Ding Ding Ding Ding!
The metallic clangs echoed almost continuously, a relentless rhythm of steel meeting scale.
In the blink of an eye, both combatants had clashed through several fierce exchanges.
The terrifying aftermath tore the island's ground apart. Rocks and trees fell like paper beneath the storm of their battle.
"Not enough! This is not enough, Golden Lion!"
"This pressure is far from sufficient!"
"Faster! You need to be faster than this!
Kai laughed wildly, his voice cutting clear through the chaos.
How many years had it been since anyone dared to be so arrogant before him, let alone provoke him with such words?
"Ahhhhh—"
Golden Lion's eyes widened, forehead veins bulging. Ultimate humiliation and rage instantly overpowered the deep pain throbbing in his skull.
He roared wildly, and his kicking speed truly surged another thirty percent!
In a trance, his once-dormant peak strength after twenty years seemed to return. The long-lost master swordsman skills became unprecedentedly smooth, muscle memory awakening from decades of slumber.
Kai immediately felt the pressure multiply, but his excitement only grew stronger.
That's the feeling!
That oppressive sensation balanced at the limit!
He could sense awakening drawing closer with every clash!
"Dragon Claw!"
"Lion: Cross Storm!"
The jet-black dragon claw collided with two famed swords crossed like an X.
An unimaginable force followed the blades straight to Golden Lion's sharply contracting pupils!
Such terrifying power!
He was uncontrollably flung dozens of meters away, his dual swords carving deep trenches in the ground before he barely stabilized using his Float-Float Fruit's power.
In the contest of pure strength, Golden Lion was undeniably losing.
Two streams of nosebleeds sprayed like uncontrollable red fountains from his nostrils.
Soon, blood seeped from his eyes, ears, and mouth corners.
His entire appearance was utterly miserable—he could easily be cast as a horrifying death victim in a horror movie, no makeup needed.
Golden Lion hurriedly controlled his body to stem the bleeding, his face extremely unsightly.
Overusing Haki brought its price.
At this point, his head began to throb fiercely, impossible to ignore. Since that cursed ship's wheel had embedded itself in his skull, he had endured hallucinations and torture. The compressed nerves left him powerless to fully summon his might, causing his Haki to weaken daily.
If this fierce fight continued, he would likely die here.
Give up?
Golden Lion raised his eyes to the distant young figure, who seemed barely satisfied, awaiting his continued attack. He clenched his jaw hard.
What a joke!
I am Golden Lion Shiki!
The man who once contended for sea supremacy with Roger and Whitebeard!
Bow to some upstart?
Impossible!
Kai in the distance slowly clenched his fists, feeling that power surging to awaken yet being firmly restrained. He shook his head regretfully.
He could feel he was just one step away from awakening—stepping across would open limitless possibilities.
But how difficult was that step?
How did Doflamingo awaken? Through countless brutal battles and desperate struggles.
As his thoughts flickered, his eyes flashed red, Observation Haki screaming warnings of extreme danger.
Kai suddenly raised his head.
In the distance, Golden Lion floated slowly upward again, but this time didn't hurry to attack.
He lifted both hands, tightly gripping the ship's wheel embedded in his skull, muscles tensing.
"Listen, you damn brat! Ughhhahhhhh."
With a savage roar, he gripped the wheel and began wrenching it upward, blood immediately spraying from the wound.
The intense pain darkened his vision. He nearly passed out.
But with horrific willpower, he persevered.
The process of extracting the ship's wheel was slow but unwavering. Though only several seconds, it felt like centuries.
Half a broken ship's wheel covered in dark red bloodstains and brain tissue was slowly pulled free from his head.
Plop!
The cursed wheel causing him endless pain was casually thrown to the ground, emitting a dull thud.
Even battle-hardened Kai couldn't help but shrink his pupils witnessing such utter madness.
"I must say, Golden Lion, you're absolutely insane. That's beyond hardcore."
Was that really necessary? Ripping out embedded metal from your own skull so violently—how long could you possibly survive?
As if hearing Kai's thoughts, Golden Lion—recklessly patching up his bleeding skull wound and vessels despite the cost—showed a bloody, cruel grin.
"I'll use these last three minutes at my peak to finish you!"
You think you're on a timer like some kind of transformation hero?
Kai raged internally but immediately entered his highest alert state, muscles tensing, Haki flowing at full capacity.
Golden Lion was undeniably in berserk mode, truly using his remaining life as fuel for this brief yet terrifying burst!
No seasoned fighter ever survived by underestimating a cornered enemy's final stand.
Shnk! Shnk!
Like pulling carrots, Golden Lion suddenly withdrew his prosthetic swords Oto and Kogarashi, firmly grasping them in his hands.
With dual swords in hand, Golden Lion's aura transformed completely.
That overwhelming presence—it was like facing the Flying Admiral from twenty years ago at his peak!
"This time—I should finally achieve my wish!"
Kai's eyes blazed with anticipation.
Battle intent boiled to its summit.
Golden Lion's two famed swords turned pitch black, with black-red Haki lightning like restrained beasts wildly wrapping around them.
So Golden Lion knew this technique after all.
Or rather, a peak Golden Lion would never lack it.
Conqueror's Haki infusion.
"Lion's Might: Ring Sever!"
Golden Lion's figure suddenly blurred, almost teleporting before Kai.
His arm muscles bulged as he raised both swords above his head with devastating power, then spun rapidly with the blades extended.
The swords carved a perfect circular slash zone, attacking Kai from all angles with no blind spots.
"Bring it on! Dragon Claw!"
Kai dodged nothing, using offense for defense!
The dragon claw instantly turned pitch black, wrapped with wild black-red Haki lightning.
Boom!
The next moment, two top-tier Conqueror's Haki forces collided explosively!
Countless black-red Haki lightning bolts erupted like unbridled dragons from their clash point, raging wildly across the battlefield.
The already devastated earth groaned under the weight, stripped of several more layers by sheer force!
The small island began to shake violently, seeming ready to collapse at any moment.
The sky naturally split apart above them.
Yet Kai at the storm's center felt slight disappointment.
Weaker than Kaido, Golden Lion-san.
But that was understandable—Golden Lion hadn't used Haki this intensely in years, so regression was inevitable. Recovering to even this level of strength was already miraculous.
Golden Lion had no leisure for such thoughts.
The moment they clashed, the almost crushing Conqueror's Haki transmitted through his swords shocked him!
This brat's Conqueror's Haki even surpassed his own?!
But so what? They expected him to surrender?
Not a chance!"
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Golden Lion gritted his teeth, roaring from deep within his throat!
His arms became countless afterimages. Dozens of dazzling, razor-sharp golden flying slashes formed a destructive storm, blanketing Kai completely!
"Useless! Air Slash!"
Kai stood firmly, rapidly swinging his claws. Countless sharp air blades from his claw tips detonated each incoming golden slash midair.
In the process, Kai even casually reminded, "Over a minute's passed now, Golden Lion-san."
Golden Lion's breathing grew heavy. His offense remained vigorous, but signs of fatigue were unmistakable.
"Shut up! Two minutes is more than enough to kill a brat like you!"
The old lion roared back, but exhaustion seeped into his voice despite his defiance.
Suddenly, Golden Lion abruptly stopped his frenzied assault.
He hovered midair, chest heaving violently.
He realized continuing would only waste his dwindling life force without defeating this monster. Even if the opponent didn't dodge, he couldn't win.
He admitted it—he was truly old now.
But his heart still beat!
As long as this body could fight, this battle was far from over!
A true lion only sheds blood gloriously in battle rather than dying quietly from aging!
What he despised most about Roger was exactly this—daring to surrender to the Marines!
In an instant, Golden Lion's aura surged once more!
He transformed into a golden streak, dashing forward with blades weaving a bigger, crazier slash net than before.
Kai wielded dragon claws, calmly blocking all attacks, though frowning slightly.
"Golden Lion, I said this is useless."
Just then, Kai's Observation Haki warned of unprecedented danger.
That sudden future vision startled him.
What was that?
Before he could fully process it, a resolute, mad gleam flashed in Golden Lion's eyes as he crossed his swords fiercely before his chest, adopting a final decisive stance!
"Lion's Might: Final Cross Storm!"
He completely abandoned defense and evasion, pouring all remaining life force, Haki, and final will into Kogarashi and Oto without reserve!
The next moment, he transformed into a burning meteor, colliding at speeds beyond anything before with a momentarily distracted Kai.
This time, caught unprepared, Kai was solidly blasted away by this legendary pirate's ultimate all-out strike!
But this was far from the end.
Golden Lion gasped violently, chest pumping like broken bellows.
His eyes flashed with resolute determination as he flung away his treasured swords and swung both arms fiercely outward, fully activating his Float-Float Fruit.
Under astonished gazes, two gigantic floating islands—each as large as mountains—dashed through the air one after another, blocking Kai's falling trajectory.
Next, these two massive islands, carrying terrifying power to crush all, violently collided with Kai trapped firmly between them.
The collision of the two islands exploded with earth-shaking roars that echoed across the sky!
"Roar!"
Golden Lion shouted, forcefully clapping his palms together.
"Serpent's Coil!"
A shocking spectacle unfolded.
The two islands twisted, distorted, and fused like enormous masses of soft clay, defying all logic and physics.
Rocks, soil, trees—everything violently kneaded together by terrifying power!
In just a few breaths, they combined into a massive chaotic rock sphere floating high above.
But it wasn't over!
Under Golden Lion's full control, the enormous sphere emitted dreadful cracking sounds, continuously and relentlessly compressing inward!
He intended to crush Kai alive inside.
The sudden reversal shocked everyone present.
At Rayquaza's rail, the crew pressed tightly together, faces pale, hearts nearly leaping from their chests.
Wasn't Kai winning just moments ago? Why did the situation suddenly flip?
"Damn old lion!"
Yamato gritted her silver teeth, rolled up her sleeves, and grabbed her spiked club, intending to leap off the ship recklessly to rescue Kai trapped in the sphere.
Kozuki Hiyori and the others followed close behind.
Even little Bonney was pounding her legs, trying to help somehow.
"Wait, Yamato-san!"
Kuma, usually calm and silent, suddenly stretched out his palm like an iron gate to stop her and the others.
With his other hand, he gestured, "Kai-san is fine. Look."
Everyone followed his indication.
Sure enough, Kai's vivre card remained intact—not even slightly worn or curled.
That was the best proof he was safe.
Meanwhile, Violet, glaring fixedly at the sphere, delivered reassuring news.
"I can see Kai."
But soon, her perfectly beautiful face showed surprise.
"But... he seems... different?"
"Different?"
Kozuki Hiyori nervously grabbed Violet's arm. "What do you mean? Is he hurt?"
"No, not hurt."
Violet's voice carried a trance-like quality as she searched for the right words, finally uttering something incredible.
"He's become... more like a god."
"God?"
That description stunned everyone into silence.
"Look! The sky!"
Bonney suddenly pointed skyward, yelling.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
The once gray and hazy sky had somehow cleared into brilliant, unclouded blue.
The sudden perfect weather seemed like a celebration.
Just then—
"Uuuuuu—pft!"
Golden Lion, struggling desperately to maintain the rock sphere's compression, suddenly turned deathly pale, spitting blood.
He clearly felt enormous resistance inside the sphere he had absolutely controlled moments before.
He momentarily almost lost control of the sphere's shape entirely.
No… he completely lost control.
The once-firm spherical rock prison suddenly developed cracks from which golden lightning spears emerged.
Everyone gazed at the golden lightning, feeling not a harsh glare but a sacred, divine aura.
The next moment!
BOOM!
The rock sphere exploded spectacularly.
A hundred-meter-long golden dragon wrapped in crackling lightning broke through the stone prison, ascending toward the heavens with divine majesty.