Sizzle—
A long, deep trench was carved into the surface of the sea.
Shamrock was swept back by the force of the slash, the flesh on his chest cycling through a loop of destruction and rebirth.
After being pushed back an unknown distance, the force of the slash finally began to wane. Shamrock and Cerberus exerted their strength simultaneously, desperately forcing themselves out of the range of the cross-slash.
"Huff... huff... huff huff..."
He panted heavily. The gruesome wound on his chest was still tearing open, and his recovery speed was extremely slow.
This level of Conqueror's Haki...
The Immortal Body of God's Knights had once revealed its weakness during the Great Battle of God Valley.
A sufficiently strong Conqueror's Haki Infusion could delay the speed of regeneration; if it was even stronger, it could even block the regeneration entirely.
My internal organs are ruptured, my ribs are all shattered, my arm is broken...
The most troublesome part is that his Conqueror's Haki is delaying my recovery!
Shamrock assessed his injuries and first set about stripping away the clinging Conqueror's Haki, his mind racing.
Was it an illusion just now...
Or did he use some special ability to deceive my Observation Haki?
Impossible!
My Observation Haki is superior to Shanks'—it's already at a top-tier level!
Why...
Why do I sense a quality in him similar to Imu...
Uchiha Griffin, just who are you?
Halfway through stripping the Haki, Shamrock looked up to see a speck of deep crimson approaching from the distance.
So fast!
The moment that crimson speck appeared in his vision, Griffin was already upon him, flying through the air cloaked in flames.
Clang—
Shamrock gripped his hilt with a reverse hold. His face was identical to Shanks', but his aura was completely different—deep and gloomy.
We're far enough away now...
There are no live broadcast cameras here. I'll beat this kid half to death first!
The Five Elders want to recruit him into God's Knights, so he needs to be taught how to respect his superiors first!
"Let's go! Cerberus!"
Cerberus roared. As a living creature, it could also be injured.
However, as a Zoan Awakening—especially a Mythical Zoan—it was essentially the same as having an Immortal Body.
One of its heads hung limply from its neck, but its ferocity was not diminished in the slightest.
Boom!!
The violent impact once again sent Shamrock flying.
Blade met blade.
The black flames of Cerberus snarled against the raging fire on Griffin's sword.
The repelling winds sent Shamrock's red hair flying wildly. It seemed as though the scar over his left eye had grown slightly lighter in color.
"Twenty-two years."
The two figures flickered past the white clouds as Shamrock spoke in a low voice.
"Since the day I first picked up a sword, no peer has ever been my match."
"Allow me to show you my swordsmanship, Uchiha Griffin."
Swish—
During the deadlock, his severed left arm instantly regrew. He gripped the hilt with both hands, forcefully halting his retreat!
A faint smile appeared on his gloomy face.
But in the next second, the smile froze.
He saw not a single trace of surprise in Griffin's eyes.
Swish—
Dual blades danced, their light weaving an airtight net.
This was Shiryu's famous technique: Rain Curtain.
Griffin's coverage was even more thorough than Shiryu's. With such dense slashes, not even a raindrop could penetrate through!
Under the rain of blades, Shamrock was forced to retreat while defending.
Pushed back again...
Why am I always the one retreating!
I am actually... being pushed back by a lowly commoner!!
Previously, he could explain it away with his severed arm, but now...
"Unforgivable!!"
"Recognize your status!! You commoner!!"
Whether it was regrowing his arm earlier or shouting "commoner" now, though he was loath to admit it...
Shamrock was subconsciously trying to declare his identity to Uchiha Griffin.
That terrifying slash had truly frightened him.
His anger urged him to give Griffin a good lesson, but his rational subconscious was urging him to come clean quickly.
"That's enough!!"
Shamrock let out a violent roar, stepping off the air as if it were solid ground. Ignoring the numerous streaks of Sword Qi hitting him, he swung his blade in a level slash!
A condensed black-red slash erupted from the blade, accompanied by the ferocious roar of Cerberus.
Roar!!
Cerberus breathed out a pillar of fire thick with the scent of sulfur, its power intimidating.
ROAR!!
An even more explosive roar rang out, causing the clouds to burst.
A massive White Wolf stood suspended between the sea and the sky, several sizes larger than Cerberus.
Ice-blue frost flowed between the White Wolf's teeth. When the fire approached, it actually condensed into black ice shards before its body, falling away in patters.
The White Wolf moved, possessing a top speed that completely belied its massive frame, turning into a bolt of white lightning that tore through the atmosphere.
Sensing danger, Cerberus's middle head snapped back to bite, but it only caught an afterimage.
In the next moment, agonizing pain arrived.
At Cerberus's neck.
Pale fangs gleaming with a cold light closed with precise cruelty.
Crunch—!!
The sound of bone shattering was sickening. The White Wolf tossed its head, and a chunk of black flesh and toughened hide the size of a house was torn straight off Cerberus's body!
"Awooo—!!"
Cerberus let out a pained howl. Black blood poured onto the sea like a waterfall, making a sizzling sound as it touched the water.
Shamrock's expression changed. Seeing that Cerberus still wanted to fight, he shouted urgently, "Cerberus! Come back!!"
Cerberus transformed into a mass of black flame and returned into the blade.
Griffin raised an eyebrow.
Like a Pokémon...
You can do that?
Lowering his gaze to the two swords held between his teeth, Griffin thought...
I wonder if I can let them eat Devil Fruits too?
If they could eat Paramecia-types, I'd really want to feed them the Float-Float Fruit...
Then one gets the Float-Float Fruit and the other gets the Heavy-Heavy Fruit. The left hand makes you fly, the right hand makes you drop...
No!
Fujitora hasn't died yet—he hasn't even joined the Marines. I shouldn't think of such rude things!
Griffin had originally felt that with his two swords, a spear, and a gunbai, he didn't lack anything.
But as it turned out...
Humans, once they had something good, always wanted something better.
Looking at the calm, ice-blue eyes of the giant White Wolf, a chill ran through Shamrock's heart as he forced himself to calm down.
So this is his form as the 'White Wolf'...
He actually possesses the power to suppress Cerberus!!
I can't keep fighting...
Shamrock took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "Rear Admiral Griffin, this is a misunderstanding. I am not Shanks..."
"I will explain everything to you later. For now, let's just stop!"
The corners of the White Wolf's mouth curled up, revealing a mockingly human-like smirk.
"Even now, you still want to use such a clumsy deception..."
"Don't think that just because you used some unknown method to fix your arm, I'll fail to recognize you!"
"I would know that face of yours even if it were burned to ash!"
Roar!!
As the roar erupted, countless shards of ice pelted Shamrock.
"Don't even think about deceiving me, Shanks!!"
On the other side.
In an underwater vortex, a prison ship was sailing at high speed.
Inside the cabin, Beckman was bandaging Shanks' wounds. He was also covered in scars himself.
Escaping from the Underwater Great Prison and stealing a ship had not been easy.
Looking through the coating, Shanks' gaze was solemn.
"I must... I must make it in time!!"