As an Admiral Candidate's aura erupted from Aio's body, Shanks tightened his grip on his sword again.
Since I'm going to lose anyway, I might as well experience an Admiral Candidate's strength before I do.
When the two exchanged a blow, Aio, no longer holding back, sent Shanks flying with a single slash. The gap between their strength was now plain to see.
"Shanks is like Roger. He's the kind who builds up his strength before blossoming. Without any innate advantages, he'll have to wait until he reaches Admiral-level and has more options before he can catch up to the others."
Watching Shanks quickly fall behind, Lind couldn't help commenting.
Come to think of it, Shanks did have a special bloodline and background. With Celestial Dragon blood and the Commander of the Holy Knights as his father, he was hardly an "ordinary person."
It just didn't seem to help much. The advantages of Celestial Dragon blood fell far short of a powerful Devil Fruit, and in the early stages, it was even less useful than Zeta's giant bloodline.
As for being the son of the Commander of the Holy Knights, that offered no help at all to Shanks as he studied on Oran Island, especially since he didn't even know his own identity.
Of course, this only applied to the early stages, and only in comparison to exceptions like Aileen. Shanks was already among the very best of the younger generation.
Once he reached Admiral-level, he would be able to slowly make up for his innate disadvantages with Haki and swordsmanship. Although his bloodline couldn't provide any direct help, it could still make his path to Admiral-level considerably smoother.
"Gurararara! That's Roger's straw hat on Shanks's head, isn't it? Looks like he's following Roger's path and doesn't plan on eating