As they both fully unleashed their Conqueror's Haki, a fierce wind howled, and the surrounding trees bent one after another.
Shanks drew the rapier from his waist, his eyes sharpening.
"Bege, here I come!" Shanks instantly broke into a run, his speed astonishing.
"Bring it on, Shanks!" Bege laughed heartily, likewise drawing his Fire Cloud Sword.
Boom! The two men collided. Their swords clashed, sparks flying, and dark-red lightning crackled around them, growing more intense and spreading outwards. Sharp sword auras erupted from both of them simultaneously.
With another bang, they both recoiled, then instantly re-engaged. They became afterimages, flickering through the forest. Each reappearance was marked by a resonant, powerful impact. Dark-red lightning, carrying a concussive force, swept through the surroundings, pulverizing nearby trees and rocks.
They fought from the ground into the air, their speed pushed to the absolute limit. Eventually, their figures could no longer be clearly seen, only the dark-red lightning generated by their clashes, the sparks and flames from their impacts, and the deafening roars of collision.
Ring after ring of shockwaves continuously swept outwards, forcing Benn Beckman and the others to retreat further.
Two streaks of light plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground and revealing the two combatants.
Sword energy soared from both, smiles on their faces, the will to fight blazing in their eyes.
"Shanks, time for the main course!" Bege roared with laughter. The ferocious aura around him grew even more violent, and a blood-colored qi billowed out, sketching the blood shadow of a colossal, sky-shaking beast behind him.
"This is Sword Intent! The mark of a Great Swordsman! Such an incredibly terrifying Fierce Beast Sword Intent... it's utterly savage!"
Benn Beckman's face was aghast. Under the perception of his Observation Haki, the beast's blood shadow was countless times more ferocious than what could be seen with the naked eye.
Bege's Fire Cloud Sword radiated intense heat, burning with blood-red flames, giving it an exceptionally sinister appearance.
Shanks' expression turned solemn.
"Hawkeye mentioned it before. Your Fierce Sword has already refined a Sword Intent, following the path of the extremely malevolent sword. It's incredibly dangerous. Only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly feel this ultimate ferocity."
Shanks and Hawkeye had sparred several times and had become good friends as a result. Hawkeye had once told him about Bege's Way of the Fierce Beast Sword.
"I've also heard him speak of your sword—the orthodox Royal Hegemon Sword Style. Let me witness the majestic and righteous sword of a king!" Bege's eyes burned with fighting spirit.
In the past three years, he and Hawkeye had fought again. Both had comprehended Sword Intent. His was the 'utmost ferocity,' Hawkeye's the 'utmost sharpness.' In that battle, they had clashed sword against sword for two full days, ultimately ending in a draw. Later, during a conversation, Hawkeye had mentioned Shanks' Royal Sword Style.
"Alright!" Sword energy surged from Shanks, completely different from Bege's extremely fierce sword qi. His was as vast and broad as the ocean, yet it exuded an imposing, domineering pressure that could command all directions.
This was Shanks' King's Sword Intent.
"Shanks, I acknowledge your Sword Intent. Next, I will use my most powerful sword technique!" The fighting spirit in Bege's eyes intensified. The blood-colored qi around him thickened, and his Fierce Beast Sword Intent became even more brutal and savage. The blood shadow of the giant beast behind him seemed to roar and howl, ready to pick its prey and devour it.
He was like a reincarnated Demon God, a prehistoric behemoth capable of annihilating heaven and earth.
Faced with this utterly ferocious Bege, Shanks showed no fear, instead smiling with even greater excitement.
"Beast King!"
Bege took a step forward. Blood-red fire erupted from the Fire Cloud Sword, and a terrifying blood-fire sword aura slashed out, easily tearing open the ground. This single slash forced even Benn Beckman to retreat several steps.
Shanks attacked at the same instant. A bone-white sword aura cut through the void, pushing horizontally forward, and collided thunderously with the blood-fire sword aura. Shanks' sword aura slashed horizontally through the void, while Bege's blood-fire sword aura descended vertically. When they met, they formed a perfect cross.
After a mere moment of collision, they exploded violently.
A world-shaking explosion, like thunder from the Ninth Heaven, resounded throughout the entire island. Nearly half of Purple Grape Island trembled, severely frightening its inhabitants.
Following the collision was a terrifying shockwave. A ring-shaped shockwave pushed out in all directions, flattening hundreds of meters of forest. The sea was thrown into monstrous waves, with violent torrents rolling out even further.
Benn Beckman and the others rapidly retreated again. Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo, and the others even had to use Armament Haki to resist the impact.
However, the previous explosion wasn't the end, but merely the beginning.
Two figures violently tore through the impact wave and clashed once more. This collision was even more astounding. Two terrifying Sword Intents swept out wantonly, sword energy soaring to the heavens. The earth was rent with countless fissures, and an area hundreds of meters wide became a forbidden zone where no living being dared to enter.
"The battle between Great Swordsmen is truly terrifying. A single stray slash or sword aura from in there could take out a pirate worth tens of millions," Benn Beckman and the others had retreated to the edge of a cliff, their expressions grave as they watched the battlefield crisscrossed with sword energy.
"It's also a Great Swordsman-level battle, but why do I feel like this fight between Shanks and Demon Dragon is even more intense than Shanks' previous fights with Hawkeye?" Lucky Roo said in a low voice.
"That's because of their fighting styles. Demon Dragon's style is simpler and cruder than Hawkeye's, so it appears more intense," Benn Beckman explained.
"Beckman, how long do you reckon they'll fight?" Lucky Roo asked.
"At least a day and a night, right? Shanks and Hawkeye's spar back then lasted three days and two nights," a tall crewman nearby commented.
Benn Beckman shook his head. "It won't last that long. As Great Swordsmen, they naturally know the extent of their destructive power. Didn't Shanks and Hawkeye's spar end up shattering a deserted island? Purple Grape Island has many inhabitants and numerous purple grape plantations. They are both men of principle, so they won't recklessly destroy Purple Grape Island."
"You have a point," Lucky Roo and the others nodded in agreement.
"A sword aura is heading for the pirate ship! Go protect it!" Benn Beckman's Observation Haki instantly pinpointed the trajectory of a stray sword aura, and he immediately called out to Lucky Roo.
Lucky Roo broke into a run. Despite his portly figure, his speed was second to none. He took a powerful leap into the air, then coated his fist with Armament Haki and shattered the sharp sword aura with a single punch. He then landed back on the ground, casually continuing to gnaw on his large chicken leg.
The two combatants moved from the ground to the sky, then out over the sea, intentionally avoiding letting the shockwaves affect Purple Grape Island.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two transformed into streaks of light, clashing madly in the air. Each terrifying impact resounded like an exploding thunderclap. Shockwaves continuously swept through the sky. The sea surface churned violently, and the impact sent waves surging further and further out, reaching thousands of meters into the distance.
Although they fought above the sea, stray sword auras still fell upon the island, slicing through the ground and the forest.