I may be evil, but you aren't righteous either

"Clang!!"

The deafening crash of metal against metal rang out.

"I knew it. You always get to show off, while the miserable job of fighting and taking hits falls to me. It was like that in the palace when we were kids, and it's still like that now that we're grown and out on business..."

Ace sighed helplessly. Rather than use his Devil Fruit ability, he drew the plain, old-fashioned longsword at his waist with a backhand grip and precisely blocked Shanks's mountain-cleaving strike.

After Ross conquered the Shinigami world, his closest followers had long since abandoned ordinary pirate weapons in pursuit of greater combat power.

The weapon in Ace's hand was a Zanpakuto, a physical manifestation of his own soul!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Almost the instant their blades met, hundreds of slashes too fast for the naked eye erupted inside the cramped tavern.

Even though both top-tier fighters deliberately restrained their strength, the terrifying shock waves spilling from their clash sliced through the entire wooden tavern like tofu, instantly dismantling it into countless fragments.

The tavern's heavy roof was sliced apart and flung away like cardboard caught in a gale, revealing the blue sky outside.

Yet amid this world-shattering clash, Makino stood at the center of the storm without miraculously suffering so much as a scratch.

Partly, that was because Shanks and Ace were doing their utmost to keep their slashes away from her as they furiously exchanged blows.

The other reason was Shirahoshi, who stood beside her. A thin curtain of water glowing with soft blue light perfectly sealed out every deadly shock wave.

"God-Chosen Princess... what exactly is that?"

Amid the flying splinters and thunderous crashes, Makino swallowed and nervously asked Shirahoshi, her face pale.

She could tell that the instant Shanks heard those words,