"You're strong. Surprisingly strong."
The golden ripples in front of Shanks vanished instantly, broken apart by an invisible force.
Unlike Jigen's flashy moves, Shanks looked plain and simple, yet the pressure coming from him was terrifying.
Especially here, in the heart of the Red Line, Shanks hadn't even released his Conqueror's Haki yet. Just his presence alone was enough to break down the surrounding forces.
But that didn't mean Jigen was weak. On the contrary, Jigen was very strong.
"You're the first person I've met who has a will on the same level as mine."
Shanks wasn't exaggerating. To be honest, Isshiki and Jigen were both far from ordinary.
Isshiki might be a lunatic, a mentally twisted Otsutsuki, but his status and strength were real. Not just anyone could bring along a Ten Tails like he did.
As for Jigen, there was nothing more to say. Even when he was suppressed by Isshiki, Jigen's strong will kept his original spirit intact.
The two kept tormenting each other for so long.
Just from that alone, it was clear that both Isshiki and Jigen had unbelievably strong wills.
But still, it wasn't enough. Even such strong wills couldn't compare to Shanks.
Normally, the clash of such strong wills would only end with both sides being destroyed because they were too powerful.
In fact, more than ten years after the Fourth Ninja War, Jigen truly died, and Isshiki fully took over his body. From that moment, Isshiki's will also started to fade away.
But now, in this era, because of Shanks' appearance, Isshiki and Jigen's convictions were awakened again.
In the end, after Isshiki bowed his head, Jigen's true will acknowledged his old rival who had been with him for thousands of years.
Their wills broke through despair together.
After that fight in the Land of Wind with Jiraiya, Jigen and Isshiki's wills and beliefs merged into one. A greater dream became their shared goal.
And not long ago, Isshiki even gave up his Otsutsuki identity. Because of that, their bodies started to merge, and their life force began to rebuild itself.
An unbreakable will, the strongest Armament Haki in the world… and a body beyond normal human limits.
Right now, the Jigen standing before Shanks was the strongest opponent he had ever faced in this world—so strong that he came alone to face him.
"Hahaha, is that so? Still, compared to you, Shanks, I'm a little behind, aren't I?"
Hearing Shanks' words, Jigen replied with pride. Being acknowledged by Shanks felt good.
"As the strongest man in the world, the one with the greatest Conqueror's Haki, the best Taijutsu, and the best swordsmanship…
Getting your recognition isn't easy. But still…"
"What I want is more than just your recognition, Shanks."
Jigen's long robe swelled in that moment, and under it were his tense muscles.
His body pushed to the very limit, and the golden Armament Haki bursting from him had even crystallized outside his skin.
"Clang!!"
It sounded like glass shattering. With that crisp sound, the golden-stained clouds in the sky shattered into crystal pieces.
Where Jigen stood, only shattered golden light remained. Crystal-like Armament Haki shards fell onto the deck, standing upright like broken glass.
Among the hundreds of these "glass shards," the scene not far away was reflected.
Jigen, like a raging lion, lunged at Shanks. The space around Shanks tightened, and within that compressed space, golden cracks appeared. The terrifying force directly crushed Shanks' aura.
But within that pressure, Shanks' aura also took on color.
Black and red lightning suddenly appeared, ripping apart the compressed space and shattering Jigen's golden Armament Haki with overwhelming force.
At that moment, the samurai sword in his hand was drawn.
"Clang!!"
The great blade and the samurai sword collided, unleashing a terrifying shockwave from the point of impact. The deck covered in Armament Haki shattered instantly.
Golden ripples spread across the deck, while the figures of Jigen and Shanks fractured in an instant. The "glass shards" stuck in the deck broke apart under the impact, fading into nothingness.
"Boom!!"
An even greater shock followed. The entire ship snapped apart, countless fragments falling from the sky. Jigen's wild, arrogant voice echoed across the heavens.
"Shanks!"
Jigen descended from above, his massive blade aimed straight at the falling Shanks. His face was filled with unshakable pride, fully living up to the name "Golden Lion."
Arrogant, commanding… powerful.
But his opponent was none other than the strongest in the world, the strongest alive.
Looking at the shadow below, looking at Shanks falling with the red earth behind him, Jigen grinned.
This man was like the backdrop of the entire world. He was the only man Jigen acknowledged.
"This New World won't just belong to your red. This sky is destined to be my Golden Lion's gold!"
"Sky Lion!"
Jigen dove down. Behind him, the sky itself caved in, and a massive lion's head of clouds and thunder pressed downward with crushing force.
With that strike, the heavens themselves collapsed. Golden cracks spread across the skies above the Red Line, as if the entire sky was breaking.
Behind the golden lion's head stretched endless black clouds and black-red lightning—Shanks' Conqueror's Haki already in full force.
But Jigen had said it: if he wanted the sky to be gold, then it would be gold.
"You… are worthy of saying that!"
Shanks stepped onto a falling ship fragment, his figure launching toward Jigen, his samurai sword trailing behind.
Compared to Jigen's arrogance, Shanks showed not the slightest sign of backing down. At that moment, his calm face finally changed. That pride of standing above the world returned to him.
For the first time, the arrogance of a true conqueror appeared on him—the kind that looked down on everything with unmatched force.
The reason I, Shanks, treat everyone the same way… is because I am strong enough. Strong enough to look down on all.
Beneath me, commoners, pirates, shinobi, nobles, sages… all are the same.
As for anyone above me? Sorry. From the moment I broke through the will of the world itself, there has never been such a thing as someone above me.
As long as I, Shanks, remain one of the Four Emperors, then no matter how strong anyone else is, at most, they too can only be Four Emperors.
"But that's only enough to make you worthy, Golden Lion!"
"Because the one standing before you… is the man who created a new era, Red-Haired Shanks!"
The skies of the New World may shine with gold.
But what has been dyed red… is not just the New World.
It is this entire era.
The power that had been building inside Shanks for so long finally burst out. That so-called Conqueror's Haki wasn't about the storm clouds or lightning in the sky.
At that moment, Jigen felt his skin crawl. The Shanks beneath him looked like a terrifying beast.
For an instant, Jigen thought the entire earth trembled, like the pounding of a heartbeat, and even his own chest jolted with it.
That chilling pressure… that fearsome force that even he found terrifying.
"Shhhrrkk!!"
Countless streaks of black and red lightning shot up from the ground. Along with the lightning, red sand lifted into the air as the earth cracked, chunks of broken land floating out of control.
Twisting plasma gathered around Shanks's katana. Just the heat of that plasma was enough to sting Jigen's face.
The crystal-like golden Armament Haki covering him started to shatter—and this was exactly what Jigen wanted: a real fight against Shanks.
"Slash!!"
A massive lion's head swung down with golden blade light, and Shanks struck as well. In the instant his blade cut through, Jigen felt like he was being dragged alive into an endless abyss.
But it wasn't an illusion.
That terrifying plasma, carried by Shanks's slash, ripped open space itself. Even inside the torn rift, more plasma poured outward.
From a distance, Shanks's strike looked like it broke apart, the blade light shattering into chunks, like black-and-red pixels.
But inside those fragments were deadly plasma and sharp, cutting power.
"Boom!!"
The two attacks collided. Jigen's strike was cut apart instantly, the giant lion's head shattered completely by Shanks's lightning-filled slash.
The rising bolts of electricity wiped out all the leftover shockwaves from Jigen's attack.
After the blinding gold light faded, the two halves of the ship hanging in the sky came crashing straight down.
"Shanks, as expected of you… such overwhelming strength. Defeating you really isn't easy."
"You're not weak either, Golden Lion."
Shanks's figure burst out of the golden glow, lightning still wrapped around him, his pupils burning with the will to fight.
So far, only the man in front of him had pushed him to fight like this.
"Clang!!"
Their blades clashed. Jigen's strength wasn't small, but at that moment, even holding his sword steady was difficult.
But the sword wasn't the real problem—it was Shanks's fist.
In the next instant, Shanks's left fist slammed straight into Jigen's face.
"Conqueror's… Fist Gun!"
Boom!
The dull impact exploded between the shards of golden clouds.
The golden crystals covering Jigen's face shattered instantly.
The terrifying force pierced through him. Jigen's head snapped back helplessly, his pupils fading into emptiness.
But the next moment, his eyes contracted again—his awareness snapped back. Blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth, and through that haze of red, Jigen saw what had fallen from the ship he'd been holding aloft.
Countless stones crashed down from the broken vessel…
And as the stones collided, they released a strange kind of chakra.
In that instant, not only Jigen, but Shanks too, felt that familiar power.
"Damn it!!"
Seeing the endless Grail Stones behind them, the two shouted at the same time.
Shanks knew this too well. He had already been blown up by one once, so he understood just how terrifying its power was. And it wasn't just the surface-level force.
The key was that these stones carried the will of the world. When they exploded, they triggered an explosion of will itself—basically true damage.
As for Jigen, he had no idea such things were even here.
To block Shanks' Observation Haki, Dark had arranged all of this.
Since Jigen didn't know about them, Shanks wouldn't know either. No matter how strong Shanks' Observation Haki was, it might not protect him.
But the problem now wasn't whether Shanks could defend himself—Jigen might not survive it either.
"Buzz!!"
A violent spatial tremor shook everything, and in the next instant, the two of them vanished from their spot.
"Boom!!"
The massive explosion shook the entire Red Continent. The ground at its center sank down several feet under the crushing force.
A terrifying power spread out. Shanks looked up at the dark sky—real cracks in space itself. The whole sky turned black.
The land kept sinking, the center of the Red Continent being pressed and compacted by the overwhelming force.
"Dark, huh? You almost succeeded again!"
Shanks looked at the fragments of stone on his shoulder, still glowing faintly with chakra—natural chakra.
The fragments slid off, revealing a deep wound down to the bone, blood running down his left arm.
"As expected, carrying this name is really unlucky for the left hand.
Good thing it was a Grail Stone explosion. If it had been something else, this battlefield wouldn't have ended so simply."
Looking at the hardened ground, Shanks slowly stood up again, his willpower flaring stronger than before.
Stronger—or rather, he had drawn back a part of his own power.
On the other side, Jigen, with tattered clothes, threw off the ruined cloak, revealing a muscular body.
White markings ran across his skin—marks from the fusion of Isshiki and Jigen's body.
At the same time, the golden light scattered around began to gather, and Jigen's will fully erupted. Isshiki had completely released his power within Jigen.
Their wills fused together. The arrogance once on Jigen's face was gone. His eyes were calm and firm, carrying a deep aura of contempt for everything around him.
This was the complete Jigen.
If "Naruto" was the story of Naruto with Kurama inside him, and "Boruto" was the story of Boruto with Otsutsuki Momoshiki inside him—
Then Jigen was different. His body was the true union of two beings, and his will was also fused as one.
But Jigen handed over the reins entirely to Isshiki, trusting this ambitious powerhouse.
"Shanks, I will not lose to you. I will win!!"
Fragments and blood scattered as Jigen grabbed his great blade and leapt once more.
The arc of his sword swung down. Jigen didn't hold back, slashing wildly with his weapon.
Each strike went beyond the world's limits, powered by a terrifying will. Every slash carried strength that exceeded the world itself.
His blade grew faster. And so did Shanks'.
Red and gold clashed across the land. The earth below stayed crimson, while above, the sky had already turned completely black.
But he… can win!!
"Fruit… Awakening!"
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