บท 262: Kamusari

"Your Haoshoku Haki is incredibly strong."

Shanks' eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Out of all the Haoshoku Haki users he'd ever fought, very few could match his strength. Inspired by Roger, Shanks had honed his Haoshoku Haki to an extremely high level.

He was even convinced that his Haoshoku Haki surpassed Roger's!

Now, encountering a young man who could match his Haoshoku Haki, Shanks was shaken.

"No, my Haoshoku Haki is weaker than yours." Eiji frankly admitted defeat.

Then, the oppressive aura around them both vanished.

"HAHAHA… You're too modest, Kamiki. You should be more proud of yourself. I guarantee that aside from me, your Haoshoku Haki is the strongest."

Shanks laughed reassuringly, placing his hand on Eiji's shoulder as if they were close friends.

"Is that so…"

Considering that he had trained his Haki for only three months, his progress was incredibly unreasonable. Eiji chose not to mention it, so as not to hurt Shanks' pride.

If Shanks knew his Haoshoku Haki, which he had trained for years, was only able to draw a tie with a young man who had trained for just over three months, he wouldn't know what face to make.

"Alright, since that's settled, let's teleport to the city. I'll throw a big celebration to welcome you."

"Wait, there's something else I want to do."

"What is it? Just tell me, I'd be happy to help."

Perhaps knowing Eiji was Rayleigh's student, Shanks was very friendly towards him.

"Shanks, I want to see you use Kamusari (Divine Departure) on me."

"Why do you want to see that?"

The smile on Shanks' face vanished, and his expression turned serious.

"No particular reason, I just want to see the technique the Pirate King used, that's all."

Eiji told the truth. He was worried that if he said he wanted to learn Kamusari just by watching it once, Shanks wouldn't believe him. Rather than wasting words trying to convince him, he just gave a reason that sounded plausible.

"Let me warn you, it's very dangerous."

Shanks wasn't surprised that the other party knew Kamusari was Roger's technique. After all, the other party was Rayleigh's student. It wasn't surprising that the other party knew many things about Roger. Things that the general public didn't.

"You don't need to worry about my safety, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Sigh… You're so stubborn."

Seeing Eiji so resolute, Shanks sighed and nodded in agreement.

"This is your last warning, will you reconsider your request?"

"No, but thank you for your concern. Do your best."

"Suit yourself, don't die, okay? I wouldn't have the face to meet Rayleigh if he knew I killed his student."

"I won't die."

"So confident."

Stopping trying to dissuade Eiji, Shanks walked back a distance, creating space between them. Once they were standing twenty meters apart, Shanks drew his sword, Gryphon, a Grade Supreme weapon.

"To use the Kamusari technique, the user coats their weapon with advanced Haoshoku Haki. The basic principle isn't different from when a Haki user coats their weapon with Busoshoku Haki, it's just that the impact of Haoshoku Haki is stronger than Busoshoku Haki."

After Shanks said that, he coated the Gryphon in his hand with his Haoshoku Haki. The next moment, a dark energy effect emerged from the sword, and at the same time, an abstract sound rang out.

"Are you ready?"

"Wait a minute, let me take a closer look."

Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity, Eiji maximized his Six Eyes to directly observe the Spiritual Energy in Shanks' body as he used Kamusari.

In a short time, Eiji analyzed and memorized everything he saw into his brain.

'My trip to Elbaf was very beneficial. I estimate it will take me a week to fully master Kamusari.'

Fortunately, Shanks couldn't hear Eiji's inner thoughts. If he could, he would doubt his own life.

"I'm done, you can start."

Wanting to test the power of Kamusari, Eiji activated Infinity, which he hadn't used in a long time.

"..."

Shanks said nothing more.

He walked leisurely towards Eiji, holding Gryphon, enveloped in pure red energy, glittering like a blazing fire. It wasn't fire, but a manifestation of his Haoshoku Haki. The energy glowed wildly, vibrating the air around it.

"Kamusari."

*SREEENG*

Suddenly, a deafening roar like lightning splitting the sky rang out. The sound was so loud, echoing far and wide, drowning out the surrounding sounds and making the sky appear dark for a moment.

Kamusari struck Eiji, even Infinity failed to stop the attack and shattered in an instant. Sensing Infinity breaking, before Kamusari hit him, he wrapped his entire body with Busoshoku Haki.

*CRUSH-BANG*

*WHOOSH*

The red energy continued to spread, slicing through the air, burning the space with flashes of red lightning that emanated from the point where Shanks' sword met Eiji.

"Cough Cough..."

Lying on the ground, Eiji coughed up blood.

Busoshoku Haki didn't completely negate Kamusari. He could feel his internal organs severely damaged, and there was a gruesome gash visible on his chest.

"I told you, it's too dangerous! You wait here, I'll call the ship's doctor."

Seeing Eiji in such a severe condition, Shanks felt a little guilty. He knew how powerful Kamusari at full power was.

"Cough… No need for a doctor…" Eiji said weakly.

"What are you talking about! You need treatment immediately, or you'll die…"

Shanks' words choked in his throat as he watched the gash on Eiji's chest quickly close.

Eiji ignored Shanks' shock and focused on circulating Cursed Energy to use RCT (Reverse Cursed Technique). In a short time, all his external and internal injuries had healed as if he had never been hurt.

If it weren't for his tattered clothes, which proved it was all real, Shanks would have thought he was seeing things.

"Interesting. You have a healing ability like the Lunarian tribe."

Not seeing wings on Eiji's back, Shanks dismissed the possibility that the other party was a Lunarian.

"Wow, there are still so many things in the world I haven't seen. That's why adventure is so fun."

Not dwelling too much on this topic, Shanks thought optimistically.

"Huft, that hurt."

Standing up, Eiji brushed off the dust on his clothes.

"Nothing else, right? Then let's have the party!"

"You just want to drink."

"HAHAHA… You caught me."

His purpose fulfilled, Eiji no longer delayed. Placing his hand on Shanks' shoulder, they both teleported to the city at the port.

Knowing Shanks well, his crew had already prepared the party by the time they returned. So, Eiji joined the Red-Haired Pirates and enjoyed a grand feast.