Chapter 393: Shanks: Kuzan, Defect from the Navy
"Defect?"
Mihawk shook his head without emotion. "I became a Warlord purely out of interest. Nothing can bind a swordsman."
As he finished speaking,
his pitch-black blade shattered, splintering into countless sword auras.
This blade—Yoru—though once far from the strongest in the One Piece world,
had undergone reforging and enhancements. After being embedded with the [Ice Soul] divine stone from the Storm World, and millions of contribution points spent,
it had evolved into a swordsman-exclusive weapon on par with a silver-tier armor set.
It merged perfectly with Mihawk's sword intent.
A downpour of emerald-green sword light rained down,
crushing the roaring Flame King into cold, black rubble.
"Navy justice… how could it be overwhelmed by mere pirates?!"
Akainu clenched his jaw,
his cheek slashed by a stray sword aura. Blood splattered across his face, making him look even more fearsome.
He brought his hands together, releasing extreme heat. With a burst of crimson light,
he formed a giant hemispherical magma shield, blocking most of the incoming blades.
"Haven't fought freely in a long time… let me test my newly mastered Demon Blade on you…"
Mihawk leapt into the air.
With sword energy circling him, he hovered in midair, eyes slowly closing.
When they opened again,
his emerald blade aura swiftly turned black and red—dark and terrifying.
"The Seventh Flame King!"
Akainu's eyelids twitched violently. He could feel the overwhelming demonic aura radiating from Mihawk.
It made his hair stand on end,
as if a single swing would mean decapitation.
His magma reserves depleted rapidly, and his body shrunk visibly.
He downed two top-tier recovery potions to stabilize himself.
The air turned thick with ash,
dust drifting like mist, outlining the form of a hellish gate.
A flaming hand slowly reached out.
Flame Kings were part of the demon-type species, lower-tier fire demons.
But some were special.
The first seven Flame Kings born in hell, transcended their race limitations.
They had reached Mid-Tier.
The Seventh was the strongest Flame King Akainu could currently summon.
"Hahaha! As expected from the Navy's finest!"
Mihawk burst into rare, uncontrollable laughter.
Usually reserved, the Demon Blade's influence pushed his battle lust to its peak.
To this day,
Mihawk had used all his reward points from hunting corrupted monsters for two purposes—
forging and enhancing Yoru,
and evolving his [Emerald Flame Sword Seed] into the [Demon Blade].
The Storm World was filled with powerful beings.
Mihawk had apprenticed under the First Evil Emperor, spending over a million contribution points to learn the Nine Forms of the Demon Blade.
[Combat Power: 3000], a true top-tier player.
As long as he held his sword,
he believed he could cut down anything in his path.
"Demonic Rampage!"
A wave of sword light infused with demonic energy slammed into the Hell Gate.
The half-emerged Seventh Flame King slashed with its claws, ripping through space like a curtain, unleashing a flood of lava.
"Dance of the Demons!"
Expressionless, Mihawk shifted his stance and reversed his grip,
then swung sideways.
The moon-shaped aura exploded outward,
cutting through the demon's claws in rippling waves of power.
Demonic energy clashed with lava,
but after a brief deadlock,
the Flame King's claws snapped.
"Crimson Hellfire!"
The Flame King, its flaming head twisted in a demonic chant,
activated a hellfire ritual.
Ash covered the ground, forming a dark ritual array.
Massive pillars of flame erupted like volcanic geysers.
"Sig, contact Kizaru immediately! Mihawk's strength exceeds expectations—we'll need both of us!"
Akainu's brows furrowed. After giving the order,
he raised his magma shield and stood beside the Seventh Flame King.
The battle raged on.
…
"Kuzan, do me a favor—let's call this fight here."
Shanks smiled warmly, looking every bit the approachable, easygoing man he appeared to be.
There was not a hint of killing intent.
Aokiji, having just dispelled his Frost Dragon form, didn't lower his guard.
He looked at Shanks cautiously. "You're here to save Luffy, aren't you?"
This seemingly simple red-haired man
had once stood atop the shattered navy walls, boldly declaring an adventurer's war cry—an equally dangerous figure as Gol D. Roger.
According to naval intel,
Shanks was the strongest Asura class in the entire Reincarnation Game, wielder of the Dark Sky Ripple Eye, master of the Great Dark Heaven—[Combat Power: 3200].
Aokiji, with [2700 Combat Power], could crush Luffy's [1900 Combat Power] crew effortlessly.
But beyond that threshold,
every few hundred points became a vast, insurmountable gulf.
"You're right. Luffy is my friend."
Shanks' smile was genuine. He didn't hide his thoughts.
Even if the Reincarnation Game had twisted fate,
even if Luffy was no longer destiny's chosen one—
the Straw Hats were still adventurers burning with the purest will of freedom.
The Adventurer's Guild existed to protect such sparks of hope, to spread freedom.
There was no way Shanks would let the Navy harm them.
"I see…"
Aokiji's eyes flicked toward Robin, surrounded now by the Straw Hats.
So that was it…
All of Robin's earlier actions—attacking her allies, then surrendering—had been meant to deceive him, to sacrifice herself as bait.
Her tactic wasn't brilliant,
but it worked because his sense of justice had wavered.
He'd failed to notice he was being led by the nose.
But now he understood.
"I suppose I was trying to give the Ohara incident a final chapter…"
Aokiji brushed off the snow from a discarded ice-sled and mounted it.
He looked at Robin and asked,
"So, the Straw Hats are your home now?"
With Shanks here,
capturing the Straw Hats was impossible.
No point in continuing.
Robin said nothing,
but her eyes gave him all the answer he needed.
"Kizaru, Smoker, and Garp will be here soon. Even if you save the Straw Hats, you won't be able to claim the Ghost General's Tomb."
Even Shanks and Mihawk
couldn't take on Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Strategist Tsuru, four Navy Admirals, Iron Fist Garp, and thousands of elite marines all at once.
Not unless they wanted mutual destruction.
The Straw Hats could be spared,
but the Navy could not lose the Ghost General's Tomb—not after the whole world had tuned in to this battle.
Losing it would be a complete humiliation.
But Shanks just waved dismissively. "Doesn't matter."
That was never his goal.
His eyes were on one person—
Aokiji.
With a bright smile, Shanks said,
"Kuzan, become an adventurer."
Silence.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Aokiji didn't respond.
The Straw Hats looked stunned.
They had no idea how Shanks could say something so bold, so suddenly.
"A Marine Admiral… become an adventurer?"
Nami twitched at the corner of her mouth.
As expected of someone who knew Luffy—
they were all equally insane.
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