Having restored Shanks's arm and enhanced his saber, Gryphon, as well as his ship, Qiu Xia found that his Origin Points had skyrocketedthanks in part to his earlier consumption of Devil Fruits. It was finally time to part ways with the Red Hair Pirates.
When Qiu Xia announced his departure, Shanks couldn't help but extend an invitation. "Young man Qiu Xia, why don't you just join the Red Hair Pirates? We've spent many days together now, and you've seen the atmosphere of our crew for yourself."
"I still plan to travel across the seas for a while," Qiu Xia replied with a smile. "If I ever decide to join a pirate crew in the future, I'll come looking for you."
"That's a promise then, lad! But before we say goodbye, how about we have a match?"
"A match? Indeed, we should. I also want to verify the extent of my own strength." During his time with them, Qiu Xia had not only studied the state of this world but had also researched the Three Colors of Haki. After some investigation, he found that the only powers in this world of any use to him were Devil Fruit abilities, swordsmanship, and Conqueror's Haki.
Devil Fruit abilities allowed him to increase his Origin Points and granted him certain superpowers. Swordsmanship allowed him to unleash slashes using only the power of his divine body.
While these might be weakened upon entering other worlds, they were still helpful to him. As for Conqueror's Haki, it was a fusion of mental energy and momentum, which Qiu Xia found quite intriguing.
The members of the Red Hair Pirates were also extremely curious about Qiu Xia's true strength. Although they couldn't determine its exact level, they were certain he was powerful. Now that Shanks was going to spar with him, the entire crew naturally gathered to watch.
The two took a boat to a deserted island. Once there, Qiu Xia pulled two weapons from his storage space. One was fashioned in the likeness of Gryphon, while the other was an Eight-Sided Han Sword. He tossed the Gryphon replica to Shanks. "Your original saber is too powerful for a simple spar. Use this one for now."
Shanks nodded in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing. Let's begin, lad!"
Qiu Xia nodded and gave a casual wave of his hand toward Shanks. A blast of sword qi flew from his blade. Faced with the incoming energy, Shanks immediately raised his saber and swung, unleashing a slash to meet the attack. The two forces collided, hanging in the air for a brief moment before exploding. The power of the sword qi and the slash scattered, leaving deep gouges in the ground.
After unleashing the sword qi, Qiu Xia formed a sword seal with his left hand and swiped it across his blade, using mana to protect the sword before charging toward Shanks. Though he didn't know exactly what Qiu Xia had done,
Shanks coated his own blade in Armament Haki as the two engaged in close-quarters combat. Shanks's style was the foundational, bone-deep hacking and slashing of this world's great swordsmen, whereas Qiu Xia employed intricate, patterned techniques.
Using the Three Pure Ones Demon-Subduing Sword and the Seven Star Steps, Qiu Xia danced around Shanks like a butterfly. Under the pressure of Qiu Xia's assault, Shanks utilized both Armament Haki and Observation Haki, yet he still found it difficult to ward off the strikes. Qiu Xia's sword was simply too fast.
Although Shanks remained uninjured thanks to the protection of his Armament Hakisuffering only minor damage to his clotheshe realized he couldn't continue fighting in close quarters this way.
At that moment, Shanks erupted with a burst of Conqueror's Haki to force Qiu Xia back. Taking a few steps back, he began to gather his Conqueror's Haki into his weapon. "Careful now, Qiu Xia. This is a technique found only in the New World. If you can't block it, remember to dodge."
Seeing Shanks preparing for Conqueror's Haki Infusion, Qiu Xia chuckled. His gaze sharpened as a dark red aura of Conqueror's Haki surged from his body. However, unlike the typical outward diffusion, Qiu Xia's Haki did not spread. Instead, it condensed behind him, forming a massive, magnified silhouette of himself. This giant phantom also held a longsword, pointing it directly at Shanks.
"What is this? Conqueror's Haki can be used like that?" Shanks and the rest of the Red Hair Pirates stared with wide eyes, completely stunned.
Despite his shock, Shanks knew now was not the time for distractions. Having finished condensing his Haki, he lunged toward Qiu Xia. "Divine Departure!"
Faced with the attack, Qiu Xia pointed his sword at Shanks. Simultaneously, the Conqueror's Haki silhouette behind him swung its phantom blade in a devastating strike.
The moment Divine Departure collided with the Conqueror's Haki blade, dark red lightning crackled through the air. It was as if a bomb had detonated, blasting craters into the surrounding earth.
The stalemate didn't last long. Shanks's replica saber snapped instantly, and he was sent flying by the force of the explosion. Once Shanks was clear, Qiu Xia stopped his pursuit and retracted the Dharma Form created by his Conqueror's Haki.
"Hiss... Am I seeing things? The Captain actually lost!"
"You aren't seeing things, and neither are we. The Captain really lost!"
"What kind of technique was that? Why have we never seen anything like it before?"
"Can Conqueror's Haki really be used that way?"
"First Mate, is that a higher application of Conqueror's Haki Infusion?" one of the crew members asked, looking toward Benn Beckman.
Benn Beckman's face twitched. He replied crossly, "If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask? It's the first time I've seen such a move too. We'll ask the lad when he comes back over. Who would have thought he was this powerful at such a young age?"
After knocking Shanks back, Qiu Xia put his sword away and walked over to pull him up. Once back on his feet, Shanks looked at Qiu Xia with intense curiosity. "Qiu Xia, what was that move you just used?"
"I'll answer that once we're back on your ship. I'd rather not say it twice."
"Fair enough. Let's head back first."
As soon as they stepped back onto the deck, the crew crowded around them. "Young man Qiu Xia, we had no idea you were this strong! How did you train to reach this level?"
"Was that some kind of Devil Fruit power you used against the Captain?"
Qiu Xia shook his head. "It wasn't a Devil Fruit ability. It's a technique I developed myself called Conqueror's Haki Manifestation. To many who possess it, Conqueror's Haki represents one's willpower and spirit, but on its own, it isn't very strongit's only good for clearing out fodder. Only a few top-tier experts know how to integrate it into their attacks through Conqueror's Haki Infusion."
"Once I learned about Infusion, I realized that if Haki can be coated, it means Haki is controllable. It doesn't just have to diffuse outward; it can be gathered. That led me to develop Conqueror's Haki Manifestation."
"By controlling the Haki that would normally diffuse and condensing it instead, you can form a phantom behind you to attack. During this process, you can even merge Armament Haki into the manifestation for an even higher level of application.
You can also perform pure Conqueror's Haki attacks. The former deals high damage to the divine body but is weaker against the spirit, while the latter deals massive damage to the spirit but is weaker against the physical body."
Shanks was a top-tier master of Conqueror's Haki, often hailed as the greatest user beneath the likes of Rocks D. Xebec and Gol D. Roger. Even so, with his level of Haki, mastering the Conqueror's Haki Manifestation Qiu Xia described wouldn't be something he could achieve quickly. However, if he did manage to pull it off, even without the enhanced Gryphon, Shanks would undoubtedly become the strongest among the Four Emperors.
After the match, Qiu Xia shared a round of drinks with Shanks and his crew before finally bidding them farewell.
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