Strongest Celestial Dragon in the History of One Piece

As days passed by, Luffy and Gildarts started practicing their Devil Fruit abilities, taking advantage of the fact that Shanks was still on the island. Shanks, who was shocked that Gildarts had a Devil Fruit ability, immediately asked where he got it. When Gildarts told him the same story he had told Makino and Luffy, Shanks accepted it without any doubts.

For the following weeks, the Red-Haired Pirates did not leave Dawn Island. During that time, Shanks began teaching Gildarts the basics of using a sword. However, he was not allowed to use the sword Shanks had given him and instead trained with a wooden practice sword provided by Shanks.

Through their training, Shanks was surprised at the rate Gildarts was growing. Not only was he picking up the techniques quickly, but it was also like seeing a smaller version of himself. Every move Shanks used during their sparring sessions, Gildarts could replicate—and even modify—to suit his own body and current limitations. Gildarts was also incredibly strong for his age.

'My son is a monster,' Shanks thought with a grin, as he sent a slash toward Gildarts, who parried the strike and immediately counterattacked. Their sparring gradually became more intense, as Luffy and Uta watched with great curiosity.

After about three hours of sparring, Shanks and Gildarts stopped. Gildarts was now incredibly tired, having forced himself to at least keep up with Shanks, which quickly drained his stamina—despite the physical enhancements granted by his Devil Fruit.

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One day, while Gildarts and Shanks were in the middle of one of their sparring matches, Shanks suddenly stopped mid-duel and looked toward the town, which confused Gildarts a little.

"What's wrong, Shanks?" Gildarts asked, causing Shanks to snap out of his stupor and look back at him. Shanks then smiled slightly.

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong. Here, do this set of exercises first. I'll just step away for a little bit, then I'll come back, alright?" Shanks said to Gildarts, who simply nodded. All that was on his mind was getting stronger, as he knew what was coming in the future.

Shanks then left, while Gildarts followed the exercise manual Shanks had left behind. It mostly contained basic swordsmanship forms, but Gildarts noticed that the focus was more on stabbing—different from what Shanks had been teaching him before. Gildarts read through the entire manual and began copying the movements. As he practiced, something important suddenly came to his mind.

'Crap, I forgot that Shanks was going to lose his arm. Maybe that's today,' Gildarts thought, immediately transforming into his dragon form and running toward the village. It didn't take him more than a minute to arrive—but all of the bandits had already been defeated. Still, he noticed that both Shanks and Luffy were missing.

He rushed toward the shore, desperately trying to find the place where Shanks would be. But when he arrived, he was already too late—Shanks had already lost his arm. Luffy was crying, and the Sea King had returned, intending to eat both Shanks and Luffy.

"ENOUGH!!!" Gildarts roared, unconsciously releasing a powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki. It was so potent that the area around him was destroyed, and the sky thundered violently. The sheer pressure caused both Gildarts and Luffy to faint on the spot.

Shanks, the only one left awake, stared in shock. He hadn't expected his son to have this kind of potential, and the display left him both surprised and deeply impressed.

'I can't wait for the new era,' Shanks thought, as he swam toward the unconscious Gildarts.

When Gildarts woke up, more than two hours had passed since the incident. Luffy was now awake and crying over Shanks, repeatedly apologizing to both Shanks and Uta. When Gildarts stepped out of his room, Luffy immediately ran to him and hugged him tightly, continuing to apologize profusely.

This made Shanks lift Luffy off Gildarts.

"Don't cry anymore, alright? I thought you wanted to become a pirate. Pirates aren't crybabies," Shanks said to Luffy, which made Luffy stop sobbing a little.

"But your arm..." Luffy said, looking up at Shanks.

In response, Shanks took off his hat and placed it directly on Luffy's head. Luffy, confused, stopped crying—wondering why Shanks gave the hat to him instead of Gildarts.

"Keep it for me, alright? You can give it back when we meet again in the future," Shanks said as he turned and left the tavern, leaving Luffy behind.

Gildarts and Uta followed after Shanks. Gildarts approached him, wearing a curious expression, wanting to know the real reason behind it all.

"Shanks, why didn't you fight that creature? I know you could have killed it," Gildarts said, which made Shanks stop in his tracks and look directly at him.

"I sacrificed it for the future," Shanks replied, smiling in his usual way.

"Is this the last time I'll see you again?" Gildarts asked.

"Sadly, yes. But you already know the reason for that. When you grow up, find me in the New World, okay? I'll be waiting for you—and Luffy. So don't keep me waiting too long," Shanks said as he gave his final goodbye, offering no further explanation. Then he and his crew boarded the Red Force, ready to set sail.

"Shanks, when I grow up, I'll become the Pirate King and find you out at sea," Luffy said as Shanks and his crew continued walking away. Suddenly, a loud laugh echoed among them, followed by Luffy's laughter joining in.