After a long while, a blue streak of light sliced through the air as Enel materialized out of nowhere.
He stared at the lifeless body of Golden Lion on the ground, his expression complex: "This old bastard... really kicked the bucket?"
The terrifying pressure from earlier still lingered in his bones. Who would've thought this half-buried geezer had such horrifying strength? Just thinking about it made him shudder.
"Anyone with eyes can see that," Bahr panted heavily, supporting himself on his knees. The blood at the corner of his mouth trembled slightly with each breath.
Enel stared dumbfounded at Golden Lion's corpse, his jaw hanging open. When he turned to look at the battered Bahr, his eyes held more than just surprise—there was something indescribable mixed in: "Never thought you could actually beat him."
He'd always known Bahr was strong, but not to this extent.
This was a monster among monsters.
"I didn't win," Bahr wiped the blood from his face and shook his head slowly. "He just ran out of time."
That was the absolute truth. From the moment Golden Lion removed his ship's rudder, Bahr had been completely suppressed. That final cross slash would have split him in two if he hadn't distorted space with all his might to deflect the attack by a few inches.
Even so, the residual force had displaced his internal organs. If he hadn't used "Space Devour" to absorb most of the impact earlier, he'd be a corpse by now.
If you really thought about it, Golden Lion had lost to time.
Bahr understood perfectly—compared to these top-tier monsters, he still fell short. None of these old-timers from the previous era were pushovers.
"A loss is a loss, a win is a win. You're still breathing, that's what matters," Enel said arrogantly, arms crossed.
Bahr side-eyed this lightning-wrapped chuunibyou and had to admit the crude logic held water. Whether by luck or dirty tricks, only the survivors got to make the rules.
Looking down at Golden Lion's utterly motionless body, a strange sense of melancholy suddenly passed through him.
From the moment the old man had handed over his swords, he'd clearly acknowledged his defeat. Compared to later when he lost to the Straw Hat Boy who didn't even understand Haki, at least this Golden Lion had found some peace in the end.
Though that final insult before dying was seriously annoying.
Catching his breath, Bahr flicked his fingers slightly, and "Cherry Ten" and "Withered Tree" flew into his hands from the ground: "I don't care about your title or conquering the seas, but I'll keep these swords for now. I'll find them a worthy successor... consider it repayment for your guidance."
Such fine blades shouldn't be buried at the bottom of the ocean with this island.
Wait... the Float-Float Fruit! Gotta act while it's fresh...
Bahr's gaze returned to Golden Lion's corpse and his enthusiasm immediately died. The body was already cold—the Devil Fruit ability must have dissipated with his life. What a waste.
Just as he was pondering this, a tremendous explosion suddenly rocked the entire island. The ground shook violently, causing rocks to cascade down the cliffs in a deafening rain of impacts, as if the whole place would collapse any second.
"What now? More enemies?" Enel's face paled as electricity crackled at his fingertips.
Bahr glanced at him sideways, his tone laced with disdain. "This island is only floating thanks to the Golden Lion's ability. Now that he's dead and his power has dissipated, the floating island is bound to fall. What are you so worked up about?"
Enel finally realized the situation, feeling slightly uncomfortable under Bahr's gaze. He forced a composed demeanor and retorted, "This god is simply highly vigilant. What would you lowly insects understand?"
Truthfully, the Golden Lion's overwhelming, world-shattering aura had left him shaken, and he had instinctively tensed up.
Bahr smirked, not bothering to call out the tsundere's act. He simply tossed out, "Take me back to the ship. It's time we left."
"Hmph, you look utterly pathetic," Enel scoffed, but despite his words, he firmly supported Bahr as they made their way back.
Once aboard, Enel placed his hand on the energy chamber of the Ark Maxim. Lightning crackled as it surged into the vessel, and with a deafening roar from the engines, the massive ship hummed to life.
At the same time, the floating island cracked apart with a series of thunderous snaps, collapsing into the sea in several pieces. The Golden Lion's corpse sank into the depths along with it.
Thus, the legend of a great hero came to an end.
As for the members of the Flying Pirates still on the island… who cared?
...
Inside the cabin, Bahr lay on the bed, replaying his battle with the Golden Lion in his mind.
Three days and nights of relentless combat had sharpened his swordsmanship and honed his spatial ability to greater mastery. Life-or-death struggles like this were indeed the fastest path to growth.
The Golden Lion's final cross-shaped slash, infused with overwhelming Conqueror's Haki and sword energy, had violently destabilized the space around him, instantly nullifying his Devil Fruit ability.
Had the space not been disrupted by the Haki, he could have dodged using Space Transfer or by slipping into another dimension—avoiding such severe injuries.
This reaffirmed his belief: no matter how powerful a Devil Fruit ability was, Haki always reigned supreme, capable of suppressing even the most formidable powers.
This was evident from how Red-Haired Shanks had suppressed Admiral Green Bull, rendering his Forest-Forest Fruit ineffective.
But what intrigued Bahr more was the moment he had evaded the attack.
With space already unstable and his ability unusable, he had forcibly warped space in that critical instant.
The sensation had been strange—not merely twisting space, but as if an invisible hand had rearranged the chaotic spatial nodes, reconstructing a stable spatial structure under his power.
At the time, his only thought had been to distort space and survive. He hadn't dwelled on it.
Now, reflecting calmly, he wondered—could this ability to "reshape" space be the Awakening of his Devil Fruit ability?
If his guess was correct, this power would be utterly absurd.
Not only could he manipulate space at will, but he could also alter the surrounding environment—reshaping terrain however he pleased, as if wielding a "map editor" in his hands. With a mere gesture, he could unleash natural disasters, wiping out entire armies in an instant.
He had never been one for conflict, but in this pirate world where strength dictated everything, power was the key to true freedom—an undeniable truth.
That said, Bahr's mind was currently blank, with no clue how to proceed.
Did he really have to rely on life-and-death battles to unlock the secrets of Awakening?
"Forget it... That taste of staring death in the face—he had no desire to experience it a second time."
Just as Bahr was lost in thought, Perona tossed the bandage roll onto the ground with a "plop," wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her flushed little face beamed with pride as she chirped, "All done! See how amazing I am?"
Bahr looked down to find himself completely swathed in bandages, with a crooked pink bow tied haphazardly across his chest. A vein throbbed at his temple as he snapped, "Are you wrapping a mummy or a rice dumpling...?"
"Such a stupid head... Any normal person would've been thinking about retrieving the Devil Fruit the moment they saw Golden Lion. Would've been planning to collect it while fighting him..."