Chapter 340: Your Claws Are Still as Ruthless as Ever!
Shanks grinned, but there was no humor in his eyes.
He turned his wrist, sending the tip of his sword through a graceful arc straight at Teach's face.
Teach snorted and crossed his arms. Black Armament Haki coated his steel claws, stopping the blade cold.
They traded blows, the fight growing fiercer by the moment.
Teach's steel claws wove an impenetrable defense, each strike slicing sharply through the air.
Shanks's swordsmanship was exquisite. His swings looked casual, yet he always managed to turn aside danger at the last moment and find an opening to counterattack.
Midfight, Teach abruptly changed tactics. He leaped back to open the distance, gripped his steel claws with both hands, and roared, "Mountain-Breaking Claw!"
Armament Haki surged around him, gathering into a thick layer of black energy over his steel claws. Then he shot toward Shanks like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Shanks dared not let his guard down. His Haki erupted at once.
Conqueror's Haki spread outward like an invisible tidal wave.
Teach faltered for an instant under its force, but quickly steadied himself and pressed on toward Shanks through sheer force of will.
Clang! Steel claws and sword collided again, and the tremendous impact sent both men flying.
Shanks adjusted his posture in midair and landed firmly. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, keeping his eyes fixed on Teach.
This man, once an unremarkable member of the Whitebeard Pirates, had grown terrifyingly strong. His mastery of Armament Haki, in particular, was no less than Shanks's own.
Teach was not unscathed either. The blast of Conqueror's Haki had left his blood churning, but the greed and madness in his eyes only burned brighter.
Teach licked the blood from his lips.