An unspoken understanding between two Marines

The Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks, won, but his victory was anything but easy.

On Shanks ' right chest, near his shoulder, a large hole was ripped open by Shazo's counterattack—the kind of transparent hole that allows you to see the other side.

He was careless and didn't dodge.

Shanks ' Observation Haki is powerful enough to Future Sight, but in battle, his attention is focused on his enemy.

He "saw" Shazo being hit by [Divine Departure], and "saw" Shazo's military uniform, skin, and muscles being torn apart, and even his internal organs being pulverized in the red Sword Qi.

The joy of victory and the regret of losing his opponent interfered with Shanks ' judgment, causing his Observation Haki to fail to detect the giant bird's long beak that was counterattacking against the red Sword Qi in time.

When that enormous beak, as large as a towering tree, peeled away layer by layer, pierced through the red Sword Qi and arrived in front of Shanks, he truly had no idea beforehand.

Upon seeing the blue-white long beak pierce through the red Sword Qi of [Divine Departure], Shanks instinctively dodged to the left and covered his body with Armament Haki.

His dodge was too late; he barely avoided being hit directly in the heart.

Furthermore, Shanks ' Armament Haki was insufficient; it was torn to shreds like paper before the long beak of the Jiaoming Divine Bird, which was also composed of Armament Haki and cold air.

However, despite having a large hole pierced through his body, Shanks was still able to stand and breathe with only half a lung.

He could even laugh out loud, "Amazing, this kind of desperate fighting style is really deadly!"

"But it's rare to see such a spirited navy officer. I hadn't even had a chance to properly experience your unique fighting style before you died like this."

"That's such a pity—cough, cough!"

On the other side, Shazo, as the loser, looked much worse than Shanks.

Just as Shanks had predicted, Shazo was struck head-on by the Sword Qi of [Divine Departure]. His strong body was almost cut in two at the waist. From his ribs to his pelvis, no internal organs remained, with only a trembling spine connecting them.

Even in the Pirate World Piece, where everyone is a tough guy, this would be a fatal injury.

Have you ever seen the seemingly indestructible Portgas D. Ace, the Devil Fruit User, who was killed when a Magma-Magma Devil Fruit User ripped a hole in his body?

Therefore, Borsalino and Shanks both believed that Shazo was dead, and a dead person is obviously the loser in the battle.

It wasn't until they both heard Shazo's voice, crying out in pain, "It really hurts—"

"But to be able to fight the Emperor of the Sea is truly exhilarating!"

Borsalino and Shanks abruptly turned their heads to look at Shazo, who had been floating motionless on the sea like a corpse.

Shazo opened his eyes, pressed his hands against the sea surface to prop himself up, and glared at Shanks with a snarling expression.

The eyes of both the Marine Admiral and the Emperor of the Sea were focused on Shazo's waist and abdomen, where clusters of fleshy buds Department Head, tentatively approaching him.

The granulation tissue that emerged from the top and bottom grew very quickly. In the blink of an eye, two granulation tissues came into contact with each other and instantly merged together to form a strip of flesh.

After the first one, there's the second, and the third.

Countless strips of flesh connected together between Shazo's chest and abdomen, like Spider web, linking his severed upper and lower body together.

Borsalino noticed that a layer of white fascia had appeared on Shazo's lumbar spine at some point, followed by the formation of skeletal muscles that covered the white spine.

The slender strips of flesh connecting the body also quickly transformed into slender yet powerful muscles, forming a dense network of muscles.

However, the muscles were still too slender, and through the gaps in the muscle fibers, one could see various internal organs wriggling and growing.

Soon, these horrifying images were obscured as his muscles swelled.

Next, the muscles were covered by a layer of skin, and that's how Shazo recovered.

He really recovered, and even managed to stand up by bending over, standing on the sea surface where many ice floes were floating.

Shanks and Borsalino were both dumbfounded. Forgetting about Shazo's ability to stand directly on the sea surface, they asked in unison, "Did you eat the Immortality Fruit?"

Shazo, puzzled, asked in return, "There's also Devil Fruit grants immortality?"

Borsalino shook his head and said, "As far as I know, there has never been a fruit like this before, but your ability to come back to life far exceeds the level of Life Return. It looks like the power of Immortality Fruit or Life Fruit."

Shazo shook his head and said, "Admiral Kizaru, you can't just assume that every unfamiliar ability comes from Devil Fruit."

He waved his hand, and a surge of seawater obediently rose up, washing away the bloodstains on his body. He stated confidently, "Self-Healing is my own special Talent, and it has nothing to do with Devil Fruit."

In this most irrefutable way, Shazo proved that he had never eaten Devil Fruit.

Shanks and Borsalino, of course, had no choice but to believe it.

Shazo looked at Shanks wound was still bleeding profusely, and suddenly revealed a smug smile, "This time I won."

Upon hearing his words, Red-Haired Shanks and Borsalino, who were still reeling from the Miracle of death, finally came to their senses.

Yes, Shanks has injured his right shoulder and right lung, while Shazo was about to be dismembered, has recovered completely. Naturally, Shanks lost this time.

Of course, it's a stretch to say that Shazo won based on this result.

Shazo not only utilized his unknown Talent, but he also took full advantage of Shanks ' carelessness and Borsalino's presence to buy himself time to recover, which led to this outcome.

If any one of the three conditions is missing, Shanks attacks again during Shazo's recovery process, Shazo will truly be split in two, or simply be completely killed.

But even if it was a hard-fought victory, it was still a victory. Shazo stood there unharmed, while Shanks had lost an arm and couldn't stop the bleeding for a while.

Red-Haired Shanks glanced at Shazo, then looked up at Borsalino, who was staring at him, before reluctantly sheathing Griffon. He then pressed his left hand against his Straw Hat, hiding his face in its shadow.

He smiled and said, "Oh dear, oh dear, this is bad."

"Not only was he injured by the Navy's secret forces, but he was also targeted by Admiral Kizaru, who is the fastest."

"But Red-Haired Shanks doesn't want to go to Impel Down; it's too restrictive there."

Freedom is Red-Haired Shanks' lifelong pursuit and obsession; it is his inviolable bottom line and one of his absolute taboos.

Shanks held down his Straw Hat, smiled, and asked, "Admiral Kizaru, are you really going to arrest me here?"

His laughter was cold and chilling, a terrifying power brewing beneath its calm surface, like a volcano about to erupt.

The cunning Borsalino had already put away his Den Den Mushi. Without Fleet Admiral Sengoku's supervision, he had no intention of fighting Four Emperors.

Yes, if he were to fight Shanks, it would be tantamount to risking his life.

Of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard is the strongest, Kaido the most ferocious, and Big Mom is the most insane. All three are stronger than Shanks, but Borsalino is not afraid because his speed is enough to give him absolute control.

After all, Kizaru is a shameless old fox, the Navy's number one slacker. He has an absolute advantage in speed, so he can fight or leave whenever he wants without any danger.

But Red-Haired Shanks is different; his Observation Haki allows him to Future Sight, and for a considerable period of time.

No matter how fast Borsalino is, he still needs time to react. Facing Shanks, who can Future Sight, he is very likely to be caught off guard by Shanks's preemptive strike.

Kizaru is known for Admiral Glint-Glint Fruit ability. His Haki has always been criticized by Instructor-in-Chief Zephyr, who predicted that he would suffer because of it in the future.

If he were captured by Shanks, who rose to the position of one of the Four Emperors through his Haki and Swordsmanship, he would definitely be in trouble.

Therefore, upon hearing Shanks ' question, Borsalino immediately raised his hands to show that he had no intention of attacking.

He chuckled and said, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, Red-Haired Shanks. Although I am Marine Admiral and must obey Fleet Admiral Sengoku's orders, the way I obey orders can be quite flexible."

"I just have a question I want to ask you."

Shanks removed his left hand from his hat. "That's strange. You're a Marine Admiral, backed by the Marines and the World Government. What questions do you have to ask me, a pirate?"

Borsalino chuckled and said, "There's no way around it, only you can answer this question, I can only ask you."

"Red-Haired Shanks, as the Emperor of the Pirates, have you ever been kicked by light?"

Borsalino vanished; his movements were silent, only accompanied by a burst of dazzling light.

The next instant, Kizaru's foot stopped right next to Shanks ' head, just a hair's breadth away from kicking him.

But Shanks had somehow drawn his long sword, Griffon, its blade covered in a black, Haki, and placed it in front of the yellow striped trousers.

If Borsalino hadn't stopped and had continued kicking Shanks ' head, his leg would have been severed first.

Shanks looked at Kizaru and asked coldly, "Is this your idea of flexibly obeying orders?"

Borsalino shrugged it off. "Of course, I'm a Marine Admiral. I can't just stand by and do nothing when I receive orders from Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

"Although I am lazy, I, Kizaru, take military orders very seriously. I will execute any order diligently and will never make the foolish mistake of disobeying orders."

"Yes, I tried my best to fight Red-Haired Shanks, but I was no match for him and could only watch helplessly as he fled."

Borsalino turned to look at Shazo, who was approaching step by step, and added, "You agree, right, Shazo?"

Shazo stopped in his tracks, a smirk playing on his lips, and said with an ambiguous expression, "Admiral Kizaru is right. If you're no match for the Emperor of the Sea, then I, a Marine Lieutenant Commander, am even less of a threat."

Hearing the two of them making excuses for letting him go, Shanks became increasingly nervous, his aura rising and his power gathering frantically.

He gritted his teeth and cursed, "You two bastards, don't keep giving me these flimsy excuses while you keep getting closer to me!"

Shazo shut his mouth, but he didn't stop walking. He walked steadily on the sea, and with each step, his aura expanded.

His eyes were fixed intently on Shanks, on the wound on Shanks ' right shoulder.

Borsalino seemingly panicked as he withdrew his leg, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just so scared that I lifted my foot involuntarily."

After retracting his leg, Kizaru drifted to the side and rear, but his position formed a pincer movement with Shazo, which looked like he had ill intentions.

Red-Haired Shanks was so angry he laughed, "What two two-faced bastards, each with their own unique wickedness."

Without further hesitation, taking advantage of the fact that Kizaru and Shazo's momentum had not yet reached its peak and that their positions were quite different, he suddenly unleashed a [Flying Slash] at Kizaru.

Almost simultaneously, Shanks unleashed two more [Flying Slash] into the air, attacking two unoccupied locations, and finally delivered two consecutive [Flying Slash] to Shazo.

Borsalino instantly transformed into light and retreated into the sky when Shanks swung Griffon, but he was surprised to find a Sword Qi aimed directly at him.

Before he could think, he instinctively transformed into a flash of light again, appearing in a farther and higher position, only to be hit by Shanks ' third [Flying Slash] Sword Qi.

Instantly, a portion of Kizaru's body glowed, clearing away the Sword Qi imbued with Haki.

When Borsalino regained his human form some distance away, his yellow suit was torn and had a small amount of blood seeping out.

Admiral Kizaru, looking at his wound, shouted in an extremely exaggerated and flamboyant manner, "Oh no! I've been injured by Haki! I'm bleeding! How terrible!"

His voice was loud, but there was no sign of tension or fear.

On the other side, Shanks ' two Sword Qi strikes against Shazo were slightly different in speed, and they caught up with each other just as they reached Shazo, forming an intersecting "X" shape.

However, Shazo was not afraid of this Sword Qi that did not contain Conqueror's Haki.

He even got into a fighting stance with a bit of excitement, gathering his Armament Haki in his right hand and slashing down fiercely with his hand like a knife.

[Ice Luan Baili]

A terrifying, Haki converged, using ice shards that had evaporated and then refrozen as materials to construct a magnificent, azure-blue divine bird— the Ice Luan.

Bingwan is the son of the Phoenix. He combines the Ding Fire of the Five Elements with the ancient Mystic Ice of the Arctic as his source of power, and blooms with a magnificent azure ice flame that can freeze everything.

The azure divine bird had just taken shape when it emitted a clear and melodious phoenix cry.

The phoenix's cry, imbued with terrifying Haki, shattered the two Sword Qi. Then, the Ice Luan, carrying terrifying coldness, charged towards Shanks momentum had waned after a series of attacks.

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