tilting his head slightly before his mother looked up to him with a smile on her face, trying to hold the tears back. "It's fine, my dear. Just....it's fine." she repeated as Law looked at her, blinking a few times before smiling back.

"E-err." Law grunted. Now back in the present. The samurai slowly opened his eyes. Everything seemed blurry at first. As Law began to shift his body, the sound of water splashing could be heard. As his eyes finally began to focus, Marcel quickly sat up and began to look around at his surroundings. It seems to be a large dome like room with a hole at the top, shining sunlight within that looked entirely different from the previous rooms in this secret passage.

There appeared to be one stone throne on each side, making it a total of four with the tiger like symbols above each of them. Law looked down to see that the ground was covered entirely in water which he was sitting on. The samurai was about to get up until he noticed something odd in the water. His reflection, it looked different once again. The injuries he got from his previous battles here are gone. The scar on his nose has also vanished. His hair seemed longer and silkier, reaching down to his shoulders. His face seemed somewhat feminine now, and his eyes, his menacing red eyes are now as black as his hair.

"What is this, another tri-" before he could finish, he placed hands on his face. It felt smoother. He pulled some of his hair over to look at it, and it did feel silkier and looked longer. He even inspected his arms which looked slightly skinnier. "This isn't a trick, Law." the sound of the robbed figure caused Law to quickly look up to see that he was standing over him.

"What is this!?" Law asked as he quickly stood up face to face with the robbed figure. "The new you." the figure answered rather bluntly. "Or I should say, the real you." Law looked at the figure with a confused look as the figure slowly walked around the samurai. "You still seem to be lost, Law. Maybe they will explain it to you better." the figure said as Marcel raised an eyebrow. "They?"

The robbed figure paused and snapped his fingers. The gravity in the room grew heavy, causing only Marcel to fall to his knees. "Wh-" before he could finish, the gravity went back to normal, and Marcel began to breathe heavily as he gathered his self. He then noticed that darkness began to form around one of the thrones. Marcel would then look at the other three thrones to see that the same was happening to them with the dark masses now taking a more humanoid shape. "I now introduce you to, The "Kings" of the Saber Society." the figure said as he gestured his hands to each of them.

The figures only looked like dark see through humanoids without any features. Law looked at each of them with widened eyes as the symbols above them lit up. "You sensed it didn't you? Their power. The feeling of gravity growing heavy from their very presence. Which is quite interesting, considering that their not really here, just simple holograms." the figure admitted before turning around and kneeling down to the kings. "My kings. I bring to you, the recusant." the robe figure said formally as he gestured at Law who was still shocked about the power.

One of the kings raised their hand, gesturing for the robe figure to leave them in which he did with a nod before disappearing. The figures all stared at Law in silence who returned the look for a little. "Marcel Law." one of the kings said, causing Law to quickly turn around in the direction of that King. "It seemed he has survived the trials." the King added. "Including his "metamorphosis" as well." Another one added. "It seems to have went in an entirely different direction then intended though." another one added as he crossed his arms. "No matter. This is just a simple set back." the last one replied before Marcel intervened by saying, "What the hell are you all talking about? What trials? What metamorphosis?"

"Everything you've done here since you've gotten back to this island was a trial." one of the kings answered. "The trial of fools." another one of the kings said as he showed Law a recording of his battle against those idiots who wanted to kill him for his bounty earlier. "The trial of death." another one added as they showed him a recording of his dead step father, causing Law to look away for a moment. "And the final trial of "evolution." the last king adds before showing him a recording of his recent events in the passageway.

"These tests were the attempt to unlock your "true" self. Although the end results weren't what we expected, this may only be a minor set back." the king said before relaxing his back on the throne. "Th...this still hasn't answered anything." Law responded as he tried to process this. "It's as the robe figure said. You are "cursed" with the mark of the recusant, or rather the mark of the beast." the king said as they pointed towards Law's tattoo.

"I still don't understand. What exactly is this curse? What is the Saber Society!?" Law demanded real answers, but the "Kings" remained silent for a little. "Those are questions...that you will end up finding out yourself. For it is your birthright, Marcel Law." before Law could say anymore, the figures all disappeared, one after another.

Marcel was completely at a lost for words. It felt as if his questions were both answered and not answered at the same time. "By the look on your face, it seems that you fully understand the gravity of this situation." the robbed figure said sarcastically as he reappeared in front of Law. Marcel barred his teeth and gripped the hilt of his katana as he glared at the figure.

"Ah ha, it seems that you are already ready for your final trial." the figure said with an enthusiastic tone which only puzzled Marcel more. "The "Kings" want your strength truly tested. Not by some nameless thugs or some kitten made of stone, but by..." before he could finish the figure immediately dashed towards Law without warning and punched him clean in the face, knocking him back first into a wall. "...me." Marcel attempted to get himself together, but was quickly knocked down by the figure to his side.

Law grunted and quickly leg swept the figure who almost fell on his side, but caught himself by using his hand and attempted to kick Law in the face who reacted by catching the leg and slamming the figure to the ground. All of a sudden, the figure disappeared and reappeared in the center of the room, just in time for Law to stand back up. One after another, five see through mirages of the robbed figure appeared to have walked out of the robbed figure himself, all standing side by side. Marcel rubbed the blood from the side of his face before the mirages charged at the samurai.

Law unsheathed his katana and rushed towards the fakes as well. One of them attempted to throw a punch, but Law dodged and decapitated that fake, causing it to disappear. One of the remaining four caught Law by surprise and punched the samurai in the gut, causing him to lose his breathe for a little before getting himself together and impaling that one in the chest, causing it to disappear. Law managed to get some distance between himself and the remaining three and sheathed his katana before quickly unsheathing it to launch out a gust of wind capable of cutting, sending it horizontally towards those three mirages in which it cut them clean in half through their stomachs in half, causing them all to disappear.

Law then looked around to see where the original went, not seeing him anywhere in sight until he suddenly appeared in front of him, gripping his hand around the samurai's neck as he held him up.

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Marcel began to kick a little as he panicked from being choked. He had his free hand wrapped around the hand the figure is using to choke him with and the other still gripped on his katana. Marcel quickly attempted to impale the figure in the stomach, causing the robbed figure to let go just in time before it could hit. Law fell to the ground and tried to catch his breathe until he was kicked in the face, by the figure.

Law looked up the figure with half of his face now stained with blood. "It's a shame. You just got your face all cleaned up too." the figure said as two katana slowly slid from under his sleeves. Marcel managed to get back on his feet, gripping his katana as the figure gripped his own. "Come, show me the true power of a recusant." the figure demanded before the two charged at each other, clashing their swords. Law was amazingly able to keep up with just one katana, but of course he was trained to deal with multiple weapons during his youth, not just one.

During their little battle, the figure managed to cut one of Law's hands, causing him to wince and back up a little. The figure then began to overpower Marcel, backing him against a wall. "What's the matter, Law? Show me what the beast within you can do." the figure continued to taunt him. Marcel attempted to overpower the figure, but was met with one of the figure's katana, being impaled into one of Law's feet. Law groaned out in pain as the figure let go of that katana and proceeded to punch the samurai repeatedly in the face.

The samurai would then drift in and out of consciousness during all of this, having visions of his step father, his mother, the people of Wano, the people he befriended in Shimotsuki, Logue Town and Dawn Island. Even a vision of his father and two older brothers. Suddenly, everything went black and a few seconds later, the roar and vision of a tiger filled the samurai's mind. Law quickly opened his eyes and head-butted the robbed figure, causing him to stagger back a little as Marcel quickly took the katana from his foot.

Ignoring the pain, Law dashed towards the figure with his katana and began to strike as the figure returned the attacks with his now one katana. Marcel was attacking much more fiercely now, overpowering the figure until he fell to the ground. Marcel glared at the figure before sheathing his blade. "Heh, the "Kings" were right in entrusting "it" to you." the figure said as he breathed heavily. Marcel remained silent, glaring at the figure for a few seconds before quickly unsheathing his katana once more and began to spin around quickly until it created a large devastating twister with menacing cutting results.

The twister shredded up everything in the room, including the thrones and robbed figure, killing him instantly. Law shortly stopped spinning and began to breathe heavily, his vision getting blurry from all the pain before finally falling over, losing consciousness once more. Marcel would soon wake up shortly after bandaged up in what appeared to be a doctor's building. Law slowly looked around at the new area, trying to gather himself together.

"You're awake." a female doctor said as she came into the room. "Where am I?" Marcel asked with a weak tone. "The doctors building. Some people saw what appeared to be a twister come up in the area you were at and found you....as well as the body of your..." Marcel interrupted her by saying, "I know." as he looked up to the doctor. She looked back to him with some concern before saying, "Well, you will need to rest here for a few days before you can get back on your feet." the doctor added as she was about to leave.

She then paused and looked over to Marcel. "What...happened out there?" she asked, only to get no answer as Marcel simply stared up at the ceiling. The doctor acknowledged that he didn't want to answer and walked out as Marcel slowly looked towards the door. Even if he wanted to tell her or anybody, he couldn't since he himself still doesn't have a clue. Only vague answers.

The samurai then lowered his eyes, and drifted back to sleep. It was all over....for now.

-Exit-

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