"Do me a favor—give me some face, will you?"
A sudden voice rang out.
A figure appeared out of nowhere—no chakra signature, no warning, no sound of approach.
Uchiha Sanno froze mid-swing, blade still in hand, utterly baffled.
Who the hell is this guy?! He just popped up out of thin air, and the first thing he says is asking for a face?
But Leo's eEXPression brightened immediately. A moment ago, he'd been ready to risk it all—even if it meant dying with Uchiha Sanno. He was spent, his body on the verge of collapse, but if he pushed his limits, he might have taken the man down with him.
Now, though… salvation had arrived.
After many failed summons, the Emperor of the Sea had finally appeared—none other than the man known as Red-Haired Shanks, wielder of the legendary Face-Face Fruit!
Shanks—the name alone commanded respect across the seas. One of the Four Emperors, an equal to the World Government in power, with a bounty of forty billion berries on his head.
Leo stared at the man before him. The image was identical to his memory—crimson hair fluttering in the night breeze, three scars running down his left eye, short stubble along his jaw, a black cloak draped over an open shirt, his left arm missing—bitten off long ago by the Lord of the Coast. At his waist hung a longsword. His casual posture and calm gaze carried an effortless gravitas.
"Was it you who summoned me?" Shanks asked, glancing over his shoulder with a faint, curious smile.
"Yes," Leo replied solemnly. "Red-Hair… help me through this crisis."
"Tch. Fighting's such a drag…" Shanks sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he turned toward Uchiha Sanno with an easy grin. "Brother, how about giving me some face, huh? Let's keep things peaceful."
Uchiha Sanno's brow furrowed. This man had appeared without warning, no chakra aura, no killing intent—he didn't feel strong. But how could an ordinary man appear here, in the dead of night, in the middle of the forest?
He stayed on guard but wasn't about to abandon his prey.
This boy, Leo, was too dangerous to live. If left alive, he would one day become a calamity.
"Cut the crap," Uchiha Sanno barked. "Whoever you are, don't stand in my way—or I'll cut you down too!"
"Ahh… so you're saying you won't give me face?" Shanks said, sounding almost disappointed.
"Face? Face?! Who the hell do you think you are? Get out of my way before I kill you too!" Uchiha Sanno snapped, his eyes gleaming red with fury.
"I'm Shanks," the red-haired man said lightly, pointing at himself as if that eEXPlained everything. "You really don't know me?"
He looked genuinely surprised—as if the idea of not being recognized was the strangest thing in the world.
Leo nearly burst out laughing. These two aren't even from the same dimension—how the hell would he know you?
The Uchiha were proud by nature, and Uchiha Sanno felt he was being mocked. Rage surged through him.
"Die!"
With a roar, he lunged forward, drawing his blade in a lightning-fast Iai Slash!
The strike split the air itself, cold wind howling in its wake.
But Shanks merely tilted his body slightly to the side—effortlessly dodging it.
That only infuriated Sanno further. He slashed again and again—cuts, thrusts, arcs of steel flashing like silver rain.
Shanks, however, seemed to stroll casually through the chaos, taking two lazy steps to the left, one to the right—his movements smooth and unhurried, his eEXPression relaxed.
Between dodges, he even had the leisure to comment:
"Good speed. Shame your form's hollow—strong on the surface, weak at the core. Your power's scattered. At best, you're a decent swordsman… still far from a true master."
It was an honest critique, but to Uchiha Sanno, it was an unbearable humiliation.
His swordsmanship was top-tier among the Uchiha clan—and this stranger dared to lecture him?
"Slash!"
He leapt high into the air, blade raised over his head, descending like a tiger from the mountain—man and sword as one. The moonlight fused with his blade, forming a radiant arc that cut down faster than lightning.
Shanks's eyes brightened. "Interesting."
He smiled faintly, gripping the hilt at his waist with his only hand.
Clang!
A clear, resonant hum echoed across the night—like the call of an ancient horn on a battlefield.
A flash of light—then silence.
Shanks hadn't even drawn his sword fully.
Uchiha Sanno's body, however, was hurled backward as if struck by an invisible blade, slamming into the ground.
Even with the Sharingan, he hadn't seen the movie.
Neither had Leo.
In the world of pirates, the greatest swordsman alive was Dracule Mihawk—but the only man he ever acknowledged as an equal… was Red-Haired Shanks.
A master of all three forms of Haki, Shanks's swordsmanship had reached the realm of the divine.
If not for the loss of his arm, he might have surpassed even the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman."
"Incredible… an invisible slash," Leo murmured, awe in his eyes. "As eEXPected of Red-Hair!"
It was obvious to anyone watching—Shanks had been toying with Uchiha Sanno from the start. He hadn't even fought seriously.
And yet, the proud Uchiha jonin—one of the village's top combatants—was utterly overwhelmed.
That alone proved Shanks's power… far beyond Kage level.
"What sword style… was that?" Uchiha Sanno stammered, climbing shakily to his feet. For a brief moment, he'd felt a chill at his throat—an illusion of being already dead.
"Don't waste time, Red-Hair!" Leo called out. "Finish him!"
The summoning of a Four Emperor only lasted ten minutes—and that time was running out.
Shanks sighed. "Man, what a hassle. I wanted to see what else he had, but fine… let's end this."
His eEXPression hardened. A crimson gleam flickered in his eyes.
"Conqueror's Haki—unleash!"
Leo immediately felt it—the overwhelming, majestic will. As someone who also possessed Conqueror's Haki, he could sense its sheer dominance.
The world around Shanks began to distort—colors draining away until everything turned gray and lifeless.
Within this domain of willpower, pressure filled the air, heavy enough to crush bones.
Waves of Haki radiated outward in pulses—each one bending the forest to its will.
The ground trembled. Trees shuddered. Nearby beasts collapsed to their knees.
Owls perched high above rolled their eyes back and fell from their branches.
Farther away, rivers and waterfalls began to boil under the sheer weight of his presence.
Reality itself warped beneath the might of the Red-Haired Emperor.
For a moment, it seemed as though even heaven and earth bowed before him.
The world… had changed color.
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