Just now, both of them were relying on their basic skills: Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and sword techniques.
"Not bad, Red Hair," White Ghost said, swinging his great treasure sword towards Shanks. A 20-meter-long sword qi flew diagonally towards Red Hair.
"A Swordsman?" Red Hair raised an eyebrow, simultaneously brandishing his sword and unleashing a similar sword qi.
The two sword qis collided with a "bang," exploding between them.
"Hmm?" White Ghost sensed that his sword qi was slightly weaker than Red Hair's.
White Ghost, not believing it, unleashed another wave of sword qi and immediately charged forward.
Shanks watched another wave of sword qi fly towards him and quickly met it. Sensing White Ghost charging behind the sword qi, he gritted his teeth and directly engaged in a clash.
The Base Commander arrived at the port with his men, watching the back-and-forth battle between the two, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Evacuate the nearby civilians, retreat 200 meters back. This kind of battle is not something we can interfere with."
The constant clanging of blades echoed as Shanks's sword grazed his opponent's face, its sword qi cutting through the stones behind.
After dodging the slash, White Ghost, unwilling to show weakness, immediately swept his great treasure sword horizontally across.
Shanks quickly parried, but he still suffered from the difference in strength and was forced back a considerable distance.
Shanks realized that his swordsmanship foundation was better than his opponent's, but he was at a disadvantage in terms of physical combat. It seemed he could only find an opportunity to retreat.
Noticing Red Hair's intention to flee, White Ghost directly launched a fierce assault, laughing loudly, "Hahahaha, Shanks, don't even think about running! Fight me properly, or I'll chase you all the way to the Grand Line."
Red Hair's expression darkened, "You bastard, it seems today we'll have to fight to the death."
"Hahahaha, come on, Shanks! To possess such power and not use it in battle would be a terrible waste!"
"Brute!" Saying so, Shanks also fiercely clashed with White Ghost.
For a moment, sword qis flew wildly, and both moved so fast that bystanders' eyes couldn't keep up.
"Hmm? Are they both starting to get serious?" Beckman said.
Uta, puzzled, looked up and asked, "Weren't they always fighting seriously?"
Beckman shook his head, "You're still young, so you wouldn't understand. They were both testing each other, observing each other's weaknesses. Now, they are truly fighting seriously."
Uta: "Eh...!"
Uta watched the two on shore with wide eyes; it was indeed much more intense than before.
She couldn't clearly see their figures, only the wild flying sword qis. One moment a box there would be split in half, the next a stone would be completely pulverized.
"Ding..." White Ghost, holding his great treasure sword, slashed down from above at Red Hair.
Shanks struggled to block from below. As White Ghost exerted force, a deep pit immediately appeared beneath Shanks's feet.
"Shanks..." Uta cried out when she saw this, her small face filled with worry.
"Don't worry."
Yasopp next to her spoke, "You have to believe in the boss. Shanks has never disappointed anyone."
"Cough..." Shanks suddenly exerted force, directly pushing White Ghost away. Immediately after, Shanks was seen gripping his sword with both hands, pulling it back.
Seeing this, White Ghost in the air widened his eyes, thinking, "No way."
Then he gripped his great treasure sword tightly with both hands, putting all his strength into a downward slash.
Shanks gripped his long sword tightly, his eyes fixed on White Ghost in the air. He suddenly charged forward, the Haki covering his sword visibly flowing slowly.
"Kami Haki!"
"Damn it, it really is that move!"
At this point, he had no time to change his move and could only grit his teeth and endure.
"Ding..." A second later, White Ghost was seen screaming and flying backward.
"Bang, bang, bang!" White Ghost's body crashed through a large pile of boxes, and for a moment, dust permeated the air.
"We won!" Seeing this, the Red Hair Pirates cheered.
The Marines all had their mouths agape, their gazes fixed on the battlefield ahead.
"He lost! Lieutenant Commander Bai Gui is so strong, yet he was defeated by a pirate!" The Marines looked ahead in disbelief.
"Ahhh... Are pirates really this terrifying now?"
"Everyone shut up! White Ghost hasn't lost yet!" The Base Commander roared loudly.
He feared the emotions would spread, causing bigger problems.
After speaking, he immediately looked towards the smoke, thinking, "Stand up, White Ghost, show me the same ruthlessness you had when fighting Vice Admiral Garp."
He knew that Vice Admiral Garp had returned twice over the years, and each time he would mentor Darth Bai Gui.
The battle scenes were unbearable to watch. He saw White Ghost charge at Vice Admiral Garp again and again, and saw White Ghost fly backward again and again.
That kind of unyielding fighting will still gave him cold sweats when he recalled it now.
"Hoo~" Shanks also kept his eyes on the front. He had originally intended to run, but before he could move, a wave of Observation Haki enveloped him.
"Hoo..." White Ghost gasped for breath, supporting himself with his hands on the ground as he stood up, looking at Shanks in front of him.
He muttered to himself, "Sakura Flow? Tsk, I thought it was Conqueror's Haki Coating. I thought Shanks had already mastered Conqueror's Haki Coating at this stage. That stance really startled me."
"Tsk..." He reached out and touched the sword wound on his chest, then dabbed some blood with his finger and licked it, tasting a coppery sweetness.
"Hahahaha, well done, Shanks! I didn't expect you to have already mastered Flowing Sakura Haki.
You didn't use it at first, and only used it now, making me suffer a loss, hahahaha."
The people on the pirate ship couldn't laugh.
This... Is the scar on that man's chest fake? Why is he still laughing like nothing happened?
Brother, the wound on your chest is still bleeding. Are you sure you want to keep laughing like this? Aren't you afraid of just dying?
The Marines also cheered loudly, "Lieutenant Commander Bai Gui hasn't lost! Oh ho!"
"Shut up, you idiots! Don't disturb White Ghost's battle!" The Base Commander relaxed and focused on watching the battle ahead.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go up and fight the other members of the Red Hair Pirates, but White Ghost had said earlier that it would be useless no matter how many people went up. He could only grit his teeth and watch the battle, hoping White Ghost would win.
Shanks looked at White Ghost in front of him, panting, "I didn't expect your physique to be so strong."
White Ghost laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, in this world where the strong prey on the weak, if you don't have a strong physique, you won't live long at all."
Then he looked at Shanks with burning eyes. After fighting for half a day, his Armament Haki had improved by a level, and his Observation Haki was almost there. Would his physique and Haki continue to increase if they kept fighting?
Shanks's heart skipped a beat when he saw that look in his eyes.
This is...? The eyes of a madman, the same eyes as Bullet on his ship.
"Here I come, Soru!" White Ghost charged forward with his sword.
He attacked Shanks with horizontal sweeps, vertical slashes, direct thrusts, and upward thrusts.
"This madman!" Shanks quickly retaliated. His momentum didn't decrease but increased. Was his previous slash fake?
"Ding ding ding, clang clang clang," the sound of clashing swords was incessant as the two exchanged blows rapidly.
White Ghost shouted as he fought, "Put some more effort into it, Shanks! Keep using that Flowing Sakura Haki! Don't hold back, hahahaha."
"Madman." Red Hair cursed inwardly as he looked at White Ghost's crazed appearance.
"Hmph!" White Ghost slashed at him with his great treasure sword.
"Ding!"
"Hm?" White Ghost suddenly felt a surge of Haki coming from Shanks's sword, which then entered his body.
The pain was exceptionally clear, but he could distinctly feel his Haki and physique improving little by little.
Immediately, White Ghost's gaze towards Shanks grew even more insane, "A master? Tsk tsk tsk, then I'll make good use of it."
White Ghost suddenly exerted force, a powerful blow directly sending Shanks flying, then he slashed down.
"Miracle Slash!"
Shanks rolled twice on the ground, then flipped and jumped away.
With a "boom," a large pit appeared directly on the ground.
"Tsk, that move."
Red Hair also directly unleashed a "Kami Haki."
"Hmph!" White Ghost didn't dodge but counterattacked, frantically channeling Armament Haki into his great treasure sword, discarding his defensive Haki, and engaging in a direct clash.
The great treasure sword collided with the slash produced by Flowing Sakura Haki.
With a bang, White Ghost gritted his teeth, his face contorted in a ferocious roar, "Break for me!"
"Boom!" As he increased his strength, he directly cut through the slash.
"This madman..." Shanks's expression turned grim.
"He cut, he cut, he cut it open! He cut through Shanks's slash! Is this guy even human?" The people on the pirate ship all had their mouths wide open, looking over with disbelief.
Uta's face grew even more worried. Shanks, you must win.
At the same time, she also looked at the very handsome and enduring Marine Lieutenant Commander, wondering what she was thinking.
On the Marine side, "Oh ho, Lieutenant Commander Bai Gui is too powerful! He's an idol, ho ho ho!" A group of Marines cheered wildly.
The Colonel also looked at White Ghost, feeling even more admiration. This guy, he hadn't expected him to grow to this extent. His old face showed relief.
"Heh~ heh~ heh~" White Ghost panted heavily, looking at Shanks, a smile playing on his lips, "Continue..."
Shanks also panted heavily, looking at the opponent he had met a few years ago.
He hadn't expected that not only had he grown, but others had also grown.
"Hmm?"
"Hmm?"
White Ghost and Shanks both frowned simultaneously.
...