Challenging Shanks

At night, aboard the Red Force.

"Kid Yake, you're still up?" Benn Beckman walked over to Yake's side and looked out at the distant sea. Shanks was already snoring away, leaving only Yake and Benn Beckman still standing on the ship.

"Uncle Beckman, Shanks lost an arm. Can he really fight at full strength?" Yake asked calmly.

"Losing an arm has indeed affected the captain's combat power, but he's still one of the Four Emperors of this sea... If you're serious about this..." Benn Beckman trailed off. His impression of Yake was still stuck several years in the past, and he didn't believe Yake could defeat Shanks, even though Yake had been a monster since childhood.

"Just wait and see, Uncle Beckman. I'm not who I used to be..." Yake said confidently. Even Yake himself had no idea how strong he had become!

The next day, the entire Red-Haired Pirates crew arrived at an uninhabited island in the New World. Shanks had chosen this place for their fight.

"An uninhabited island? Just what I wanted... Morgans, come over here!" Yake said with a grave expression.

A huge seabird-man sat in a hot-air balloon, his face flushed with excitement. It was Morgans, president of the news agency. He would personally document this battle between a god and one of the Four Emperors. He could already sense that newspaper sales would skyrocket, though it was a pity he couldn't fly, so the footage he could capture from the hot-air balloon was always limited.

Meanwhile, the Red-Haired Pirates crew prepared to spectate from the sea with telescopes.

"Ha ha ha, Yake, looks like you're serious. But I won't lose to you!" Shanks laughed as he unleashed a Conqueror's Haki aura that swept across the heavens. Even the air creaked under the pressure.

Without hesitation, Yake released his own Conqueror's Haki and clashed with Shanks in a battle of sheer aura. For a moment, heaven and earth trembled, and the island could barely withstand the pressure of their colliding presences.

"Shanks, I won't hold back. If you go soft on me, you really will die!" Yake said without changing expression as he drew Tensa Zangetsu from his waist and pointed it straight at Shanks.

"That's a fine sword. Here I come!" Griffin gleamed with a dazzling cold light as Shanks sent a massive flying slash at Yake.

Yake showed no panic at the incoming flying slash. His left hand was already coated in Armament Haki: Ryuo.

"Ha!"

With nothing but his left hand, Yake knocked Shanks's slash aside, carving an unfathomably deep ravine into the ground.

"Don't try to make me laugh with an attack at that level, Uncle Shanks..." The Thunder Dragon Mark on Yake's body erupted. Brilliant blue markings spread over his entire body, while the phantom of a gigantic Azure Dragon condensed behind him and released an earth-shaking roar!

"Take this! Myriad Thunder: Azure Dragon Annihilation!"

Tensa Zangetsu swept horizontally, tearing through the atmosphere. The phantom Azure Dragon behind Yake roared as it charged toward Shanks. He had no way to evade it—the attack was simply too fast.

"What exactly... has Yake been through these past few years?" Cold sweat trickled down Shanks's face as he watched the giant dragon rush toward him. Even a Four Emperor like him would need to go to great lengths to unleash an attack of that magnitude, yet Yake had launched it with seemingly effortless ease.

Shanks coated Griffin in Armament Haki and swung his blade at the dragon!!!

"What terrifying power. Kid Yake already possesses strength on the level of a Four Emperor!" Benn Beckman said in shock, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

"His strength is probably no longer beneath the captain's. Just how did the captain win back then?" Lucky Roux stood frozen in place.

"This is amazing, magnificent! This will definitely be earth-shattering news!!!" Morgans was practically delirious with excitement.

Shanks had to slash more than a dozen times in succession before he finally dispersed the dragon, causing it to vanish into the air. The once lush, green uninhabited island had already been flattened.

"What kind of monster are you, kid?"

Clang!

Tensa Zangetsu and Griffin collided, and the ground beneath their feet began to crack apart, forming spiderweb-like fissures.

"I am God Yake!"

"Ha ha ha, Kid Yake, let me show you the true power of a Four Emperor!" After exchanging several blows with Yake, Shanks spotted an opening and decisively launched his attack.

"Kamusari!"

Ryuo coated the pitch-black blade as it swept across Yake's chest, sending him flying. Could that have been Kamusari...

"Ha ha ha, Kid Yake, if you want to beat me, you're still... still full of shit!" Shanks's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Yake, who had been knocked to the ground, stood back up as if nothing had happened. The wound on his body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Not a bad attack, but it's nothing special to me now." Yake gave a wicked smile and flashed to Shanks's side once more. Savage slashes rained down like an erupting volcano, every collision spraying countless sparks. A chasm had even been torn open through the center of their battlefield.

Yake's swordsmanship was not as refined as Shanks's, and Shanks often caught his openings to counterattack. But Yake was like an unkillable cockroach, rising to his feet again and again.

"Enough. Got you." Yake caught Shanks's sword with his bare hand and gripped it tightly, blood running down the blade.

"Rocket Headbutt!" Yake pulled his head back, then slammed it into Shanks's face, instantly making Shanks look even more ridiculous than Yake.

Shanks was sent flying into another island in the archipelago, crashing into a deep crater with a huge lump swelling on his head.

"Hiss... That hurts. Is that kid's head made of iron?" Shanks grimaced as he rubbed the lump on his head, but before he could dwell on it, Yake's knee came crashing down from above. Shanks hurriedly rolled aside and scrambled to his feet.

"Shanks, your slashes hurt like hell. I'm definitely going to beat your head full of lumps!" Yake declared aggressively as he casually pulled his knee free from where it had sunk deep into the earth.

Listen to yourself. Do those sound like human words? Shanks stared speechlessly at Yake, who was completely uninjured, not even breathing hard, with not so much as a speck of dust on his pants.

That was because Yake wore indestructible underwear and beach shorts. They were loose, breathable, and never got dirty—nothing short of divine gear.

Then there was Shanks, covered in dust and grime, with several holes torn in his clothes, looking like a labor camp prisoner. The difference between them was immediately obvious.

"Why are you like that monster Kaido? What a pain!" As the battle continued, Shanks realized Yake was practically identical to Kaido: a body that could take punishment and dish it out, seemingly bottomless stamina—a miniature Kaido. Except Yake was faster, more rational, and hit even harder!

Looking closely, the tattoos on Yake's body really did resemble Kaido's somewhat, except he had none on his head or hands.

"Ha ha ha, that guy Kaido? Let's continue. I haven't even warmed up yet!" Yake's fighting spirit had risen to its peak. Seeing Shanks still lost in thought, he swung his sword without hesitation.

Clang!

As expected, it was blocked.