diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a68b742a8c1..466628ede96 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -41,7 +41,11 @@ are provided with different values, using input as per the execution-apis spec i
 - Implement `txpool_status` RPC method [#10002](https://github.com/hyperledger/besu/pull/10002)
 - Support [EIP-7975](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7975): eth/70 - partial block receipt lists
 - Limit pooled tx requests by size and remove pre-eth/68 transaction announcement support [#9990](https://github.com/besu-eth/besu/pull/9990)
+<<<<<<< optimize/register-based-shift
+- Use cache locality to improve Shift opcodes [#9878](https://github.com/besu-eth/besu/pull/9878)
+=======
 - Plugin API: pass pending block header when creating selectors [#10034](https://github.com/besu-eth/besu/pull/10034)
+>>>>>>> main
 
 ## 26.2.0
 
diff --git a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/SarOperationOptimized.java b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/SarOperationOptimized.java
index adbea0cb47a..70815987f84 100644
--- a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/SarOperationOptimized.java
+++ b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/SarOperationOptimized.java
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@
 
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.ALL_ONES;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.ALL_ONES_BYTES;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.getLong;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.isShiftOverflow;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.putLong;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.shiftRight;
 
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.EVM;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.frame.MessageFrame;
@@ -94,30 +97,46 @@ public static OperationResult staticOperation(final MessageFrame frame) {
    */
   private static Bytes sar256(final byte[] in, final int shift, final boolean negative) {
     if (shift == 0) return Bytes.wrap(in);
-
-    final int shiftBytes = shift >>> 3; // /8
-    final int shiftBits = shift & 7; // %8
-    final int fill = negative ? 0xFF : 0x00;
-
-    final byte[] out = new byte[32];
-
-    // Pre-fill sign-extended bytes (indices below shiftBytes are fully sign-extended)
-    if (negative && shiftBytes > 0) {
-      Arrays.fill(out, 0, shiftBytes, (byte) 0xFF);
+    long w0 = getLong(in, 0);
+    long w1 = getLong(in, 8);
+    long w2 = getLong(in, 16);
+    long w3 = getLong(in, 24);
+    final long fill = negative ? -1L : 0L;
+    // Number of whole 64-bit words to shift (shift / 64).
+    final int wordShift = shift >>> 6;
+    // Remaining intra-word bit shift (shift % 64).
+    final int bitShift = shift & 63;
+    switch (wordShift) {
+      case 0:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w3, w2, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w2, w1, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w0 = shiftRight(w0, fill, bitShift);
+        break;
+      case 1:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w2, w1, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftRight(w0, fill, bitShift);
+        w0 = fill;
+        break;
+      case 2:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w0, fill, bitShift);
+        w1 = fill;
+        w0 = fill;
+        break;
+      case 3:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w0, fill, bitShift);
+        w2 = fill;
+        w1 = fill;
+        w0 = fill;
+        break;
     }
-
-    // Only iterate bytes that receive shifted data from the input
-    for (int i = 31; i >= shiftBytes; i--) {
-      final int srcIndex = i - shiftBytes;
-      final int curr = in[srcIndex] & 0xFF;
-      if (shiftBits == 0) {
-        out[i] = (byte) curr;
-      } else {
-        final int prev = (srcIndex - 1 >= 0) ? (in[srcIndex - 1] & 0xFF) : fill;
-        out[i] = (byte) ((curr >>> shiftBits) | (prev << (8 - shiftBits)));
-      }
-    }
-
+    final byte[] out = new byte[32];
+    putLong(out, 0, w0);
+    putLong(out, 8, w1);
+    putLong(out, 16, w2);
+    putLong(out, 24, w3);
     return Bytes.wrap(out);
   }
 }
diff --git a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/Shift256Operations.java b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/Shift256Operations.java
index edfdab6be03..8e4075bb3b7 100644
--- a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/Shift256Operations.java
+++ b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/Shift256Operations.java
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@
  */
 package org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation;
 
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
+import java.lang.invoke.VarHandle;
+import java.nio.ByteOrder;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
 import org.apache.tuweni.bytes.Bytes;
@@ -24,6 +27,9 @@
  */
 public final class Shift256Operations {
 
+  private static final VarHandle LONG_HANDLE =
+      MethodHandles.byteArrayViewVarHandle(long[].class, ByteOrder.BIG_ENDIAN);
+
   /** An array of 31 0 bytes */
   private static final byte[] ZERO_31 = new byte[31];
 
@@ -50,4 +56,42 @@ public static boolean isShiftOverflow(final byte[] shiftBytes) {
     if (len <= 0) return false;
     return !Arrays.equals(shiftBytes, 0, len, ZERO_31, 0, len);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Reads a big-endian long from a byte array at the given offset.
+   *
+   * @param arr the byte array (must have at least offset + 8 bytes)
+   * @param offset the byte offset to read from
+   * @return the long value
+   */
+  static long getLong(final byte[] arr, final int offset) {
+    return (long) LONG_HANDLE.get(arr, offset);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Writes a big-endian long to a byte array at the given offset.
+   *
+   * @param arr the byte array (must have at least offset + 8 bytes)
+   * @param offset the byte offset to write to
+   * @param value the long value to write
+   */
+  static void putLong(final byte[] arr, final int offset, final long value) {
+    LONG_HANDLE.set(arr, offset, value);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Shifts a 64-bit word right and carries in bits from the previous more-significant word.
+   *
+   * <p>The {@code bitShift == 0} fast path avoids Java long-shift masking, where a shift by 64 is
+   * treated as a shift by 0.
+   *
+   * @param value the current word
+   * @param prevValue the previous more-significant word
+   * @param bitShift the intra-word shift amount in the range {@code [0..63]}
+   * @return the shifted word
+   */
+  static long shiftRight(final long value, final long prevValue, final int bitShift) {
+    if (bitShift == 0) return value;
+    return (value >>> bitShift) | (prevValue << (64 - bitShift));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShlOperationOptimized.java b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShlOperationOptimized.java
index a691636e060..0b9804ae6ee 100644
--- a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShlOperationOptimized.java
+++ b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShlOperationOptimized.java
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
  */
 package org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation;
 
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.getLong;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.isShiftOverflow;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.putLong;
 
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.EVM;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.frame.MessageFrame;
@@ -89,29 +91,63 @@ public static OperationResult staticOperation(final MessageFrame frame) {
    * @return the shifted 256-bit value
    */
   private static Bytes shl256(final byte[] in, final int shift) {
-    if (shift == 0) {
-      return Bytes.wrap(in);
+    if (shift == 0) return Bytes.wrap(in);
+    long w0 = getLong(in, 0);
+    long w1 = getLong(in, 8);
+    long w2 = getLong(in, 16);
+    long w3 = getLong(in, 24);
+
+    // Number of whole 64-bit words to shift (shift / 64).
+    final int wordShift = shift >>> 6;
+    // Remaining intra-word bit shift (shift % 64).
+    final int bitShift = shift & 63;
+    switch (wordShift) {
+      case 0:
+        w0 = shiftLeft(w0, w1, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftLeft(w1, w2, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftLeft(w2, w3, bitShift);
+        w3 = shiftLeft(w3, 0, bitShift);
+        break;
+      case 1:
+        w0 = shiftLeft(w1, w2, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftLeft(w2, w3, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftLeft(w3, 0, bitShift);
+        w3 = 0;
+        break;
+      case 2:
+        w0 = shiftLeft(w2, w3, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftLeft(w3, 0, bitShift);
+        w2 = 0;
+        w3 = 0;
+        break;
+      case 3:
+        w0 = shiftLeft(w3, 0, bitShift);
+        w1 = 0;
+        w2 = 0;
+        w3 = 0;
+        break;
     }
-
-    final int shiftBytes = shift >>> 3; // /8
-    final int shiftBits = shift & 7; // %8
-
     final byte[] out = new byte[32];
-
-    // Shift left: bytes move to lower indices (towards index 0)
-    // Bytes at index >= (32 - shiftBytes) are guaranteed zero (already from new byte[32])
-    final int limit = 32 - shiftBytes;
-    for (int i = 0; i < limit; i++) {
-      final int srcIndex = i + shiftBytes;
-      final int curr = in[srcIndex] & 0xFF;
-      if (shiftBits == 0) {
-        out[i] = (byte) curr;
-      } else {
-        final int next = (srcIndex + 1 < 32) ? (in[srcIndex + 1] & 0xFF) : 0;
-        out[i] = (byte) ((curr << shiftBits) | (next >>> (8 - shiftBits)));
-      }
-    }
-
+    putLong(out, 0, w0);
+    putLong(out, 8, w1);
+    putLong(out, 16, w2);
+    putLong(out, 24, w3);
     return Bytes.wrap(out);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Shifts a 64-bit word left and carries in bits from the next less-significant word.
+   *
+   * <p>The {@code bitShift == 0} fast path avoids Java long-shift masking, where a shift by 64 is
+   * treated as a shift by 0.
+   *
+   * @param value the current word
+   * @param nextValue the next less-significant word
+   * @param bitShift the intra-word shift amount in the range {@code [0..63]}
+   * @return the shifted word
+   */
+  private static long shiftLeft(final long value, final long nextValue, final int bitShift) {
+    if (bitShift == 0) return value;
+    return (value << bitShift) | (nextValue >>> (64 - bitShift));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShrOperationOptimized.java b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShrOperationOptimized.java
index 1eeb1b1ca5c..e32bd22b875 100644
--- a/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShrOperationOptimized.java
+++ b/evm/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/evm/operation/ShrOperationOptimized.java
@@ -14,7 +14,10 @@
  */
 package org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation;
 
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.getLong;
 import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.isShiftOverflow;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.putLong;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.evm.operation.Shift256Operations.shiftRight;
 
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.EVM;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.frame.MessageFrame;
@@ -93,24 +96,48 @@ private static Bytes shr256(final byte[] in, final int shift) {
       return Bytes.wrap(in);
     }
 
-    final int shiftBytes = shift >>> 3; // /8
-    final int shiftBits = shift & 7; // %8
-
-    final byte[] out = new byte[32];
-
-    // Shift right: bytes move to higher indices (towards index 31)
-    // Bytes below shiftBytes are guaranteed zero (already from new byte[32])
-    for (int i = 31; i >= shiftBytes; i--) {
-      final int srcIndex = i - shiftBytes;
-      final int curr = in[srcIndex] & 0xFF;
-      if (shiftBits == 0) {
-        out[i] = (byte) curr;
-      } else {
-        final int prev = (srcIndex - 1 >= 0) ? (in[srcIndex - 1] & 0xFF) : 0;
-        out[i] = (byte) ((curr >>> shiftBits) | (prev << (8 - shiftBits)));
-      }
+    long w0 = getLong(in, 0);
+    long w1 = getLong(in, 8);
+    long w2 = getLong(in, 16);
+    long w3 = getLong(in, 24);
+
+    // Number of whole 64-bit words to shift (shift / 64).
+    final int wordShift = shift >>> 6;
+    // Remaining intra-word bit shift (shift % 64).
+    final int bitShift = shift & 63;
+
+    switch (wordShift) {
+      case 0:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w3, w2, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w2, w1, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w0 = shiftRight(w0, 0, bitShift);
+        break;
+      case 1:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w2, w1, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w1 = shiftRight(w0, 0, bitShift);
+        w0 = 0;
+        break;
+      case 2:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w1, w0, bitShift);
+        w2 = shiftRight(w0, 0, bitShift);
+        w1 = 0;
+        w0 = 0;
+        break;
+      case 3:
+        w3 = shiftRight(w0, 0, bitShift);
+        w2 = 0;
+        w1 = 0;
+        w0 = 0;
+        break;
     }
 
+    final byte[] out = new byte[32];
+    putLong(out, 0, w0);
+    putLong(out, 8, w1);
+    putLong(out, 16, w2);
+    putLong(out, 24, w3);
     return Bytes.wrap(out);
   }
 }