Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 214 Did Shanks win?

After the appearance of Saiyan Shaza and Saint Seiya Shaza, they became the new powerhouses, surpassing even Naruto Shaza.

For all of them, these two newcomers can bring great improvement, but the one who benefits the most is the pirate Xia Zuo, who also relies on his body for a living.

However, this situation also means that the pirate Shaza has completely lost his personality and his unique characteristics.

Even though the pirate Shaza has been greatly changed by the world and has acquired a bold and unrestrained personality that is most suitable for this world, he still feels very uneasy.

This is an instinctive unease.

Because they all originated from a single primordial soul called Xia Zuo, and manifested different personalities in different worlds.

The essential unity of the Xiazuo allows them to share memories and power, but their individual uniqueness is a necessary condition for their existence.

While it cannot be 100% certain, once all the characteristics of one Xia Zuo are completely covered by another Xia Zuo, the foundation for its existence as an independent personality will be lost.

This means that Xia Zuo's disappearance is almost certain; what is uncertain is in what form he will ultimately disappear.

This worry terrified Xia Zuo, and no amount of dedicated training could make him feel better, because both Saint Xia Zuo and Saiyan Xia Zuo would only train harder and more diligently.

Until today, under Shanks's pressure, he finally found his own unique characteristics.

This made Xia Zuo very happy. His inspiration flowed like a spring. With the help of Xia Zuo's memories from the Heavenly Tribulation, he combined the techniques of the Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist with the power of the One Piece world, and referred to the power inheritance of the Saint Seiya regarding cutting, to create one powerful move after another.

Shanks declared he would launch a final, all-out attack, interrupting Shazor's planning of a new technique.

The crimson Conqueror's Haki that enveloped the ice field disappeared, and it gathered into streaks of red lightning, wrapping around Shanks' longsword blade, turning the originally black blade into a blood-red color, and burning fiercely like flames.

Shazor is not a rigid knight, nor is he an NPC in a turn-based game. While Shanks was charging up, he tried to attack more than once, attempting to disrupt Shanks' rhythm.

Unfortunately, [Divine Evasion] originated from Gol D. Roger's strongest move, which has been honed through countless trials and tribulations and has been tested in countless high-level battles.

The Pirate King Roger's refinement of "God's Evasion" was impeccable. After passing it on to Shanks, Shanks made further modifications to suit his own style, making it a top-tier slash even among the Four Emperors.

As expected, the "Divine Evasion" technique, a signature move of the Pirate King and the Four Emperors, leaves no openings during the charging phase.

Shanks's several attacks were met with a counterattack from his Conqueror's Haki, which not only failed to harm him but also nearly injured him.

After suffering such a setback, Xia Zuo realized that the two previous encounters with [Divine Evasion] were due to various reasons, not because of his strongest state.

The fully charged [Divine Evasion] clearly surpassed the power of all the skills he had ever learned, including the standard Six Styles of the Navy and the moves he had just conceived in his mind. None of them were enough to withstand the full power of this [Divine Evasion].

That makes sense. The Six Powers of the Navy are entry-level skills in the world of One Piece, and they're commonplace on the Grand Line.

Any Navy or CP member with a modicum of ambition will optimize the original Six Powers and develop their own unique skills.

Even if the idea that you just had a burst of inspiration is reasonable, it is still an untested trick.

Faced with the Pirate Emperor's all-out attack, Xia Zuo couldn't help but complain, "If only I could master the [Lightning Speed ​​Fist]..."

Or maybe it would be the Kamehameha Wave. If only this battle could have been delayed by two years.

Fortunately, Shaza has a powerful skill with practical experience, namely [Southern Dipper: Waterbird Soaring], which he just had a head-on collision with Shanks.

Although he only had one real combat experience, it was a battle against the Pirate Emperor Shanks, where his strengths and weaknesses were fully exposed.

Having completely abandoned the characteristics of Nanto Seiken after improvements, the new [Waterbird Soaring] can maximize the power of Xia Zuo.

However, he wasn't very confident that he could withstand Shanks' full power.

Xia Zuo no longer hesitated, gathering his strength and Armament Haki in a wading bird hunting posture, and concentrating the power throughout his entire body, rather than just in his hands.

Seeing that Shaza chose to charge up a counterattack instead of turning and running away, Shanks became even more excited: "Shaza, if you don't die from this move, you'll be my friend, Shanks."

Xia Zuo sneered: "Fine, but I'll still try to catch you when I see you."

Shanks didn't see anything wrong with it. He laughed and said, "It's fine. You're a Marine, I'm a pirate. It's only natural you want to capture me, but first you'll have to be able to beat me!"

Shazam clicked his tongue: "Shanks, although I am no match for you today, one day I will be stronger than you, and then I will personally send you to Impel Down."

Shanks was even happier: "Haha, with you chasing after me, I'll definitely improve even faster. It would be fun to have you chasing me for a lifetime."

"You have to survive, Xia Zuo."

[Divine Avoidance]

Shanks unleashed his strongest strike, the crimson sword energy spreading horizontally like the front of a tsunami, sweeping away everything in his path.

This all-out attack was indeed incomparable to the previous ones. The aftershocks of the sword energy alone tore the thick ice field apart, breaking it into palm-sized, uniform ice fragments.

The ice peaks and icebergs of all sizes protruding from the ice field were destroyed by the red Conqueror's Haki before they came into contact with the sword energy of [Divine Evasion], instantly turning into crystalline dust, adding a white crown to the red sword energy.

Upon witnessing this magnificent scene from high above, Borsalino instantly transformed into a golden light, elevating his position and avoiding the aftershocks of the [Divine Evasion] sword energy.

Then he exclaimed dramatically, "How dangerous! How terrifying! Shanks is attacking Shaza with all his might! He really wants to kill someone!"

Sengoku's voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Stop pretending, prepare for battle. Shanks is trying to escape."

"Borsalino, hold him off!"

"Karp will be there in 35 minutes!"

Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses and muttered a complaint under his breath: "Red-haired Shanks is fierce, very scary—"

'

"Fighting him is dangerous—"

"Besides, the Red-Haired Pirates have sobered up and are no longer the spineless wimps they were before."

Borsalino turned to look into the distance. Nearly ten kilometers away, a fully sober Yasopp had set up a sniper rifle on the mast, aiming at a point between Borsalino and the red-haired man in the air.

If Kizaru were to launch a sneak attack on Shanks, this point would be the most threatening point on his entire route, and also the easiest place for him to be hit by a sniper's bullet.

Faced with what is arguably the world's first sniper, Yasopp, known as "The Chaser," Borsalino dared not resort to simple elemental attacks.

The bullets, entangled with a domineering aura, are not so easy to deal with.

Kizaru doesn't have the same level of Armament Haki as Shazam that he could forcibly suppress Yasopp's Haki.

He scratched his head dismissively: "Oh dear, I actually got taken down by a sniper. How embarrassing."

"I should have listened to the instructor and practiced my domineering aura properly."

Zephyr's voice was steady and powerful: "Borusalino, it's never too late for you to start working hard today!"

Kizaru froze, and after a long while, he stammered, "Let's forget it, training is too tiring."

Zephyr: "————, you bastard! You'll be lazy to death one day!"

Just as Kizaru was using all his tricks and excuses to delay the battle, Xia Zuo also unleashed his strongest attack.

Waterbirds in flight

With a wave of his hands, countless sword energies transformed into feather shapes, coalescing into a complete blue-white bird.

As endless sword energy and feathers gathered into the bird's body, various details rapidly became richer: huge and magnificent wings, a soft and graceful neck, slender and powerful long legs, a long beak as sharp as a spear, and sharp and bright eyes. This was a wading bird that did not exist in the world, but only in mythology—Jiao Ming.

As a divine bird that foretells floods, the ocean is Jiao Ming's natural home ground. He can draw moisture from the ocean and cold air from the icy plains, thus increasing his power by half.

The blue-white giant bird swelled tenfold due to absorbing water vapor, and solidified due to absorbing cold air.

As Xia Zuo thrust his palms forward with all his might, Jiao Ming, who had expanded to his limit, let out a loud crane's cry and pounced towards the surging red sword energy.

The blue-white giant bird spread its wings, and countless white and blue sword-like feathers erupted, covering the sky and the torrent of red sword energy.

The blue-white sword energy feathers first dispelled the white crown in front of the red sword energy, and then exploded into a larger white mist on the red torrent, causing the red sword energy to lose its sharpness.

In the battles where wading birds hunt their prey, wings are merely a cover and a tool to project an imposing presence; the real attack comes from their long and powerful claws.

Jiao Ming's two four-toed giant claws stomped repeatedly on the red sword energy, just like a crane hunting an eel. The huge impact caused the red sword energy to fluctuate severely.

When the eel is kicked by the crane, it exposes its weak points, such as its head, while the red sword aura that is hit hard also reveals Shanks's astonished expression.

The final blow came from the long beak of the divine bird Jiao Ming. The beak, formed from countless sword energies, pierced through the red sword energy of [God's Evasion] and pointed directly at Shanks himself.

Xia Zuo never intended to simply take a beating; he always thought about counterattacking, even at the cost of mutual destruction.

When the blue-white divine bird's long beak struck Shanks, the red [Divine Evasion] sword energy also shattered the divine bird's body, wings, and long legs, engulfing Shanks.

boom-!!

A muffled explosion rang out, and on the half of the ice field that had been shattered by [Divine Evasion], [Waterbird Soaring] tore open an incredibly wide crack, splitting all the broken ice in two, like a huge fissure in the sea.

On the other half of the ice field, the [Divine Evasion], which had been completely detonated, created a huge mushroom cloud of ice dust. The once intact ice field was almost completely evaporated, leaving only a dozen or so small pieces of debris.

These remains were from the dozen or so of the largest icebergs that once stood tall on the ice field.

Borsalino exclaimed in astonishment, "Oh my god, this is incredible! Half of the frozen sea ice sheet has evaporated, and the other half has been completely cleaved in two!"

He complained to the Den Den Mushi, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Shanks is terrifying! If I were hit by his 'Divine Evasion,' I would definitely die!"

The Den Den Mushi suddenly transformed into the likeness of Marshal Sengoku, who clearly pressed his face close to it. Then, his furious voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Damn it!"

"Go quickly and check on Shanks and Shazam's situation. Stop Shanks and rescue Shazam!"

Borsalino dropped his teasing tone and asked, "Marshal, if there's a conflict between stopping Shanks and rescuing Shazo, which should I prioritize?"

Sengoku paused for a moment, then said, "Prioritize rescuing Lieutenant Colonel Natsu."

Admiral Kizaru silently breathed a sigh of relief, then replied with a slightly cynical air, "Yes! Merciful Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

Prioritizing the safety of naval personnel above the interests of the navy—this was the spirit of the Warring States period's master strategist.

It was thanks to such a marshal that the officers and soldiers of the navy were able to unite and work together to face the turbulent waves of the Great Pirate Era.

The Navy not only persevered through immense danger but also rapidly strengthened its forces, once again suppressing the pirates' momentum.

When Akainu Sakazuki took over as Fleet Admiral, his iron-fisted approach to both internal and external affairs caused great chaos in the Navy's morale. Aokiji and Kuzan left, and the morale of all branches collapsed.

No matter how elite Sakazuki's elite troops were, or how ruthless and desperate they were in carrying out their missions, he could not control the chaotic situation.

In the end, Sakazuki had no choice but to ask the Five Elders for help.

The World Government had no choice but to launch an unprecedented massive conscription, even elevating two civilians to the rank of admiral, doubling the size of the navy. Only in this way could they barely maintain the navy's presence on the seas and preserve the bottom line of order.

After that, not only did the Five Elders realize that Sengoku's policies were correct, but even Akainu Sakazuki changed, no longer blindly being tough and ruthless, and his so-called "complete justice" became just empty talk.

In the end, even the iron-blooded Akainu succumbed to reality. It wasn't that his temperament had weakened, but rather that the immense weight of the Navy on his shoulders as Fleet Admiral prevented him from acting according to his own personality.

Borsalino transformed into a golden ray of light, spiraling downwards to show Yasopp in the distance that he had no intention of attacking.

As they descended through the thick white mushroom cloud, Borsalino finally saw the outcome of the battle.

As expected, Shanks won.

Did Shanks win?