Chapter 5: Golden Lion's Rage!
Somewhere in the New World sea area.
With a loud bang, a floating island high in the sky trembled.
Large cracks appeared, and countless stones clattered down.
Smashing into the sea surface and sending up huge water columns with each impact.
"Impossible!!"
An enraged roar, like that of a lion king, accompanied by dark red shockwaves, swept across the clear sky, instantly tearing and scattering the surrounding white clouds.
"B-Boss..."
Inside the banquet hall on the floating island.
Hundreds of pirates who had joined the Flying Pirates less than three years ago watched in horror at the bottomless slash mark in the center, which had nearly split the entire hall in two, while scrambling and crawling frantically away.
On the platform, 'Golden Lion' Shiki tightly gripped the Meito 'Sakura Ten' in his hand, already engulfed in extreme rage.
His intense fury caused him to pant heavily, his eyes scarlet like blood.
Especially the top of his head, where the Ship Rudder was inserted, was throbbing with pain.
Just moments ago, he had sliced the Newspaper on the coffee table into powder with a single strike.
"Roger! Roger is the man I acknowledge!"
"How could he possibly... how could he possibly be captured by those useless Marines? How could he—!"
Shiki roared again in fury.
At the same time, incredibly powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.
Instantly, large numbers of people rolled their eyes back and fainted on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, only a handful remained standing, swaying on their feet.
However, Shiki paid no attention to the state of his subordinates, holding his twin swords, transformed into a golden blur, and rushed out of the hall.
Even though several Cadres behind him shouted loudly, he completely ignored them, flying away from the floating island at an extremely fast speed.
Approximately five minutes later, Shiki's figure vanished without a trace.
Just as those few Cadres were at a loss, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to vibrate violently.
This instantly turned their faces pale.
Soon, the entire floating island plummeted like a giant meteor.
Finally, with a crash, it stirred up terrifying waves and sank into the seabed.
From this moment on, the Flying Pirates, who had rampaged across the seas for nearly fifteen years, vanished!
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"What? 'Golden Lion' Shiki is coming to attack here!"
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Admiral Sengoku, who had just sat down not long ago, shot up from the sofa after hearing Fleet Admiral Kong's words.
Even Garp, who was sitting across from him eating Senbei, stopped his movements.
"Yes, this is news just notified by the Five Elders, so we need to prepare as quickly as possible!"
Fleet Admiral Kong, with his 'mountain' of white hair, had an extremely serious expression.
"If that's the case, then Shiki must have rushed here after reading today's Newspaper. Calculating the distance and the speed of the floating island, he should arrive here around tomorrow morning?"
Sengoku voiced his thoughts.
But Fleet Admiral Kong shook his head: "No, the Five Elders said he would come alone!"
"Alone?" Garp raised an eyebrow.
"How dare he?" Sengoku was also full of surprise and confusion, then pressed on: "How did the Five Elders know this?"
"It's unclear, they didn't say, but you can guess if you think about it a little," Fleet Admiral Kong sighed.
"There are Cipher Pol agents within the Flying Pirates!"
Sengoku immediately made the connection, "It must be that spy who sent the Intelligence after personally seeing Shiki leave alone, which is why it's so accurate."
"Yes." Fleet Admiral Kong nodded.
For a moment, neither spoke, and the atmosphere in the office became silent.
Cipher Pol's Intelligence capabilities were simply too terrifying, making them increasingly wary and vigilant.
At this moment, Garp spoke with a serious expression.
"What should we do next?"
Even with his usual carefree attitude, he knew the seriousness of 'Golden Lion' Shiki's attack.
"If he comes alone, his speed will definitely be faster. Tonight, no, he could arrive before tonight!" Sengoku said in a deep voice.
"Then we'll just wait. When he comes, we'll catch him!" Garp clenched his right fist.
"No."
Sengoku shook his head, meeting Fleet Admiral Kong's gaze, and said, "We can't put the battlefield in Marineford, otherwise it will definitely cause immense destruction and casualties. But we also can't be too far from here, after all, Shiki's target is here."
Fleet Admiral Kong nodded in agreement while thinking, and asked, "Do you have any ideas? Let's hear them."
Sengoku slowly sat back on the sofa, his brows furrowed as he began to ponder.
There are only three islands around Marineford: Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Sabaody Archipelago.
Clearly, none of these places can be used as a battlefield.
But if there's no small island, would he and Garp have to face him at sea?
That would mean fighting in the air.
This would be too advantageous for 'Golden Lion' Shiki, who is a Float-Float Fruit Ability User.
"How about clearing out a few Warships, gathering them, and placing them in the outer sea of Marineford?"
Fleet Admiral Kong came up with an idea.
"That could work, but a few might not be enough. Even if Garp and I go together, taking down Shiki won't be easy. We'd need at least ten, I think..."
Time passed little by little, and the golden sun in the blue sky began to slowly descend.
Before long, it had turned into the setting sun, illuminating the sea surface with golden light.
The sky gradually showed signs of night.
Suddenly, on the horizon in the direction of the 'New World' sea area, five Marine Warships appeared, floating high in the sky.
The deck of each Warship was covered with the corpses of Marine Soldiers.
Among them were also several officers wearing Coats of Justice.
An extremely strong smell of blood filled the air around the five Warships.
From time to time, blood that had long since cooled dripped down the hulls into the waves.
Like demonic ships from the abyss, they rapidly skimmed over the sea surface.
'Golden Lion' Shiki sat cross-legged on the observation deck of one of the Warships.
He glared angrily at the island, which was now visible as a dark silhouette.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford, reached!
He slowly stood up, his grip on his twin swords gradually tightening.
However, as the distance rapidly closed, Shiki's pupils suddenly contracted.
Although his naked eyes couldn't see anything yet, his Observation Haki had already sensed two extremely powerful and incredibly familiar presences.
This filled Shiki's heart with doubt and surprise.
Approximately twenty minutes later.
The two sides closed the distance to where they could see each other clearly.
Shiki finally clearly saw two burly men wearing white Coats of Justice over black suits.
They seemed to be standing on the calm sea surface?
"Sengoku! Garp!"
The five floating Warships slowly decelerated.
'Golden Lion' Shiki gritted his teeth as he spoke their names, the malice and killing intent in his eyes completely undisguised.
At the same time, he saw what was beneath their feet – ice.
A vast ice field that had frozen the entire sea surface near Marineford!
It was obvious the Marines were well-prepared...
"You're finally here. This old man has been waiting here for you for two hours. Later, I'll have to give you a good few punches!"
Garp stretched his thick neck and strong arms, grinning widely, baring his teeth, and looking up at Shiki with a fierce smile.
"Shiki, you'd better think this through. If you make a move today, you won't be leaving today."
Sengoku said with a grim face, standing on the cold ice surface.
Shiki became furious upon hearing this.
Since he dared to attack, he had already made his resolve.
He needed an explanation!
"Tell me!"
"How did you useless Marines manage to capture Roger!"
"Bring him here to me! Even if he's to be killed, it can only be by my own hands. He's the man I acknowledge!"
Sengoku and Garp gave no response after hearing this.
How could that be possible?
They just felt that Shiki was completely living in a dream.
The two exchanged a glance, tacitly tore off their Coats of Justice and tossed them aside, then strode slowly towards Shiki.
On the other side.
They saw the five massive, bloody Warships crashing down like an overwhelming force under the 'Golden Lion's' roar.
"Give Roger! Back to me!"
In the rear, at the edge of Marineford's plaza.
Kuzan, dressed in black clothes and a purple shirt, sat slumped on the ground, panting, and wearily watched the massive battle erupting in the distance.
(End of Chapter)