From the moment their battle began, Jerry and the Golden Lion engaged in a vicious close-quarters duel where every attack and defense carried lethal intent.
Shiki fought with his trademark ruthlessness, each movement designed to kill. In response, Jerry showed no mercy whatsoever—though he'd been silently cursing the legendary pirate since their clash started.
Is this bald lion really supposed to be some legendary figure? How did he lose to Luffy's Gear 3 just a year or two from now when the kid didn't even have Haki yet? Did cutting off his own legs give him some kind of weird complex?
Or maybe that rudder in his skull finally sprouted flowers and started sapping his strength?
Regardless of the reasons, Jerry could tell that the Golden Lion before him was still incredibly dangerous. Compared to his peak twenty or thirty years ago, Shiki's power had undoubtedly declined significantly—otherwise Jerry would already be planning his escape route.
With the sharp ring of clashing weapons, Jerry and the Golden Lion locked into fierce combat, their struggle sending shockwaves through the air.
Seeing Jerry preparing to launch into another round of verbal sparring, the Golden Lion rolled his eyes, grinned wickedly, and clenched his fist while gesturing downward.
"Haha! If you keep pestering me up here, you can't protect them down there!"
"Lion's Might—"
Jerry's eyes widened in alarm as he immediately understood the threat. He launched himself upward with explosive force.
"You bastard! You think I can't use my legs too?"
The Golden Lion was caught off guard by Jerry's sudden kick, sending him flying backward—but his attack on Deuce and the others below continued uninterrupted.
Jerry used the momentum from his kick to flip his body upside down, extending his palm toward his endangered crew below.
"Water God: Protective Torrent!"
Deuce and the other spectators had been clustered together, watching the battles unfolding both in front of them and high above. Suddenly, they were horrified to see the terrain around them beginning to shift as another massive lion's head formed and lunged toward them.
They found themselves in the classic situation of innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.
At the critical moment, before anyone could flee on their still-injured legs, the air around them seemed to come alive with urgent energy.
In the blink of an eye, a massive, rapidly spinning dome of water materialized around the group, creating an impenetrable protective barrier.
The earthen lion's head struck violently against the spinning water shield, but was immediately blocked and gradually dissolved by the defensive torrent.
Witnessing what looked like a battle between gods, Deuce exhaled with relief. Fortunately, they had someone looking out for them even in the midst of his own deadly fight.
"You bastard! That's going too far!"
Seeing his friends nearly killed because of his battle, Jerry roared with fury from high above.
With an explosive crack of displaced air, Jerry's figure vanished from his position. The next instant, he materialized directly in front of the Golden Lion, who was still recovering from being kicked away.
Jerry had somehow stored his fishing rod without anyone noticing. His eyes flashed with cold determination as strength and Haki rapidly gathered in his clenched fists, surrounded by a dazzling aura of power.
"Water Dragon Ascendant!"
Jerry tensed every muscle and released this devastating technique with the force of an avalanche.
The Golden Lion's mouth stretched into a fierce grin as his leg-mounted swords became infused with equally overwhelming Haki and a faint golden gleam.
He quickly adjusted his aerial position and kicked out without showing any weakness, his speed creating lightning-like streaks across the sky.
"Lion's Roar: Twin Blades!"
The two combatants clashed in midair as a massive golden slash and an equally enormous azure dragon collided and canceled each other out.
A circular shockwave erupted at the point where Jerry's fists met Shiki's sword-legs, generating violent winds that swept away every ordinary cloud in the surrounding sky.
Under this tremendous impact, both fighters were blown backward in opposite directions, eventually disappearing from Deuce's sight entirely.
On Angel Island far below, unsuspecting civilians on the streets and in their homes looked up at the sky above the distant sanctuary, where thunder and fire continued flashing while violent gales suddenly erupted overhead.
The winds were strong enough to instantly transform Sky Island's normally cloudy weather into perfectly clear skies.
In the light of the setting sun, the heavens looked particularly magnificent—but to the island's residents, this spectacle and the distant roaring filled them with dread.
On the White Sea outside Upper Yard's sanctuary, large crowds had gathered at the entrance to Hidden Cloud Village where the Shandians lived.
Raki and Aisha had brought back news that Wyper had decided to join the Blue Sea people in their assault on God Enel, causing the other warriors to grow increasingly restless.
If their chief hadn't ordered them to remain calm and wait, they would have already departed to storm Upper Yard themselves.
Now, witnessing the strange phenomena occurring in the shrine's direction, Mantis, Kamakiri, and the other Shandian warriors could no longer contain themselves. They were desperate to rush over there—whatever the outcome, they refused to simply stand by and watch.
Moreover, with Aisha's innate Mantra abilities, they knew that after the recent fighting, a large number of combatants seemed to have been defeated...
At Gan Fall's residence, the former god also noticed the unusual disturbances in the sky.
Gan Fall slowly set down the watering can he'd been using on his flowers and walked into his house.
When he emerged, he was already wearing his familiar armor.
After exchanging words with his giant bird Pierre, man and mount sped away toward the conflict.
In the upper ruins of Shandora beside the massive vine, the fierce battle between Ace and Enel was also affected by the combat between Jerry and the Golden Lion above, causing both fighters to pause involuntarily.
"Are you kidding me? That damned brat and that old fool actually dared to destroy my shrine!"
Enel sensed the battle fluctuations from the two fighters above. Though secretly shocked by their power, he spoke through gritted teeth with visible rage.
Ace glanced at the island cloud and shrine, which now had a massive hole torn through it like a rotten apple that had been bitten. The remaining sections were tattered and barely clinging to the vine above.
The structure had been destroyed once at the beginning by the Golden Lion's slash and Jerry's water dragon, then devastated a second time by the aftermath of their continued battle.
Ace blinked and sneered without emotion. "Hah! Your shrine's really not built to last, is it?"
"Silence! Don't get so cocky!"
With that declaration, Enel took the initiative and launched an offensive. He realized that the opportunity he'd been waiting for had finally presented itself.
Enel decided he should thank the bald blonde man for this distraction—and he would definitely treat him well in return by electrocuting him until he was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside as a thank-you gift.
When Ace saw his opponent actually approaching for close combat, he roared with excitement and swung out a casserole-sized fist coated in black Haki, accelerated by flame propulsion for devastating power.
"Divine Judgment!"
However, cunning light gleamed in Enel's eyes. After meeting Ace face-to-face at close range and launching an attack toward the sky, he flashed away at lightning speed.
Ace started in alarm, his heart tightening as if sensing what was about to happen. His eyes turned bloodshot as he spun around and flew toward his friends with desperate urgency.
Under the astonished gazes of Deuce and the others, Enel instantly materialized in front of the group still protected by Jerry's water shield, secretly releasing white mist from his hands.
As blinding lightning began rapidly descending from overhead, Enel laughed maniacally.
"Yahaha! Prepare to die, you blasphemers!"
"200 Million Volt Amaru!"
Enel suddenly released countless electrical discharges around himself, transforming into a massive image of the thunder god. Coordinating with the lightning falling from above, he launched a brilliant and devastating assault at Deuce and the others, who had no time to dodge.
The very air crackled with lethal energy as divine wrath descended upon Jerry's helpless crew.