Shanks' boots left two scorched marks on the deck. Buggy's spiral legs left ripples on the sea. They both steadied themselves and grinned at the same time.
"THUD!"
Buggy's fist suddenly split into three, striking at Shanks' face from different angles. The red-haired man tilted his head as if he had predicted the future. His elbow shot toward Buggy's ribs.
"SMACK!"
Buggy's stomach split open, letting the attack pass through. At the same time, his knee slammed into Shanks' chin.
Buggy's chin split instantly.
"Hey, hey, Buggy, we agreed to just compare physical techniques." Shanks kept aiming for Buggy's red nose.
Buggy's hands and feet kept aiming for Shanks' lower body.
"That's dirty!" Shanks suddenly grabbed Buggy's ankle. "Here you go!"
"Wahhh!" Buggy was swung around like a ball and chain.
"Shanks, why are you holding my ankle?!"
Buggy was picking his nose nearby. His left ankle was gone. Everything else was there.
"Shanks, you bastard! You did this twenty years ago on Roger's ship! Can't you come up with something new?!"
"Hahaha! Is this how it is? It just feels so natural~" Shanks suddenly leaped up. Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his right fist. "Try this!"
All of Buggy's split parts instantly gathered together. Purple Haki covered his entire body. "Clown Armor!"
Then he swung his right fist to meet Shanks' left fist.
"BOOM—!!!"
The shockwave of their fists colliding pressed the sea into a bowl-shaped depression a hundred meters wide.
Moore excitedly shoved the microphone into his mouth. "Caw! Are they going to destroy the ships?! Destroy the ships~~"
Moto's lens shook violently. "But they haven't directly attacked the ships! Such noble martial virtue!"
Buggy withdrew his body parts.
"THUD!"
Buggy's knee slammed into Shanks' stomach. The red-haired man grunted, but his left hand quickly grabbed Buggy's ankle and threw him over his shoulder onto the sea.
"SPLASH—"
Buggy's body split before touching the water. The pieces, like a swarm of bees, circled behind Shanks and reassembled. His right fist, wrapped in purple Haki, aimed for the spine. "Clown · Heavy Cannon!"
Shanks suddenly threw his head back and laughed. He didn't dodge. He tensed his muscles and took the hit. Conqueror's Haki covered his body. The shockwave pressed the sea beneath their feet into a hemispherical depression.
Rhett: If you keep fighting like this, no one's going to die.
They chose a fighting style that caused the least damage to the ships.
Because if Shanks got serious, one "Divine Departure"... well, Kid had a lot to say about its power.
Speaking of Kid, you have to wonder. Against Big Mom, infinite stamina and getting back up. Against Shanks, one slash and it's over.
Given: Big Mom fought Kid with infinite stamina.
Also given: Shanks one-shot Kid.
Therefore: Shanks can one-shot Big Mom.
That's just ridiculous.
"Nice one!" Shanks' mouth bled, but his right hand grabbed Buggy's wrist. "My turn!"
"THUD! THUD! THUD!"
Three consecutive hooks slammed into Buggy's stomach. Each punch came with a thunderous boom. Buggy's body twisted, but he grinned with bloodstained teeth. "Is that all?!"
He suddenly headbutted Shanks in the nose. Blood from their foreheads mixed together.
"Captain!" Mohji hugged the lion Richie and screamed. "Use your ability!"
"Shut up!" Buggy split a mouth and shouted. "This is between me and the redhead!"
Shanks' cloak was already torn. His bronze upper body was covered in bruises. He spat out the blood in his mouth and suddenly took Roger's old starting stance. "Come?"
Buggy's pupils contracted. His body unconsciously took the same stance. "Afraid of you?!"
Both figures shot forward like cannonballs. The moment their fists collided—
"CRACK!"
"CRACK—BOOM!!!"
The shockwave of their fists colliding actually tore a crack in the clouds. Conqueror's Haki lightning rained down like a storm. Buggy's right arm armor shattered piece by piece. Shanks' knuckles let out an overloaded groan.
"THUD!"
They both fell backward onto the deck, leaving human-shaped craters. Buggy's nosebleed shot three meters into the air. "My nose!!! Ahhh!"
Shanks' left eye was too swollen to open. "A draw?"
"Nonsense!" Buggy split more than a dozen hands to flip him off. "You used Conqueror's Haki first!"
Suddenly, the entire sea fell silent.
They struggled to their feet. Many competing ships had stopped a hundred meters away. Countless cannon barrels were aimed at them.
These were the two pirate crews that had become famous, both turning into quasi-Emperors. The names of Star Clown Buggy and Red Hair Shanks were well-known in both the New World and the Grand Line.
If they defeated them now, the stronger they became later, the more face they would have.
Among the gathered ships, pirates were the overwhelming majority. Sometimes Rhett really didn't understand it. These pirates would actually risk their lives for a reputation.
"Fufufu..." Doflamingo appeared with a flash. "Interrupting someone's race..."
"Comes with a price~" Perospero's candy cannon completed its charge.
Shanks and Buggy stood back to back. They both grinned at the same time.
"Hey, hey..." "We might have overdone it..."
Moore shouted excitedly, "Caw! For the first time in history! The Red Hair Pirates and the Buggy Pirates are forced into an alliance!!! Wow, wow, wow!!"
Shanks and Buggy's purple Haki intertwined in the air. They stood back to back on the deck of the Red Force.
"Fighting side by side again, Buggy." Shanks' eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Hmph. Don't hold me back, Shanks." Buggy's split right hand was already reassembled.
"Fire!!!"
Hundreds of cannons roared at once. Shells rained down like a storm. Shanks' Conqueror's Haki exploded, turning half the shells to dust. Buggy's body instantly split into thousands of pieces, each one precisely intercepting a shell.
"Super · Disassembly!"
The shells he touched silently disintegrated, scattering as iron dust.
"Beckman!" Shanks suddenly shouted.
"Got it." The red-haired vice captain raised his hand with a cigarette in his mouth. His flintlock precisely shot the ammunition depots of three pirate ships.
Buggy's body instantly split into thousands of pieces, each wrapped in purple Haki. "Super · Disassembly · Circus Rampage!"
Shanks' Gryphon finally left its scabbard. Conqueror's Haki-wrapped slashes swept across the sea. "Divine Departure · Hundred Burst!"
Crimson sword energy surged like a tide, sending dozens of enemy ships flying into the air. Buggy took the opportunity to reassemble his body and jump onto the Red Force's mast. "Little ones! Open fire!"
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—"
When the smoke cleared, dozens of smoking enemy ships floated on the sea. Only floating planks and unconscious survivors remained.
Shanks and Buggy stood at the bow. Without a word, they both reached out their hands.
"SLAP!"