"I still think this is a bad idea." someone on the crew said.
"Well yeah. But you know the captain... He is a bit of a battle junkie. No matter what the power difference is, he always enjoys a fight." Yasopp answered.
"...Yeah, but still..."
"Zip it! It's about to start." Beckman said.
Stood on the beach, opposite of Shanks, Aden was visibly nervous. He had faith in his power, but fighting Shanks was really making him worried.
"You ready?" Shanks asked.
"...As i'll ever be, i guess." Aden replied, his tone solid.
"Good." Shanks said, and opened up with a burst of Conqueror's Haki.
As the wave of sheer will given physical form hit Aden, his knees buckled and his hands began to shake. This prompted him to subconciously respond in kind, with his own Haki.
He did manage to push back on Shanks's will, but ultimately all he managed was a stalemate. As the two waves of Haki connected, the static charge created by the pressure was released in the form of electric bursts.
Aden immediately used that opportunity, and absorbed some of the electricity released.
Feeling his body fill with the charge, he transformed into lightning, and seemingly teleported behind Shanks. As he reappeared, he took a swing at Shanks's back with his dagger, which he coated in razor sharp wind rubbing against itself. This practically turned his dagger into a sword and made the wind blade sharp enough to cut stone.
However, even with his instant movement, Shanks still managed to dodge the strike. But his coat did not escape unscathed, which was revealed when he turned back towards Aden after jumping away, showing a cut in the fabric.
"Well i'll be damned! I must admit, i did not expect that. I only managed to dodge because of my Haki." Shanks said, with an impressed whistle.
"That's nice of you to say that...But you didn't have to let me destroy your coat just to make me feel better. You reacted even before i moved. You just wanted me to get cocky." Aden said knowingly as he used the opportunity to take his own coat off and toss it towards the others. It would just be in the way in this fight.
"You noticed, huh? Yeah i did. Not anymore though. You have become strong Aden. I am so proud of you." Shanks said with a smile.
"Thanks. This is actually a great way to see where i stand. Who better to gauge my strength, than one of the strongest people in the world?" Aden said with a smirk, getting ready to continue.
Shanks did not respond further, but instead drew his sword. Releasing another burst of his haki, he charged at Aden with a sideway strike.
Aden for his part felt the approach both through his Air Sense and his Haki. But he also noticed something else. Before Shanks moved, Aden felt him move a fraction of a second before charging.
Shelving that for later thought, he had to focus on the fight.
As Shanks's sword got close, he decided to block with his Wind Sword. But just before the impact, he replaced the wind with lightning and blocked with just the dagger.
Shanks noticed the change right away, but his momentum prevented him from pulling back. Curious about Aden's power output, he allowed the electricity to jump to his sword at the moment of impact, and travel up his arm.
The moment the attack landed, Aden was sent flying backwards, knocking up a cloud of sand as he landed about twenty meters away.
Shanks however was shocked. Literally.
He felt the pain and numbness all over his body. It was short lived due to his own vitality, but the damage was done anyway. Looking at his slightly shaking hand, he grew a look of worry. If Aden can do this now, what kind of monster will he become in a year?
His pirate mind considered ending Aden right there, but that notion was immediately squashed, shredded and burned by his usual frame of mind. He cursed his intrusive thoughts, and began to approach the sand cloud.
The moment he was just two meters away from the hole, the sand around him exploded from beneath his feet.
He felt the wind begin to spin around him, creating what could only be called a sand storm.
"Trying to blind me will not work, kid. You know i have Haki." Shanks said hoping to get in Aden's head. Mindgames are a part of warfare afterall.
To his surprise however, he actually got an answer.
"~I'm well aware. Not the point though.~" said a voice from all around him.
Shanks looked around calmly, trying to pinpoint Aden's exact location, but it was just as the all-surrounding voice suggested. He felt Aden's presence all around him.
Shanks tried to jump out of the sand twister, seeing as the wind was not that strong, but no matter how hard he tried, it followed him.
"Damnit... I can't do this for long. His constant Haki bombardment is making it hard to focus... I need to even the playing field a bit. Desert heat sounds like a good idea." Aden thought to himself, as he began to heat up the air, i.e. himself, in the sandstorm.
He increased the temperature to such a degree, all the moisture within the sand storm disappeared.
As Shanks was still trying to get out of the sand twister, he noticed he began to sweat. Wiping his forehead, he realized it was getting hotter in there. It wasn't until his lips cracked, and his sweat instantly evaporated, that he got a bit concerned.
"He's trying to give me a heat stroke. This...This feels like a desert...Just how versitile IS his devil fruit? 'This' makes sense, but the lightning? There is more to this, i'm sure. But back to the fight, i cannthink about it later." Shanks had thought, but decided to leave it for now. He had more pressing issues to deal with.
As the sand storm continued, with Shanks getting boiled and Aden slowly losing his wind, the others watching the fight were gobsmacked.
"....Ya'll are seein' this right?" Roux asked, his piece of meat completely forgotten.
"Seeing? Sure. Still working on believing." Yasopp replied, his eyes wide in shock.
"Just what kind of monster is that kid?" Beckman asked to himself.
"Did not think he would become so strong when i first saw him all those years ago. And did you see him move? I mean, I would have to actually try to keep up." said Roux excitedly as he took another bite of his food. Not completely forgotten it seems.
"Come on, kid. I can feel you getting tired. You can't keep this up for long." Shanks said with a raspy voice, as his throat was dry and begging for a drink. Of water, believe it or not.
He got no response besides the sand speeding up, and the heat climbing further.
"Caught second wind,huh? Well, you don't leave me many options kid." Shanks said and immediately released a burst of Haki stronger than before. Strong enough, that he knew it would knock Aden out for a moment.
As the Haki covered the sand storm, Aden was forced to materialize. And as he was actually the guiding force behind the sand, his momentum carried him away from Shanks, and towards the sea.
"Oh crap!" seeing Aden about to fall into the sea, Shanks charged behind him. Contrary to what some people may think, Shanks actually cares for the kid, and that includes his brothers.
Shortly after Aden hit the water and went under, Shanks dove after him, wanting to save him.
The others were hoping he would get to the kid fast enough, as it would be a shame, if a friendly spar ended in an accidental death.
A few moments passed, when a figure burst out of the water.
What nobody expected though, was for the figure to be revealed as Shanks flying backward towards the beach, and landing with a thud. Whatever sent him flying, did not hit him that hard it seemed.
"What the hell!" they all shouted in unison.
A small snicker of weak laughter was heard from the sea.
"Damn, you should have seen the look on your face." Aden said with a weak smile, as he floated on his back at the surface.
"...SINCE WHEN CAN A DEVIL FRUIT SWIM!!!!" Shanks shouted as he sat up, truly shocked for the first time.
"They can't.*huff* I can only do this for a bit...." Aden said tiredly, as he swam towards the shore.
Getting up ln the beach, he stood ready to continue the fight, but Shank's raised palm stopped him.
"That is enough, Aden. The fact you lasted that long, especially with my Haki hammering into you, is very impressive." Shanks admitted with a proud smile.
"...So...We done?" Aden asked,unsure.
Shanks only gave a nod in confirmation, a widening smile on his face.
"Good." Aden said with a breath of relief.
"...Three, two, one." Shanks counted down and as soon as he got to one, Aden promptly fell flat on his face, passed out.
"Heh. Called it... Ouch." Shanks said with a smirk, but cracked his lips further. Karma is a bitch.
"Hahahahahaha!" the others laughed both at his joke and his misery.
(Well i tried my best to make it a good fight scene.Hopefully i succeeded, but after reading it back it feels as dey as Shank's lips. But it is the best i can do. Hoping to get better as time goes.
To clear up any confusion, i did not nerf Shanks or Aden.
Shanks fought at a level to push Aden, but not to end the bout too fast. And Aden got exhausted so quickly, because he has no experience fighting another haki user.
Anyway i hope you enjoyed. See ya.)