Golden Lion Shiki unleashed a sweeping slash with his right leg, the blade forged from his own power tearing through the air. A massive golden crescent surged straight toward Rolan.
Rolan shifted his stance with calm precision. The slash skimmed past the bridge of his nose and crashed into the island behind him. In the next heartbeat, that island split cleanly in two and began to crumble as it plummeted toward the sea.
"Gyahahaha, you dodged well," Shiki said, watching Rolan with a feral grin.
Rolan exhaled slowly. Even without real legs, this old monster still wielded power that could split islands apart with a casual kick. It truly lived up to the legend of the man who once stormed Marineford and forced both Garp and Sengoku into battle together.
Back before this life, Rolan had seen people argue endlessly about Shiki's strength. Many claimed that even Luffy, especially before his two year training, would never have survived such a fight. Yet standing here now, facing that overwhelming presence directly, Rolan felt something ignite in his chest.
Not excitement. Not fear.
Just cold focus.
His blood stirred, not from nerves, but from anticipation.
Rolan dismissed the Electromagnetic Blade in his hand and clenched both fists. His knuckles cracked sharply as power condensed around them. "Your turn is over, Shiki. Now it is mine."
Conqueror's Haki surged outward from his body, merging seamlessly with Armament Haki. Black and red lightning coiled violently around his fists, ripping through the air with a deafening pressure.
Shiki's eyes widened in pure shock. His cigar snapped between his teeth. "At your age, you are already coating attacks with Conqueror's Haki?"
His grin widened again, this time far sharper. "So you are not a child after all."
Shiki raised his famous blade, Blue lightning sparked along the sword's edge as his own Haki erupted in response.
Rolan's gaze sharpened. Of course Shiki possessed Conqueror's Haki. A monster who once stood beside legends like Roger could not be lacking such a will.
In the blink of an eye, Rolan vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Shiki.
Shiki reacted instantly, slamming his left leg downward as Rolan's fist rocketed forward.
The impact exploded.
Bang!
A shockwave far greater than the one before tore through the sky. The island beneath them could no longer withstand the pressure. It fractured apart and collapsed in massive chunks toward the sea below. Even the clouds overhead were torn cleanly down the middle.
"Gyahahaha," Shiki roared with unrestrained laughter. "It has been a long time since I fought like this!"
Rolan's lips curved into a faint, cold smirk. "Is that all you have?"
He forced even more Haki into his strike.
The pressure became unbearable.
Shiki's body was hurled backward like a cannonball. He smashed through another island and vanished deep into the rock. That entire island shuddered violently as chunks of stone and terrified beasts fell from its surface.
Boom!
Shiki slammed his palm against the island behind him. With his Devil Fruit ability, the massive landmass shot forward through the air, bringing him back into the battlefield.
"Brat," he snarled, blood streaking down his face, "let me show you what real power looks like!"
With furious gestures, he sent towering islands hurtling toward Rolan one after another.
Rolan stepped forward calmly, his fists infused with electromagnetic energy. Each punch obliterated an incoming island in a storm of shattered stone and lightning.
When the final island collapsed into fragments, Shiki's voice rang out again.
"Lion Slash: Chigirigaya!"
A dense storm of slicing attacks flooded the air.
Rolan moved like a shadow. His Observation Haki guided every step, allowing him to weave effortlessly through the deadly barrage. Not a single slash touched him.
Shiki's heart pounded violently.
In a flash, Rolan appeared directly in front of him. "Take that sword style home. It would serve you better cutting fish."
He vanished again and reappeared above Shiki's head. Armament Haki wrapped fully around his right leg as red and black lightning surged violently.
He descended in a spinning strike.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Their bodies clashed again and again in rapid succession, the air exploding with each collision.
With one final, crushing kick, Rolan sent Shiki crashing straight into the island beneath them.
Shiki forced himself upright in midair, breathing heavily, his body battered and bloodied.
"Gyahahaha," he wheezed, still laughing through the pain. "Rolan, with our strength, why not rule the world of One Piece together?"
Rolan looked at the shattered figure before him with clear contempt. "Look at yourself. You do not even deserve to stand beside me."
Shiki's face twisted with rage. "Then I will kill you!"
"Lion: Gosho Chikai!"
Rolan shook his head in quiet dismissal. Lightning wrapped around his body as he vanished and reappeared directly in front of Shiki. The attacking lions disintegrated the moment they touched his electromagnetic field.
All three forces erupted through his fist at once. Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and electromagnetic power merged into a single devastating blow.
Rolan drove his punch into Shiki's temple.
Bang!
Shiki was blasted sideways through the air.
Rolan did not stop.
He flashed beside him instantly and twisted his body into a brutal kick that slammed into Shiki's waist.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Shiki was battered back and forth through the air like a broken puppet between the falling islands. With Rolan's final kick, the massive ship's rudder embedded in Shiki's head was driven deeper into his skull.
Rolan landed in front of him, breathing steadily. "You could have remained a legend, Shiki. Instead, you chose to become a relic."
Shiki stared up at him weakly. "Why… why do I always fall short… Roger…"
His eyes closed.
At that moment, the surrounding floating islands began to descend rapidly as Shiki's powers faded.
Rolan activated his sensory field and confirmed that Nami and the others had already finished their battle and regrouped at their designated location. He transmitted quick instructions through his communicator, telling them to head to the Sabaody Archipelago and wait. He would deal with the falling islands first.
Instead of a mythical pill, Rolan swallowed an emergency recovery medicine from his supplies and vanished in a flash of lightning.
One by one, he caught the collapsing islands with electromagnetic force and carefully guided them toward uninhabited seas. Even with his control, the impact still stirred colossal waves that surged across the ocean.
"Damn it," he muttered as he spotted an especially massive island dropping far too fast.
He swallowed another dose of medicine and flashed directly onto its surface. Lightning erupted wildly around him as he forced the island's descent to slow.
So that was it. The magnetic forces of the two landmasses were opposing each other, accelerating the fall.
With grim focus, he managed to lower the island into the sea about four hundred meters from a nearby inhabited island.
Even so, the impact created monstrous waves several hundred meters tall that surged outward.
Rolan instantly teleported to the shoreline and released his Devil Fruit power to intercept the oncoming flood.
Behind him, voices erupted in panic.
"Someone is out there!"
"That is a man!"
"Did he save us?"
"Why does he look so different from us?"
"His hair is so short… and he has no beard at all."
Rolan slowly turned.
Every single person behind him was a woman.
His eyes narrowed as he looked further across the island.
"This is…" his voice lowered slightly, "…Amazon Lily."
---
Early chapters. Early access.
Join me on Patreon.
Patreon.com/Zphyr_