The two men faced each other, revealing sharp blades. Shanks bitterly smirked. Yes, he was a bit behind his former Captain Roger, but this fight would only serve as motivation for him. The feeling of closing in on your goal is the best there can be.
Shanks drew Gryphon, and the entire blade flared crimson red. A dominating aura, like flames, enveloped him, and his eyes turned scarlet.
"Captain Roger, I've never stopped perfecting the skills you taught me."
Sal's eyes too blazed with scarlet fire, and he drew Ace, activating the remnants of Roger's power contained within the blade. The flame of the Color of Victory surged instantly, and his attack was even swifter than Shanks's.
[Level: 83 + 15]
[Level 98]
Now Sal had reached the peak of his power, even surpassing Roger's peak.
"Shanks, if you want my approval, then show me everything you've got."
"Captain, please accept this."
"Ba-a-am!..."
With these words, Sal lunged toward his opponent. They clashed in a rapid dance of death, like two crimson blades targeting each other's vital points.
"Dodge God!"
"Dodge God!"
"Ba-a-am!..."
Countless crimson lightning bolts erupted, and the terrifying Haki of the Color of Conqueror's intertwined and clashed, instantaneously clearing the previously cloudless sky, allowing the sun to pierce the earth with its rays.
The echoes of the Haki of the Color of Conqueror's , like a strong wind, toppled many plants on the island, and the calm surface of the sea rose with waves.
Crimson lightning flashed, and the two blades did not touch directly, but met at the point of Haki collision, demonstrating dominant superiority.
The platform beneath their feet crumbled, and Sal and Shanks, positioned at the center of the confrontation, exchanged satisfied smiles. This was a true battle.
The Haki from both sides continued to surge, and the point of Haki compression finally crossed a critical threshold.
"Ba-a-am!..."
A roaring explosion thundered in an instant. Sal staggered back, holding Ace in his hand, but his feet still stood firmly on the ground.
Shanks, however, stepped back two paces. The outcome of the battle was clear.
The decisive blow, of course, was not what both warriors had been waiting for. The men stood proudly and majestically, not ceasing their attacks, continuing to rain blows on each other's vital points.
The gleam of blades and the continuous clashes of weapons were mesmerizing.
Sal parried Shanks's blade, took a couple of steps forward, and threw his opponent off balance. Then, Ace's blade drove into the crown of Shanks.
No hesitation, no doubt—he aimed for a fatal strike.
"Click..."
Shanks, holding his blade with one hand, withstood the powerful blow, but his entire back and waist bent slightly under the pressure of incredible force.
"Swoosh..."
Shanks arced his blade, using defensive strength to deflect the approaching strike and quickly turned, aiming a blow at Sal's neck, equally intent on a single lethal move.
The crimson-red energy of the sword was mirrored by Sal, who countered with a strike from the opposite side.
— Whi-iish… Ba-a-am…
Both fought with immense enjoyment. Each blow they struck made the island tremble, and the energy from their swords even sliced off a part of the rock.
Fortunately, this was just an uninhabited island near Sphinx Island; otherwise, they wouldn't have fought here with full force.
But even so, the battle's echoes already reached the inhabitants of the main island.
10 minutes later
— Whi-iish…
Rayleigh raised his sword to block the flying sword energy and helplessly shook his head, watching the two fighters enveloped in crimson-red energy.
— Have these two forgotten there are spectators around them? They're so reckless.
Beckman fully agreed with him. They were certainly having fun, but they would have to deal with the battle's aftermath. Yet, even after ten minutes of combat, his Captain was clearly in a tight spot. He couldn't help but sigh, amazed by the strength of the Pirate King.
— Senior Roger is indeed powerful.
It seems Shanks still has some way to go to catch up to his former goal, even more so if Sal becomes stronger.
Now that the Pirate King has regained his youth, who dares to say if he will grow even stronger?
Suddenly, the expressions of both fighters changed slightly as an unexpected event occurred in the battle.
Sal, thrown back by Shanks by dozens of meters, did not attack in close combat as was expected. Instead, he grabbed his blade with both hands, and a power different from Haki began to concentrate around him.
Red energy enveloped his body, and he unleashed a powerful shockwave at Shanks, catching him off guard.
— ikouko!
The ikouko, which spanned dozens of meters in width, surged towards the opponent, swiftly enlarging in Shanks's view.
Shanks was not unfamiliar with ikouko. He had used this move multiple times while fighting Charlotte Linlin. In his battle with Kaido, he rarely employed giant battle techniques, preferring his Flashing Eight Technique.
— Divine Departure!
Wasting no time, Shanks, unable to dodge, used Divine Evasion to split the enormous Ocean.
The crimson-red energy of the sword divided the shockwave into two parts but was soon overwhelmed by the follow-up strike. The fierce Ocean sliced off half of the cliff on which the battle was taking place, creating an immense chasm on the sea's surface, stretching several thousand meters. The sea water returned it to normal ten seconds after the impact. Once the shockwave dissipated, Shanks descended to one knee, ending up more than ten meters from his initial position, leaving a long trail behind him.
Shanks lifted Gryphon, encased in maximum Haki, and shielded himself with it. His cloak had flown off somewhere, his clothes were a bit ruffled, and his body bore a few thin scars, but these were only minor surface injuries.
Shanks's breathing quickened for a few seconds, and he said in surprise:
— Captain Roger, let's stop. I lost. "I didn't expect you to dominate the seas so thoroughly and prove much stronger than Charlotte LinLin."
Seeing that Shanks had no intention of continuing the fight, Sal put away Ace. Continuing the fight could have led to serious injuries for Shanks, but it didn't mean Thrall had secured victory.
In his current state, it would take him at least half a day to defeat Shanks, and Roger's remaining strength was nearly depleted, meaning he wouldn't be able to maintain this level for another half-day. By that time, it was uncertain who could claim victory.
"Shanks, let's call it a draw. I'm not sure I can defeat you."
These words from Sal, meant as a modest way to care for his younger comrade, indicated that Shanks was entirely outmatched. It was only a matter of time before he would have lost unless he had an ace up his sleeve to change the tide of the battle.
Only Sal knew the truth. He genuinely looked forward to Shanks becoming even stronger in two years.
[SS-level character Shanks harbors positive feelings towards the host, high level of friendliness, reward: 50,000 experience]
[Minor change in destiny of SS-level character Shanks, reward: 10,000 points]
[SS-level character Beckman harbors positive feelings towards the host, moderate level of friendliness, reward: 20,000 experience]
[S-, A-, B-level characters Shanks harbor positive feelings towards the host, moderate level of friendliness (surprise), reward: 2000 x 6, 200 x 31, 30 x 254 experience]
Nearly 100,000 experience and 20,000 points were earned, but it's a shame that these are no longer the days when having a low level would make this amount of experience sufficient to level up.
Both returned to the crowd, and Sal noticed Marco approaching him. He knew it was time to address the last issue.