After the roar, the ice field fell into a long, dead silence.
From the fading blaze, only one man stood, his body wrapped in thick Conqueror's Haki, exhaling a puff of hot breath.
Armament Haki: Hardening, you little brat!
He'd taken a direct hit from over 2,000 degrees of heat and didn't even flinch—no burns, no scorch marks.
Then the Armament Haki coating his body pulled back, condensing even denser around his famed blade, Gryphon.
The sword's surface glowed with a dark, eerie light. Wavy blade patterns pulsed silently, mocking the opponent in front of him.
I'll give you this—your heat is a hard counter to swords. But what if it meets my Haki?
"Man, that's scary," Shanks said with a grin, holding his sword sideways and sighing lightly. "We're friends, you know. Do you really have to go this hard?"
"Ha!"
Sakura clapped her hands together. Massive ice spikes surged up from the ground, forming in an instant while she rapidly put distance between herself and Shanks.
Armament Haki, flying slashes spanning hundreds of meters, swordsmanship learned from Captain Roger...
A guy with all that going on absolutely deserved the title of Great Swordsman. And everyone knows—getting cut by a swordsman hurts like hell!
"No running! Today you either let me land one clean slash, or I drag you back to the ship. Pick one!"
Dark thunder cracked again. With a cocky smirk, Shanks shot toward Sakura on the ice like a bolt of lightning.
"Shanks, you pervert! Divine punishment!"
Explosive power roared to life. Boil Release ignited her chakra into soaring flames of light.
A never-before-seen storm swept the sky. Violent shockwaves burst from the Storm Sword in her hands, spreading outward and coating everything.
"Elbaf Spear: Weiguo!"
Pure impact tore through the air with a shrill cry. A flaming sword wave transformed into a sky-piercing spear.
Crush, rage, destroy everything. The massive spiraling blast sealed off every one of Shanks' escape routes—no dodging possible.
"Don't underestimate me, Arashi no Tamashii!"
Amid the thunderous clash, crimson sword light surged with violence and hunger, eager to obliterate everything in sight.
Shanks, facing Sakura head-on, grinned wide. That face—equally drenched in dominance—let out a booming laugh, wild and terrifying!
The back he'd chased since childhood... now, finally, a chance to surpass it. How could that not get his blood pumping?!
BOOM!!!
In that instant, a hurricane erupted out of nowhere—sweeping, spreading.
Ring-shaped cracks spiderwebbed from beneath their feet. Flickering light rose from the ice, then exploded.
The shockwave rocked the Red Force, freed from the shattering ice, pitching it up and down.
"These two are way too much!"
Jesus Burgess hefted his sniper rifle, blasting away massive ice chunks slamming into the hull.
"Hey, Jesus! Cover that guy's ship too, will ya?"
Lucky Roux, having just smashed an ice slab back into the sea, yelled over his shoulder.
"Ugh, fine!"
Reloading with quick hands, Jesus leaped to the top of the mast and opened fire on the ice chunks heading for the Leviathan.
While his crewmates handled the fallout, Lucky plopped down on the deck and let out a breath.
All that action had worked up an appetite. Time to refuel with some steak.
"Hey, Beckman—who do you think's gonna win?"
"No idea. But I do know that woman hasn't used Armament Haki once this whole fight."
Beckman's single sentence killed the debate. The Red Hair Pirates' second and third in command went dead silent.
Storm center.
Sakura locked blades with Shanks while using her powers to stabilize the ice below, preventing a collapse that could trigger a tsunami and sink her own ship.
"Ouch, that stings—Haki's seeping under my skin?"
The Storm Sword sparked against Shanks' black blade again. Sakura pulled back, creating distance.
"So, ready to give up?"
Shanks gripped his sword with both hands. In a split second, he unleashed thirteen flying slashes—and that still wasn't his limit.
Surging sword pressure slashed wildly, weaving into an airtight net.
"Hah? Surrender to a scrub like you? Not happening!"
One hand blocked Shanks' incoming flying slashes. With the other, between two fingers, ninja techniques began to shine.
Forming half a Tiger seal, Yang Release chakra—honed from medical ninjutsu—flowed into the ice beneath her feet and the flames in the air, breathing life into the lifeless.
Yang Release: Grant Form Life!
She couldn't create true life like the Sage of Six Paths, or heal unconsciously like Hashirama.
But as a result of her research into Yang Release chakra through medical ninjutsu, giving physical form to matter and turning it into puppets under her control? That was easy.
This move also marked a new stage in her fusion of Devil Fruit and ninjutsu. And the man in front of her was about to be the first victim.
ROAR!
Massive beasts writhed into existence, crawling out of fire and ice, jaws wide, howling at Shanks.
In his stunned gaze, a ferocious army of beasts formed up—then swarmed forward, guarding their queen at the center.
"Are you kidding me? Your power is heat manipulation, right? Who's the one with the ice fruit here? Even that monster Vice Admiral in the Marines doesn't play like this!"
He raised a hand, scattering sword light across the pale sea. But a dark crimson comet was already streaking toward him!
Swallowing and spitting flickering Haki like a flash of light, Shanks tore through the air, closing in on Sakura.
"Divine Avoidance!"
CLANG!
His longsword, trailing gorgeous scarlet, swept horizontally, slicing the towering beast horde clean in half. Rainbow light flashed in the beasts' eyes before they exploded!
"Not done yet!"
Sakura clapped her hands. Violent shockwaves spread, buying her other beasts precious time. Dozens completed the encirclement of Shanks.
Claws bared, fangs sharpened, they lunged at the red-haired man in the center.
Shanks, coated in Haki, looked unfazed. He raised his sword and swung forward.
No sharp flying slashes shot out from the pack—but the fire-and-ice beasts suddenly tripped mid-charge.
They slid to a stop in front of him, the blue light in their eyes fading.
"Huh?"
From that brief ripple, Sakura sensed the Yang Release infused in her creations had been disrupted.
By... a clash of wills!
"Conqueror's Haki... can be used like that?"
"You've still got a lot to learn!"
Shanks swung, Gryphon crackling with lightning, crossing the distance in an instant to reach Sakura.
She raised her right hand and hurled a black cherry-blossom kunai at him.
Observation Haki easily tracked its path. Shanks tilted his head, smirking slyly. "Hey, you're not seriously thinking this thing—"
Whoosh!
Space-time light burst forth. The target Shanks stabbed shattered into an afterimage.
Flying Thunder God: Second Step, you little punk!
In the freezing cold and terrifying heat that swallowed everything, Shanks turned mechanically, his face frozen in shock.
"I think... I'm about to die?!"