Shanks: I Didn't Get My Arm Broken, So That Proves I Got Stronger!
"Yes, that's him!" Shanks said immediately without hesitation.
He didn't feel ashamed at all. He was a pirate, and it was only natural for him to run away when he saw the Marines.
As Yasopp packed his things, he said, "With so many of us, how could we not beat one of him?"
While packing his things, Beckman spoke up, "Let's listen to Shanks. He's had contact with that guy, but we haven't. Besides, Shanks knows our strength very well. Under these circumstances, he still made this judgment. I believe he's right."
"Stop talking nonsense! If we don't run now, he'll find us and we won't be able to escape. I don't want to have to find a way to rescue you from Impel Down later!" Shanks picked up the package and, without saying another word, led the way down the mountain.
However, he did misunderstand one thing: if he were captured by Ortolan, he wouldn't go to Impel Down; he could try his Calm Belt.
The Red Hair Pirates quickly headed down the mountain, intending to outmaneuver Ortolan.
As soon as they came down the mountain, at the town intersection, they saw a guy holding a map, seemingly looking for something.
This man wore a nobleman's top hat and carried a large sword resembling a cross on his back. He had a handsome face and sharp eyes like a hawk. Just by standing there, he made the people around him feel the sharpness of his sword aura, and no one dared to come up and talk to him.
This guy is none other than Jora Mihawk, the third "Great Pirate" on the island with a bounty of over 100 million, after Shanks and Moria, and who is currently climbing towards the throne of the World's Greatest Swordsman!
Hearing the commotion ahead, Mihawk looked up sharply and saw Shanks standing there. Then, a fierce fighting spirit ignited in Mihawk's eyes, and he shouted at Shanks from afar, "I've finally found you again, Red-Hair!"
Upon hearing this, Shanks looked towards the direction the voice came from and, upon seeing Mihawk, his expression turned horrified. He quickly shouted, "Don't rush into action! Bane Ortolan is on the island. We can find another place..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mihawk, completely ignoring him, drew his Black Blade, Night, from behind him and slashed down at Shanks with a fierce, unrestrained strike.
"Damn it!" Shanks cursed, mentally giving Mihawk a thorough dressing down. "You bastard, don't you have any sense of occasion?"
But he had no other choice at this point. He drew the Famous Sword, Griffin, from his waist and met Mihawk's slash head-on with a fierce strike, shouting, "Kamunmiti!"
In the blink of an eye, the two slashes collided, instantly unleashing a fierce clash of attacks.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Ortolan also noticed the commotion. Looking curiously at the area where the attack had erupted, he murmured, "Huh? Is there a powerful expert?"
In an instant, Ortolan's powerful Observation Haki enveloped the entire island. Then, a bright smile appeared on his face as he said, "Hahahaha, isn't this a coincidence?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of lightning appeared on Ortolan's body, creating a few fleeting sparks in the air. Then, with a whoosh, his figure vanished from the spot.
Only a bewildered Vergo was left, looking at the empty spot where Ortolan had been standing, scratching his head, wondering what was going on.
Not only was Vergo bewildered, but Moria, who was waiting in the restaurant some distance away, was also looking surprised. He had just seen Ortolan walk to the door, so how did he suddenly disappear? Wasn't he supposed to come and talk to me about the Shichibukai? And who is the one fighting on the island?
On the other side, Shanks and Mihawk's blades clashed. The two exchanged more than ten blows in an instant, neither able to break through the other's defense. After Shanks blocked Mihawk's slash, he cursed, "Hawk Eyes, you idiot! I already told you, Ortolan is on the island!"
"What does it matter who's on the island?" Mihawk's eyes gleamed with excitement, completely ignoring Shanks' words. What's Ortolan? When I get into the mood, even Admiral Sengoku wouldn't stand a chance!
After a few more clashes, Shanks turned around and saw that Beckman, Yasopp, and his other friends were almost out of his sight.
This infuriated Shanks, who yelled, "You guys have no loyalty whatsoever! I'm the captain, shouldn't I be the one to run first?!"
"Captain, we'll bring up the rear, that's our custom. We'll go and weigh anchor and hoist the sails first. Hurry up and get here, Shanks!" Beckman said without turning his head.
Loyalty? Doesn't exist!
Of course, these are just jokes. Shanks knows perfectly well that Mihawk, this sword fanatic, is after him. It would be wrong for Beckman and the others to stay here. The right choice is to prepare ships so that they can help him escape at any time. No problem.
Just as Shanks and Mihawk were locked in fierce combat again, they seemed to sense a threat at the same moment. After exchanging a glance, they withdrew their strength without saying a word, ending their stalemate.
Just then, a bolt of lightning exploded above the two of them, and immediately afterward, the figure of Ortolan appeared from the lightning. His Warhammer, carrying a powerful wind pressure, slammed down from above!
Neither Mihawk nor Shanks intended to take the hammer blow head-on. Instead, they used their feet to push off at an extremely fast speed, retreating backward.
In the next instant, Ortolan slammed his hammer into the ground where the two had just been standing. Lightning spread out like a surging tide, shaking the ground and shattering several houses in the vicinity. The surface also cracked, instantly creating a crater more than ten meters wide and deep. Then, spiderweb-like cracks covered an area of hundreds of meters in radius.
Undeterred by his missed attack, Ortolan yanked his Warhammer up from the ground, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and laughed, "Hahaha, it's been a long time, you two bastards!"
Shanks immediately raised his free hand and said, "Hey, I've never messed with G-5, give me some face, I'll leave right now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ortolan vanished from his spot, leaving only a flicker of electricity in the air.
This caused Shanks' expression to change. As he pushed off with his feet and retreated, the power of his Haki instantly erupted, turning his arm and the Famous Sword Griffin black, which he then used to block in front of him.
In the next instant, a Warhammer flashed out of the air with a whoosh, crackling with electricity, and slammed heavily into Shanks' blade.
That familiar feeling rekindled Shanks' memories!
Even though he is no longer a trainee crew member, and even though he is now quite strong, he still cannot withstand this immense force!
The ground beneath their feet instantly shattered, the broken earth and rocks shooting out like cannonballs, tearing through the air and spreading behind them with a deafening roar.
However, Shanks was more experienced than before, and he had no intention of taking the blow head-on. Using the force from the hammer, he leaped backward, as if he had been swung away by Ortolan. In the blink of an eye, he was 'knocked' more than a hundred meters away.
Upon landing, Shanks felt his arm go numb, and he almost wanted to drop his sword.
"Is that guy still as perverted as ever?" Shanks thought to himself with a hint of helplessness.
He believed that his strength had improved extremely quickly in the past few days, but it seemed that he was still no match for that monster!
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, reality was but a fleeting moment. Upon landing, Shanks did a lazy roll, spinning several times on the ground to dissipate all the force he was carrying. Without uttering a single harsh word, he turned and ran!
At the same time, as Ortolan knocked Shanks away with one blow, Mihawk, that guy was really stubborn, and with his Black Blade Night, he slashed at Ortolan's back.
Without intending to dodge, Ortolan wielded the hammer with one hand while his other arm was shrouded in dense Armament Haki, which he used to block behind him in a defensive stance.
Immediately following, Mihawk's slash struck his arm. The dense aura of Haki only held for a moment before being broken through by the fierce slash. Afterward, Ortolan felt a pain in his arm.
Without wasting any time, he forcefully swung his arm, pressing down on the slash and throwing it to his side, as if he were casually tossing away some flying trash.
Then, he raised his arm and looked at it. There was a cut on it, not deep, only about one centimeter. It broke through the skin, but did not completely break through his muscle tissue.
However, Ortolan raised an eyebrow and looked at Mihawk: "Your slashes are getting more and more powerful..."
"So I still can't break through you? It seems my training isn't quite there yet." Mihawk's face showed no surprise, only a slight regret.
Ortolan turned his head, looked at Shanks who was almost out of sight in the distance, then at Mihawk, and finally thought of Moria. He shook his head and said, "Really, I wanted to catch up with him, but he ran away as soon as he saw me. Am I that scary?"
Mihawk said calmly, "I don't know, but I think it's alright, nothing scary about it..."
Ortolan, too lazy to chase Shanks, weighed the Warhammer in his hand and asked, "Still want to fight?"
Mihawk, a decisive man, sheathed his Black Blade, Nightblade: "I'm done fighting. I don't have the strength to cut you down yet. After I've trained for another two weeks, I'll come find you..."
"Then let's not fight..." Ortolan casually slammed his Warhammer into the ground, then smiled and asked Yu, "Speaking of which, how about becoming one of the Shichibukai? Two hundred billion Beli, and I'll guarantee you the position!"
Mihawk?
Meanwhile, Shanks boarded the pirate ship that had already set sail. Standing on the deck, looking at the island behind him, he touched his arm and said, "The fact that I didn't lose an arm this time proves that my strength has improved..."
Finding joy in hardship is an essential quality for pirates.