"You're asking for death!!"
The moment those taunting words rang out, Shiki's eyes instantly filled with crimson veins.
A killing intent unlike anything before surged from his body. Without hesitation, he raised his blades and slashed several times in rapid succession.
Shwsh! Shwsh! Shwsh!
Golden sword beams crisscrossed and spiraled outward, each shaped like a crescent moon. They tore through the air like divine lashes, shrieking toward Daren at terrifying speed.
"Shishi: Senjindani!"
But just then, a figure radiating golden brilliance appeared in front of Daren in a flash.
"Not so fast!"
Sengoku, eyes bloodshot with fury, let out a thunderous roar. Having transformed into a golden Buddha, he slammed his palm forward with overwhelming force.
"Impact Wave!"
BOOM!!
The surging shockwave collided head-on with the oncoming golden slashes.
A deafening explosion tore through the air, unleashing a wave of force in every direction. Within a radius of several dozen meters, cannons, rubble, and unlucky pirates were all hurled skyward like leaves in a storm.
Dust and debris filled the air.
The next instant—
Shiki came diving down like a madman, golden hair whipping wildly in the wind. He pierced through the swirling dust clouds like a missile, speeding straight for Daren.
"Marine brat... you're dead!!"
"Not quite!" Daren sneered.
He didn't move—but the Cursed Sword behind him, etched with flickering purple-black flames, suddenly shot forward, slicing through the air toward Shiki's face.
"Jiihahaha!! Do you really think a toy like that will stop me!?"
Shiki scoffed and swung his sword.
CLANG!
Sparks flew. Enma was sent spiraling away.
But just in that instant, Shiki's pupils contracted sharply.
The ground beneath him shifted.
A series of heavy cannons twisted violently, reshaping in a blink into hundreds of jagged metal spikes. Like a nest of serpents, they coiled and lunged upward, aiming straight for him.
"This sneaky little brat!!"
Cursing in his mind, Shiki slashed with both blades in a blur.
His twin Meito sliced through the incoming spikes one after another.
But Daren's magnetic field only intensified, conjuring more and more spikes from the ground—tighter, faster, denser.
Even when cut down, the twisted metal quickly reformed and struck again.
Black metal spears surged like a tide of serpents, whirling through the air in a wild dance, sealing off every path.
From afar, it looked like Shiki had been thrown into a pit of snakes—surrounded, suffocating, nowhere to run.
"Damn it!!"
Shiki roared furiously, his blades turning jet black with Haki.
"Zanpa!"
A massive cross-shaped sword beam exploded upward from the ground, slicing through the writhing black spikes in a storm of steel.
"Your fleet's gone, Shiki! This is no place for you to run wild anymore!"
Sengoku's voice boomed as he leapt high into the air, appearing behind Shiki.
A golden glow blazed in his palm, and black-red lightning began crackling faintly around the void near him.
"Then let's see if you can stop me, Sengoku!!"
Shiki let out a wild laugh and swung his sword behind him without turning.
Crimson-black lightning burst from his blade as if dragging thunder through the sky.
The next second—
BOOM!!!
Fist and blade clashed—without even touching.
A sphere of black-red lightning formed between them, compressing and expanding furiously.
Then—detonation.
A colossal shockwave tore outward. The earth buckled and lifted like waves at sea, launching a towering tsunami of soil and steel ten meters high.
Heaven and earth darkened. The entire island seemed to descend into apocalypse.
A storm of pure hell swept through everything. Even the clouds overhead were blasted apart by the sheer force.
Conqueror's Haki—clashing at full force.
Countless weaker pirates couldn't even scream. Their eyes rolled back as they dropped unconscious, felled by the overwhelming pressure alone.
"Jiihahaha!! Sengoku, compared to Garp, your punches are still too soft!"
Shiki let out a wild laugh and roared. With a twist of his left wrist, he reversed his grip on his blade and slashed straight toward Sengoku's abdomen.
Sengoku's expression shifted slightly. He instinctively pulled back, just barely dodging the swing.
Their clash ended with a sharp separation, and a blast of Conqueror's Haki erupted around them.
Using the shockwave for momentum, Shiki was flung backward. He braced a hand against the ground and twisted midair with ease. His right hand flicked out.
"Shishi Odoshi: Chimaki!"
The ground beneath him suddenly surged like a flood, rising up and quickly forming into a colossal lion dozens of meters tall. Its gaping jaws opened wide, aiming to swallow Daren whole.
"Try stopping this one, Marine brat!"
Shiki cackled with glee.
But the grin froze on his face in the next instant.
A flicker of azure-blue lightning arced between Daren's fingers—brief, but sharp.
An invisible magnetic wave pulsed outward.
And the towering lion, created by Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, froze in place—suspended as if clutched by a giant, unseen hand.
"Your floating power's impressive... but this island belongs to me."
Daren's voice was cold as he raised his hand and pressed forward through the air.
Suddenly, the massive lion turned its head with a mechanical jerk, jaws wide as it lunged not for Daren—but straight at Shiki.
The strength of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi lay in levitation, even powerful enough to make an entire island float. But when it came to force in lateral motion, it was no match for the magnetic control of Daren's Jiki Jiki no Mi!
"Damn it!!"
Shiki's eyes flared with rage.
"Then I'll just cut you to pieces!"
Both of his Meito blades surged with Armament Haki. Faced with the massive metal beast, Shiki didn't retreat—instead, he charged, slashing down hard.
Swish!
A devastating wave of sword energy surged into the air. The giant lion shattered into countless metal shards, raining across the sky.
But before the fragments could even fall—
A massive figure burst through the storm of metal, charging straight at Shiki.
"Jiihahaha!! Finally, it's my turn! Caught you slippin'!"
Bullet laughed wildly.
Seeing him, the fury Shiki had been holding back finally erupted.
Ever since setting foot on this Coin Island, he had been constantly outplayed by that Marine brat.
First, used like a sharpening stone to awaken his Observation Haki.
Then, his once-invincible flying fleet was obliterated by a barrage of cannon fire.
Even his Devil Fruit powers were beginning to feel suppressed.
Yes, it was partly due to the island's strange composition—but for a man like Shiki, feared and unbeaten on the seas, this was unacceptable!
And now, this damned upstart who'd been watching from the sidelines wanted a piece too?
His fury exploded like a long-dormant volcano.
Zzzzzz!!
Black and red lightning surged, forming a net of violent arcs that crackled around Shiki's entire body.
"You're dead!!"
He unleashed both swords at once, hacking down furiously at Bullet.
Bullet: "?!?"
Sensing Shiki's sudden murderous aura and the crushing pressure behind it, Bullet's face darkened.
His smirk vanished.
In an instant, he summoned massive arms formed from metal and stone using the Gasha Gasha no Mi. Armament Haki coated them immediately, and his own Conqueror's Haki flared.
He threw a full-force punch.
BOOM!
But it only lasted a second.
The massive arm exploded apart under the impact. Bullet was sent flying like a cannonball, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed through building after building in a thunderous trail of destruction.