The weak complain about the environment, while the strong dance against the wind.
Shiki was drenched in sweat. Faced with Renji, who had nearly killed him with a single move, he showed no fear. Instead, a crazed laugh erupted from his lips.
The twin blades on his lower body danced, rapidly and wildly vibrating, moving so fast they became a blur. In the blink of an eye, they formed a terrifying tornado.
The next second, Shiki's body trembled, and he hurled the tornado below him towards Renji.
"Hmm, though still ugly, it's at least much more presentable now." Renji said faintly, looking at Shiki.
After a professional hairstyle makeover, Shiki's hair fell down, just long enough to cover his eyebrows. Now, it could barely be considered a short layered cut.
"Hey! If you're going to fight, then fight! But can you two go one-on-one and not drag us into it?"
"Damn it, help!"
"Every casual move creates such a terrifying tornado! Is this even a battle between humans?!"
In such an arena, no one cared if a referee announced "one, two, three, let the match begin."
The slaughter began.
Amidst the terrified screams of the crowd below, as the tornado raged, countless severed limbs and flesh were churned together, instantly making the scene extremely bloody.
On a nearby Marine ship, Kaku stared at the screen with a shocked expression.
"Is this the Golden Lion, once on par with Roger and Whitebeard? Truly a top-tier powerhouse of the old era."
That terrifying tornado—if it were him, he probably wouldn't last a few seconds.
Lucci wore a cold sneer. Seeing Shiki's initial performance, he had thought the latter was merely an undeserving impostor. But looking again now, he did possess some strength.
"So, my Commander-in-Chief, how will you respond? Hmm!"
A flash of light on the screen, and Lucci's cold sneer abruptly froze.
"What a joke!"
It wasn't just Lucci. At this moment, people all over the world, including the Gorosei high up in Mary Geoise, were all stunned by the live broadcast.
Buzz!
Kurai was instantly unsheathed. In a fleeting moment, a "Blood Moon" emerged across the sky.
"What a terrifying slash!" Shiki exclaimed in alarm.
The next second, under his horrified gaze, the tornado collided with that Blood Moon. Immediately after—
Sizzle!
The tornado was torn apart by the Blood Moon. It was as easy as tearing up a wanted poster.
So much so that the slash, after tearing apart the tornado, wasn't even weakened or diminished in the slightest.
"This... What level has his swordsmanship reached?" Shiki's pupils contracted sharply.
The Blood Moon slash ripped through the air, and the entire gladiatorial arena was suppressed by the sharpness it emitted. In an instant, the light of the Blood Moon shot up into the sky.
Countless powerhouses in other gladiatorial arena battle zones also felt this extremely powerful slash.
On a luxurious throne, Mihawk's eyes tightened even more fiercely.
If his earlier thought was to wait for Renji to challenge him, now, he was impatiently eager to challenge Renji.
The Blood Moon slash rapidly magnified in Shiki's eyes. Under the immense life-and-death crisis, he unleashed his strongest power in the shortest time.
His twin blades below, imbued with top-tier Armament Haki, after a violent tremor, fiercely slashed towards the Blood Moon, unleashing an equally massive white slash.
Clang!
The two slashes intertwined, erupting in a sharp, ear-piercing friction sound. The terrifying remnants that splashed out flew wildly, instantly slashing towards the surrounding gladiatorial arena walls, and at the same time, tearing many pirates on the field into pieces.
Shiki took a deep breath. After unleashing a nearly full-power slash, he didn't stop. With a thought, the Float-Float Fruit ability was fully activated.
Rumble!
The ground shook and the mountains swayed, as if a world-ending earthquake had struck. The entire Galzburg island began to tremble violently.
Boom! Rumble!
"What's going on!?"
"The island... it's floating up!?"
The people around the nearby sea, their eyes wide, watched the gradually rising island, all showing looks of horror.
"Its size far exceeds that of a normal island. Can such a weight still float?"
Kaku's face was solemn. "I can't imagine what extent this Golden Lion's Devil Fruit has been developed to. The Four Emperors are probably no more than this."
Lucci, beside him, also had a grave expression. However, when he thought that such a formidable individual was confronting Renji, he couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration in his heart.
He said with a slightly better mood, "Yes, let us eagerly anticipate the performance of our Commander-in-Chief."
Rumble!
"What's happening?! Is it an earthquake?"
On the gladiatorial arena, countless participants were already in a panic. Ordinary earthquakes didn't bother them, but this was the very center of the island.
Boom!
Another violent tremor.
Everyone could feel their bodies lose balance. As the loud noise approached, they even wondered if the island itself was floating.
"An island of this scale can still have such strong tremors? Captain!"
Mr.1 plunged his blade-like hands into the ground, trying to maintain balance, and looked at Crocodile with a solemn expression. The latter remained silent.
Crocodile transformed into flowing sand, his eyes slightly narrowed. In his understanding, only two people could cause such a commotion.
One was Blackbeard, who possessed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. The other was the great pirate from many years ago, Golden Lion Shiki.
"Who could it be?"
—
"Kaido-sama! Are you alright?" King transformed into a Pteranodon and flew in mid-air.
Kaido, holding Hassaikai, smashed it into the ground. No matter how much the ground tilted, it did not affect the balance of this top-tier master.
"Is it Shiki? He must be going all out from the start. With such a commotion, who could his opponent be?"
A strong curiosity surged in Kaido's heart. To be able to force Shiki into such a state right from the beginning, his opponent must not be simple.