Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions echoed in the sky, 10,000 meters above the sea, like the roaring of thunder from the heavens themselves.
"I said, that's enough!"
Carl's furious roar shook the battlefield. An immense surge of black lightning, crackling with liquid energy, erupted from below. It was like an expanding realm, shattering every approaching Slash Wave and lion construct from the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi in an instant.
At the island's center, the terrain had already caved in hundreds of meters deep. The battle's sheer force threatened to pierce straight through to the other side of the floating landmass.
Standing amidst the destruction, Carl gazed upward at the legendary pirate hovering above. His eyes gleamed with a fierce crimson light.
"How can he still fight like this?"
A rare flicker of surprise flashed across Shiki the Golden Lion's bloodshot eyes. This Marine's Color of Armament had reached an absurd level—far beyond anything he had ever encountered, even surpassing Rayleigh, Garp, and Whitebeard at their peak. It was an unfathomable power, bordering on the impossible.
But instead of fear, an ecstatic grin stretched across Shiki's face.
"Jihahahaha! That's it! This is the way I should go out!"
He had known pulling out the rudder from his skull was a gamble—a risk with his very life on the line. For twenty-seven long years, that cursed metal had been embedded in his head. And yet, even now, despite the lethal blood loss, he was still alive.
Even if he were to die today, at least it would be against an opponent worthy of witnessing his final blaze of glory.
Carl's gaze darkened as his Senbonzakura-formed sword wings collapsed, dispersing into a blizzard of delicate pink petals.
"You want a perfect curtain call?" He clenched his fists, his Haki surging violently. "Then I'll give it to you."
For the first time, Carl acknowledged the legend before him.
No matter the man's flaws, ego, or madness, Shiki had proven himself a true warrior—one of the last relics of the old era, standing defiantly to the bitter end.
Shiki grinned wider. "Jihahaha! That's what I like to hear! Come at me, Marine!"
His eyes burned with a fierce, untamed light, as though the clock had rewound to twenty-seven years ago—back to when he had sailed alongside Roger, Whitebeard, and the Rocks Pirates.
To an era when he was still called "The Flying Pirate, Shiki the Golden Lion."
"As you wish."
Carl's eyes blazed like molten steel, his killing intent condensing into a blood-red aura that distorted the space around him.
"Profound Art: One Bite Thousand-Blade Flower!"
His stamina drained at an alarming rate as thousands of razor-sharp swords materialized in the air. Unlike his previous Senbonzakura, these weren't mere fragments—each was a fully-formed katana, infused with his advanced Color of Armament.
They hummed with black lightning, exuding a chilling, lethal presence.
Above, Shiki gripped his Oto and Kogarashi tightly—his twin Meito-class swords, legendary blades that had carved battlefields apart for decades.
With a crazed roar, he charged downward!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
A hundred sword slashes split the heavens apart.
The shockwaves tore through the clouds like celestial fangs, shaking the sky with an ominous rumble.
"Is this your true strength?" Shiki's voice was hoarse, his seven orifices bleeding from the excessive strain on his body.
"I am…"
"The Golden Lion!!"
A monstrous black-gold Slash Wave roared toward Carl, splitting the sky apart.
BOOM!
Steel clashed against steel.
A relentless barrage of Haki-clad slashes exploded in the air like fireworks.
"I'm… not going to lose!"
Behind the collapsing Slash Wave, Shiki's golden mane billowed as he pushed forward, gripping his swords with white-knuckled strength.
His muscles were tearing, his bones were cracking, and yet—he refused to fall.
"Old man…" Carl's gaze flickered.
The aftershocks of their battle sent shockwaves radiating across the island, tearing apart the floating landmass.
Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure crashed down upon Carl.
His breath hitched—an invisible weight crushed against his chest.
This is…
"Conqueror's Haki?!"
Carl's pupils shrank.
He had memorized the data of every top-tier fighter. Every one of them—Roger, Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, Garp, Sengoku, Rayleigh—had mastered Conqueror's Haki.
But Shiki?!
He wasn't supposed to have it.
That's what the records said!
So why—?
"Cough…hahaha…"
A broken, rasping chuckle rang out.
Carl stared in shock. "You're still alive?"
The golden figure remained standing amidst the wreckage, his body drenched in crimson.
"Laozi…" The lion lifted his head.
"IS THE GOLDEN LION!!"
His earth-shattering roar sent ripples through the sky, his Conqueror's Haki colliding with Carl's willpower in a final, desperate clash.
Carl gritted his teeth.
These old monsters… they were ridiculous.
How the hell did Luffy beat this guy in the movies? Was it really just destiny?
Just as he prepared for one last exchange—
The storm stopped.
The clouds scattered.
The once overwhelming Haki evaporated.
"…Huh?" Carl frowned.
The golden figure swayed slightly—then collapsed.
Shiki the Golden Lion… had fallen.
Carl's eyes flickered as he stepped forward.
He could no longer sense any trace of life within the legendary pirate.
"Dead?"
His body landed softly on the rubble, facing the motionless corpse before him.
Golden Lion lay on his back, his face frozen in an eerily satisfied grin.
"…So, I lost in the end…" His final words were a whisper.
A maniacal smirk stretched across his blood-streaked face.
"As you said… I am nothing but a remnant of the old era…"
"Take my head… and make a name for yourself, Solomon Carl."
"Jihahahaha—!!"
With that wild laughter, his breath finally… ceased.
Carl exhaled slowly.
"…Crazy old man."
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The island trembled. The ocean roared.
Carl's face paled.
"Oh, crap—!! If Shiki's dead, then the island's gonna fall!!"
Without hesitation, he bent down, grabbing Oto and Kogarashi from the fallen lion's grip.
"…I won't take your head, old man." He muttered. "But I'll find someone worthy of these swords."
"Final Scene: White Emperor Sword!"
His sword wings exploded outward, launching him into the sky.
From below, the Marines on Cecilford Island gawked in shock.
"That is—"
"A—A floating island is falling from the sky!!"
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