At this moment, Shanks's famed sword Gryphon collided with Elior's Enma. The impact instantly shattered the coast around them for dozens of meters in every direction.
And this was not even a proper warm-up.
"You want to take over this world? You're insane… but this world isn't as simple as you think!"
"One day, you'll pay the price for your madness—and you'll regret it in the end!"
Shanks frowned, expression tense and grim.
He understood perfectly well: Elior's actions were all heading toward the same ambition Rocks once had —the throne of King of the World. Captain Roger had spoken of Rocks many times… that same madman who tried to stand above all things, only to die with bitterness in his heart.
And now, Elior resembled Rocks more than anyone else.
However, Shanks hadn't yet realized something even more terrifying:
Elior wasn't just as strong as Rocks—he was far stronger.
And Rocks did not fall only because of strength. His downfall came from an even deeper issue: the Rocks Pirates were nothing more than a loose collection of monsters who would betray him at any moment.
But Elior… Elior's crew did not have that weakness.
"I will become the King of this World. Unfortunately, you won't live long enough to see it."
Elior smiled with unshakable confidence. The next instant, the clash between them sent both men flying back over ten meters.
They kicked off the ground again, the sheer force shattering the already-broken terrain even further. In a flash, they shot toward each other once more—faster than lightning, faster than the eye could follow.
Gryphon was wrapped in swirling blue-purple currents, while Enma was coated in turbulent dark-red energy.
The instant the two blades collided again, the opposing auras exploded violently. The air twisted. The shattered earth split apart even further.
Shanks was overwhelmingly powerful — a swordsman worthy of the title Yonko. The world constantly underestimated him.
And his mastery of all three forms of Haki was monstrous.
As they clashed, the clouds that Elior had previously scattered now gathered again—not to rain, but to split apart violently.
A massive, bottomless ravine opened in the sky as if the heavens themselves were cut in half.
This was the unmistakable sign of two overwhelming Conqueror's Haki users colliding.The same phenomenon had occurred when Shanks once confronted Whitebeard.
"If you die by my hand, at least you'll die with your eyes open, right?"
Elior didn't care what Shanks thought of him. In Elior's eyes, Shanks was already a corpse.
And he would die today.
Another clash of blades sent Shanks flying once more.
"What… unbelievable power!"
Shanks was shaken. He could tell: the monster in front of him hadn't even begun to fight seriously. Elior was still warming up.
He hadn't unleashed his full strength.
Their battle tore deeper into the island, leaving the coastline behind.Each clash destroyed everything within at least a fifteen-meter radius.
Their movements and attacks were impossibly fast—shockwaves ripped through the island, blasting debris everywhere. Even Shanks's own men were being knocked unconscious or injured by the aftershocks alone.
"You truly live up to your reputation — the strongest one-armed man on the seas. Even with just one arm, your power is terrifying."
Elior smiled, but it was pure mockery.
He had no intention of "holding back a hand" to be fair.Elior would never handicap himself for honor.
"How long do you think you can keep acting so arrogantly on these seas?"
Shanks growled, though pressure began to weigh on him.
Elior's power was beyond anything he had imagined.
He was roughly the same age as Luffy, yet he possessed strength exceeding the world's greatest monsters. Elior and Luffy weren't even comparable beings.
And as a former Celestial Dragon, Shanks knew very well that far above, in the depths of Mary Geoise, lay a power even more ancient and overwhelming.
A power accumulated over hundreds of years.
Given time, Shanks could already foresee the outcome:
If Elior attacked Mary Geoise one day, and confronted that power… his arrogance would vanish instantly.
"I can keep being arrogant for a long time. You, however, won't be around to see it."
Elior sneered, dismissing Shanks's warning.
He raised Enma. Dark-red energy surged along the blade.
With one swift motion, he unleashed a massive half-moon slash that tore through the earth as it sped toward Shanks.
Shanks didn't dodge. He charged forward, swinging his own crescent slash.
The two slashes collided—
BOOM!
A massive explosion obliterated everything within a hundred-meter radius.The ground was pulverized into dust.
Shanks's slash disintegrated instantly.
But Elior's slash kept going.
"What—!"
From the smoke and shockwave, the surviving slash tore forward like lightning and struck Shanks directly.
He hadn't expected it—his attack should have neutralized Elior's.
But reality proved otherwise.
The slash smashed into him and launched him like a human cannonball.
Shanks was sent flying like a rocket, coughing up blood—three violent sprays of crimson erupting from his mouth as he soared through the air.