Shanks coughed up blood the moment he was hit, his body slamming into the ground like a cannonball. After creating a large crater, he burrowed a long distance into the earth, his body scooping up the soil around him.
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
Shanks!
When the members of the Red Hair Pirates saw Shanks injured and buried, they all cried out in concern. Several of them wanted to rush over and dig Shanks out, but they were stopped by the executives. Vic's attack was indeed very damaging, but it was not enough to endanger his life. Their leader would not be a pirate of this level.
Rebecca and the others were also somewhat astonished. The two were too fast to be detected by the naked eye, and without Observation Haki, they didn't even have the right to observe them. This must be the top combat power among the younger generation. They still had a long way to go. This battle also gave them a lot of insights!
"Cough cough! I'm not fighting anymore! I'm not fighting anymore! I can't beat you! I can't beat you! You've improved so fast!"
Shanks blasted open the mound of earth burying him and jumped to the ground. He waved his hands repeatedly at Vic, who was still about to continue the attack. He had already suffered internal injuries and knew that continuing the fight would only result in defeat, so there was no need to continue. Looking at Vic's still energetic and unsatisfied appearance, he couldn't help but ask himself, had he really been slacking off?
Before Vic appeared, he was the most talented and fastest-improving person on this ocean, so he didn't feel any pressure and had a very casual attitude towards cultivation.
But after this defeat, he realized that he had a rival. This rival jokingly said that he was not talented and relied entirely on hard work, but he did not believe it. No matter how hard a person without talent works, even if he doesn't eat or sleep, it is impossible for him to catch up in just over a year!
Moreover, he is no longer the same person he was a year ago; he has become much stronger than before, making him even more difficult to catch up with.
Therefore, Vic in front of him is not only more talented, but also works harder than him, which is the key factor in determining the outcome of today's battle.
Today's battle taught him a lot. The techniques he learned were secondary; the most important thing was that his state of mind had changed!
Are you alright?
Upon hearing Shanks concede defeat, Vic stopped immediately. Looking at Shanks, whose lips still bore traces of blood, he asked, "Sparring will inevitably result in injuries. The way to avoid injury is not to fight."
"Hahaha! It's nothing! Just some internal injury, not even a scratch!"
Shanks pulled open his shirt to reveal his muscular physique, which indeed had no wounds. After Vic shattered Shanks' Armament Haki defense, the blade bounced off, only allowing Ryuo to penetrate his body, so there were only internal injuries and no external wounds.
"This sparring session was basically me giving you experience points! I didn't gain anything at all, it's such a loss! How are you going to make it up to me?"
Vic smiled and walked towards Shanks. Vic had gained something from this sparring match, but not much. It wasn't in terms of technique or experience, but rather Shanks ' speed had inspired Vic, so Vic wanted to learn more.
If Vic doesn't use his Devil Fruit ability, his speed is not as fast as Shanks' speed at full power. Of course, this is the speed of movement on the ground. In the air, Vic can use the force of the ground to fly, while Shanks can only rely on the ground's reaction force to briefly lift off the ground. There's no comparison.
Vic discovered that Shanks was faster than him mainly due to his size and weight. Shanks was less than 1.8 meters tall and weighed less than 100 kilograms, making him very agile. Combined with his physical talent and training, he had increased his speed to this level.
Vic is over two meters tall, even after compression, and his body stores a large amount of energy. His muscles, bones, and skin are also extremely dense, and he weighs over a ton, making him like a human mini-tank. This somewhat hinders Vic's development in terms of speed.
Previously, Vic had never encountered someone with Shanks's extremely high movement speed, so he had no comparison point and therefore no conclusion to reach today.
But now he knows that his speed has not yet reached the limit of human potential, and there is still room for improvement. For others, this would mean sacrificing speed for greater strength, but for Vic, he can continue to improve his speed and maintain his existing strength!
"Compensation? What kind of compensation do you want? Gold? Treasure? Or Devil Fruit?"
Shanks also felt that he had gained a lot from this sparring session, mainly in terms of mindset, which would greatly help his future growth. It could also be said that Vic had woken him up and made him realize his shortcomings. However, Vic did not seem to have gained anything from him, and Shanks felt a little guilty.
"Oh! You not only have a treasure map, but also Devil Fruit? You're quite wealthy!"
Shanks ' words surprised Vic. He hadn't expected their pirate crew to be so wealthy, possessing not only a treasure map but also Devil Fruit. The treasure map, whether real or fake, was there and could be searched for anytime, but obtaining and storing the Devil Fruit was no easy feat.
"Hahaha! It's not a good Devil Fruit. Nobody wants to become a landlubber for that kind of ability. We're planning to sell it, but even the worst Devil Fruit is worth 100 million Beli. Do you want it?"
There are no Devil Fruit users in Shanks ' team, at least not the executives. This is true now, and it will be true more than a decade from now. Uta, who was sent away, doesn't count; he was eaten after being sent away.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult for Shanks, as the Emperor of the Sea, to obtain Devil Fruit, but it's strange that none of his executives ate it, just like the Roger Pirates.
If Roger was from a previous era and had a natural aversion to Devil Fruit, that's understandable. Shanks, who grew up on Roger's ship, was also influenced by him, which is also understandable.
But what about the others? Were they all influenced by Shanks? One person influencing the mindset of an entire team? That's incredibly difficult!
Vic even speculated that Roger said something to Shanks after returning from Laugh Tale, and that Shanks, knowing certain secrets, prevented his crew from eating Devil Fruit, which is how the Red Hair Pirates remained powerless.
If that's really the case, what kind of effect would Devil Fruit have on people? That's something to think about and it's quite terrifying!
If it's for other reasons, it's most likely that Shanks found a group of like-minded partners and didn't want to miss out on some adventures just because he couldn't go into the water!
"No need! What's the Devil Fruit? I wanted to learn ' Divine Departure ' from you, I wonder if that's convenient."
Vic has already arranged all the Devil Fruit abilities. Apart from Frodeku, who is acting as a lifeguard, everyone else already possesses excellent abilities. Even if Frodeku wants to eat Devil Fruit, Vic will find the most suitable one for him, rather than letting him eat just any one.
As for " Divine Departure "? That was Roger's signature move. Before Vic's time travel, Pirate King Roger was the only one who had missed this move, and that one move killed Oden.
At that time, Oden was the strongest member of Whitebeard's crew besides Whitebeard himself, so you can imagine how powerful this move was!
Oden was completely unprepared and offered no resistance, which shows that Roger's attack was incredibly fast. Oden couldn't even block it with his sword, nor could he even use Armament Haki to protect himself. The power of the Oden's reaction.