Blood poured from the corners of both men's mouths.
Daren's face went pale, his pupils beginning to lose focus.
"Jihahahaha!! 'Indestructible body'? Don't make me laugh—you're just metal meat!"
Blood trickled from Shiki's mouth, but he still grinned ferociously, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.
"I win!! It's a few hundred years too early for you to think about killing me, Marine brat!!"
With those words, he suddenly yanked both blades free.
Shhk!!
Sticky blood dragged from Daren's palm and abdomen, slicing crimson arcs through the air.
Daren let out a muffled groan.
Already heavily wounded—and burdened by the strain of overusing his Devil Fruit powers—his body was finally reaching its limit.
"Let's finish this!!"
With his twin swords stained in blood, Shiki charged forward and brought them down on the staggering Daren!
Given Daren's current condition, taking a blow now would be fatal—no question.
"Not a chance!!"
Sengoku reappeared at Shiki's flank, his palm wrapped in radiant golden light as he slammed it forward.
"You're in my way, Sengoku!!"
Shiki roared in fury. Crossing both blades in front of him, he met the attack head-on.
Boom!!
An immense shockwave erupted as Shiki was blasted backward like a kite with its string cut.
Spinning several times in midair, he reversed his grip and drove both blades into the ground, finally stopping his retreat.
Without lifting a finger otherwise—
The ground beneath his feet suddenly heaved and surged upward like a tidal wave, rising into three massive lion constructs, each dozens of meters tall. They crashed down toward Daren like crumbling mountains!
Shishi Odoshi: Gosho Chimaki!!
The pain in his chest made Shiki wince, but his eyes remained locked with an overwhelming killing intent.
For all the years he had sailed the seas, he had never taken such a loss from a single person.
Even during the legendary battle at God Valley, he had held his ground and walked away unscathed.
But now—he'd actually been brought low by this Marine brat?
Unacceptable.
Unforgivable.
He had to kill him!!
...
In the very next instant—
Sengoku vanished from sight.
Soru!
One of the Marines' Rokushiki techniques—his speed hit the limit.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the heavily injured, kneeling Daren. Golden light flared from his body as he launched a rapid series of punches.
"Impact Wave!"
Boom boom boom!!
The three massive lion constructs, crashing down like a tsunami, were shattered one by one by Sengoku's strikes, exploding into a storm of debris.
Just as Sengoku prepared to act again, he froze—Shiki had disappeared.
"What!?"
His face changed drastically. He whipped around.
"Jihahahaha!! Let's see which one of you can stop me now!!"
Shiki's figure, like a streak of golden light, streaked through the sky at terrifying speed—darting toward a different direction altogether.
That direction... was the collapsed auction stage!
Seeing the legendary pirate flying straight toward their position, the few remaining guards turned ghostly pale. Abandoning all thoughts of defending the Moa Moa no Mi behind them, they dropped their weapons and fled in panic.
"Stop him!!"
Sengoku roared, his eyes wide with fury.
"Yasakani no Magatama..."
A burst of golden light erupted high into the sky.
Borsalino drove the exhausted King back with a single sword slash, then transformed into a beam of light, shooting upward. Spreading his arms, he unleashed a barrage of light bullets that poured down like a torrential storm.
Boom—boom—boom...
Explosions rocked the ground in rapid succession.
But Shiki's agility was unmatched. He weaved and spun through the rain of light, dodging each glowing projectile with terrifying precision, continuing his high-speed dive toward the Moa Moa no Mi without losing momentum.
"The fight's not over yet!!"
Suddenly, a hoarse roar thundered from the other side.
The auction hall wall exploded as a massive figure smashed straight through it, charging directly at Shiki!
Douglas Bullet!
But this Bullet looked completely transformed—his body coated in dirt and jagged stone, his skin layered with a purple-black sheen of Armament Haki. He was like a human war machine built to tear through fortresses.
"Unión Armado: Super Heavy Impact Cannon!!"
A colossal fist, nearly a meter in diameter, came crashing down on Shiki like a wrecking ball!
"You're too slow, brat from the Roger Pirates!!"
Shiki sneered, a flash of crimson glinting deep in his eyes.
Mid-flight, his body tilted into a sudden drift—just barely grazing past Bullet's blow.
Then, in the next instant—
Twin blades slashed with terrifying speed and force.
Shhk!!
Bullet's enormous body froze mid-swing, then shattered into chunks of debris.
A deep, cross-shaped gash tore across his chest, blood gushing as he staggered backward.
Against Bullet's brute-force brawling and wide-range power, the nimble, razor-sharp Shiki was the worst possible matchup.
"Jihahahaha!!"
Shiki laughed wildly, charging ahead without pause.
Over a dozen Marines rushed in, trying to encircle him from every angle.
But they didn't even slow him down.
In the blink of an eye, his gleaming blades sliced clean through their defenses, sending them flying like blood-streaked kites cut loose in the wind.
Closer...
He was getting closer!!
Shiki's eyes burned with greed and ambition, blazing like wildfire.
Locked onto the Moa Moa no Mi, sitting quietly inside a glass case.
The pirate fleet being wiped out—didn't matter.
Failing to kill that damn Marine brat—didn't matter.
Even suffering humiliation—didn't matter...
As long as...
As long as he got his hands on that Devil Fruit—everything would be worth it!
With the power of that fruit, combined with his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi...
Conquering the entire sea—surpassing even that bastard Rocks—would be within reach!!
He would become the ruler of the world!!
Nothing can stop me now!!
"No!!"
Sengoku's face turned pale as he shouted, teeth clenched.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter.
Shiki's eyes gleamed with triumph. Laughing madly, he stretched out his hand toward the Moa Moa no Mi.
"The Moa Moa no Mi is mine—huh!?"
His pupils shrank to pinpricks. The victorious grin froze on his face.
The metal platform of the auction stage suddenly lurched like a living thing, rising up and folding in on itself. Like a gaping mouth, it swallowed the Moa Moa no Mi straight into the ground.
Then—
The remaining metal twisted and morphed, reshaping itself into a massive fist...
And finally contorted into a bizarre, mocking gesture—
A single raised middle finger.
In that instant, Shiki's eyes filled with blood-red veins, bulging with rage as if they'd burst from their sockets.
"...You insolent Marine brat!!"
He roared in fury, whirling around, eyes blazing with hatred and killing intent as they locked onto a distant figure kneeling on one knee.
The Marine Commodore—Rogers Daren.
Daren was pale, panting heavily, one hand pressed to the ground as faint arcs of lightning danced across his skin.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he grinned with wild satisfaction.
"Too bad... you almost had it."
Shiki's face turned a violent shade of red, rage threatening to explode from within.