An hour passed since both of them began to battle,
Loud 'booms' were birthed from the various clashes between Blaize and Shanks, generating sparks of lightning everywhere around the area.
The sea below them trembled blowing water while the sky above rumbled with dark clouds and purple lightning.
Even the resident of Foosha village 10 Km away from the battle location felt the change. The grey clouds and occasional shockwave scared them a little.
"What's happening?" A resident wondered.
"Is it a storm?"
--
"It seems like Chief is having fun," Yasopp commented while others in the crew also noticed the spirited expression on Shanks's face.
"The opponent channels too much Haki in his strike to match Shanks, it won't be long before he runs out of it. Still, he's a pretty strong fellow considering his age." Benn Beckman spoke.
"But if Chief gets serious, the battle won't last long." Lucy Roux said. Hearing it, Benn Beckman shook his head as he could tell Blaize is holding back.
Just as the crew chatted among themself, the fight between Blaize and Shanks intensified.
--
"Boom!"
A fatal strike came at Blaize. Shanks sword thrusts got more powerful after every stroke. He seems to be testing his limits.
Blaize tried to avoid taking a direct hit from the wind blade but Shanks predicted his move as the strike found his way towards him.
The attack struck his Haki coated body and gashed his body from right shoulder to left side of the stomach. The collision and resulting force slammed his body straight into the ocean.
It's true Blaize is on verge of losing the battle. Still, his face shone in the face of a worthy challenge. Shanks's Haki and sword mastery is on a different level but that's what he wants.
His fighting techniques, Haki, physical mastery, everything needs further practice. The fight with Shanks gave him the idea of how to achieve it.
There are many things he learned in the battle, he needs to reflect on them and improve himself.
He had only been fighting for over an hour, but he exerted two-third of his Haki while Shanks Haki hadn't depleted much. It's the difference between them.
'splash!'
Climbing out, Blaize stood on the water and wiped the blood from his lip. The wound inflicted by the last attack is quite deep as the injury wasn't healing fast.
The other reason is, his body had been constantly renewing his injuries caused by Shanks throughout the battle. There's a limit to his healing as it directly comes from his stamina.
As for Shanks, he was astonished by Blaize's tenacity and willpower. And, he found Blaize's physical body is similar to Kaido; full of power and strong life force.
Unfortunately, Blaize is too young and inexperienced. If not for that, his battle would have been a tough one.
"You are a good opponent but already exhausted yourself. Fighting anymore is meaningless. I will be in East Blue for a while, you can challenge me anytime you want." Shanks smiled, sheathing his sword back.
Blaize wasn't offended by Shanks's words. It's indisputable fact that he's weak.
And, it's also the reason why he sought Shanks; to enhance his combat powers. He knew the latter won't hurt him badly since he isn't the type of person who kills for a petty reason.
Looking at Shanks, he nodded. "I will look for you the month later."
Shanks then boarded his ship and left the area. His ship sailed towards Foosha village. Blaize knew their battle is not the end, it's just the beginning.
After fighting Shanks, he found many shortcomings in the way how he fights and utilizes his strength. He needs to correct them before looking for Shanks.
Today, he fought shanks to gauge the gap between them. Shanks hadn't reached the level of Yonko, in fact, his abilities are just at the level of Admiral.
But, in terms of combat power he's unequaled in the same level. Even if he meets a Yonko, he can escape unscathed that's how powerful he is.
As for his crew, they are just learning Haki. Only Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, and Yasopp looked formidable whose Haki level reached an advanced stage.
--
Few minutes after Shanks left, his Marine ship came and picked him. Onboard, Regis spoke, "Red-haired Shanks is powerful as described in rumors."
Rosinante wondered. "What such a powerful person is doing in East Blue?"
Blaize just lay in the deck of the ship lost in thought, basking in the sunlight. Shanks's strength didn't surprise him as he isn't your ordinary man.
In his younger years, he sailed the sea along with Roger and one of the most powerful pirate crew in the world. He's experienced and knew things that ordinary people don't.
His knowledge is vast as he had traveled the New World and met many strong people. As for Blaize, he lacks exposure. If not for his punishment, he would have entered the New World by now.
Blaize then checked his status panel,
[~ Name: Blaize Hunt
Occupation: Marine
Constitution: 51.1
Devil Fruit Potential: 44.9
Haki: 35.5
Free attribute point: 6.8 ~]
The battle with Shanks increased his Haki by 0.5 points. As for the Natural energy buff, it already weakened. If he trains hard every day, his Haki increases by 0.2 every week.
The higher his attributes the harder it gets to increase them. If not for the system, he couldn't imagine how many years it would take him to reach the summit of the world.
Forget about that, without the gift pack or system he may forever have been remained as a slave or perished by now. Luck is important. Fortunately, he's lucky to be transmigrated with a Gift Pack.
The quickest way to improve his strength is through system rewards. For that, he needs to complete the Task issued by the system or by completing achievements.
Right now, he only has a single Task in his Taskbar.
[~ Task: One-Punch Man Workout.
Description: Do 2000 push-ups, 2000 sit-ups, 2000 squats, and a 30KM run daily for 750 days.
Time: 750 days [720/750].
Reward: 5.0 constitution+ 5.0 Devil Fruit Potential+ 3 Free attribute points. ~]
Only 30 days left in the One Punch man workout task. Once he completes it, his strength will have a drastic change and his devil fruit attribute will also cross the '50' bar limit.
Furthermore, he has 6.8 free attribute points. If he combined it with the reward that he would get from the above task, it would be '9.8'.
Blaize plans on allocating them to the Haki attribute. It would be a huge boost to his strength once his Haki attribute crosses the 50 bar limit.
Above everything, he needs perfect training and should learn how to utilize his strength smartly.
--
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