Shanks's sword strike seemed familiar to Kuro.
It was about a year or two ago when he traveled back in time and had a fight with Roger.
That guy's sword had that kind of feel to it—an unparalleled aura of dominance.
Shanks gave him the same feeling.
"Oh? You know my captain? That can't be right, you were only two or three years old when the captain died?" Shanks asked, somewhat puzzled.
Kuro's two words made Shanks' eyes widen.
“God avoids.” Kuro said calmly.
"How did you know!" Shanks exclaimed in surprise.
The captain was already seriously ill when he was captured and hadn't shown his fighting power for a long time. Kuro should have been old enough to remember things by then, let alone know the captain's moves.
Garp or Sengoku?
Do the older generation of naval personnel talk about Roger's exploits?
Even Garp couldn't do that.
"Oh? You don't remember?"
Kuro smiled slightly: "That stab from your old captain more than twenty years ago must have been painful, right?"
Shanks froze, then suddenly remembered something, staring at Kuro in disbelief, "It was you?! Impossible, how could you have..."
Then, he calmed down and said with some realization, "Ability? I see. No wonder Barrett attacked G-3 back then. Before he disembarked, he kept saying he wanted to find you and defeat you. If it weren't for your stab, the captain wouldn't have been diagnosed with a terminal illness."
"What nonsense are you spouting? My knife doesn't carry germs or plagues. Your old captain was already sick; the sooner it was discovered, the sooner he died." Kuro spoke without any mercy.
"Hey, don't be so harsh. The captain won't tolerate your insults." Shanks' expression turned cold.
Kuro grinned and said, "I'm a Marine, it's only natural for me to curse pirates."
Shanks gripped Griffin's hand tightly. "Then it's only natural for pirates to fight the Navy."
"Yeah... Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever fought you among the Four Emperors."
Kuro slowly turned Shusui around and gripped it even tighter. "I'm very curious, how exactly do you intend to fight me without any abilities?"
Simply relying on domineering presence?
Even if Shanks could replicate Roger's "God's Escape" technique, so what? No matter how powerful the Conqueror's Haki is, it's still just an entanglement. Without the ability, it means he can't combine it with his power, and he doesn't have a full-power form.
Having one less form is a huge drawback.
The same applies to Mihawk; he is the world's greatest swordsman, not the world's strongest individual, and there is a difference between the two.
The title of "world's greatest swordsman" is a compliment to his swordsmanship, but it does not represent his true combat strength.
When they competed, they were competing for the title of the world's greatest swordsman, not for who was stronger.
As for who is stronger, judging from the fighting power that Kuro just had when he clashed with Kaido and Linlin, Mihawk is definitely no match for him.
The same goes for Shanks; Kuro actually had some doubts about Shanks' title of "Four Emperors".
He has not been a Yonko for very long; including these four years, it has only been ten years at most.
Although it's longer than Teach's, Teach himself tested it and almost capsized.
With that level of combat power, Teach is qualified to become one of the Four Emperors. If he lies low for long enough, in a few years or a decade, he will become one of the Four Emperors, just like Kaido and Big Mom, in terms of both strength and influence.
Having two Devil Fruits and the ability to plunder other Devil Fruit users—that's more than enough.
But Shanks? That's a question mark.
He doesn't show off at all, but a few years ago he even lost an arm in the East China Sea. Only he could pull off such a huge joke.
"To be honest, I'm very curious..."
Kuro held Shusui horizontally, the light emanating from the blade reflecting in his eyes. As he spoke, his figure suddenly flashed, seemingly without any change, but Shanks immediately swung Griffin, blocking forward with his rapier, directly creating a burst of sparks.
when!!
A black light blocked the path of the rapier Griffin, the blade jamming against the sword. Kuro himself appeared there, and the 'Kuro' behind him gradually dissipated like ripples on water.
Afterimage Slash!
"You lost an arm in the East China Sea back then, don't you regret it? How can you talk about something so shameful as if it's something to be proud of?"
Kuro gripped Shusui with one hand, the immense force pressing Shanks back a step. That one step gave him an opening, and he quickly ducked, Shusui slid down Griffin's blade with a sizzling sound, and then thrust the blade straight at Shanks' abdomen.
Shanks shifted to the side, and his rapier withdrew like lightning, standing upright directly in front of his abdomen.
when!
The sword blade once again blocked the incoming Autumn Water Blade.
"East Blue? Who could have imagined that? It's just a hand. Even without a hand, I am still Shanks, 'Red-Haired' Shanks."
Shanks swung his right arm forward with force, parrying Kuro's sword. The rapier traced a 'Z' shape in the air, heading cunningly towards Kuro's forehead.
Kuro didn't even look, nor did he move his body. He simply tilted his head to avoid the tricky stab and laughed, "Then you'd better work hard. One arm, red hair—these are your characteristics. In the new era, there's someone with Conqueror's Haki just like you, but he's an Ability User. If he has that talent, your position will be replaced."
"Just like you replaced Shiki, Kuro?"
Shanks took a few steps back, distancing himself from Kuro, then suddenly seemed to remember something, shook his head and laughed, "I believe in the captain, I admire the captain, and I consider myself the captain's successor, just as the captain gave me his hat. And you, you've replaced Shiki, that Golden Lion. Does this count as a new round of the 'Battle of Etwol'?"
"ha!"
Kuro grinned, as if he'd heard a hilarious joke. "You think you're worthy? I'm not like you. You've never surpassed your deadbeat captain. As for me, I took down that blond, bald old helmsman in a real fight. Eitwall? You think you can win by changing your analogy? Storms..."
Kuro pointed to the sky, and the dark clouds in the sky, stirred by Shanks' intense Conqueror's Haki, were torn open by his finger, revealing a clearer sky above.
As the hole opened, the trail of dark clouds gradually dissipated, instantly spreading out over a large area centered on the void.
"I won't allow it! The sky can't even let the rain fall! What's with all this talk of storms!"
Kuro's eyes flashed with malice. "I've never made the mistake Shiki made. I'm not as arrogant as him. In comparison, you've become quite arrogant, calling yourself a savior and guide who wants to change the world. If the world were so easy to change, I would have started doing it more than ten years ago. Why would you, a pathetic pirate, be here pretending to have some grand mission? Stop being so damn proud!"
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