The battle had begun.
Kalifa looked up at the sky. Part of the island's central area had been split open by a sword strike. Chunks of rock and rubble hung suspended in the air.
As long as the Golden Lion wasn't defeated, nothing on the floating island would fall.
"Will something happen?" Kalifa asked, glancing at Esdeath.
"Do you want something to happen to Vane?"
"I don't care."
High above on the floating island, the battle raged fiercely.
The Golden Lion took a punch from Vane, shattering part of his sternum. But for a veteran of countless battles, such injuries were trivial. The man had endured the agony of losing both legs — a cracked rib meant little. His body's resilience would see him healed in days.
"Kid, your fists pack quite the punch," the Golden Lion growled through gritted teeth, suppressing the sharp pain in his chest.
He swiftly pulled back, using his Devil Fruit ability to float freely, his movements even nimbler in midair. Yet Vane too could fly.
Lion Senkiriya!
The Golden Lion moved his legs in the air, the two swords bound to them releasing waves of golden sword energy. Each slash was sharper and deadlier than before, waves of gleaming gold hurtling toward Vane like tidal surges.
The Golden Lion was a master swordsman. His attacks weren't something a weakling could endure.
Vane activated his Observation Haki. The sword waves came at blinding speed, but Haki allowed him to predict their trajectories, making dodging possible. Still, Vane couldn't help being impressed. The sheer power behind the slashes was terrifying.
As one wave missed him, it split an island chunk behind him before slicing deep into the sea. Multiple golden arcs fell like divine judgment, carving open a long scar in the ocean's surface. The water refused to close the wound as sword energy kept the chasm agape — hundreds of meters long.
The Golden Lion was no ordinary swordsman. Even after losing his legs, he adapted, using swords as prosthetic limbs — though perhaps not at his peak, his swordsmanship remained formidable.
"You dodged that?"
The Golden Lion smirked. Without wasting a moment, he manipulated shattered stone with his ability, sending chunks hurtling toward Vane from both flanks. At the same time, he launched more golden slashes with his legs, surrounding Vane on three sides.
"Boy, surrender to me — to Golden Lion Shiki — and I'll spare your life!"
He laughed, his voice echoing across the sky. "How long do you think you can dodge?"
The Golden Lion wanted to recruit Vane. News of Vane defeating an Admiral — Akainu, no less — had reached him before. It piqued his interest. He wanted powerful allies. But he didn't know about Vane's battle against Big Mom yet. Living so high in the skies, cut off from the world, even newspaper-delivering seagulls rarely reached him.
Still, the Golden Lion was supremely confident in his own might. In his prime, he'd stormed Marineford alone. If not for Garp and Sengoku joining forces, he wouldn't have been imprisoned in Impel Down. Even now, though older and with his strength slightly dulled, he remained a living legend.
"How many times can I dodge, huh? You think I won't strike back? Your era is over, old man!"
Vane smirked, soaring into the sky. The massive stones collided below him, the impact enough to pulverize anyone caught between them.
In the air behind him, golden magic circles materialized, rippling like waves. Dozens, then hundreds of them appeared — radiant, shimmering, noble.
The King's Treasure. The connection to the Golden Capital summoned ancient weapons, which shot forth like bullets from each golden portal.
"What ability is this?"
The sky turned gold as over a hundred magic circles hung behind Vane, illuminating the heavens.
The Golden Lion was momentarily stunned.
"What the hell is that?"
Weapons fired from every circle, aimed squarely at him. Each one streaked through the air like a meteor, their power far beyond bullets. As fast as they appeared, new weapons replaced the last, creating a relentless barrage.
Even Esdeath, watching from afar, was momentarily distracted. "What kind of ability is this?"
"I don't know. Seems he's been hiding a lot more than we thought."
High above, Vane hovered just above the Golden Lion, looking down at him.
"Let's see how you handle this, old man!"
Vane laughed. The endless stream of ancient weapons poured from the sky. The cold gleam of steel filled the air, each shot replaced in an instant, like a machine gun with infinite ammunition.
This was The King's Treasure, a skill that allowed Vane to summon and unleash countless noble weapons from the Golden Capital. The weapons themselves faded after impact, returning to the vault they originated from.
The Golden Lion's expression turned grim. The weapons were as dense as a storm cloud, and worse — they tracked him.
Lion Power: Earth Scroll!
He summoned a giant lion-shaped construct from the earth to shield himself. The roaring lion surged forward, intercepting the barrage. But the summoned weapons were relentless. A single shot cracked the lion's head — dozens tore it apart.
"This kid… I underestimated him!"
The Golden Lion raised two more lion heads as shields, but his floating island was already a wreck. If the fight continued like this, the whole place would be rubble. His subordinates had long since taken refuge on other islands.
When gods battle, mortals suffer.
"Golden Lion, is hiding behind lion heads all you've got? Have you gone so long without a real fight that you've turned from a beast into a sick old cat?"
Vane taunted loudly.
The Golden Lion gritted his teeth, his pride stung.
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