Five minutes later~
"Bang!"
A dull thud rang out, and a figure was instantly sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away.
Immediately afterwards, a huge figure appeared in front of this person as well.
Xia Chen calmly looked at the Red Hair slowly rising to his feet and said, "Now... do you still think you can defeat me, Shanks?"
Xia Chen spoke calmly, but his gaze toward Shanks held a hint of amazement.
In the past quarter of an hour, he had exchanged countless blows with Shanks, and the outcome of the fight had greatly surprised him.
Shanks is the first person he has encountered so far whose attack power can rival that of his Stone Monkey Form.
The Five Elders, including Akainu, struggled greatly when facing his attacks, but Shanks seemed to handle them with ease.
Of course, Shanks can only be compared to Xia Chen in terms of attack power. Overall, he is no match for Xia Chen, but this is still surprising.
It's worth noting that Xia Chen easily dealt with the Navy and the World Government in this form, and it seemed to be done with remarkable ease.
However, he used his Dharma King's skills at the time; if he had simply relied on close combat, he certainly wouldn't have been able to defeat them so easily.
Xia Chen and Shanks are currently engaged in close combat the entire time, without using any other skills, which is why it takes five minutes.
Shanks ' attack power is indeed almost the same as his Stone Monkey Form's attack power, but the problem is that Xia Chen himself can't break through his own defense.
The Stone Monkey Form's defensive capabilities are even more impressive than its offensive power!
Excluding Imu, Xia Chen can confidently say that his current form is undoubtedly the World's Strongest shield!
But he wouldn't say that his attack is also the strongest spear! The theory of contradiction doesn't exist for him.
Therefore, with the same attack power but vastly different defense, Shanks didn't last long against Xia Chen.
After all, he can ignore most of Shanks ' attacks, while Shanks can't!
Even Shanks could only unleash attacks like Divine Departure so many times! Use it like a basic attack? Xia Chen didn't believe it!
It's not like Hawk-Eyes. Shanks's Divine Departure consumes Conqueror's Haki, and Haki is something that is consumed.
Therefore, as the battle dragged on, Shanks gradually began to show his disadvantage.
Finally, after five minutes, Xia Chen seized an opening in Shanks ' defenses and landed a heavy punch on him. This led to the current standoff between the two.
Shanks forcefully suppressed the surge of blood and qi, his eyes filled with solemnity as he looked at the figure before him.
He hadn't expected Xia Chen to be this powerful. Just a few months ago, when Hawk-Eyes told him, he was just a kid with decent strength and an interesting personality!
And now, just a few months later, Xia Chen has grown to this level. The speed at which his strength has improved is so fast, it's like riding a rocket!
Xia Chen said calmly, " Shanks, do you still think you have a chance to defeat me?"
Shanks remained silent for a long time.
After some time, Shanks sheathed his Gryphon, seemingly indicating he had no intention of continuing the fight with Xia Chen.
"Hmm? Looks like you've made up your mind!"
Xia Chen was a little puzzled at this moment. Logically speaking, Shanks wasn't the kind of man who would give up on his goals so easily.
Although he is no match for Xia Chen now, his injuries are not serious, so there's no reason for him not to give it a shot.
What Shanks said next made Xia Chen understand why he did what he did.
" Xia Chen, how about we make a deal?" Shanks said, looking at Xia Chen.
"Hmm?" Xia Chen raised an eyebrow and continued, "What can you offer me in exchange for this?"
"Let me tell you beforehand, there aren't many things in this world that can interest me. Do you... have any?"
"I believe you'll want what I'm telling you!" Shanks said, his tone full of confidence.
"Oh? That's not necessarily true!"
Xia Chen disagreed, to be honest, he himself didn't know what could possibly interest him anymore.
However, he was quite curious to see what Shanks brought out later, given his current confidence.
"What I want to tell you is... news about a Devil Fruit!"
" Devil Fruit?"
Hearing this, Xia Chen's tone was filled with disappointment. He had thought Shanks would provide him with some earth-shattering information, but it turned out to be about Devil Fruit?
To be honest, he has absolutely no interest in Devil Fruit; no Devil Fruit in this world could possibly be stronger than his.
Their Divine Authority are not even in the same league!
Just like the feat he just accomplished—single-handedly defeating the Navy and the World Government— it all relies on his abilities!
Otherwise, with his current setup, he'd be at most on par with Aokiji, and wouldn't be able to beat him like he's a baby.
Therefore, he really had no interest in the information Shanks gave about Devil Fruit!
Didn't you see he just recently got his hands on the fruit of the Saint Saturn?
If we kill the remaining Five Elders and Akainu later, that'll be five more top-tier Devil Fruits. Wouldn't that be even more profitable?
Xia Chen even felt there were too many Devil Fruits. Currently, only Zoro and Sanji on their ship haven't eaten Devil Fruit, and judging from their expressions, they don't plan to either.
So even if you give him a lot of Devil Fruit, they'll just gather dust in the System Space and be completely useless!
With that in mind, Xia Chen looked at Shanks and said calmly, "If that's what you're talking about, then there's no need to talk. I have no interest in Devil Fruit!"
Are you sure?
"Of course..."
Hades, the Pluton!
Before Xia Chen could finish speaking, Shanks interrupted him, saying a name that Xia Chen was very familiar with.
Xia Chen narrowed his eyes and said, "What did you say!"
" Human-Human Fruit - Pluton Hades Form!"
"Judging from your reaction, you've heard of this name before. So, are you interested?"
Xia Chen remained silent, not saying a word. He was feeling a little awkward.
He just swore he wasn't interested in Devil Fruit, but now...
Okay, he admits he miscalculated! This fruit is indeed the only Devil Fruit that can pique his interest; he never imagined that the information Red Hair knew about Devil Fruit referred to this one.
The fruit that Rocks possessed, as he spoke!
Xia Chen didn't answer the Red Hair immediately, but instead asked, "How much do you know about this fruit?"
"I don't actually know much. The only thing I'm certain of is that it's a fruit bearing the name of a god; everything else is just a vague understanding!"
Xia Chen:???
Red Hair:???
"If you only have a superficial understanding, why are you standing there like a fool? What are you waiting for?"
Red Hair:...