https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-348-A-Type-I-m-Not-Good-at-Handling/12612776/
Chapter 347: A Lone Man Against the Imperial Pirates
Chapter 347: A Lone Man Against the Imperial Pirates
Seeing that the shockwave of Haoshoku Haki had no effect, Shanks forcefully swung the Gryphon in his hand, concentrating the Haoshoku on the blade. Under the black-red lightning and the raging tempest, the red lightning emanating from the blade seemed minuscule, but its might was not to be underestimated.
Zzzz!
The famous sword Gryphon pointed forward, as if some gravitational force was pulling all the falling lightning snakes towards the blade.
Chi!
The black-red lightning, under the swing of the sword, scattered like electric plasma onto the sea surface. As the sword moved, it cleanly sliced through the hurricane dragon in front, severing its head and causing it to explode into an even more violent storm.
Without employing any fancy moves, Shanks simply executed a pure Haki-imbued slash, cutting through the elemental power that Sagark had unleashed.
Along with the shock of Haoshoku that this sword swing brought, even the surrounding storm seemed to pause for a moment.
Haoshoku Haki, in itself, was capable of altering the heavens!
"Try this!"
As Shanks swung his sword, Sagark leaped down from the black cloud, his raised fist enveloped in lightning. He unleashed a powerful punch.
"Quake-Governing Lightning!"
Boom!
A massive lightning pillar struck horizontally, instantly reaching Shanks.
The speed of lightning was inherently swift.
However, Shanks, as if he had anticipated this, flashed a red light in his eyes, changing the direction of the sword with a twist of his wrist. He slashed vertically, cleanly splitting the lightning pillar in two!
Just as Sagark could cut and pierce fire and lightning, a sword master imbued with Haoshoku Haki would undoubtedly possess this ability as well.
"This is quite interesting."
Shanks' body also took this opportunity to retreat, shaking his head with a light smile. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and amidst the lightning he had just cleaved, a figure flashed before him at an incredible speed.
Sagark grinned menacingly, his fist, which had been charged with power, instantly exploded with energy. Stimulated by the lightning, his fist seemed to teleport, delivering a rapid punch.
Even though Shanks had reacted, the force of this swift punch still struck the area where he held the sword's hilt, generating a massive shockwave.
Bang!
Under the impact of the shockwave, Shanks was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the prow of the Red Force and creating a cloud of smoke.
"Whooahahahaha!"
Sagark's body flew sideways in the air as he looked down at the ship below. He laughed wildly, his right fist tightening as a fierce crimson light burst from his eyes, causing his body to seem like it had turned ethereal during free fall.
The Haki concentrated in his fist resembled a black-red star, with its tail trailing behind as he descended, resembling a falling star of disaster in the sky, aiming straight for the ship below.
"Hundred Ghosts Assaulting the Heroes!"
The black-red lightning-infused shockwave, unleashed from his fist, seemed like an ink painting as it spread a black-red canopy amidst the raging storm, rushing towards the ship below.
The Lightning Flash and Thunderclap of the Galaxy, a combination of the Eight Trigrams of the Kingdom of Wei, and the Wind and Thunder Drilling Technique!
Sagark opened his mouth wide, his appearance sinister, and the crimson light in his eyes shone like a devil descending from the heavens. He summoned a large amount of lightning and hurricane, which, along with the black-red shockwave, assaulted the Red Force.
That ship was like a lonely boat in the heavens and earth, a drifting leaf on the raging waves, about to capsize at any moment.
"Without a ship, the symbol of a pirate crew is gone!" Sagark cackled sinisterly.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three gunshots suddenly rang out.
Sagark's eyes narrowed, and his descending body suddenly stalled. Instead of using the black cloud to support himself, he quickly adjusted his legs and created two smoke trails as he backflipped away.
He quickly turned his body and retreated, his fists extended forward, unleashing two sonic booms that deflected the bullets.
Only then did a black cloud extend from his cloak and lift him up.
At the same time, the black-red canopy he had unleashed now had a visible crack due to the impact of one of the bullets.
This crack caused a momentary stagnation in the shockwave, and during this brief pause, a red light flashed from the ship's prow, colliding with the Haki-imbued shockwave and generating a powerful vibration. This vibration helped the Red Force quickly maneuver and skillfully dodge the onslaught of the raging storm.
"Oh?"
Sagark sneered, "A collaborative-style pirate crew, huh? Not bad."
From the hole in the ship's prow, Shanks leaped out, sword in hand, and behind him were three men holding firearms of varying lengths.
They were all well-known figures.
Ben Beckman, Yasopp, and Lucky Roux.
The classic 'Three Guns' of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Although Sagark managed to find an opening and punch Shanks, the Red-Haired Pirates are a force to be reckoned with.
The nature of a pirate crew does differ.
Blackbeard's crew follows the traditional pirate style, valuing loose alliances but not taking orders. They resemble the ancient Rocks in this regard, temporarily uniting for a common purpose.
However, they largely operate as individuals, and when defeated, rarely receive aid.
Sagark, on the other hand, embodies the modern traditional pirate. Like Big Mom and Kaido, he possesses loyal and obedient subordinates who follow his commands, and his crew exhibits a distinct gap in combat strength.
Then there's the collaborative mode, where the crew members work together and assist each other in battle, with comparable combat strength.
Sagark has encountered this type before—with Straw Hat Luffy's crew, which falls into this category.
And now, it appears that the Red-Haired Pirates also belong to this type.
Their combat strength is comparable, and each member can collaborate, assist, and support the others in battle.
The one who caused a crack in Sagark's King's Haki was none other than Beckman, who fired a Haki-imbued bullet.
As for the two shots that found their mark from unseen angles, they were courtesy of Jesus Burg and Lucky Roux.
The former was incredibly tricky with his angle of attack, and if not for Sagark's ability to foresee the future coupled with his speed that allowed him to block in time, it might have hit its mark.
The latter possessed tremendous power, infused with an abnormal amount of Armament Haki.
"This guy's a bit troublesome."
Beckman quietly took the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke, and then tossed it into the sea.
He aimed the long gun in his hand at Sagark, his eyes shifting to the motionless black fleet in the distance, and said, "Looks like this will be a protracted battle. This guy's like Kaido... no, even worse than that, with Big Mom added to the mix."
In a short span of time, Beckman had already formulated several strategies.
The first idea was to stop them, both ship and crew, all at once.
However, after the initial clash between Sagark and Shanks, Beckman's strategy shifted to annihilating the enemy fleet to prevent them from closing in.
But once Sagark summoned the wind and thunder, his plan changed yet again.
It no longer seemed like a choice between annihilation and non-annihilation.
Instead, they had reached a similar level, and now, they had to strive to keep their ship from sinking in the storm.
"And there's still Garp!" Shanks laughed, "What a monster! It's truly surprising to see a young man reach such heights." He wiped away the fresh blood that had appeared at the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on Sagark, who was surrounded by lightning and thunderclouds in the sky above.
"Don't act so high and mighty, Red-Haired Shanks," Sagark sneered, "You're not qualified yet, having lost an arm."
"Hahahaha! Newcomers are always so arrogant, but if they weren't, they wouldn't be newcomers."
Shanks tightened his grip on the hilt of Gryphon, his eyes narrowing as he muttered, "If you've got the guts, then come and give it your best shot!"
Behind him, the 'Three Guns' kept their firearms of varying lengths aimed at Sagark.
And further back, more members of the Red-Haired Pirates struck battle-ready poses.
Bon Kurei leaned on his long staff, appearing relaxed.
Snake brandished his twin short swords, his legs tensed and ready for action.
Ben Beckman played with the monkey on his shoulder, a fierce grin on his face.
Even the seemingly weakest member, the red-haired man with an explosive hairstyle, exuded confidence.
One by one, they exuded indomitable spirit, their eyes fearless.
The Red-Haired Pirates were the pirate crew with the highest average bounty among those who traveled in groups, with no noticeable gaps in strength. They were known as the ironclad, well-balanced crew with no weak links.
Indeed, from a pure strength perspective, they were superior to the Disaster Pirates.
In their current state, it was entirely unsuitable to engage in a boarding battle, even with Moria and Lily there; it would still be just the two of them against the numerous enemies.
However, Sagark wasn't without his advantages.
While they were indeed ironclad, because they were so well-balanced, from Sagark's perspective, he couldn't see any particular strengths.
They lacked Kaido's exquisite battle techniques and robust physique, and they also didn't have Big Mom's ability to control the power of elements, nor her body of steel.
Aside from their formidable Haki, their physiques seemed frail in Sagark's eyes, especially compared to the other two!
Shanks' Haki might be stronger, but his physique was too frail, having lost an arm. As a one-armed swordsman, he would undoubtedly be more powerful with two arms.
He could fight!
Moreover, when had he ever been afraid?
So what if he was facing a Four Emperor crew all by himself? If the ship didn't come to him, he would just bring the fight to the ship!
Sagark thrust out his hand, and a black-red lightning bolt fell from the sky, instantly striking the deck of the Red Force.
Hiss!
As this happened, the figure vanished, his white-flamed hair leaving a white trail as it mixed with a black-red lightning bolt that fell from the sky.
Boom!
Everyone was startled as the lightning bolt struck, their eyes falling on the center of the deck where a person suddenly appeared.
A man
had boarded the ship of the Red-Haired Pirates!
Unconsciously, Hongo raised his staff, but before he could strike, the figure flashed forward, appearing before him with an evil smile: "Hello!"
Bang!
His head rammed forward, viciously headbutting Hongo and sending him flying.
At the same time, the intruder thrust out a hand, unleashing a wave of Haoshoku that hit the bullets coming from behind. Then, his other fist viciously pulled to the side, his fist emitting black-red lightning as it collided with an incoming sword blade.
Boom!!
A violent wave blasted from the center of the deck, blowing away everyone and scattering some supplies and cannonballs, leaving them scattered.
Under this wave, even the crew members of the Red-Haired Pirates took a few steps back.
The impact was too great!
The incoming sword blade was just one inch away from the fist when their Haoshoku collided and blocked the strike, creating an unstable compressed shockwave that formed a cluster of black dots.
"You..."
There was a hint of disbelief in Shanks' eyes.
When Sagark was falling, he had already moved, and he could confirm that Sagark's aura was within his perception.
It was impossible for him to be perceived by the Kenbunshoku, yet how could he have blocked the attack?
Zzzz!
Bang!
Where the fist and the sword blade met, bursts of waves continued to explode, pressing down on the entire ship and causing it to rock unstably.
Sagark twisted his head, revealing an evil smile as he looked at Shanks, "Stealth attacks are useless against me!"
Kenbunshoku, unable to perceive?
Physical eyes unable to lock on?
No problem!
He had the 'Intuition' of the 'Invisible Killing'!
Although this technique was combined with his Kenbunshoku, it could be activated independently, and its ability to predict danger would not be blocked.
Without Sagark taking any action, he would instinctively react to incoming danger.
And under this reaction, Sagark would proactively exert force, colliding with those attacks.
Boom!!
As he smiled, Sagark furrowed his brows, and the fist that had been emitting lightning suddenly exerted force, causing the unstable shockwave to completely explode, sending waves of impact that struck Shanks' body.
At such a time, retreating along with the waves of impact and then continuing the battle was the common choice for a normal person.
Who in their right mind would choose to take the attacks head-on within the waves of impact?
But Sagark was not normal.
He was not in his right mind!
Before Shanks could even land from his retreat, before the sword blade that had been knocked away could return to its position, a figure with white qi rising from his body and flame clouds swirling around him charged out of the smoke and dust of the explosion.
The wounds that had been blasted open all over his body were rapidly healing, and a pair of scarlet eyes shone even brighter as his hands became afterimages.
Bang bang bang!
One after another, bullets came from all directions, from the fastest to the slowest, with the first one undoubtedly fired by Beckman, followed by Jesus Burg and Lucky Roux, and then the ones fired by those who perceived with their Kenbunshoku from unseen angles.
"Mere bullets!"
Sagark's eyes narrowed, and his evil smile deepened, "Do you think I can't block them, fools!"
Zzzz!
Boom!
It wasn't lightning from the sky, but Sagark's cloak was automatically generating electricity, wrapping around the raging tempest and merging together to form a protective barrier that deflected the incoming bullets.
"Hundred Ghosts Assaulting the Heroes!"
At the same time, his hands that had become afterimages suddenly appeared in front of Shanks, striking his wide-open vital spots.
Shanks' eyes turned scarlet as he gritted his teeth, forcibly stopping his retreat and viciously chopping down with his sword blade.
"God Avoidance!"
Boom!!
Once again, waves of impact blasted from their heads, blowing their hair back.
Sagark thrust out one fist to block Shanks' descending sword blade, his teeth gnashing together as he let out an evil laugh: "I told you, God Avoidance... I don't avoid!"
Bang bang bang!
Countless dull thumps resounded from Shanks' body, causing his body to stiffen momentarily and blood to spill from his mouth.
(End of Chapter)
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