Red-Haired Shanks won?

After the appearance of Saiyan Shazo and Saint Seiya Shazo, they became the new powerhouses, surpassing even Naruto Shazo.

For all of Shazo, these two newcomers can bring great improvement, but the one who benefits the most is the Pirate Shazo also relies on his body for a living.

However, this situation also means that the Pirate Shazo's personality has completely disappeared, and he has completely lost his unique characteristics.

Even though the Pirate Shazo has been greatly changed by the world and has acquired a bold and unrestrained personality that is most suitable for this world, he still feels very uneasy.

This is an instinctive unease.

Because they all originated from a single primordial soul called Shazo, and manifested different personalities in different worlds.

The essential unity of the Shazo allows them to share memories and power, but their individual uniqueness is a necessary condition for their existence.

While it cannot be 100% certain, once all the characteristics of one Shazo are completely covered by another Shazo, the foundation for its existence as an independent personality will be lost.

This means that Shazo's disappearance is almost certain; what is uncertain is in what form he will ultimately disappear.

This worry terrified Shazo, and no amount of dedicated training could make him feel better, because Saint Seiya Shazo and Saiyan Shazo would only train harder and more diligently.

Until today, under Shanks's pressure, he finally found his own unique characteristics.

This made Shazo very happy. His inspiration flowed like a spring. With the help of the memories of Heavenly Tribulation Shazo, combined with the techniques of the Nanto Suichō Ken and the power of the Pirate World, and referring to the power inheritance of the Saint Seiya regarding cutting, he synthesized one powerful move after another.

Shanks declared he would launch a final, all-out attack, interrupting Shazo's planning of a new technique.

The crimson Conqueror's Haki that enveloped the Ice Field vanished, coalescing into streaks of red Inazuma that coiled around Shanks ' longsword blade, turning the originally black blade a blood-red hue, and burning fiercely like flames.

Shazo is not a rigid knight, nor is he an NPC in a turn-based game. While Shanks was charging up, he tried to attack more than once, attempting to disrupt Shanks ' rhythm.

Unfortunately, [Divine Departure] originated from Gol D. Roger's strongest move, which has been honed through countless trials and tribulations and has been tested in countless high-level battles.

The Pirate King Roger's refinement of [Divine Departure] was impeccable. After passing it on to Red-Haired Shanks, Shanks made further modifications to suit his own style, making it a top-tier slash Central City the Four Emperors.

As expected, the [Divine Departure] technique, a signature move of the Pirate King and Four Emperors, leaves no openings during the charging phase.

Shazo's several attacks were met with a counterattack from his Shanks 'Conqueror's Haki, which not only failed to harm him but also nearly injured him.

After suffering such a setback, Shazo realized that the two previous encounters with [Divine Departure] were due to various reasons, not because of his strongest state.

The [Divine Departure], after being fully charged, clearly surpassed the power of all the skills he had ever learned, including the standard Six Powers and the moves he had just conceived in his mind; none of them were enough to withstand the full power of this [Divine Departure].

That makes sense. The Six Powers are entry-level skills in the Pirate World, and they're commonplace on the Grand Line.

Any Navy or CP member with a modicum of ambition will optimize the original Rokushiki Powers and develop their own unique skills.

Even if the idea that you just had a burst of inspiration is reasonable, it is still an untested trick.

Faced with the Emperor of the Sea's all-out attack, Shazo couldn't help but complain, "If only I could master the [Lightning Flash Fist]..."

Or maybe it would be the [Kamehameha]. If only this battle could have been delayed by two years.

Luck, Shazo has a powerful skill with practical experience: [Nanto: Waterbird Soaring], which he just had a head-on clash with Shanks.

Although he only had one real combat experience, it was a battle against the Emperor of the Sea Shanks, where his strengths and weaknesses were fully exposed.

The improved version completely abandons the characteristics of Nanto Seiken, and the brand-new [Waterbird Soaring] can maximize the power of Shazo.

However, he wasn't very confident that he could withstand Shanks ' full power.

Shazo no longer hesitated, gathering his strength and Armament Haki in a wading bird-like hunting posture, and concentrating the power throughout his entire body, rather than just in his hands.

Seeing that Shazo chose to charge up a counterattack instead of turning and running away, Shanks became even more excited. "Shazo, if you don't die from this attack, you'll be my friend, Shanks!"

Shazo sneered, "Fine, but if I run into you, I'll still try to catch you."

Shanks didn't see anything wrong with it. He laughed and said, "It's fine. You're a Marine, and I'm a pirate. It's only natural that you want to capture me, but first you'll have to be able to beat me!"

Shazo clicked his tongue. "Shanks, although I am no match for you today, one day I will be stronger than you, and then I will personally send you to Impel Down."

Shanks was even happier. "Haha, with you chasing after me, I'll definitely improve even faster. It'll be fun to have you chasing me for a lifetime."

"You must survive, Shazo."

[Divine Departure]

Shanks unleashed his strongest strike, the crimson Sword Qi spreading horizontally like the front of a tsunami, sweeping away everything in his path.

This all-out attack was indeed incomparable to anything before. The mere aftershock of the Sword Qi tore the thick Ice Field apart, Shattering into palm-sized, uniform pieces of ice.

The ice peaks and Iceburg, large and small, protruding from the Ice Field were destroyed by the red Conqueror's Haki before they even came into contact with the Sword Qi energy of [Divine Departure], instantly turning into crystalline dust, adding a white crown to the red Sword Qi.

Seeing this magnificent scene from high above, Borsalino immediately transformed into a golden light, instantly elevating his position and avoiding the aftershocks of the [Divine Departure] Sword Qi.

Then he exclaimed dramatically, "How dangerous! How terrifying! Shanks is attacking Shazo with all his might! He really wants to kill someone!"

Sengoku's voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Stop pretending, prepare for battle. Red-Haired Shanks is trying to escape."

"Borsalino, hold him off!"

"Garp will be there in 35 minutes!"

Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses and muttered a complaint under his breath, "Red-Haired Shanks is fierce, very scary—"

Fighting him is dangerous.

"Besides, the Red Hair Pirates have sobered up; they're no longer the spineless wimps they were before."

Borsalino turned to look into the distance. Nearly ten kilometers away, a fully sober Yasopp had set up a sniper rifle on the mast, aiming at a point between Borsalino and Red-Haired Shanks in the Liao Kong.

If Kizaru were to launch Sneak Attack on Red-Haired Shanks, this point would be the most threatening point on almost all of his routes, and also the easiest place for him to be hit by a sniper's bullet.

Faced with what is arguably the World's Number One sniper, Yasopp, known as "The Chaser," Borsalino dared not resort to simple elemental attacks.

The bullets, entangled with Haki, are not so easy to deal with.

Kizaru doesn't possess the same Armament Haki as Shazo, which allowed him to forcefully extinguish Yasopp's Haki.

He scratched his head dismissively. "Oh dear, I actually got taken down by a sniper. How embarrassing."

"I should have listened to the instructor and properly practiced my Haki."

Zephyr's voice was steady and powerful. "Borsalino, it's never too late for you to start working hard today!"

Kizaru froze, and after a long pause, he stammered, "Let's forget it, exercising is too tiring."

Zephyr: "----, you bastard! You'll be lazy to death one day!"

Just as Kizaru was using every trick in the book to delay the battle with various excuses, Shazo unleashed his strongest attack.

[Waterbird Soaring]

With a wave of his hands, countless Sword Qi transformed into feather shapes, coalescing into a complete blue-white bird.

As endless Sword Qi and feathers gathered into the bird's body, various details rapidly became richer: huge and magnificent wings, a soft and graceful neck, slender and powerful long legs, a long beak as sharp as a spear, and sharp and bright eyes. This was a wading bird that did not exist in the world, but only in mythology— Jiao Ming.

As a divine bird that foretells floods, the ocean is Jiao Ming's natural home ground. He can draw moisture from the ocean and cold air from the Ice Field, increasing his power by half out of thin air.

The blue-white giant bird swelled tenfold due to absorbing water vapor, and then solidified due to absorbing cold air.

As Shazo thrust his palms forward with all his might, Jiao Ming, who had expanded to his limit, let out a loud crane's cry and pounced towards the surging red Sword Qi.

The blue-white giant bird spread its wings, unleashing countless white and blue Sword Qi feathers that blotted out the sky and covered the torrent of red Sword Qi.

The blue-white Sword Qi energy feathers first dispelled the white crown in front of the red Sword Qi, then exploded into a larger white mist on the red torrent, causing the red Sword Qi to lose its sharpness.

In the battles where wading birds hunt their prey, wings are merely a cover and a tool to project an imposing presence; the real attack comes from their long, powerful claws.

Jiao Ming's two four-toed giant claws stomped repeatedly on the red Sword Qi, like a crane hunting an eel. The huge impact caused the red Sword Qi to fluctuate severely.

When the eel is kicked by the crane, it exposes its weak points, such as its head, while the red Sword Qi that is struck hard also reveals Shanks's astonished expression.

The final blow came from the long beak of the divine bird Jiao Ming. The beak, formed from countless Sword Qi, pierced through the red Sword Qi of [Divine Departure] and pointed directly at Shanks himself.

Shazo never intended to simply take a beating; he always thought about counterattacking, even at the cost of mutual destruction.

When the blue-white divine bird's long beak struck Shanks, the red [Divine Departure] Sword Qi also shattered the divine bird's body, wings, and long legs, engulfing Shazo.

Boom-!!

A muffled explosion rang out, and on the half of the Ice Field that had been shattered by [Divine Departure], [Waterbird Soaring] tore open an incredibly wide crack, splitting all the broken ice in two, like a huge fissure in the sea.

On the other half of the Ice Field, the [Divine Departure] that had been completely detonated created a huge mushroom cloud of ice dust. The once intact Ice Field was almost completely evaporated, leaving only a dozen or so small pieces of debris.

These remains were from the dozen or so largest of the towering Iceburg that once stood on the Ice Field.

Borsalino exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god, this is incredible! Half of the frozen sea Ice Field has evaporated, and the other half has been completely cleaved in two!"

He complained to the Den Den Mushi, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Shanks is terrifying! If I were hit by his [Divine Departure], I would definitely die!"

The Den Den Mushi suddenly transformed into the likeness of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who clearly pressed his face close to it. Then, his furious voice came through the Den Den Mushi Den Den Mushi: "Damn it!"

"Go quickly and check on Shanks and Shazo's situation. Stop Shanks and rescue Shazo!"

Borsalino dropped his teasing tone and asked, "Fleet Admiral, if there's a conflict between stopping Shanks and rescuing Shazo, which should I prioritize?"

Sengoku paused slightly, then said, "Prioritize rescuing Shazo Natsu."

Admiral Kizaru silently breathed a sigh of relief, then replied with a slightly cynical air, "Yes! Merciful Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

Prioritizing the safety of naval personnel above the interests of the navy—this was the spirit of the Sengoku's Genji.

It was thanks to such Fleet Admiral that the officers and soldiers of the navy were able to unite and work together to face the turbulent waves of the Great Pirate Era.

The Navy not only survived the immense danger but also rapidly strengthened its forces, once again suppressing the pirates' momentum.

When Akainu Sakazuki took over as Fleet Admiral, Fleet Admiral iron-fisted approach to both internal and external affairs caused great chaos in the Jun Jun. Kuzan left, and the morale of all branches collapsed.

No matter how elite Sakazuki's elite troops were, or how fiercely they fought their missions, he could not control the chaotic situation.

Ultimately, Sakazuki had no choice but to seek help from the Five Elders.

The World Government had no choice but to launch an unprecedented massive conscription, even elevating two civilians to the rank of Admiral, doubling the size of the navy. Only in this way could they barely maintain the navy's presence on the seas and preserve the bottom line of order.

After that, not only did the Five Elders realize that Sengoku's policies were correct, but even Akainu Sakazuki changed, no longer blindly being tough and ruthless, and his so-called "Absolute Justice" became just empty talk.

In the end, even the iron- Akainu succumbed to reality. It wasn't that his heart had become weak, but rather that the immense weight of the Navy on his shoulders as Fleet Admiral prevented him from acting according to his own personality.

Borsalino transformed into a golden ray of light, spiraling downwards to show Yasopp in the distance that he had no intention of attacking.

As they descended through the thick white mushroom cloud, Borsalino finally saw the outcome of the battle.

As expected, Red-Haired Shanks won.

Did Red-Haired Shanks win?