Just a Little Short, Really!

The divine bird's flight was graceful and magnificent, as if it were not attacking an enemy, but dancing in the air.

The sea surface froze instantly as the Ice Luan flew over it, forming beautiful and exquisite feather-shaped icicles on the ice, but also concealing an indescribable sharpness.

The giant mushroom of ice dust, which had not yet completely dissipated, was attracted by the Ice Luan. The ice dust gathered behind the divine bird and formed three magnificent phoenix tails.

The blue, green, and cyan phoenix tails respectively contain the power of Ren Water, Bing Fire, and Mystic Ice, serving not only as the driving force for the Ice Luan's attack but also as a follow-up attack to the main body's attack.

Shanks and Borsalino exclaimed in unison, "Beautiful attack!"

He immediately shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, the three forces have not been integrated into one. Not only are the forces somewhat complicated, but there are also considerable conflicts between them."

"No flaw can be hidden from me, and even the smallest conflict can be fatal."

Red-Haired Shanks lifted Griffon with his left hand and thrust it forward with a fierce stab; a sharp blade grazed Ice Luan's head and struck its abdomen.

Such a negligible Sword Qi attack, not even qualifying as a [Flying Slash], could only cause a slight fluctuation in the Ice Luan.

But Shazo was surprised to find that the faint fluctuations were actually increasing in strength as they spread, generating stronger echoes and causing the power within the Ice Luan's body to vibrate.

After the initial fluctuations completely disappeared, the shock they triggered suddenly erupted, causing the fragile bond between the three forces of Ren Water, Bing Fire, and Mystic Ice to collapse, resulting in the most severe conflict.

After a mournful cry, the magnificent Ice Luan imploded into a terrifying ball of blue flame, continuing its charge towards Shanks using its momentum.

Shanks ' smug smile, which had just blossomed after easily defeating Shazo's ultimate technique, was frozen in shock by the blue flames that followed the collapse of the Ice Luan.

Only then did he realize that after the magnificent and noble Ice Luan was defeated, it would naturally collapse into this ice and Fireball shaped like the sun.

[Ice-Bending Hundred Beauties] was prepared for a second attack from the start.

If Shanks hadn't detonated the Ice Curve's true form prematurely to show off his skills, but instead had destroyed the Ice Luan beside him, he would have been engulfed by the collapsing, erupting Ice-Flame Great Sun and turned into an eternally frozen ice Ice Sculpture.

But the situation is equally dangerous now. The Ice-Flame Great Sun is rapidly approaching, and even though it's still far away, Shanks ' eyebrows and hair are already covered in frost.

This icy sun can actively steal heat!

Shanks leaped rapidly across the ice blocks, only to be even more surprised to discover that the Ice Flame Sun was also tracking him!

In fact, the Ice Flame Sun has no active tracking ability; it simply moves naturally with the air Flow caused by the target's rapid evasion because it is weightless.

Bang-

A sniper bullet wrapped in black Haki pierced through the icy sun. Not only was the bullet frozen and cracked, but the Haki wrapped around it was also frozen, turning into a black Ice Sculpture.

However, the airflow from the sniper bullets slowed down the speed of the Ice Flame Sun and even slightly changed its direction of travel.

Shanks noticed this and immediately understood why he was being chased.

He stopped, bit his sword with his teeth, and then suddenly threw a punch, creating a strong gust of air that blew the terrifying icy sun off course.

At that moment, a long, sharp gunshot rang out.

Shanks took Griffon back into his hands and praised him without reservation, "What a magnificent yet dangerous move. If the conflict of power could be resolved, the level of danger would be absolutely terrifying."

Even Borsalino in the air fell into deep thought. Compared to Shazo's still immature move, his own development of the Glint-Glint Fruit seemed so crude.

The Yata Mirror, the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi -Yasakani no Magatama are all direct, straightforward attacks.

Moreover, these light skills, aside from being dazzling, are nothing like flashy skills, and are worlds apart from the two divine birds that Shazo displayed.

Borsalino people are very lazy and have an exceptionally slick personality. Their appearance is somewhat wrinkled, but their love of beauty and their penchant for being vain are absolutely no less.

Akainu Sakazuki, that clueless blockhead, is one thing, but how much effort did Borsalino put in to surpass Kuzan?

It's a pity that there hasn't been a qualified and excellent example before, which has led Admiral Kizaru to keep running wildly down the wrong path of becoming even more brilliant.

Now that he's witnessed true magnificence, Borsalino is certain he won't lose to a Marine Lieutenant Commander. Otherwise, wouldn't he have to avoid Shazo like the plague in the future?

Upon hearing Shanks ' words, Shazo felt that what he said made a lot of sense, and immediately nodded without hesitation, saying, "Shanks, what you said makes a lot of sense."

"Actually, that's what I was thinking too, and I already have a plan. I'm going to remove Ren Water and Mystic Ice, keeping only Bing Fire, so that the Ice Luan can regain its absolute purity."

"Although Ice Luan is a descendant of the Phoenix, it clearly did not inherit the Phoenix's ability to Yin Yang Balance, and instead follows its own purely independent path."

"As long as I make changes that align with its characteristics, I will definitely be able to greatly increase the Ice Luan's power."

Shanks was speechless, thinking: Even if you have ideas, you can't say them to my face!

Shazo's eagerness to share his ideas made him feel as if he had proactively reminded the other party, leading to Shazo's significant breakthrough.

The thought that a more perfect and ferocious azure giant bird might soon swoop down on him made Shanks' teeth ache.

What troubled him even more was that although Shazo was talking, his feet did not stop at all, and he kept moving closer to his left.

Borsalino, however, seemed distracted, and slowly and steadily drifted to his right.

These two bastards pretend to be innocent, but their malicious intent is both brazen and carefully concealed; they're definitely not good people at heart.

Shanks grinned, touched his wound, assessed the difference in strength between the two sides, and then made no further decision.

Without even gathering his strength, he unleashed a burst of Conqueror's Haki, then used his sword Griffon to absorb the Haki, transforming it into a chaotic Sword Qi.

Although this Sword Qi was propelled by Conqueror's Haki, its cohesion was practically nonexistent, resulting in extremely poor attack power; it couldn't even be considered a [Flying Slash].

However, the destructive Conqueror's Haki, when condensed through the blade, should not be underestimated; Borsalino and Shazo must both concentrate and deal with it.

Conqueror's Haki is difficult to cause direct harm, but once it does, it combines with mental damage, making it difficult to treat and eliminate; in short, it is extremely troublesome.

Otherwise, given Shazo's Self-Healing ability—the ability to "Hashirama Does Not Die on the Battlefield"—which he shared with the Naruto Shazo, how could he have waited so long for granulation tissue to grow and heal from the damage?

Before the fleshy buds grew out, Shazo mobilized all his power to fight against Shanks ' Conqueror's Haki, and it took him a great deal of effort to drive it away.

That's why Shazo behaved like a corpse.

Now that Shanks knows about his Self-Healing ability, he no longer has the chance to buy himself time to recover by feigning death, so naturally he doesn't dare to take Shanks ' Conqueror's Haki attack head-on.

Borsalino was a top-tier slacker; he was much more composed than Shazo. Upon seeing the red Inazuma appear, he immediately transformed into a beam of light and flew far away.

In the end, it was Shazo who withstood all the damage with his Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.

While the two were dealing with their own attacks, Shanks didn't hesitate for a moment, sheathing Griffon, then covering his Straw Hat and skipping away on the ice shards.

Shazo and Borsalino then huddled together, looked at each other, and then stared at Shanks as he walked away, neither of them saying a word.

Finally, Borsalino felt a little embarrassed and asked, "Aren't you going after Shanks?"

Shazo rolled his eyes. "I'm just the vice commander of the 787th branch of the East Blue. What do I have to do with such a powerful pirate of the Four Emperors level?"

Admiral Kizaru's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "I thought you were a dim-witted simpleton. I was already suspicious during the battle, but it turns out you're quite the cunning... no, clever fellow."

Shazo chuckled and said, "Of course I'm very smart."

Borsalino asked curiously, "Since you're so smart, why—"

He didn't know what words to use to express his meaning, so Shazo answered the question for him, "You want to ask me why I deliberately publicly promote ' Plain Justice '?"

"First, that's what I think. Saying what you think allows your thoughts to flow freely and your will to be consistent, which is very beneficial for improving your strength."

"Secondly, I did it on purpose."

"I deliberately promoted my ideas, I deliberately frightened the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, forcing them to exile me to the East Blue, or some other remote corner."

Borsalino's eyes gleamed, and he asked curiously, "Why do you do this?"

Shazo snorted coldly, "Is that even a question? Of course, it's to avoid being noticed by the Celestial Dragons too early."

1

"This world is sick, and the root of the problem is the Celestial Dragons!"

"Whether it's the Great Pirate Era, the challenges facing the Navy, or the bankruptcy problems facing various kingdoms, I'm quite certain that 80% of the problems can be traced back to the Celestial Dragons."

"But the Navy is just a bunch of disobedient dogs kept by the Celestial Dragons."

"If I show my face in the Navy too early, wouldn't that just be inviting the Celestial Dragons to put a leash on me sooner?"

"Admiral Kizaru, does it feel good to be ordered around to do things you don't want to do by someone you hate?"

Borsalino groaned, "Of course it's uncomfortable! Those fat pigs, they're all ugly as hell, and their stupidity is infuriating. Just looking at them makes me feel nauseous for half an hour."

That's what he said, and he gestured wildly, trying to emphasize his words as much as possible.

But Shazo noticed that there wasn't a trace of complaint in those eyes behind the sunglasses, but rather a look of caution and wariness.

Shazo sneered, "I don't know what weakness the Celestial Dragons have exploited to make you so subservient. At most, you're just complaining."

Even the Garp the Hero, in the end, only mutters a few words and gives a dirty look to a few Celestial Dragons.

"I don't want to be this frustrated. I can't be as crazy as Fisher Tiger, nor do I have his despair. I can only try my best not to attract the attention of the higher-ups."

Borsalino's expression gradually turned serious. "However, at the rate at which your strength is increasing, one day you will be noticed by the Five Elders, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku will not be able to cover for you indefinitely."

Shazo laughed and said, "It's alright. By then, my strength will definitely have reached a level that satisfies me. I believe the Five Elders won't be foolish enough to force me to leave the Navy."

Borsalino understood. Shazo meant that when the Five Elders couldn't defeat him even after using all their strength, it wouldn't matter whether he stayed in the Navy or not.

Whether as a lazy navy officer or as an undercover agent, Admiral Kizaru felt he had nothing more to say.

So he changed the subject. "Well, so Shanks ran away on his own, right?"

Shazo agreed, "Yes."

Borsalino smiled with satisfaction and nodded. Before he could say anything, Shazo fluently recited in rapid succession. "Under the brilliant long-range command of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the ingenious tactical guidance of Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the deterrent presence of Vice Admiral Garp, the naval the Superstar, Admiral Kizaru, through his valiant and fearless battle, finally made the world-renowned pirate, captain of the Red Hair Pirates, and former member of the Pirate King's crew, Red-Haired Shanks, feel the majesty of the Navy."

Borsalino stared in disbelief. "Holy crap, you can talk like that?"

If I had known these speaking skills earlier, I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble to pretend. Even if the Fleet Admiral and Vice Admiral Tsuru He discovered something, they certainly wouldn't have been willing to punish me!

But Admiral Kizaru's smile quickly faded.

Shazo continued, "This despicable villain was terrified. Filled with fear, like Nezumi in the Sewer, he tucked his tail between his legs and dragged that twig-like Griffon away in a panic."

"Just a hair's breadth away, and Admiral Kizaru will be able to sever Red-Haired Shanks ' head and demonstrate the Navy's might to all pirates."

At this moment, Admiral Kizaru represented the entire Navy. His majesty was like the blazing sun, its dazzling light so intense that even the Emperor of the Sea was terrified and wet his pants!

"Admiral Borsalino is not alone. Behind him stand all the naval the Superstar: Fleet Admiral Kong, Broken-Bone Fleet Admiral, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and Garp the Hero. They are all silently watching over him!"

"That foolish, cowardly, and despicable Red-Haired Shanks has escaped! Kizaru Admiral caught him!"

"So close, really!"

Borsalino:∑(°A°;)

Stop talking, or I'll die!

That old killer Garp is getting close. If he hears even three words of me, he'll be beating me up for a month!

People will die! People really will die!!

Under Borsalino's pleading gaze, Shazo remained silent, his face expressionless.