Though Shiki was cursing inwardly, he couldn't help but acknowledge the coordination of the Straw Hat Pirates.
In this moment, these brats reminded him of the Roger Pirates from the past.
Their teamwork was just as seamless.
Such coordination could only be achieved through absolute trust.
But Shiki couldn't comprehend it..... were companions truly worthy of trust?
On these cruel seas, only individual strength was the true measure of power.
'Roger might have been naive, but at least he was stronger than me. But how dare a mere rookie crew like the Straw Hats flaunt their teamwork before me? Are you even worthy?!'
Enraged, Shiki unleashed a technique he had always been reluctant to use.
"Heavenly Float Myriad Forms: LION'S DOMAIN!"
The Awakened Power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Upon activation, everything within a one-kilometer radius was forcibly stripped of gravity's constraints, becoming floating puppets under Shiki's control.
"What the—?!"
Instantly, Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Robin lost control of their bodies.
"Whoa! We're floating!"
All four were swept into the sky along with sand, stones, and trees by Shiki's absolute power.
Their attacks aimed at Shiki naturally missed entirely.
While Luffy and the others were still drifting chaotically in the air like ragdolls, Shiki launched a follow-up technique.
"Lion's Roar: Domain of the Sky's Embrace!"
CRUNCH!
All the sand, stones, and massive debris swept into the air by his awakened power converged toward Luffy and the others, instantly engulfing them.
Ultimately, it formed a massive, floating sphere of earth in the sky.
Naturally, Luffy and his crew were trapped inside, enduring the crushing pressure of a mountain from all sides.
At this moment, Shiki burst into maniacal laughter:
"Jihahaha! You naive brats! Open your eyes and see!"
"The supremacy of individual strength is the ultimate truth!"
"Within this floating domain, I AM A GOD!"
With that, Shiki halted his awakened power, panting heavily. Such an absurd ability naturally came at a tremendous cost.
The strain of using his awakened technique was simply too great for his aged body.
If he had sustained it for a few more minutes, he would have blown out his own muscles.
...
New World.
Cavendish's emotions were on a rollercoaster as he watched the live broadcast.
Just moments ago, it seemed the Straw Hat Pirates were about to take down this annoying old man, but then the tables turned instantly?
"What the hell is this terrifying technique?! It's insane..." Cavendish muttered, sweating.
'No, wait. Compared to my Boss, Shiki's move is still pretty mediocre.'
The visual effects of the scene were certainly intimidating, but compared to the apocalyptic battle between Ray and Big Mom, it was at least a tier lower.
But still...
"Boss, will the Straw Hat guys be okay?" Cavendish asked nervously.
After all, they were his boss's crew, so he had to show some concern to look like a good subordinate.
Ray shook his head in response, looking bored.
"Don't worry. They're not that weak."
...
Inside the massive mountain of debris created by Shiki, Luffy and the others were indeed still alive.
They weren't even seriously injured.
Luffy had inflated himself with Gear Fourth muscle and coated his body with Haki.
He couldn't help but marvel.
"Ray's truly a genius. If he hadn't taught us Haki, we'd really be done for today."
Sanji and Zoro, who were also using their own Haki to support the surrounding rocks crushing them, shared the same thought.
But how the hell were they supposed to escape?
They were completely trapped.
Luffy's balloon form pressed against Robin, with Sanji and Zoro squeezed tightly behind her.
The four of them were crammed together without any space to build momentum, making it impossible to swing a sword or throw a kick to break open this artificial mountain.
Then, Luffy proposed an idea.
"The moment I retract my air, I can create a tiny bit of space for you guys."
"Zoro! Seize that opportunity and cut this fake mountain open!"
"Sanji! Protect Robin!"
"Roger that, Captain."
In that moment, the three main fighters coordinated seamlessly.
Robin naturally wouldn't cause any trouble; her Haki wasn't fully trained for defense yet, so trusting them was her best move.
But the unexpected arrived so suddenly, just as Luffy was about to deflate.
"SPLIT!"
BOOM!
A finger tapped the giant mountain from the outside.
In an instant, the mountain split apart perfectly, with the rubble uniformly floating away in one direction.
Freed from the restraint of the rocks, Luffy and the others naturally broke free and began free-falling toward the ground.
"Wha—?!"
Seeing they were rescued, Luffy didn't quite understand what had happened, but Robin was already laughing.
"It's Red Nose-san."
"Huh?"
...
"Kah~ hahaha! Luffy, you guys look pretty pathetic! In the end, you still need your big bro to bail you out!"
As Luffy and the others fell from the sky, they turned and saw the floating figure of their rescuer.
When Luffy saw Buggy, he laughed too.
"BUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGY!"
He knew Buggy had fought the Golden Lion to protect the East Blue.
After their collaborations, he already considered the clown a comrade.
Now, seeing Buggy covered in bandages but still standing to join the battle, he naturally felt relieved.
"But you're not my brother! I only have one brother, Ace!"
Zoro, however, scoffed at Buggy with a hint of resignation. "Tch. We could've escaped without you, but... thanks anyway."
Sanji and Robin also nodded in gratitude toward the floating clown.
They were quite happy, but the Golden Lion was pissed!
'Tch, those useless subordinates! They couldn't even keep a heavily injured Buggy in check?!'
Though cursing inwardly, Shiki's expression turned grave as he assessed the situation.
If he were in his prime, dealing with these brats would've been a walk in the park.
Compared to Garp, who was the same age as him, Shiki's physical condition was way worse.
But so what? As a firm believer in "survival of the strongest," he had no regrets even if he died on the battlefield today!
"Hey! Brats from the East Blue!"
Luffy, Buggy, Zoro, and the others looked up upon hearing Golden Lion's shout.
"Straw Hat Kid! Buggy! Especially you two!"
"As Roger's juniors, don't you dare disappoint me!"
"I, Golden Lion Shiki, have only ever acknowledged Roger in my entire life!"
"Want to defeat me? Then come and try!"
In that moment, Shiki seemed to have made up his mind.
His final life goal had only been to destroy Roger's hometown.
He couldn't allow a man like Roger to have a "weak stain" like the East Blue in his legacy.
But this current group of Roger's successors from the "weakest sea" had given him a wake-up call.
'If these rookies from the East Blue can actually defeat me...'
At this thought, Shiki's fighting spirit surged explosively!
"LION'S VALE!"
Swinging his legs, countless golden sword waves shot toward the island ground where Luffy and the others stood.
Everything sliced by the sword energy was immediately controlled by his Devil Fruit, rising high into the sky as ammunition.
Half of this 10-kilometer island had already been completely destroyed.
Naturally, Luffy and his crew wouldn't just stand there and take the hits.
Even as their footholds dwindled, it didn't matter.
Sanji and Luffy could both walk in the air.
With the help of Buggy's awakened Bara Bara no Mi ability, Zoro and Robin also trod on floating chunks of land suspended in the sky like magic carpets.
As for Buggy, there was no need to mention—after his awakening, he could fly freely without any issue.
The final battle has began!
...
New World.
After seeing this scene, Ray yawned and told Frieda she could turn off the live Den Den Mushi broadcast.
"Turn it off. The outcome is already decided."
Cavendish and Frieda were watching the battle with wide eyes and were puzzled by Ray's words.
"What? Is the Strawhats about to win?" Cavendish asked, confused. "But if Shiki goes all out, the Straw Hat Pirates clearly can't hold their ground easily. Has the tide of battle really turned just because of that clown Buggy joining?"
Ray didn't fully answer his question, only replying with one sentence as he stood up.
"The fallen legend will makes way for the new king."
"You can keep watching if you want."
After saying this, Ray walked onto the deck, gazing at the fading sunset as he began contemplating his next plans.
He was absolutely certain that with Luffy and Buggy teaming up, Shiki stood no chance of winning.
No matter what.
Robin's hard crowd-control skills alone could take half of Shiki's life.
It was evident even before Buggy joined the battle—if Shiki didn't unleash his awakening technique, he would have been defeated by her grabs.
Moreover, with Buggy's addition, his awakened Chop-chop fruit could easily clear the floating obstacles in the air by splitting them into dust.
Robin would no longer have her vision blocked by debris.
The aged Golden Lion couldn't hold out for long; he'd likely meet his end in just a few minutes.
And for Ray, the issue with Shiki was merely a minor matter.
He was more concerned about other events that would occur in the future.
Back in Alabasta, due to his personal disposition, he had chosen not to stop Ace.
According to Frieda's private intel, Ace had already been defeated by Marshall D. Teach.
So, the Summit War...
'Should I try to prevent it? Or perhaps... should I focus on strengthening our own forces first?'
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator