One Piece: One Punch Man

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At this moment, Shanks was caught in a dilemma. 

No matter how much he wanted to eliminate Byakuya, he could only suppress his killing intent to ensure Luffy's safety. 

Retracting his Conqueror's Haki, Shanks turned to his crew and commanded, "Retreat!" 

He had made up his mind—regardless of whether the World Government developed countermeasures against Byakuya, the next time their paths crossed, Shanks would deal with Byakuya himself.

Watching Shanks decide to withdraw, Dragon, hovering mid-air, instinctively exhaled in relief. 

As long as Shanks stops pressuring Byakuya, Dragon believes that Byakuya, given his relationship with Garp, willn't take Luffy's life. 

Though severely injured, Luffy's life was spared—a harsh but necessary lesson.

While Dragon was relieved, Byakuya wasn't pleased to see Shanks retract his Conqueror's Haki and prepare to leave. 

"I haven't even leveled up my Conqueror's Haki yet. How can you leave now?!" he thought. 

Drawing his sword, Kazemune, Byakuya unleashed a sweeping light-blue slash that spanned hundreds of meters, instantly crossing the distance. 

Its speed far exceeded Shanks and his crew's expectations. If left unchecked, the slash would split their ship clean in half.

"Byakuya, are you courting death?!" Shanks, already simmering with rage, roared as he drew his saber, Gryphon. 

Turning swiftly, he intercepted Byakuya's slash with a single swing. 

Gryphon was cloaked in deep purple-black Conqueror's Haki, with countless dark-purple lightning sparks scattering through the air, creating ripples in the void. 

The intense Haki eroded and consumed the light-blue slash before it could even touch the blade, unleashing shockwaves that churned the sea into massive waves, surging in all directions.

The distant townsfolk, who had been anxiously observing the situation, heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Byakuya seemingly force Shanks' crew to retreat. 

Their lives wouldn't be endangered if the fight didn't escalate. 

But they never anticipated that after the Red-Haired Pirates, clearly more powerful, opted to retreat, the supposedly weaker Byakuya would stubbornly go on the offensive. 

It was as if he were saying, "You don't get to leave unless you kill me."

This was a disaster. The shockwaves from their brief exchange had already caused waves large enough to potentially obliterate a third of Loguetown. 

If an actual fight broke out, the entire island might sink. 

Many cursed Byakuya in their hearts for his recklessness, accusing him of disregarding their lives.

As a thousand-meter wave surged toward him, Byakuya leaped from the dock, slashing at the wave with Kazemune. 

The terrifying pressure from his strike forcefully split the towering wave, dissipating it entirely. 

Rain poured from the clear sky, and refracted sunlight created a vivid rainbow. Yet, no one had the luxury of admiring the scenery. 

All attention was focused on Byakuya and Shanks. Byakuya charged toward Shanks, sword in hand. 

His earlier slash had been a ploy to stop Shanks' retreat. "Leaving without giving me anything? That's not happening," Byakuya quipped with a smile.

Shanks responded with equal confidence, "If you want to stop me, leave your life behind." 

The earlier clash had given Shanks a sense of Byakuya's strength. 

As expected of the "Sword God" who defeated Mihawk, Byakuya wasn't easy to deal with. 

However, Shanks believed that Byakuya, at best, could fight him to a draw—or perhaps was slightly weaker. 

And with Ben Beckman at his side, Shanks couldn't envision a scenario where he would lose.

While Shanks focused on the duel, Beckman turned his attention to the gravely injured Luffy. 

With Byakuya engaged in combat, the chances of rescuing Luffy were high. 

Once Luffy was safe, they could join forces to eliminate Byakuya—a troublesome foe. 

This would steer the sea back toward the trajectory they envisioned.

With his plan set, Beckman closely observed the fight between Byakuya and Shanks, waiting for the right moment to act. 

The clash of swords created an endless symphony of metallic echoes, their impacts scattering clouds across miles of sky. 

Even Dragon, hidden mid-air, was nearly exposed by the resulting shockwaves.

Shanks was the third Emperor Byakuya had faced, and his fighting style vastly differed from the previous two. 

Unlike other Emperors, Shanks had achieved his position without relying on a Devil Fruit. 

His rise was attributed to unparalleled swordsmanship rivaling Mihawk's and his unmatched mastery of Conqueror's Haki.

If Garp embodied the pinnacle of Armament Haki, Shanks was the man who pushed Conqueror's Haki to its absolute limit. 

Although both forms of Haki were part of the same trio, the potential of Conqueror's Haki far surpassed that of Armament Haki.

Simply put, if Armament Haki amplifies attacks by a factor of 1.1 to 1.6, then Conqueror's Haki increases it by 1.5 to 2. 

Don't underestimate that maximum 0.4 increase. 

Even the smallest difference can shift the entire battlefield for top-tier battles involving Admirals or Emperors. 

A 0.4 boost in power is monumental. Byakuya could feel this difference during his clash with Shanks. 

Even though his Armament Haki was at its peak, it was still weaker than Shanks' mastery of Conqueror's Haki.

The fact that Garp could chase Roger across the seas led Byakuya to suspect that Garp's Armament Haki might have broken through its natural limits, reaching a realm akin to his swordsmanship and telekinesis. 

Otherwise, explaining how Garp could stand toe-to-toe with Roger would be hard. 

Of course, mastering Conqueror's Haki to the point where it surpasses Armament Haki is unimaginably difficult. 

Across the vast sea, those who awaken Conqueror's Haki are already rare; among them, only a handful ever refine it to its pinnacle.

In the original story, only a select few showcased this mastery, highlighting how terrifying Shanks' talent in Conqueror's Haki truly is. 

This realization only made Byakuya more curious about Conqueror's Haki. 

Taking advantage of his battle with Shanks, he relentlessly honed his own Haki. As the fight dragged on, Shanks began to feel something was amiss. 

Although Byakuya appeared disadvantaged, he hadn't sustained a single injury. 

On the contrary, his seemingly endless stamina and masterful swordsmanship proved a nuisance for Shanks. 

Byakuya's sword strikes, as agile as slippery eels, repeatedly targeted Shanks' weak spots. 

If not for the immense power of his Conqueror's Haki, Shanks might have already lost.

During the clash, Shanks exchanged a knowing glance with Ben Beckman. Shanks' eyes flashed with resolve. "Conqueror's Strike!" he growled. 

The Conqueror's Haki enveloping Gryphon condensed into a small, dark-purple orb crackling with lightning. 

Though it appeared small, its destructive power was enough to annihilate a town. 

As Byakuya's attention was drawn to the orb, Ben Beckman moved, rushing toward Luffy, intending to snatch him away before Byakuya could react.

Noticing the situation, Byakuya frowned, instinctively adding more force to his next attack. 

He unleashed a light-blue slash of overwhelming power, which effortlessly extinguished the dark-purple orb in silence. 

The residual energy from the slash didn't dissipate and continued hurtling toward Shanks, whose face was filled with shock. 

The attack was so swift that Shanks couldn't evade it. He had no choice but to raise Gryphon horizontally to block.

Shanks believed that while Byakuya's slash had destroyed the Conqueror's Strike, its power must have diminished significantly. 

All he needed to do was withstand this attack and hold Byakuya off long enough for Beckman to rescue Luffy. 

However, when the slash struck, Shanks realized how naive his assumption had been. 

Still wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, the blade bent Gryphon into a "C" shape, emitting a sharp, grating sound. 

The scattered fragments of the slash tore several gashes in Shanks' clothing. 

If not for his timely use of Conqueror's Haki, his body would have been riddled with wounds.

The curved blade struck Shanks square in the chest, and the force felt like taking a direct punch from Kaido. 

Blood surged up his throat as he was sent flying several hundred meters. 

After forcing Shanks back, Byakuya launched into the air and dashed toward Beckman. 

Beckman reacted swiftly, taken aback by how quickly Byakuya had shaken off Shanks. 

He drew a half-meter-long flintlock pistol from his waist and used Observation Haki to lock onto Byakuya, who was moving at a high speed. 

A fiery explosion erupted from the barrel, propelling an ink-black bullet enhanced by Armament Haki through the air.

It tore through layers of pressure, screaming toward Byakuya's temple.

With his fully mastered Observation Haki, Byakuya sensed the incoming bullet and tilted his head slightly. 

The projectile whizzed past his nose, leaving a faint burnt smell from its blistering speed behind. 

However, the bullet that had missed suddenly reversed mid-air, homing back toward his temple, catching Byakuya off guard. 

"What the—?" he exclaimed in surprise.

Despite his shock, Byakuya reacted instantly, swinging his sword to cleave the bullet in two. 

The split halves of the bullet plunged into the sea, triggering a massive explosion that sent twin water columns soaring into the sky, spraying seawater in all directions. 

Witnessing this, Byakuya silently acknowledged the strength of the Red-Haired Pirates. 

"No wonder they're called the most unshakable crew under two Emperors," he thought. 

"Ben Beckman's power is easily on par with Shanks'. It makes me even more curious—how powerful is the Whitebeard Pirates, the crew that stands above all other Emperor crews?"

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