The violent wind cut across Law's face like a gale, yet it only made the smile on his face grow even more wicked.
"It's useless, Sir Shanks."
Now that he held the advantage, Law's bearing beca graceful once more. He chuckled at Shanks, who was gritting his teeth.
"Give up resisting. Your Conqueror's Haki is indeed powerful, but how many attacks can it block?"
"And with the poison in your chest, as long as I keep dragging this out, the victor of this battle will inevitably be ."
"So why waste ti? Why not surrender on your own?"
"Surrender?"
Although the blade in his hand was constantly being pressed down by Law, and the poison in his chest made his mind—already struck by the psychic impact—ache even more, Shanks still raised the corners of his mouth and laughed with carefree ease.
"If Luffy found out I surrendered to one of his subordinates, I'd never have the right to ask him for that straw hat back again!"
"And besides, brat… isn't it a little too arrogant to say you've already won?"
"I am… Red-Haired Shanks!!!"
Boom!!!
A powerful aura suddenly erupted from Shanks's body, directly smashing apart Law's psychic impact. It then flowed into the saber in his hand, adding another asure of sword force to it out of thin air.
The sudden burst of power caught Law completely off guard, and Shanks actually began forcing him back instead.
"How is this possible?!"
Law's eyes widened as he stared at Shanks, who had suddenly broken through his limits.
But imdiately afterward, the corner of Law's mouth also rose.
"As expected of you!"
"To think you could break through on the spot under the pressure I gave you. No wonder Lord Red said you were an incredible guy!"
"But before an absolute gap in power, everything you do is aningless!!!"
Bang!
Vast Psychic Power erupted from Law's body once again. After repeated battles, he had already consud a great deal of stamina, but that did not an his combat power would decline!
More importantly, he had already created such an innate advantage for himself. If he still could not smoothly take down his opponent, then wouldn't everything he had worked for up until now beco a complete joke?!
At this mont, Law no longer held anything back.
The Toxic had already taken effect. Against Shanks, who had no antidote or thod of detoxification, there was no need for restraint.
Surging ntal energy once again ford a psychic impact and clashed against Shanks's Conqueror's Haki.
For a mont, relying on the innate advantage of Psychic Power, Law actually fought Shanks to a draw in this contest of aura.
And once Shanks's aura could no longer play an obvious role in the battle, Law, who possessed "Shanks's power," once again gained the upper hand!
"Haah!!!"
With a roar like one of fury, Law's expression turned ferocious, and the cursed blade Kikoku in his hand once again blood with dazzling lightning.
Unlike the small skirmishes from before, this ti Law was truly staking everything on one throw. Afraid that Shanks might burst through his limits again, might rise again, he had to completely defeat him with this strike and give him no chance to get back up.
"F-ROOM · Poison Shadow Operation!!!"
A mass of venomous liquid suddenly surged over Law's arm, then flowed along and attached itself to the red-veined blade of Kikoku.
The next instant, Kikoku in Law's hand suddenly shrank by a section.
At Shanks's side, however, another cursed blade Kikoku, coated in thick poison, abruptly appeared and stabbed violently toward Shanks's body.
"What?!"
Shanks had never expected Law to still have such a move hidden, and he was caught completely off guard.
With only one arm, he did not even have the ability to stretch out a hand to block it. In an instant, the sharp blade pierced straight through him.
Although the defense of Armant Haki weakened the force behind Kikoku's attack sowhat, the sharp blade, under the effect of the Devil Fruit power, still pierced into Shanks's body. Then it suddenly lengthened, directly running through his body from side to side, the purple, razor-sharp tip stabbing out from the other side of his waist.
Strangely, even though the blade had pierced through Shanks's body, not a single trace of blood flowed out.
"Urgh…"
Yet at that mont, pain crossed Shanks's face, and he let out a soft groan.
The skin where Kikoku had pierced through his body was suddenly covered in a deep purple hue.
Swish!
The next instant, the duplicate Kikoku vanished. But Shanks's waist had likewise been infected by the poison, and on a large scale at that. It looked as though it would soon connect with the constantly spreading poison on his chest.
"I refuse to believe that even like this, you can co back from the dead!"
Seeing that his underhanded sneak attack had succeeded, joy flashed through Law's eyes.
He imdiately surged with all the power in his body, seizing the instant when Shanks was in pain and unleashing it all upon him.
At the sa ti, the condensed Psychic Power suddenly transford into a long spear. Taking advantage of Shanks's montary lapse, it pierced through his Haki shield in one blow and drove straight into Shanks's ntal sea.
Whoosh…
Bang!!!
In an instant, Shanks's figure flew backward like a teor, smashing through several rocky mountain walls before finally crashing hard into the base of the World Tree, blasting a huge crater into its body.
"It should be… over now, right?"
Whoosh—
A dazzling white radiance blood over Law's body.
However, this light was not the light of evolution from Pokémon-ization. Rather, after multitasking on so many fronts at once, Law had consud too much stamina and could no longer maintain his Pokémon-ization, forcing him to revert.
After returning to his normal state, Law did not imdiately drink a Super Potion to recover his stamina.
Unlike Caribou, who treated Super Potions as tactical reserves, Law did not want to use such a bug-like item on a battlefield like this today.
Perhaps, deep in his heart, this was his respect for Shanks as a powerful warrior.
Fortunately, the thing Law was worried about did not happen.
A figure suddenly rushed out from the giant formation at high speed, quickly arriving beside the fallen Shanks and pouring a bottle of Antidote into his mouth.
That figure was none other than Shanks's right-hand man, the vice-captain of the Red Hair Pirates, Benn Beckman.
Having not suffered too many injuries to begin with, after drinking a Super Potion, Beckman had already returned to peak condition.
The instant Law saw Benn Beckman appear, he also poured a bottle of Super Potion into his mouth, restoring his depleted body.
Because he understood…
The victor of this battle was him!
...
...
"Shanks… has been defeated…"
In the New World, within a calm sea under Whitebeard's command.
Aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, the Moby Dick.
Looking at the image of that figure who had smashed an enormous crater into the World Tree, Whitebeard sighed softly, his expression complicated.
Around him, the various division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates also widened their eyes one by one, staring in disbelief at Moria, who had already begun arrogantly declaring that the winners of this arena battle were the Straw Hat Pirates—and that Elbaf now belonged to them.
Although the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates had co into contact with Pokémon power very early on, and after Whitebeard blocked the Five Elders for them the first ti, Red had even generously loaded Pokémon templates onto quite a few Whitebeard Pirates…
They were not mbers of the Straw Hat Pirates, after all. Whether in terms of information, cultivation resources, or the training and conversion of Pokémon moves, they were far inferior to the Straw Hats' own people.
So when they saw Law use Pokémon power to defeat Shanks, they were all greatly shocked. None of them had imagined that the mysterious power hidden within their bodies could erupt with such terrifying might.
"Pops, looks like the sky's about to change."
At that mont, Marco, who was closest to Whitebeard, suddenly glanced sideways and chuckled, eting Whitebeard's eyes.
When Whitebeard, who had still been sighing inwardly, heard Marco's words, his expression froze for an instant before he laughed in relief.
"Yeah. The sky really is about to change."
Whitebeard murmured softly, his gaze drifting toward the distant sea.
It was foreseeable…
After this broadcast ended, everything related to the Straw Hat Pirates would surely be pursued with fanatic enthusiasm across the entire world for so ti to co.
Whether it was the products of the Straw Hats' industries, or the Straw Hat Grand Fleet preparing to expand its ranks.
Perhaps in less than two or three years, the entire sea would be left with only one voice.
Because all other voices would beco weak and isolated.
"I wonder what kind of world that will be?"
Deep in Whitebeard's aging eyes, a faint trace of anticipation flashed.
...
...
anwhile, in Elbaf, the Sun World.
Although every citizen of Elbaf was a warrior, not every giant was qualified to go to the scene.
After all, in a battle of that level, even a single aftershock would be fatal to the weak.
At this mont, in the giant villages on one branch after another of the World Tree, the giants were gathered around screens that, to them, were not all that large—like villagers sitting around the entrance of a village watching television.
When they saw that the final defender, Shanks, had also been defeated, the giants' expressions suddenly lost their vitality. One after another, they looked at each other in silence.
Compared to the World Governnt, which had only been established for a little over eight hundred years, Elbaf's history could be traced back to ancient tis.
Its na for valor had already been passed down thousands, perhaps even several thousand years ago.
The glory of Elbaf was sacred ground in the hearts of every giant of Elbaf.
But today, this sacred land had changed masters.
The mont they thought that from now on, Elbaf would have to beco sothing ruled by others, their hearts could not help but sink.
Yet at that mont, an excited voice suddenly rang out across the silent square, wildly out of place.
"Woohoo!!! The Straw Hat Pirates won!!!"
In an instant, the giants all froze and turned toward the direction of the voice.
Then they saw a young giant with curly pink hair waving the wooden longsword in his hand, excitedly saying to the little friends beside him:
"So from today onward… we count as mbers of the Straw Hat Pirates too, right?!"
The speaker was none other than Colon, the child born between Gaban, the cave wanderer, and the giantess Ripley.
Around Colon sat a group of giant children from Walrus Academy.
After hearing Colon's words, one chubby little boy raised his hand and said directly:
"Hey, hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we form a pirate crew like Hajrudin did and join the Straw Hat Grand Fleet?"
The other giant children imdiately chid in.
"They're all so strong! If we join them, will we be able to beco that strong soday too?!"
"With power, we'll definitely be able to rebuild Elbaf's glory and make the na of the Elbaf giants resound across the world again!"
"Hehehe~ I don't have that many grand ideas. I just want to beat Elder Jarul until his teeth are all over the ground! Who told him to laugh at when I was losing my baby teeth eight years ago? I'm going to laugh back at him!!!"
"..."
"..."
A group of giant brats only twenty or thirty years old gathered together, yet the words coming out of their mouths were practically treasonous.
The giants who heard the children speak were montarily dazed. Then, one by one, they looked at each other with their huge eyes.
"Actually… joining the Straw Hat Pirates doesn't seem all that bad, does it?"
"That's true~ The winner becos king and the loser kneels. If even the children can accept it and look forward to it, maybe there really isn't anything bad about it."
"Perhaps with the help of the Straw Hat Pirates, our future lives might beco even better. After all, they're powerful enough to ta soone like Loki."
"Speaking of that… does this an Loki won't co back to Elbaf in the future? That's wonderful! I support the Straw Hat Pirates' rule with both hands raised!!!"
The originally solemn atmosphere instantly beca cheerful because of the children's words.
The giants, who were not good at staying serious to begin with, soon beca just like the children, beginning to imagine what Elbaf might look like in the future.
...
...
On the battlefield in the Underworld.
With Shanks's defeat, this farce-like arena battle finally ended with the Straw Hat Pirates' overwhelming victory.
What followed was a scene witnessed by the eyes of the entire world: Elder Jarul, representative of Elbaf, declared submission to Moria, representative of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Because he had long since made up his mind, Jarul did not reveal too much humiliation on his face.
Aside from accidentally bumping the great sword stuck in his head while bowing, causing Jarul's head to ache for quite so ti, the formal submission ceremony proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.
Not long afterward, the news that Elbaf had co under the Straw Hat Pirates' command beca known to everyone as the major dia outlets rushed to report it.
Several hours later, Red, who was leading the Straw Hat Pirates in closed-door training, also received the good news from Moria during a mont of rest and established contact with him.
"So that's how it is. I didn't expect Law to have grown to this extent already? Even Shanks was no match for him?"
Listening to Moria's detailed report of the battle, Red repeatedly voiced his admiration.
After all, compared to the Straw Hat crew, the resources and effort he had invested into the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and the others were truly limited.
For them to reach this point with what they had, they had relied entirely on the talent and hard work of the Grand Fleet's captains.
However, Red soon set aside the emotion in his heart and asked Moria about another, even more important matter.
"How is it, Moria?"
"Is the final Road Poneglyph in Elbaf?!"
(End of Chapter)
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