After saying this, Saturn hung up the Den Den Mushi abruptly, appearing somewhat aloof. However, when Vic mentioned that Red-Hair had rejected him, Saturn showed no intention of continuing the conversation.
If it were anyone else, they would definitely try to negotiate a contract and terms, since this person is someone Vic approves of. But with Shanks, there's no such intention at all; this shows that Shanks ' wishes are fully respected.
On the surface, it seems like they don't care much about Shanks ' performance. Shanks is indeed very young, giving the impression that he might be unreliable. Overall, his performance was flawless. It's just that Saturn didn't know there was someone with a god's-eye view on the other side.
"Hehe! The matter is resolved. Let's have a feast first, eat and drink our fill, and then I'll give you a good beating to avenge the beating you received last time!"
Vic put away the Den Den Mushi and said with a smile, "Last time I was slightly inferior to Shanks, but this time I'm confident I can beat Shanks into a pulp and add another defeat to the youngest Emperor of the Sea. I won't let Hawk-Eye have all the glory. Hawk-Eye has the swordsmanship, but Vic will have the Haki and physical skills."
Upon hearing Vic's words, Rebecca couldn't help but recall that Vic had deliberately taken a beating for her sake, and that he seemed to have become a different person ever since Vic parents were killed by pirates.
He was no longer that introverted and innocent child. He had to take control of everything. He embarked on the most arduous and diligent path to become stronger, all to protect those he cared about.
And she herself was also perfectly arranged. The two of them embarked on completely different paths in life. They were no longer ordinary people who could only survive by luck, but could become the light that illuminates ordinary people and become their luck. Rebecca stared at Vic with deep emotion.
"Hahaha! Bring it on, who's afraid of who? I haven't been idle lately either!"
Shanks took a sip of his drink and said boldly, "I'm also curious to see what kind of strength Vic is now, since he even managed to kill a powerful figure like Golden Lion."
You have to understand that Golden Lion was a formidable rival of Roger Pirates. If it weren't for that great storm, the outcome of the battle would have been very different. Even after Golden Lion lost his legs, he was still a force to be reckoned with!
The banquet didn't end until three hours later. During the banquet, Shanks sent people to hunt on the island twice. The main reason was that Vic could eat so much that his stomach was like a bottomless pit, which completely shocked the Red Hair Pirates.
Rebecca and the others, however, were used to it. Vic ate a normal amount on the warship, but at the island banquet he ate to his heart's content, never neglecting his appetite.
" Vic! You tell me, how do you want to spar?"
After the banquet Shanks took Vic to the coast, the battlefield he had chosen, to minimize damage to the island.
Rebecca's group of Marines followed behind, while the Red Hair Pirates were almost entirely behind; they needed to observe this major battle.
"With our stamina, we should be able to fight for three days and three nights without any problem. A normal fight would be a waste of time and damage to the island. How about we compress the battle into a few dozen moves?"
Vic for a moment, Vic replied that the purpose of the battle is different, and the process will naturally be different as well. Some strong people cannot determine a winner even after several days and nights, while others can be decided in just a few moves. Vic does not want to spend that much time; he just wants to use his strongest strength to determine the winner.
"Great, just what I wanted!"
Shanks frowned slightly, took off his straw Straw Hat and tossed it to Beckman, then drew his Gryphon from his waist and immediately coated it with Armament Haki. Clearly, he was going to get serious. Although it was just a spar, he wouldn't hold back, but he would stop after his opponent fell.
Vic wiped the smile from his lips and drew the two swords from his waist. Armament Haki spread from his palms and wrapped around the swords.
The onlookers kept their distance, knowing that the aftershocks of such a battle between powerful individuals were unbearable, especially a fight between swordsmen, which was even more dangerous. You never knew which direction a slash might suddenly come from and cut you in two; if you got too close, you wouldn't even be able to dodge it.
" Divine Departure!"
" Dragon Slayer!"
The two used their strongest sword techniques in perfect unison, and two incredibly terrifying slashes collided in the open space between them, the two slashes intersecting like a cross and neither giving way!
The buzzing sound of the slashing collision wasn't very loud, but it reverberated throughout the entire island, making the powerful beasts on the island uneasy. The weaker ones were already trembling on their way back to their nests.
The marines on the warship also turned their gazes over. They could vaguely see two huge, glowing slashes and assumed that Vic and the pirates on the island were already engaged in battle. They silently cheered for Vic.
After a long while, the two slashes finally dissipated as they consumed each other. Their attacks were evenly matched, and there was no need to continue fighting with ranged attacks. Both of them thought so, and they disappeared from the field in an instant.
When the two reappeared, they were already locked in close combat. Shanks ' Gryphon blocked Vic's twin blades, and with a clang of metal, a powerful gust of wind blew in all directions.
Some low shrubs were blown up from the ground, and the weaker pirates were rolled around like gourds. Only the powerful officers could stand up in the strong wind. The battle between the two had already reached a fever pitch as soon as it started!
With a light tap of his feet, Vic leaped into the air, using Gryphon as a pivot point, and flipped directly behind Shanks. He landed, crouched, and instantly turned around, slashing his twin swords horizontally towards Shanks ' lower back.
Vic's twin swords were no longer wrapped in Armament Haki; the Armament Haki on them had come alive, surging and pulsating—he was using Ryuo.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Shanks turned slightly and lowered Gryphon's blade to block in front of him. With another clang, Shanks' expression changed slightly, and he slid seven or eight meters on the ground before stopping.
Through these two moves, Shanks realized that his strength and speed were inferior to Vic's. In their last encounter, their strength was roughly equal, but Vic had improved much more. The other members of the pirate crew also noticed that their leader was at a disadvantage and were cheering him on in their hearts.
After the two stopped, they quickly disappeared again. This time, many people only heard continuous metallic clanging sounds and a strong, erratic gust of wind. The two figures had vanished from the scene.
Only Beckman's eyes were rapidly scanning back and forth; everyone else could only barely keep up with the two auras by relying on their Observation Haki. The two were moving too fast for ordinary eyes to catch, and even those with normal Observation Haki were struggling.
Vic was quite surprised by Shanks ' speed, because he needed to slightly use the Speed-Speed Fruit's power to keep up with Shanks ' speed, and he would have to use a little more of his Devil Fruit power to gain the upper hand.
However, Shanks was able to keep up with him using only his physical speed, which was already incredibly fast. This made Vic realize that his physical speed had not yet reached the limits of the human body and that there was still room for improvement.
Vic has found a new direction for his training. You see, the faster his original speed is, the faster it becomes after the Speed-Speed Fruit's bonus. This is a quantitative change caused by a large base speed!
Shanks also gained a new understanding of Vic's strength. Vic was only a head taller than him, and his body was slender and well-proportioned, not the kind of big, muscular guy.
In terms of physique, the two should be about the same in strength, but Vic's strength is definitely superior to his, like a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex, and he can only rely on explosive power to resist.