Watching the helm that had first smacked him in the head and then bounced away, Golden Lion's face darkened.
Does that helm know Observation Killing or something?!
Or… had he focused every last shred of attention on John?
Mm.
That had to be it.
With that thought, Golden Lion looked at John again.
Because the helm had stunned him for an instant, John's super-Electromagnetic Cannon struck true.
All John heard was a thunderous boom.
A shot he'd never expected to land had actually worked.
Hovering overhead, Golden Lion was caught by the thick beam of light, slammed backward, crashed into a floating battleship above him, and tumbled a hundred meters in disgrace.
"Huh? I hit him?"
Seeing Golden Lion blasted away by his own cannon, John was stunned.
He couldn't tell whether the shot had been that good… or whether Golden Lion simply wasn't as strong as he'd thought.
The idea put steel in his spine; with the huge metal cannon floating before him, he chased after Golden Lion.
He was thinking…
If he could bring Golden Lion down…
he might turn the tide for the Sky Pirates.
On the sea below, the full-scale battle between the Sky Pirates and the Flying Pirate Crew had begun.
Tens of thousands of shells ripped the calm sea apart, trailing black smoke and fire as they pummeled the enemy.
As John had feared, the Sky Pirates were quickly pushed onto the back foot.
The gap in numbers was simply too great.
With that in mind, he accelerated again, racing toward Golden Lion.
The muzzle of the metal cannon in front of him flared brilliant white.
"Electromagnetic Cannon!"
Bzzzz!
Whoosh!
The thick beam lanced straight at Golden Lion, who had only just steadied himself.
Then— "Enough of this crap!"
"Flying Slash!"
Golden Lion's oto was already sweeping down the instant the beam fired.
The moment the electromagnetic blast left John's cannon, a sky-spanning slash fell like lightning, cleaving the weapon's muzzle.
To John's horror, the cannon and the beam were sliced clean in two.
BOOM!
The mangled cannon exploded, and the blast hammered John like a shell, spraying blood as he plummeted from the sky.
Even as he fell he cursed Golden Lion's cunning.
That first hit had been deliberate, hadn't it?
"Shiki, you sneaky bastard!"
Hearing the shout, Golden Lion raised his sword for another strike.
Just then…
A dull rumble of wind and thunder rolled across the horizon.
It sounded like a god's chariot crossing the sky, drawing every eye upward.
A golden phantom streaked across the heavens ten thousand metres up, carving a white contrail through the blue.
It was unbelievably fast.
When people first looked up it was still a distant speck; within ten seconds it had crossed the sky and reached Hachinosu.
With its arrival the very sky changed.
The clear heavens above the island darkened, black clouds surging in from every side to form a heavy, lightless canopy.
Lightning serpents danced within, striking the sea.
Gale winds lashed the waves into white foam.
Amid the gloom…
one dazzling speck of gold held every gaze.
When it halted in mid-air above Hachinosu…
a giant bird with wings hundreds of metres across, bright as polished gold, seemed to step straight out of myth.
It was breathtaking.
"Carlo's here!"
On the oro jackson, Roger squinted upward, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
"His aura's stronger than ever. After God Valley, we've all grown. I wonder who'd win—him or Shiki?"
On a distant warship, Sengoku stared skyward, face conflicted.
"Hmph. Sending Carlo undercover was a blunder. He'd have been top-tier for us Marines; as an Admiral he'd be more than qualified."
Inside Morgans' balloon-cabin…
Kaido glared at the golden titan, a chill running down his spine.
His own body seemed instinctively, reflexively… afraid of Carlo.
The thought infuriated him.
"Like hell I'm scared of that punk! Must be my imagination."
High above…
Golden Lion lifted his gaze, eyes cold as he stared at the golden bird.
"Made it just in time, huh? In such a rush—afraid I'll send your crew to the bottom? Carlo!"
Even as he spoke…
he slashed at the falling John, using levitated metal to hold him in place.
He meant to wound—or kill—John in front of Carlo as an insult.
High overhead, Carlo, who had raced here at top speed, shrank swiftly and dove to the rescue.
Just then…
under every watching eye…
to Carlo's own bewilderment…
a helm dropped from the sky and smacked Golden Lion squarely on the head.
It clanged, bounced, and was caught by Golden Lion, whose face was black with rage.
Seeing the helm, his aged features twisted in fury.
He crushed it in one hand, eyes blazing as he shot toward Carlo with twin blades raised.
"Bastard! I knew you were behind this!"
Carlo's mouth twitched; he felt utterly innocent.
"Nothing to do with me—clearly that thing's destined for you."
Then, with a conjuror's flourish, he produced another helm from behind his back and gave an apologetic chuckle.
"Still… I did bring you one—sixty percent new, freshly unscrewed from a ship. Should fit you perfectly."
"I'll kill you, brat!!"