Shanks didn't refute him.
While Luffy's personality was inherited from him, Shanks himself was far more composed—and certainly not some selfless saint of the seas.
Golden Lion had been brutal and ruthless, slaughtering civilians, looting and burning without restraint. That was fact.
As for Roger, although he set a rule for his crew not to harm civilians—
his final words before death had unleashed an era where countless innocents died at the hands of pirates.
Compared to Golden Lion, the number was likely even greater.
So just as Xia Te believed there wasn't much difference between Luffy and Blackbeard—
Roger wasn't any nobler than Golden Lion either.
—
"Huu…"
Xia Te exhaled lightly, wiping the blood from the cut on his cheek and licking it off his fingers.
"Heh… hehahaha—!"
The strong scent of blood made him laugh.
Shanks' expression stiffened slightly.
"This is exhilarating. I fought Kizaru before, but with his personality, fighting him is just… boring."
As his voice fell—
Xia Te's hair and sleeves began to flutter without wind.
Behind him, it was as if a colossal lion capable of devouring heaven and earth had taken form.
"That's… Golden Lion's—"
Kaido glanced over from the corner of his eye.
Sword intent.
That's right.
As a great swordsman on par with Mihawk, Shanks immediately recognized it.
Only true great swordsmen could grasp such a thing.
And this was the sword intent of Golden Lion—once the world's greatest swordsman before Mihawk!
When Xia Te first obtained Golden Lion's power, it had only been the old, diminished version.
At that time, Shiki—crippled and defeated—had long lost his sword intent.
But along with the inheritance came his understanding of swordsmanship.
It had simply lain dormant—
until now.
And in this battle against Shanks—
Xia Te had finally touched that threshold.
—
Their eyes met once more.
Both kicked off the deck simultaneously.
CLANG—!!!
Before their blades even touched—
a terrifying shockwave erupted.
—
High above, on the floating Flower Capital—
Kozuki Hiyori (Komurasaki) was blown off balance by the aftershock.
Not just her—
Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and the others were all sent flying.
They were thousands of meters above the sea—
and yet the shockwave still reached them.
One could only imagine—
what kind of battle was happening at the center.
Screams rang out—
A pale blue spherical barrier enveloped them.
"ROOM! Shambles!"
Law quickly swapped their positions with nearby stones, shouting:
"You don't even qualify to watch this fight—get back and hide!"
Even as he said that—
he clenched his teeth.
What right did he have to say that?
He couldn't even participate in this battle himself—
only stand back and watch.
I have to get stronger.
The thought burned stronger than ever.
—
The shockwaves gradually subsided,
but the sea still roared violently—
as if echoing the sheer power of that clash.
"Those two… their swords didn't even touch, and it already exploded?"
Shiryu frowned.
Though he was a great swordsman himself,
his sword intent hadn't reached that level.
If Mihawk were here—
he'd understand immediately.
Haki and sword intent—
both must be pushed to their limits to produce such destruction.
—
Xia Te and Shanks became blurs,
clashing across the waves—
splitting clouds, severing the sea itself.
The faint smile Shanks had worn finally disappeared.
Because that strike just now—
he had only ever seen it from four people:
Roger.
Whitebeard.
Golden Lion.
Mihawk.
And now—
a fifth had appeared.
—
"Well then!"
Shanks raised his single arm high.
Perfect-level Conqueror's Haki coated his blade,
forming a sword aura hundreds of meters tall.
"I'll get serious too!"
He brought it down.
Before it even touched the sea—
the ocean split apart.
Xia Te crossed Enma and Ame no Habakiri, blocking at the center of the strike.
It felt like an entire mountain pressing down on him.
"Getting serious now? Isn't that a bit late?"
Xia Te's voice rang out—
sending a chill through Shanks.
—
ROOOAR—!!!
Below them—
the ocean Shanks had just split began to rise.
Though Xia Te had been controlling seawater throughout the battle—
this time, it was on a completely different scale.
As far as the eye could see—
the entire sea lifted into the sky.
"How is that possible?! Even Golden Lion never controlled this much seawater!"
Pirates from both the Beasts Pirates and Red-Haired Pirates who had fought Shiki before were stunned.
This scale…
was impossible.
"I've just integrated it better than he did. That's all."
Xia Te violently knocked aside Shanks' sword beam.
The deflected slash sliced through the waves like tofu—
but the sheer volume of water remained overwhelming.
An endless tide rose into the sky—
then came crashing down.
—
"At the Battle of Edd War, your captain was lucky—saved by a storm."
Xia Te raised both hands—
then slammed them down.
"Do you have that kind of luck too?"
From all directions—
even the sky above—
with no escape—
the raging sea collapsed inward,
engulfing Shanks completely.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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