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To be honest, when he helped release Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, and the others, in addition to wanting to recruit them under his command, he also had his sights set on One Piece.
After all, he was just as curious about what was hidden on the mysterious Raftel.
But unexpectedly, Rayleigh and the others had lost interest in becoming pirates again.
Once they regained their freedom, Rayleigh only left with a promise, saying he would repay the favor if given the chance in the future. Then, he took Scopper Gaban and the rest of the crew, and they parted ways to go their own direction.
To be honest, if it hadn't been the wrong time and place, he definitely would have acted.
However, he was concerned that Marine Headquarters, not far from Impel Down, would respond quickly, so he had no choice but to let it go.
Now, having had his fill of food and drink, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"I helped you get your freedom, but in the end, I got nothing in return?" he fumed. "And you get to keep living carefree on the seas without giving anything back? How could such a thing exist?"
With that thought, Shiki took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "After some time to rest, we'll go find Rayleigh and the others."
"Wooo!"
Upon hearing Shiki's words, everyone present knew what he intended.
It was clear he planned to get the location of Laugh Tale from Rayleigh.
The crew cheered at the idea of going to the final island and uncovering the secret of One Piece.
Seeing the excitement of his crew, Shiki grinned boldly.
At that moment—
A loud, harsh sound suddenly came from behind, catching everyone's attention.
"What's that? Look, something's flying toward us!"
"Good grief, two bear paws? Bear paws flying in the sky? Am I seeing this right?"
"You idiots, haven't you noticed? There are two figures in there!"
"Let me take a look and see who it is... hiss..."
A big pirate with sharp eyesight squinted into the distance, carefully distinguishing the two figures at the center of the bear paw-shaped shockwave.
As the distance closed, the figures' faces gradually became clearer.
The pirate who had been watching suddenly gasped, his face turning pale with fear.
"Shi... Shiki-sama, oh god!"
"That's Fleet Admiral Akira and Director Magellan... They're coming after us!"
The pirate pointed with a trembling hand at the incoming shockwave, his voice filled with uncontrollable panic.
"What? The Fleet Admiral is chasing us?"
"How is that possible? We've been flying non-stop since we escaped!"
"Dammit! A Fleet Admiral, coming here personally? This doesn't make sense!"
"Captain, what should we do?"
****
The mention of Akira coming too left everyone on edge, their earlier relaxation vanishing in an instant.
Everyone on the deck had been through Akira's brutal training sessions in the past days, dragged into combat drills without mercy.
None of them knew better than this crew just how terrifying Akira's strength was.
At that moment, memories of their helplessness in the freezing lands while facing Akira flashed through their minds.
Faced with such an overwhelming force, the entire crew instinctively turned to their only source of hope—Golden Lion Shiki.
They cast desperate glances in his direction, waiting for orders and guidance.
However, Shiki's face looked grim. He struggled to maintain his composure, but deep down, his reaction was no better than theirs. If he didn't have his pride to uphold, he might have panicked just the same.
After all, Shiki himself had experienced firsthand what it was like to be on the receiving end of Akira's overwhelming power.
"Damn it, you're asking me what to do? Just take him down already!" Shiki snapped, clearly irritated by the nervousness of his crew.
You already know who's coming, and you think you can't beat him. So why not stop him now?
"Oh, right, right! Hurry up and take them down!"
"Fleet Admiral Akira is a Devil Fruit user. If he falls into the sea, he won't survive."
"Come on, let's do it before it's too late!"
The pirates quickly gathered their strength, wasting no time in launching their signature attacks.
"Death Sword: Slanting Slash!"
"Fist Thrust!"
"Take this! Fire Cannonballs!"
One after another, devastating and powerful attacks were unleashed, flying toward the massive bear paw shockwave that was quickly closing in on them.
Meanwhile, Golden Lion Shiki wasn't idle either.
He anchored the pirate ship in mid-air, focusing intently. The famous swords attached to his feet gleamed as they were coated in an intense aura of sword energy.
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Groan!
The sound of Shiki's swords rang out, echoing across the sky and sea.
Two colossal sword beams as large as mountains tore through the air, radiating an unimaginable sharpness.
Shiki hadn't held back in the slightest. In fact, this was one of the strongest moves he could unleash.
Everyone watched anxiously, hoping that this combined assault would send Akira plunging into the ocean.
"Fleet Admiral Akira..."
Magellan, standing next to Akira, felt his hair stand on end as the fierce onslaught approached.
There's no stopping this. Absolutely no stopping it.
His instincts screamed at him, warning of impending doom. Panicking, Magellan turned his head to Akira and shouted, desperate for guidance.
But Akira didn't move. He simply stood tall, his gaze cold and unwavering as the attacks came closer. With an aura of absolute calm, he watched the incoming barrage, as if it was beneath his notice.
Seeing the situation, Magellan could only grit his teeth and push through, mustering up the strength that was slightly diminished due to his fear of heights.
A thick layer of purple-black venom coated his body, and a massive, towering poisonous dragon, several meters high, coiled around him, gathering behind for the attack.
Finally, the killing blow arrived!
Boom!
The sound of the explosion was deafening, completely drowning out the crashing of the waves.
In that moment, the world seemed to only echo with the sound of destruction.
A thick cloud of smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.
"We hit them dead-on!"
"Fleet Admiral Akira didn't even try to dodge. Looks like being inside that bear paw had its downsides."
"Hah! No one can survive my move, let alone taking all of us on at once."
"Exactly! Look at all that smoke, not a single sound. There's no way that Marine bastard blocked it."
"Yeahahaha! The almighty Fleet Admiral and Director of Impel Down, taken out by us! Boss Shiki, we're about to make history!"
With no movement coming from the smoke, the pirates started to relax, their tense energy fading as they burst into laughter.
Even Shiki allowed himself a brief moment of relief, but being cautious, he activated his Observation Haki just to be sure.
In an instant, two distinct presences appeared in his mind.
One radiated an overwhelming force, like the scorching heat of the sun itself, while the other felt more sluggish but still alive.
"Not good."
Shiki's eyes widened in shock. But before he could react—
Boom!
The air cracked, the shockwave dispersing the smoke and revealing Akira standing completely unharmed, his cold eyes locking onto Shiki's crew, the situation far from over.