Although at this time the Mizukage had perfectly masked himself within the dense mist he created, hiding completely, Shanks remained exposed in the open. Every attack launched toward him was evaded only because Shanks kept leaning on his Future Sight, slipping just out of harm's way each time. But it was not like, Shanks did not have any true counter for this situation.
He took a slow, steady breath. His blade darkened as he coated it first with Armament Haki and then with Conqueror's Haki. Black lightning cracked down onto the water around him, the air trembling from the pressure. In a cold, level voice, Shanks said, "Heaven Wheel Exploding Slash."
He spun in a clean, controlled circle—a full 360-degree turn—and unleashed his strike. Instantly, a blazing ring of Shanks's Flying Sword Slash erupted outward, expanding at a rapid pace. With a deep, echoing boom, the entire mist was blown apart, scattering into the wind.
And the expanding ring even struck the Mizukage, who had been hiding close within the mist. The figure was blown back and fell onto the water—only to dissolve into a splash the next moment. It was nothing but a water clone.
With the mist fully cleared, Shanks could finally see the battlefield again. And without the obstruction, he immediately felt the true presence of the Mizukage.
Shanks dashed forward, and the water beneath his feet churned violently from the sudden force. The Mizukage, standing at a distance and watching Shanks rapidly close in, formed a single hand seal. With just that one seal, four towering water dragons surged up from the sea between them, roaring as they attacked Shanks.
Shanks didn't slow down. He shifted slightly to the side, leaping as he slashed clean through the first water dragon. Using the collapsing water mass beneath him as a brief foothold, he sliced apart the second. Then, turning sharply toward the remaining two dragons, he swung again, releasing a powerful Flying Sword Slash that shredded both in an explosive burst of water.
He landed back on the surface, steady on the rolling waves, while the Mizukage had already withdrawn once more, creating a considerable distance between them.
This was genuinely confusing for Shanks—and irritating as well—because the Mizukage refused to engage him head-on. Still, he understood that battles often turned into these kinds of games.
Shanks looked toward the distant Mizukage and said, "If you want to play like this, then so be it."
With his right hand—the one holding his sword—he began forming one-handed seals. Lightning crackled to life around him, dancing across his body. Lightning Release: Thunder Sword God Mode.
Electricity surged, and in the next instant Shanks' speed multiplied countless times. He vanished and reappeared right in front of the Mizukage, his blade already cutting through him—but the body split apart into water, splashing across the surface.
As the falling water suddenly twisted and lunged toward him, trying to trap him in a forming sphere, Shanks had already seen the move unfold through his Future Sight. He slipped away in a flash, leaving the newly formed water prison empty.
The real Mizukage then surfaced from beneath the water, rising quietly into view.
Shanks kept encountering new surprises in this battle—one after another—but he wasn't going to give up. He moved in to attack again, cutting across the water with a sharp burst of speed. The Mizukage, however, was already prepared. With a single hand seal, he released a concentrated jet of water from his mouth. The stream was so precise and so dense that if there had been a boulder or a forest anywhere near, it would have been sliced clean in half.
Shanks saw the attack coming. He raised his sword, its blade coated in Armament Haki, and braced himself. The impact was immense. The sheer force of the water jet pushed him back across the surface, his feet skidding over the shifting waves.
The moment the water jet ceased, Shanks stopped sliding—when suddenly the sea around him erupted. From beneath the water, four sharks made entirely of water surged upward, snapping toward him with violent speed. It was the Water Shark Technique, but under the complete control of the Mizukage.
Yet Shanks had already anticipated his approach. With one decisive swing of his sword, a sweeping arc of power tore through all four sharks, shredding them instantly and sending their collapsing forms crashing back into the sea.
Shanks glanced toward the Mizukage and thought to himself, Really, I cannot underestimate anyone. I hadn't expected the Mizukage to be this powerful. With everything he has shown, it's like he has absolute control over water. He's mastered Water Release to its very peak. And on top of that, we're fighting on the sea… this is the perfect battlefield for him.
And so the clash between Shanks and the Mizukage continued. The Mizukage refused close combat, constantly slipping away and attacking from long range. Their battle was catastrophic—violent bursts of water, shockwaves from Haki-infused slashes, and explosions of water—but because it was happening far out on the sea, the land only felt stronger waves crashing at the shore and a rising turbulence across the ocean's surface.
While Shanks battled the Mizukage, the Uzumaki siblings were locked in their own fierce engagements. Guy was facing both the Kaguya Clan Head and Yagura.
Guy caught a perfect opening. In an instant, he teleported behind the Kaguya Clan Head. His sword, coated in a thin layer of black substance, carved through the air as he slashed. A deep, brutal cut opened across the clan head's back but no blood seeped from the wound. Instead, the same black coating that had covered Guy's sword now spread across the Kaguya Clan Head's flesh along the cut, as if the attack had transferred something onto his body.
Yagura immediately struck at Guy to force him back, but Guy teleported away, reappearing at a safer distance. Yagura turned toward the Kaguya Clan Head and asked, "Are you fine?"
The clan head looked up with that same wide, unhinged grin—despite the numerous injuries already scattered across his body. "I couldn't be better. This is what I love the most," he said, eyes gleaming with manic excitement. His joy alone made it clear: the Kaguya truly were battle maniacs who lived for the thrill of combat and nothing else.
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