"Shiki…"Watching the Golden Lion unleash his surging Conqueror's Haki, Sengoku frowned deeply.
"If Roger truly must die…" Shiki roared, his voice tearing through the storm,"—then I'll be the one to kill him with my own hands!!!"
"The execution will proceed exactly as announced by the Marines—one week from now," Sengoku shot back.
"Shiki," Garp stepped forward as well, his voice low and firm,"Roger's death will force pirates across the world to bow their heads."
The winds howled across Marineford's plaza, carrying the stench of blood.
"Bow?" Shiki let out a cold, mocking laugh.The twin blades Sakura Ten and Kogarashi gleamed with killing light, rain sliding down their edges and splashing sharply against the ground.
Sengoku and Garp stood opposite him, both having torn off their Justice cloaks, expressions grim and resolute.
All around them, Marines clutched their weapons with white knuckles—yet none dared take a single step forward.
At that moment, steady footsteps echoed from behind.
Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino—summoned by emergency orders—had arrived together, standing in the rear.
But Sakazuki didn't stop.
Under Kuzan's and Kizaru's watchful gazes, his boots splashed through puddles as he strode forward, eyes sharp as blades, locked onto Golden Lion Shiki.
He had heard every word Shiki had just spoken about Gern.
Gern Reginald Sigmar—the man Sakazuki respected more than anyone.
A man whose justice surpassed even his own.A man who dared to face the Pirate King alone—and succeeded in capturing him.
And you, Golden Lion—what right do you have to deny him? To insult him?
"Old era?" Sakazuki let out a cold laugh, drawing everyone's attention.
"Cut the nonsense. You're just afraid of Gern, aren't you, Golden Lion?"He lifted his gaze, voice calm yet dripping with mockery."Because you're afraid, you slander him."
"Let me guess," Sakazuki continued evenly,"that slash Gern gave you back then left a scar you'll never forget.It's not that you can't accept that he captured Roger—you just refuse to admit it."
Golden Lion's pupils contracted slightly… then his arrogant grin returned.
"Afraid of him?" He scoffed."I can crush you all right now, just like back at G-3—as easily as squashing ants."
"Oh?" Sakazuki removed his cap, running a hand through his short hair, eyes blazing with provocation."Then why didn't you ever go after Gern again?"
"Stop pretending, Shiki. That slash he gave you…""…it carved fear into your bones. You're scared to face him again, aren't you?"
The moment those words fell—
Shiki's expression darkened completely.
His Conqueror's Haki exploded uncontrollably, the air itself seeming to solidify, crushing down on everyone present.
"Magma brat…" Shiki's voice dropped into something terrifying, like it came straight from hell."Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
Sakazuki didn't retreat an inch. His fist clenched slowly as magma began to churn."I'm talking to a loser who can't face reality."
"Loser?!"Shiki's fury ignited completely.
His twin blades crossed as golden sword energy erupted like a raging storm.
"Golden Lion—Thousand Severing Valleys!!"
Hundreds of slashes tore through the rain, screaming toward Sakazuki and the others.
Kuzan and Borsalino dodged instantly.Sakazuki remained where he stood.
"The fall of the Pirate King marks the true beginning of justice!" he roared."And the man who made it happen is—Gern Reginald Sigmar!!!"
His right arm transformed into blazing magma as he hurled a punch forward.
"Great Eruption!!"
Magma and sword energy collided midair with a deafening detonation.
Scorching lava and golden slashes intertwined, pulverizing the surrounding buildings and ground.The shockwave flung nearby Marines into the air as black smoke rose sky-high.
From within the smoke, Golden Lion's figure flashed like a phantom—both blades thrust straight for Sakazuki's throat.
Sakazuki twisted aside, countering with a magma fist aimed at Shiki's chest.
Shiki sneered, his body contorting unnaturally midair as he kicked toward Sakazuki's head.
Bang!
Sakazuki was forced back several steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Yet his eyes remained icy."What's wrong? Hit a nerve? Can't handle being told the truth?"
Shiki's face twisted grotesquely. The ship's wheel embedded in his forehead throbbed violently with his emotions.
"You Marines don't understand what true strength is!" he snarled."Roger, Gern—both of them are nothing more than passersby of the era!"
"Passersby?" Sakazuki wiped the blood from his lips, his sneer deepening."Then what does that make you? A pitiful wretch who couldn't even measure up to a passerby?"
"DIE!!!"
Golden Lion erupted in fury once more, Conqueror's Haki blasting outward as the ground beneath him shattered inch by inch.
He leapt skyward, twin blades raised high, golden light condensing along their edges—as though he meant to split Marineford itself in two.
"Golden Lion—Might—Sea-Cleaving Slash!!"
This strike looked capable of cleaving the ocean itself, of severing the sky.
Sakazuki's pupils shrank—he knew he couldn't take this head-on.
But just as he prepared to stake his life—
A figure stepped in front of him.
"Enough, Shiki."
The deep voice rang out.
Garp had appeared before Sakazuki without anyone noticing, his fist wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki as he punched straight into the descending slash.
"Fist of Love—Collision!!"
BOOM!!!
The impact shook all of Marineford.
The shockwave erased nearby buildings entirely, blasting everything flat.
When the dust cleared, Garp still stood unmoved—while Golden Lion had been hurled back dozens of meters, barely stopping himself by plunging his blades into the ground.
"Garp…" Shiki's gaze darkened. "Even you stand in my way?"
Garp slowly lowered his fist, voice steady."This isn't your battlefield, Shiki. Roger made his choice. It's time you let it go."
"If you interfere with the execution—"At the same moment, golden light began to radiate from Sengoku's body."—then you'll stay here forever."
"Then come on!" Shiki roared wildly."All five of you—fight me together!!!"
...
That night, the sky above Marineford was torn apart by the clash of legends.
Sengoku the Buddha, representing the supreme might of Marine Headquarters.Monkey D. Garp, the Marine hero who had cornered the Pirate King countless times.And Golden Lion Shiki, the legendary pirate who once stood toe-to-toe with Roger himself.
With the assistance of Sakazuki and the others—the future Admirals—the battle lasted an entire night.
When dawn finally broke, the once-prosperous Marineford city lay in ruins.
And the earth-shaking confrontation ended with a single outcome—
Golden Lion Shiki: Captured Alive.
...
In Shiki's mind, Roger's end had only ever had two possible conclusions.
Either Roger would accept his alliance, and together they would rule the world.
Or Roger would refuse—and die gloriously in a battle that shook the seas.
But never…Never should it have been capture.Never public, humiliating execution.
This absurd ending was something Shiki could never accept, no matter how many times he imagined it.
Because Gol D. Roger was the one man he had acknowledged from the bottom of his heart.
That was why Golden Lion Shiki abandoned the empire and fleet he had ruled for decades.Why he threw away a pirate life spent standing above all others.
And why he charged alone—straight at the world's greatest embodiment of "justice."
All so the Pirate King's final chapter would not end in disgrace.
Just as he had sworn long ago—
"If Roger is going to die, then it should be by my hand first."
But the sky can never truly support the sea.
One week later…
The public execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, proceeded exactly as scheduled.