I reached the top of Pirates

Chapter 228, Section 227: The sky... cracked!
"Ha! How could that be? It was just a deal we made."

"Are you kidding me? Why would I go with him?"

After the two men uttered these words of refusal in succession, Moses chuckled and waved his hand.

“How could I possibly want them? They don’t fit my team style at all. Hanafza aside, as for Old Sha, if he were twenty years younger, I might reluctantly take him on.”

Their faces darkened again, especially Hanafza, who glared at Messer with unusual displeasure: "You look down on me?"

Messer glanced at him, and at that moment Runti walked in and pouted, saying:
“We’re all normal-sized people here. You, old man, could fill the entire cabin if you came in.”

Runti gave her father a way out, and Hanafza pouted sullenly, picked up the wine barrel and poured wine into his mouth.

He drank with unusual gusto.

At this moment, Moses looked at Mihawk and nodded:

"Sure, I'd love to see your Black Blade, Night. I've heard your fame has been growing in recent years, and some people are even saying you're about to become the world's greatest swordsman."

Mihawk's lips curled slightly upward, his eyes filled with amusement:

"I'm still a long way off. I'm not qualified for that title yet. I doubt Shanks would agree either."

As he spoke, he glanced at Shanks with a smile in his eyes.

Shanks smiled back.

The two were filled with passion.

Uta rolled her eyes at Shanks angrily and ran over to Erii, who was sitting on the sofa.

At the same time, a deep sense of nostalgia flashed in Shanks' eyes. He took a sip of wine, looked at Moses, and suddenly said:

"The world's greatest swordsman? Did you know that more than twenty years ago, there were rumors circulating on the high seas that four people were qualified to be called the world's greatest swordsman?"

Shiki the Golden Lion.

Red Earl Baron Ridfield.

Rayleigh, the god of the underworld.

And then there's Captain Roger, the Pirate King.

The moment the soft laughter was uttered, the cabin fell silent.

Crocodile and Hanafza's pupils shrank, and Mihawk's eyes flashed with a fierce fighting spirit, but then he became somewhat disappointed.

Shanks glanced at Ace, who was perking up his ears on the sofa, and looked at Moses, saying:

"Among these four, Captain Roger was the most popular, especially after he became the unprecedented Pirate King."

At this point, Shanks' expression darkened somewhat. "Hahaha. Let's not talk about it anymore. Anyway, the older generation has either passed away, been arrested, or gone into seclusion. This era belongs to us young people."

"The world's greatest swordsman, huh?" Messer shook his head and chuckled. "That title is quite interesting."

"What, are you interested too?"

Mihawk noticed a flash of fighting spirit in Moses's eyes, and then pointed to Erii sitting on the sofa:
"The sword in this girl's hand, is it a Supreme Grade Sword? The kind I've never seen or heard of before."

Upon hearing this, Shanks' ears perked up instantly, and his gaze immediately fell on Erii.

No, to be precise, it was on the Hizakura sword that Erii had placed on the sofa next to her.

The next moment, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he immediately stood up and ran to Erii and Uta's side, looking at Erii with a smile and saying:
"Little Erii, let big brother see how your sword is?"

Mihawk was rather reserved, but his gaze remained fixed intently on the knife.

Erii blinked, calmly cradling the sword in her arms, and whispered:
"No, this is for Erii from her brother. And Shanks, you're not her brother."

Upon hearing this, Uta nodded hastily, while puffing out her cheeks and glaring at Shanks with displeasure:
"Eri is Uta's good friend. Shanks is clearly an older man, how can he be the older brother? The generations are all messed up, you idiot."

Shanks looked helpless.

Erii immediately got up and ran to Messe's side, looking very frightened.

"You can't say that."

Shanks placed a large hand on Uta's head. "Messer and I are truly of the same generation, so it's not wrong for me to call Erii 'little sister'."

Uta quickly shook his head and retorted, "No, no, you're wrong. You can't calculate it like that. They're not related by blood. It has to be done my way."

"Brother, I don't want him to touch my Hippie, it's mine."

Erii looked at Messer with pleading eyes, her gaze full of possessiveness.

Moses looked at Shanks with displeasure and said:

"You scared my Erii."

Shanks scratched his head helplessly. "Sorry, I apologize. I won't touch it, okay? Just let me take a look."

Messer turned to look at Erii, his eyes questioning. Erii blinked and nodded, saying, "You can see this way."

As soon as he finished speaking, clang!

As the crimson cherry blossoms were drawn from their sheaths, the blade, tinged with a cherry-red hue and covered in mysterious arabesque patterns, gleamed with a chilling light.

Shanks leaned closer and casually wiped away his drool. "How come the knife has two different patterns?"

This pattern...it looks a bit like the arabesque pattern on a Devil Fruit.

His eyes gleamed with curiosity as he gazed at the Supreme Grade Sword:

"Hizakura? That's quite a nice name."

Reluctantly, she withdrew her gaze, but a hint of confusion lingered in her eyes as she looked at Messe and Erii.
"Why does this knife have such a strange aura, like the feeling of your two auras merging together?"

A strong sense of curiosity arises.

A glint flashed in Moses' eyes, and he gave a brief explanation with a light laugh.

Shanks blinked, dumbfounded, while Mihawk, who had appeared unnoticed, also looked on in disbelief.

"Is this even possible? A weapon connected to its owner's life force? A true extension of limbs?"

Shanks took a deep breath and said with a grin, "Brother, I want one too."

Moses's lips twitched. "Don't you have any integrity at all? You're a notorious pirate, you know."

"Whether or not to use that thing depends on the timing. For example, right now, it would be idiotic to pretend to be reserved."

Shanks' words were loaded with hidden meaning.

Mihawk's eyes flashed briefly as he looked at Mercer and said with a smirk:

"So you're a top-tier swordsmith. Name your price. Can you reforge this Supreme Grade Sword, Black Blade, Yoru?"

Moses chuckled softly:
"Bring me any Devil Fruit that isn't a Zoan-type, and I'll reforge your sword."

Mihawk paused for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, give me your Den Den Mushi number, I'll find it as soon as possible, and then I'll come find you."

Shanks' lips curled into a slight smile as he looked at Moses and said:

"Okay, but I'll pay on credit first. You forge the sword for me first, and I'll give you the Devil Fruit later when I find it."

Uta stared at Shanks in disbelief. Could this kind of thing be bought on credit?
A few seconds later, seeing Moses's look, Uta blushed and said helplessly, "Shanks, look at Moses's eyes, he's looking down on you."

Shanks laughed indifferently:

"Don't believe me? Then I can offer you my treasure as collateral."

Messer raised an eyebrow: "Uta as collateral? Sure, the best treasure I can think of is Uta."

Uta blinked, blushed, and lowered her head shyly. Upon hearing this, Shanks' face instantly darkened.
"Hey, hey, hey, you've gone too far! Why should our deal involve my beloved Uta? No way, this is the only thing that won't do."

Uta chuckled, a happy smile curving Shanks' lips, but then his eyes darted around and he said pitifully:

"If you really want it, Shanks, I can offer it as collateral."

Shanks' lips twitched violently, and he snorted, "I don't want it anymore. I've found that I'm quite comfortable using my Great Grade Sword Griffin. I'll continue using it for now."

Seeing that Shanks seemed a little unhappy, Uta was no longer interested in joking. She quickly got up and ran over, grabbing Moses' arm and giggling sweetly:
"Messer~Messer, I'll sing you a song, and in return, you can help Shanks buy something on credit. Can't I just treat it as me buying it for him on credit from you?"

Mercer shook his head, and Uta's rabbit-ear hair immediately drooped down, his cheeks puffing out.

"Hmph! I'm ignoring you now. I'm not singing you any nice songs. All you do is bully me."

Mercer pinched her chubby cheeks with both hands, tugged at them, and laughed:

“It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s just that I don’t have the right materials to forge a Supreme Grade Sword. If he doesn’t mind the quality of the Grade Sword, I can help him.”

Uta blinked, grinned at Shanks, and said smugly:

"See, Shanks? He's way more influential with Moses than you are. Heh heh!"

Shanks, his face dark, looked at Moses and said unhappily, "You brat, put your hands down. Don't let me pinch Uta's face like that. I wouldn't even dare to pinch that."

Moses' eyes flashed, and she simply released her right hand while smiling at him:

"Not happy? Then come and hit me."

As he spoke, gray mist spread from his right hand, from which cold dew appeared. The gray mist withdrew from his body. Looking at the cold dew in Mather's hand, Mihawk's eyes flashed, and another Supreme Grade Blade appeared.

A smile flickered in his eyes. Is it still the Demon Blade? If so, then its level is quite high.

Shanks' lips twitched, a glint of fire ignited in his eyes, and fighting spirit emanated from him:
“Sure, I’ve recently gained some insights into breathing techniques, so let me test the depth of your expertise as the pioneer.”

A look of surprise flashed across Mihawk's eyes. So this was the origin of Shanks' strange breathing technique that could mimic the breathing of all things.

The surprises just kept coming one after another.

This guy is like a treasure trove.

Uta puffed out his cheeks, always ready to fight. Boys are all big pigs.

But she didn't intend to stop it verbally; she just harbored her dissatisfaction in her heart.

Mercer laughed and said, "Then come out with me, let's fight on the ice some distance away."

"Ice surface? Is there such a thing here? You're not planning to make it on the spot, are you?" Shanks said speechlessly.

Mercer unfurled a pair of gray-black membrane wings on his back and flew towards the sea not far away.

His feet were firmly planted on the sea surface, his domain expanded, and a bone-chilling cold burst forth from his body.

freeze.

Click click click.

An icy blue halo spread out from beneath his feet, and with each breath, wisps of icy blue air swirled around his body.

A few seconds later.

Mercer opened his eyes and saw that the sea within a kilometer diameter was covered by ice.

The temperature around us suddenly dropped.

Standing by the deck railing, Shanks' lips twitched as he looked at the terrain that had already been transformed.

He watched as his own Redford was frozen to the shore not far away.

"You're really being reckless. Can't we spar on this island?"

He glanced at his companions who had been drawn out onto the deck of his own ship and said helplessly to Moses.

“Although Ohara is a ruin, there are things my partner cares about inside. If the two of us mess around on it, the island might be destroyed.”

She approached Mercer and walked with her into the distance. Hearing this, she asked curiously, "Nicole Robin?"

Moses wasn't surprised that Robin knew about him. He didn't even care about the Pirate King's son, so why would he care about the sole survivor of Ohara?

“Yes, there’s a new sapling of the Tree of Omniscience on the island.” Shanks blinked and smiled. “That’s pretty good.”

The two walked faster and faster, and soon arrived at a place hundreds of meters away from the shore.

At this point, the two were about ten meters apart.

Moses looked at him and smiled faintly:
"Shanks, don't be careless, or Uta will be upset if we lose too badly."

Trash talk? Just like I can't talk trash.

"You too, don't let Erii cry later."

Messer tilted his head: "My Erii won't cry, but Uta might."

Shanks' lips twitched.

You brat who deserves a beating.

Okay, I'm not happy anymore.

The corners of their mouths turned up, their eyes met, and at the same time, terrifying Conqueror's Haki rose and brewed around them.

Scarlet and blackish-red ripples collided.

The air pressure around them suddenly dropped.

Just then, someone nearby shouted in terror:
"Look at the sky! It's cracked!!!"

The terrifying Conqueror's Haki clashed, and dense black and red arcs of electricity erupted between the two.

Divided by the two people, dark clouds rolled overhead, creating a terrifying, unfathomable chasm that looked like a crack in the sky when viewed from below.

"Not bad. Have you reached that level too?"

A fighting spirit rose in Shanks' eyes. "It seems this won't be a one-sided affair."

Moses' lips curled slightly, and a crimson light shone in his pupils:

"It's still half a step away, but it should be enough to satisfy you."

The next moment, the two smiled at each other, and the Conqueror's Haki around them simultaneously gathered and wrapped around their weapons.

The two figures disappeared at the same time.

in a blink.

"Gods avoid."

"Gods avoid."

Boom! ! !

A terrifying burst of black and red lightning erupted from around the two of them.

A fist's distance between the knife and the sword, a terrifying ball of black and red energy twisted and appeared.

Swords clashed in mid-air, and cracks spread inch by inch across the ice beneath their feet, extending to a diameter of over a hundred meters, with fragments of ice rising around them.

Fine, dark dragon scale patterns appeared on their arms, and their strength was evenly matched.

The next second, they simultaneously stepped back and stood ten meters away.

Back to square one.

Moses's eyes burned with intensity. Shanks' gaze sharpened, and he suddenly swung his sword with his left hand, aiming at Moses who had abruptly appeared in front of him.

Mercer's eyes flickered slightly, and the Cold Dew he had raised fell instantly, clang!
The terrifying hum of swords and blades spread out.

The dark sword blade covered with dragon scales clashed fiercely with the jet-black, sharp blade.

Blinding sparks flew everywhere.

The next moment, the two figures collided at lightning speed, turning into a blur of afterimages.

The two figures were nowhere to be seen in the surrounding space; only dazzling sparks flew everywhere, and dense, muffled metallic clanging sounds rose and fell.

clang clang clang clang clang
Mercer appeared in front of him and swung his sword down.

Shanks raised his hand and swung his sword. With a clang of metal on metal, the two separated and charged at each other again, brandishing their swords.

With agile movements, he unleashed a series of powerful slashes, shattering a flying slash with a single sword strike, smashing a slash beam with his left hand, and casually unleashing a black and red slash beam wreathed in arcs of electricity.

Shanks swung his longswords with both hands, crackling with black and red electric arcs, shattering the incoming slashes. He then rushed in front of Moses and unleashed a terrifying, domineering slash.

Not to be outdone, Moses retaliated with a sword strike.

A terrifying force erupted beneath their feet, instantly shattering the ice.

The two men plowed across the ice with their feet, retreating backward.

Moses' lips curled up as he stomped his foot on the ice, sending a head-sized block of ice flying into the air. Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki instantly enveloped the ice block, and he lashed out with his right foot.

Boom!
A black and red beam of light suddenly shot out.

In the blink of an eye, Shanks appeared in front of him, a smile playing on his lips, and dodged the charge.

"He's such a brat, always playing with stones."

As he spoke, he appeared in front of Moses and slashed down with his sword.

Messer raised his broadsword, covered in dark dragon scales, and swung it like a baseball bat.

With a clang, a terrifying shockwave spread out, and Shanks was slashed back by a sword. Moses casually unleashed three slashing beams in pursuit, while at the same time, his figure appeared suddenly in front of him like the wind without making a sound.

They attacked together at an angle, forming an angle with the three slashing beams.

Shanks' eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly, "Haha, interesting."

He swung his dark, long sword, which crackled with black and red electricity, and flashed past.

Boom! A huge, sharp, black-red slash flashed past Moses, shattering the slash and knocking Moses back.

At this moment, the tide has turned.

The ice beneath Shanks' feet cracked, and he appeared before Moses with a whoosh, grinning as he unleashed a powerful, piercing slash. Clang! The slash struck the raised edge of Moses's sword.

He sent Moses flying.

They are catching up quickly.

Laughing loudly, Messer said, "You're no good. Hurry up and use your full strength! Where's your fire? Where's your lightning? Where's your ice? Kid, you can't beat me with just this."

In mid-air, Mercer's gaze calmed down, and he suddenly stomped his foot, landing on the ice with a snap!

Boom! The force from his body was transmitted to the ice surface, and dense cracks instantly appeared under his feet, which were rapidly impacting Shanks who was charging towards him.

With a slight movement of his eyes, Shanks raised his right foot and slammed it into the ground. Thud! A shockwave spread out and collided violently with the oncoming ice surface.

Moses took a deep breath, his domain expanding, the crimson light in his eyes becoming incredibly profound, and he gently lifted his right foot.

Landing.

Click, click, click!
The surrounding ice surface suddenly bulged up, and in the next instant, ice pillars with a diameter of one meter pierced through Shanks's landing point.

Shanks' lips twitched, but his movements were as nimble as a swift, his pupils flashing with a dazzling red light.

Anticipating all the ice pillar attacks, he dodged with incredible agility and charged towards Messer.

In the blink of an eye, the two swung their weapons and clashed fiercely once again.

A loud thud, like a muffled thunderclap, rang out.

The surrounding ice pillars shattered instantly.

He was thrown away again by the impact.

Ding ding ding ding ding.
The two figures collided rapidly.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The next moment, Shanks' sword ignited with Haki flames, and he slashed out, laughing loudly:

"I can use fire too."

Mercer chuckled and swung his sword, the blade condensing into water ripples. The water and fire emitted by the two instantly collided in a slash.

Clang!
The strike produced a piercing metallic clang.

next moment,
The knife and sword clashed once more.

The forces, equally matched, were transmitted through the swords and blades to the ground, causing the ice beneath their feet to crack inch by inch.

The cracks continued to widen, spreading further and further into the distance.

A smug smile played on their lips, their eyes gleaming with fierce fighting spirit.

The next instant, their bodies separated again and began to collide once more.

In the distance, a fierce fighting spirit shone in eyes as sharp as a hawk's, and Mihawk could no longer suppress the tremor in his heart.

He raised his right hand above his head, grabbed the huge black sword from behind his back, swung it in a round arc in front of him, and slashed out with the sword.

A terrifying whoosh accompanied a streak of emerald green light, a kilometer in diameter, flying into the battlefield.

Mihawk is issuing an invitation to battle.

At the same time, with a swift movement of his feet, he transformed into lightning and charged towards the battlefield between Moses and Shanks.

Hanafza's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly shouted, "What are you doing? You can't get involved in battles against those monsters."

A kind reminder.

At this moment, Uta, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed and said in a low voice:

"Who do you think you are? Mihawk is the kind of guy who can fight my Shanks for five days and five nights without a clear winner."

Hanafza stared wide-eyed at Uta, who was startled by his fierce face and quickly turned his head to look at his own large ship with a pitiful expression.

The next moment, Beckman jumped over from the other side, looked at Hanafza, and smiled:
“My Uta isn’t lying, and don’t scare her.”

Although he was smiling, the warning was clear.

At this moment, Runti, who was standing to the side, became unhappy and directly confronted her:
“My stinky old man didn’t scare her at all. I’m telling you, don’t talk nonsense, or I’ll call my Meryl back.”

Beckman raised an eyebrow at Runti and asked in surprise, "He's your father?"

Runti snorted and looked at him with dissatisfaction: "Although he looks a bit fierce, he really is my and Xiaopei's father."

Beckman raised an eyebrow. This guy was clearly no ordinary person; he must have connections.

Hanafza could sense the strength of the man before him and was pleased with Runti's protection. He raised an eyebrow and said:
"Runrun, be polite. Everyone here is one of us."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Beckman's eyes, and he gracefully stepped down the stairs:

"Yes, my Uta was a bit rude just now, please don't take it personally."

The two exchanged a glance, and their gazes instantly became friendly.

It's a talent.

He is a sensible person.

Erii stared intently into the distance, her eyes gleaming with pure golden light.

Mercer watched as the terrifying emerald green slash came hurtling towards him.

With a light laugh, he suddenly leaped up and unleashed a powerful kick crackling with black and red electric arcs.

Boom! ! !
(End of this chapter)