The battlefield had ceased to resemble the place where the duel had begun.
The forest surrounding the clearing was scarred by countless cuts, the earth had been torn apart in several places, and the remains of broken trees lay scattered beneath the bright morning light. Yet the destruction around them was no longer what held everyone's attention.
It was the two figures standing at the center of it.
Arthur's crimson aura continued to spread through the battlefield, mingling with the dense Blood Mist that surrounded his body. His Vampire Hybrid Form had transformed his appearance completely. Dark wings stretched behind him, his eyes burned with an unnatural intensity, and veins of blood-colored energy moved beneath his skin as though his entire body had become part of the mist itself.
His two swords remained firmly in his hands.
One was surrounded by the oppressive force of Armament Lock.
The other carried the strange distortion of his Art-Art Fruit.
And neither effect remained separate from his Haki.
Every movement Arthur made combined them into a single fighting style that Shanks had never encountered before.
Shanks understood that now.
The problem was that understanding it did not make it easier to stop.
Arthur vanished.
Shanks' Observation Haki immediately expanded, just blur image because Observation Killing.
He turned.
A blade passed directly beside his face.
Shanks twisted his body and brought Gryphon upward.
CLANG!
The impact sent sparks across the clearing.
Arthur's second sword came from below.
Shanks moved again.
Too late.
The edge stopped less than an inch from his ribs.
Not because Shanks had failed to perceive the attack.
Because the attack itself had changed the moment he tried to evade it.
Armament Lock had already taken hold.
The force surrounding Arthur's blade pressed against Shanks' body. His muscles responded a fraction slower than they should have, as though an invisible command had been imposed upon them.
Shanks' expression lost its remaining amusement.
That again.
He forced his Busoshoku outward.
The pressure weakened.
But Arthur was already moving.
A third strike followed.
Then a fourth.
Then a fifth.
Shanks parried each one, but he was no longer controlling the exchange.
Arthur was.
From the edge of the ruined field, Beckman watched in silence.
His cigarette remained unlit between his fingers.
He had stopped trying to analyze Arthur's Devil Fruits separately. It no longer mattered which power created the opening. What mattered was what Arthur did with it.
Yet the most dangerous part was still the swords.
Beckman's eyes narrowed.
Arthur wasn't using his Devil Fruits to replace swordsmanship.
He was using them to remove the weaknesses of a two-sword style.
"He's forcing Captain into a reaction pattern," Yasopp muttered.
Roux looked toward the battlefield. "I noticed."
"No. Look carefully." Yasopp's expression became more serious. "Every time Captain tries to create distance, Arthur closes it. Every time he tries to counter, that second sword takes away the opening."
Beckman finally spoke.
"He's controlling Shanks' moving space."
Robin's gaze followed the swirling crimson haze.
She understood immediately.
The surrounding land had become a trap.
There was no visible wall around Shanks, yet every possible escape route was being gradually removed. Blood mist occupied one direction. Arthur's sword occupied another. His second blade threatened the remaining openings, while Armament Lock made even a successful attempt to move feel unnaturally difficult.
And Arthur's Observation Killing made predicting his own movements nearly impossible.
Shanks had the same ability.
That was what made the situation so unusual.
Neither man could freely read the other's intent through Observation Haki.
They had been reduced to instinct, experience, and physical reactions.
For Shanks, those instincts had carried him through countless battles.
But Arthur had something Shanks had not expected.
He had two blades.
And every movement of one created an opportunity for the other.
Arthur lunged.
Shanks shifted left.
Arthur's first sword followed.
Shanks parried.
The second blade immediately descended from above.
Shanks raised Gryphon.
CLANG!
The impact forced him down onto one knee.
The earth beneath his boot cracked.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
He pressed harder.
Shanks' arm trembled.
For the first time since the duel began, the Red Hair Emperor was visibly struggling to hold his position.
Then Shanks released a burst of Busoshoku Haki.
The pressure exploded outward.
Arthur was forced back several meters.
Shanks rose immediately.
His breathing remained controlled.
His expression was still calm.
But the sleeve around his left arm had been torn, and several thin cuts marked his clothing.
Arthur looked at him.
Shanks smiled.
"You're making this difficult."
Arthur rotated one sword in his hand.
"That was the idea."
Shanks laughed softly.
Then he disappeared.
Arthur's Observation Killing reacted instantly.
His body moved before his eyes found Shanks.
CLANG!
Gryphon struck against Arthur's right-hand blade.
The impact sent Arthur sliding backward.
Shanks followed without hesitation.
One slash.
Two.
Three.
His movements became sharper.
Faster.
More direct.
There was no wasted motion now.
Shanks was no longer trying to understand Arthur's abilities.
He was fighting the man himself.
His swordsmanship carried the experience of an era Arthur had never lived through. Every strike came from an angle designed to force a response, and every response was met with another attack.
Arthur blocked.
Parried.
Countered.
Shanks changed direction.
Arthur followed.
For several seconds, the two swordsmen moved so quickly that even the strongest observers struggled to distinguish one exchange from the next.
Then Arthur's eyes narrowed.
There.
He saw the pattern.
Shanks wasn't predicting him.
He was feeling him.
Observation Killing had taken away his Future Sight, but it had not taken away decades of battle experience. Shanks had learned to fight without needing to know what came next. He simply felt it.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"So that's how you fight."
Shanks' grin widened.
Their blades collided again.
BOOM!
The shockwave swept across the surrounding land.
Arthur immediately followed with a horizontal slash.
Shanks ducked.
The second blade came toward his back.
Shanks twisted.
The sword grazed his coat.
A thin tear appeared across the fabric.
Arthur's first blade returned from the opposite direction.
Shanks barely caught it with Gryphon.
The two swords locked.
For one moment, Shanks' movements stopped.
Armament Lock surged through the contact point.
His body stiffened.
His knees bent slightly.
Arthur stepped forward.
The pressure increased.
Shanks' eyes widened.
It wasn't simply strength.
The Haki itself was forcing his body to acknowledge Arthur's dominance.
It felt less like being physically restrained and more like standing before a king whose authority demanded obedience.
Shanks gritted his teeth.
He pushed his own Haoshoku outward.
Black lightning erupted between them.
The pressure around his body shattered.
Shanks broke free.
Arthur's eyes widened slightly.
Shanks immediately swung Gryphon.
Arthur crossed both swords.
CRACK!
The collision sent both men flying backward.
They landed almost simultaneously.
Neither spoke.
The Red Hair Pirates remained silent.
Yasopp stared at Shanks.
"Captain..."
Roux's expression had lost its usual amusement.
Beckman didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.
He knew exactly what everyone else was beginning to realize.
Shanks was fighting at full strength.
There was no hidden reserve he could casually reveal later.
No Devil Fruit waiting to change the balance.
No transformation that would suddenly turn the battle around.
Everything Shanks had was already on the field.
His sword.
His Haki.
His experience.
His instincts.
And yet Arthur was still advancing.
Law slowly exhaled.
"So this is what happens when someone can fight Captain on the same level of Haki..."
Robin looked toward Arthur.
"No."
Law glanced at her.
Robin's expression remained calm.
"He's beginning to gain the advantage."
Law's eyes widened slightly.
Before he could respond, Arthur moved again.
The crimson mist surged forward with him.
Shanks immediately raised Gryphon.
Arthur's two blades crossed.
Black lightning exploded across the shattered ground.
BOOM!
Shanks was driven backward.
One step.
Then another.
Then a third.
His boots carved deep grooves through the earth.
Arthur continued forward without allowing him a moment to recover.
Shanks swung.
Arthur blocked.
Arthur struck.
Shanks parried.
Another attack followed.
Armament Lock pressed against Shanks again.
His movements slowed.
Only slightly.
But against Arthur, slightly was enough.
Arthur's first blade forced Gryphon aside.
The second stopped directly before Shanks' chest.
Shanks froze.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield became completely silent.
The blade hovered inches from his body.
Arthur could have struck.
Instead, he stopped.
Shanks looked down at the sword.
Then back at Arthur.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You're getting better."
Arthur's expression remained focused.
"No." His grip tightened. "I'm getting used to you."
Shanks' smile widened.
Then he raised Gryphon again.
The pressure around him surged.
Arthur's eyes sharpened.
The duel had reached another stage.
Neither man could rely on surprise anymore.
Neither could depend on Observation Haki to reveal the other's future.
They were now fighting through instinct, experience, Haki, and pure swordsmanship.
But Arthur had discovered something important.
Shanks could read his movements without seeing them.
And Arthur could now do the same.
The difference would come down to whose instincts were faster.
Whose Haki was stronger.
And whose will could force the other to yield first.
The morning sun climbed higher above the horizon.
Its light struck the crimson mist surrounding Arthur, turning it into a vast red veil across the battlefield.
Shanks watched the sight for a moment.
Then he tightened his grip around Gryphon.
"Let's see how far that new instinct of yours can take you."
Arthur lowered both swords.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Come find out."
Shanks stepped forward.
Arthur did the same.
Neither man needed another word.
The next exchange would decide whether Shanks could reclaim control of the battle—
or whether the Red Emperor would finally be forced to fight on Arthur's terms.
Arthur moved first.
The crimson mist surrounding his body surged outward as he crossed the battlefield, while the blood beneath his skin responded to his will. Shanks immediately tightened his grip around Gryphon and stepped forward to meet him. Neither man attempted to retreat. After everything they had learned about each other, distance had become a liability rather than an advantage.
Their blades collided.
CLANG!
A burst of black lightning erupted between them.
Arthur's first sword drove Gryphon upward while his second blade swept toward Shanks' waist. Shanks turned his body and avoided the strike by the narrowest margin, then countered with a slash aimed directly at Arthur's neck.
Arthur ducked.
The blade passed above his head.
He immediately drove his knee toward Shanks' abdomen.
Shanks blocked with his free arm, but the impact pushed him backward several meters. Before his feet had completely settled, Arthur was already there again.
One sword.
Then the other.
Left.
Right.
Above.
Below.
Shanks defended against every attack, but the pressure never stopped.
He couldn't predict Arthur's movements through Observation Haki.
Neither could Arthur predict his.
Their Observation Killing had reduced the battle to something far more primitive and dangerous: instinct, experience, and the ability to react before the body itself understood what was happening.
Shanks had spent decades perfecting that ability.
Arthur was beginning to match it.
The red-haired Emperor suddenly stepped inside Arthur's reach.
Gryphon flashed toward Arthur's chest.
Arthur crossed his swords.
BOOM!
The force of the collision sent both men sliding apart.
Shanks immediately pursued.
Arthur raised one blade.
Shanks struck.
Arthur parried.
The second sword came from the opposite direction.
Shanks twisted away.
Again, Armament Lock pressed against him.
His movement became heavier.
His body seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second, as though an invisible command had been imposed upon it.
Shanks recognized the sensation instantly.
That Haki.
He forced his own Haoshoku outward, breaking through the oppressive force before it could completely take hold.
But Arthur had already anticipated the response.
His first sword changed direction.
The second followed.
Shanks blocked one.
The other grazed his side.
A thin line appeared across his shirt.
Shanks stepped away and looked down.
Another wound.
Another small reminder that the balance of the duel had shifted.
Arthur didn't give him time to think.
The Blood Mist moved.
At first, it seemed to be nothing more than an extension of the crimson haze surrounding Arthur. It drifted across the battlefield, carried by the morning air, spreading between the two swordsmen.
Shanks noticed it.
His Observation Haki immediately warned him.
Something was wrong.
He shifted backward.
The crimson haze curled after him, refusing to leave his blind spots.
He moved to the side.
It changed direction.
Shanks' expression became more serious.
Arthur noticed.
"You've been avoiding it."
Shanks kept Gryphon raised.
"I'd be stupid not to."
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Good."
The mist suddenly condensed.
Shanks swung Gryphon through it.
The blade scattered the crimson haze for an instant.
Arthur appeared behind him.
Shanks turned immediately.
CLANG!
Gryphon met both of Arthur's swords.
The impact pushed Shanks down.
Arthur pressed forward.
The Blood Mist continued gathering around their feet.
Shanks forced Arthur's blades aside and jumped backward, landing on a broken section of earth several meters away.
He looked around.
The crimson haze had spread farther than before.
It was no longer simply surrounding Arthur.
It was covering the battlefield.
Shanks' eyes narrowed.
"So that's your plan."
Arthur said nothing.
He simply raised one hand.
The mist moved.
Shanks immediately sensed danger.
He launched himself sideways.
A narrow stream of blood shot through the space where his body had been.
It struck a tree behind him.
The trunk dissolved into a grotesque red sculpture before collapsing.
Several members of both crews stared.
Law's expression hardened.
"That wasn't a normal attack."
Robin's eyes followed the blood.
"No. Arthur is controlling the battlefield itself."
Beckman remained silent.
He understood something else.