Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 621 Li Xia VS Shanks

It would be difficult to gather 13 powerful individuals who have mastered the Conqueror's Haki and could completely defeat the God Knights and the Five Elders who possess the Mark of Immortality.

However, there are quite a few strong individuals among the 13 who are capable of holding off the Five Elders and the Knights of God.

Members of the Knights of God are not necessarily top-tier fighters; the Four Emperors and the Admirals are no weaker than the Knights of God.

Some members weren't even top-tier in strength; they only appeared strong because their 'immortality' was so troublesome.

Therefore, what Li Xia needs is someone who can help him hold off the Five Elders and the Knights of God. Once he kills Im, everything will be over.

"no problem?"

Shanks' gaze was unusually serious, and he raised his voice:

"Do you know how difficult it is to find a powerful individual who can condense domineering aura?"

"Is it difficult for someone who can wield domineering aura to learn how to solidify it?"

Li Xia countered with a question, and Shanks was taken aback, frowning and pondering for a moment:
"It's not difficult!"

Haki entangling is already a very profound technique of using Haki. Not only Conqueror's Haki can be used to entangle, but Armament Haki can also be used to entangle. The reason why Haki condensation is not widespread is simply because Haki condensation does not effectively enhance power. It is more like a show-off technique, which happens to be useful for 'severing immortality'.

If you have already learned how to entangle with domineering aura and understand the principles of domineering aura condensation, you will learn it very quickly.

"So it's not that difficult."

Li Xia pointed to herself:
"Mr. Dragon is in the Revolutionary Army, and Aokiji is also there, so it shouldn't be difficult to get him to join. On the Navy side, Kizaru and Fujitora are both worth trying to recruit, as is Vice Admiral Garp."

If a wave of rebellion against the World Government were to truly sweep the world, Sengoku and Akainu would most likely join in.

Rayleigh may be old, but he still has strength. He should be able to gather two or three crew members from the former Pirate King, right?
Ace, Sabo, and Marco—they combined could at least be considered one person.

And then there's Luffy, who, after awakening his Devil Fruit, is also a true top-tier fighter, even playing a crucial role.

His crew is also very strong; holding off one person wouldn't be a problem.

How many are there now?

Shanks stared at him blankly, completely unexpected that someone would infiltrate and turn the entire group against them.

Look at the people he listed
Sengoku, Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, Fujitora, Garp. If you add himself...
This wiped out the entire navy's top combat power in one fell swoop!

And according to his calculations, there are already 10 people?

Shanks' heart began to race. If he didn't care about winning, but only about stalling, these 10 people could easily meet his requirements.

He could even find three more people: his old friend Hawkeye, the giant from Elbaf, and Jabba. Those three would be more than enough.

In other words, it's really not difficult to get thirteen people.

After a long silence, Shanks looked at Li Xia and slowly said:
"Indeed, thirteen people is not difficult, but there is still one very important problem."

Even with such a weapon, Im's strength is beyond doubt, surpassing the level of ordinary strong.

Even a powerful figure like Rocks was no match for him.

You are strong, but... the strength of a Marine Admiral is insufficient! Far from sufficient!

Li Xia looked at him as well, a smile gradually appearing on her face. This is what it means for a 'plot foresight to be supported by strength'.

If you don't have the ability, and you think you can swindle huge profits just by talking, you're dreaming!

"A fight?"

Li Xia extended an invitation to Shanks.

"Right on my mind!"

The moment he spoke, Shanks had already crouched down, instantly transforming into a phantom and rushing straight towards Li Xia.

Li Xia felt as if the blood in his body was boiling, and the light in his hand flashed and disappeared.

"Bah!"

The surrounding ground bounced violently, sending countless grains of sand soaring into the sky. These grains were then scattered by the shockwave from the collision, and the violent air currents even ripped apart the surging ocean waves.

Ace and Marco tensed up, bracing against the shockwave from the collision. Their eyes were filled with horror. While their father possessed such power, Shanks had even exchanged blows with him two years ago.

But those were more like clashes of Conqueror's Haki that stopped short of killing each other, without any of the ferocity that seemed to be aimed at killing the other.

The Supreme Grade Blade Griffin clashed with Night Silence, the faint sounds of their collision echoing continuously.

Shanks' eyes seemed to flash with a scarlet light, and the cold light from the blade reflected in his pupils, carrying a chilling killing intent.

The battle against Im will inevitably be a fight to the death—for life, for comrades, for friendship.
If he fails, everything he cherishes will disappear. Therefore, in order to test whether Li Xia has the ability to defeat Im, Shanks will not hold back at all. Instead, he will treat Li Xia as Im, as the opponent he needs to defeat with all his might!

If the other side truly has the capability, then show it!

Shanks knew this, and so did Li Xia. If they wanted Shanks to join them and cooperate with their actions...

So I want Shanks to see that overwhelming strength and the hope of victory!

Therefore, he wants to win decisively and thoroughly!

Under Shanks's astonished gaze, Li Xia flicked his wrist, and Nightfall suddenly slid to the side, causing the knife in Shanks' hand to unconsciously slash towards Li Xia's chest.

He's crazy?
Pre-elementalization?
Armament Haki hardening?
Shanks didn't have time to think; the two were so close that even if he wanted to withdraw his force, it wouldn't be enough.

A faint metallic sheen appeared on Li Xia's body, and Shanks's sword also emitted a solid black light.

Armament Haki Entanglement - Black Blade!

"Pfft!"

The black blade sliced ​​through Li Xia's skin, and bright red blood seeped from the wound. Shanks felt as if his blade had struck an exceptionally tough rubber, with a very rough and dull sensation.

Shanks' mind seemed to have turned into a complete mess. He hadn't used his elemental powers beforehand, nor did he possess enough Armament Haki to withstand a single blow from Shanks. How could he just take the hit with his chest like that?

But the next second, the doubt in his eyes turned into horror, as the wound he had just caused disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Behind Li Xia, a phantom figure emitting a faint white light quietly appeared.

What...what is this?
Li Xia slid his left foot backward and clenched his left fist tightly. Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki instantly swirled and wrapped around his fist.

Shanks' eyes flashed with the dark red light of Observation Haki. He 'seemed' to see Li Xia's terrifying punch slamming into his body, the violent force sending him flying. Oh no!

Even in the midst of intense shock, Shanks still managed to react. In that split second, his Conqueror's Haki, almost solidified, suddenly spread out, and at the same time, Armament Haki also wrapped around his fist, which he then slammed directly toward Li Xia's chest.

Oh?
Li Xia's eyes lit up slightly. Was it the Observation Haki's 'foresight'?
But what we foresee is not the real future!

Li Xia's muscles twitched violently. Shanks only saw a blur before his eyes, and Li Xia was right in front of him.

The fist he threw was far from the optimal attack distance when it struck his chest directly.

The instant they made contact, Li Xia's body seemed to turn into a piece of paper as light as a feather, shifting to the side with the force of Shanks' fist, thus dissipating most of the already weak power.

Then, his body suddenly shifted from soft to hard, like a spring, snapping back to its original position and deflecting Shanks' fist back.

At the same time, Shanks' clenched left fist suddenly flipped into a palm in his astonished gaze!
It slapped Shanks directly on the shoulder, and the powerful force instantly numbed Shanks' entire shoulder, leaving half of his body weak and sore.

Li Xia even had the leisure to smile at Shanks. His single hand seemed to multiply into countless others in an instant, sometimes striking with a palm, sometimes tapping with fingers. The dark red color in Shanks' eyes grew stronger and stronger, but the 'future' he saw seemed to be broken, with countless double images.

Just like Li Xia in the 'future', she actually became countless possibilities.

How—how is this possible?!
In Shanks' memory, nothing like this had ever happened before; the future was either unseen or inevitable.

There has never been such a vague situation with countless possibilities.

"Oh!"

Shanks' body was sent flying like a cannonball by Li Xia's final crushing punch. This was only because Li Xia deliberately held back his strength; otherwise, with his current skill, he could have concentrated the terrifying force of the crushing punch directly into Shanks' body, causing him internal injuries.

Shanks needed to treat Li Xia as a life-or-death opponent to prove the feasibility of the entire plan, but Li Xia didn't need to. He clearly knew his own strength level and whether he was capable of fighting Im.

If Shanks is really badly damaged, what will happen next? The formation of the alliance still needs his "face fruit".

To Ace and Marco, who were watching, the two had only been exchanging blows for a few seconds when Shanks was sent flying at a speed faster than his charge.

This incredibly impactful scene even left the two of them bewildered: was Shanks too weak or Natsu too strong?

"Cough cough."

Shanks raised his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and slowly walked back, saying solemnly:
"How did you do that?"

"You mean 'foreseeing the future'? That's not true foresight."

Li Xia also put away his fist:
"The so-called foresight is nothing more than an extremely high level of Observation Rhythm, which allows one to perceive even the smallest information about the surrounding environment."

The human brain has its limits. Such a massive amount of information exceeds the brain's processing capacity, so it will instinctively process and compress the information, ultimately forming a possible subsequent scenario based on the current information.

Because it all happened so quickly and subconsciously, I wasn't aware of the process and instead felt like I was foreseeing the future.

This ability to foresee the future is remarkably similar to how Li Xia, relying on his formidable skills and perception, exerts absolute dominance over his enemies in close combat.

Li Xia was always able to anticipate the enemy's next move by observing the tension and relaxation of their muscles and subtle movements, thus interrupting the move in advance or simply causing the muscles in that area to be stressed and unable to tense up.

That is
"I have always maintained this state of being able to foresee the future!"

Li Xia's voice was very soft, but to Shanks, Ace, and Marco it sounded like rolling thunder, even giving them a tingling, electric sensation.

"All incredible skills are nothing more than the sum of instinctive experience after mastering them to the extreme!"

The same applies to Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki!

Is he constantly maintaining a state of 'observation haki that allows him to foresee the future'?
These absurd words were clearly unconvincing, but Shanks insisted that the person in front of him was telling the truth.

He slowly nodded, then bent down again, his one arm gripping his shoulder:

"With such Observation Haki, he is indeed qualified to challenge Im!"
summer!
Now comes the final blow. Face it, crush it, surpass it, and show me your confidence in defeating Im!

A terrifying amount of Conqueror's Haki emanated from Shanks' body, first condensing into a small vortex, and then spreading outwards like a storm.

The howling sea breeze seemed to be intimidated by this domineering aura, and the surroundings fell into absolute calm in an instant. The clouds overhead surged wildly, and countless dark red lightning bolts gathered around Shanks.

"God avoids!!"

The longsword suddenly emerged from its sheath, like a crimson lightning bolt slicing down from mid-air. The surrounding world seemed to turn black and white, with only this extremely powerful and dazzling strike crashing down, turning everything in its path to dust.

Li Xia felt his heart pounding and his blood boiling. Facing Shanks' all-out attack on the Divine Evasion, he could no longer suppress his almost surging fighting passion.

The Armament Haki on the silver-white gun body, which had been frozen in the night, instantly turned it black again, and lightning with specks of gold in the dark red flashed around Li Xia.

In Shanks's pupils, which suddenly shrank to their extreme, the spear in Li Xia's hand drew an extremely brilliant trajectory in mid-air.

"God avoids!"

In an instant, the entire world seemed to fall silent, and even the colors of black and white disappeared. Only two similar slashes collided with a terrifying aura of annihilation.

"Buzz!"

The moment they met, a buzzing sound that made one's head throb suddenly rang out.

The two slashes then emitted intense white light that spread outwards. Ace and Marco instinctively entered their Devil Fruit powers, but the dissipating Haki directly separated them from their fruits. The two only had time to gather Armament Haki before being thrown back by the massive shockwave.

The visible shockwave spread like a storm throughout the entire path in an instant, knocking down and even snapping the vegetation in half by the immense force.

Meanwhile, the Red-Haired Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates, who were having a banquet, were caught off guard and flew into the sky with their drinks, food, and other items, accompanied by strange squeaking noises.

Dark clouds rolled in the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and huge waves crashed down from mid-air like a torrential rain.

The original beach had disappeared, and seawater poured into the huge depression in front of him. Shanks, panting heavily, slowly lowered his sword hand. He turned his head to look at the bottomless slash beside him that almost split the island in two.

He glanced again at Li Xia, who still looked relaxed in the distance.

He took a deep breath and nodded:

I acknowledge your abilities!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

The follow-up examination results were excellent!

The little carp is recovering very well and no longer needs to take three kinds of medicine every day!
Wuhu! I'll have a follow-up check-up in three months!

(End of this chapter)