"What a pain…"
Standing on the battleship, Zephyr raised his head to look at the figure floating in the air. Then he glanced at all the pirate ships around him, his brows tightly furrowed.
"How does this guy Shiki know that I have a Shikon Jewel shard?"
Zephyr muttered to himself. The man in front of him was none other than Golden Lion, one of the future three legendary pirates. In this short time since the Rocks crew broke apart, the officers who left had already formed their own crews.
Shiki had been the second or third strongest on Rocks' ship. Since Whitebeard didn't take most of the crew with him, Shiki ended up taking over much of what was left from Rocks. Even though most high-ranking officers left, the remaining members were still a strong force.
What's more, after forming his Flying Pirate crew, many people came to join him. In a short time, his name spread far and wide. And now, what Shiki cared about the most was that the Shikon Jewel shard that had been in Rocks' hands was taken by Whitebeard, while he, a pirate admiral, had gotten none of these highly sought-after shards.
He cared about the Shikon Jewel a lot. He firmly believed that Rocks attacked the Celestial Dragon Figarland family because of it. He thought this was something even Rocks couldn't resist. Whoever could get the most shards in the coming era would dominate that age.
So when he heard that Zephyr had one shard, he immediately set sail with his fleet, even if it meant making the Marines his enemy!
Others feared the Marines, but not him.
"So, Zephyr, if you hand over the shard now, I might let you and your men live. Jihahahaha!"
Golden Lion's loud laugh echoed across the sky. He gripped his two famous swords, Oto and Kogarashi, both flashing with a cold light. He was determined to get the Shikon Jewel shard from Zephyr.
Right now, even counting the shard Zephyr had, there were only five shards out in the open. Four of them were in the hands of the people who fought at the center of the God Valley battle. After Rocks died, Whitebeard took one, and if Shiki wanted to make his name, he had to get this fifth shard!
"Stop dreaming, Shiki. If you want to take the Shikon Jewel shard from me, you'll have to step over my dead body." Zephyr stood on the ship with his arms crossed, completely unafraid of Shiki's threat. In an instant, he leaped high into the air. Using Soru and Geppo, he appeared right in front of Shiki almost instantly.
His arms were covered in Armament Haki as Zephyr threw a punch at Shiki. But Shiki seemed ready for it and swung his blade. The two famous swords slashed through the air and met Zephyr's blackened arm.
The two strong Armament Hakis clashed, and a shockwave spread out from them. The sea below boiled and surged like it was alive.
A huge white lion head appeared in front of Shiki, its jaws opening wide as if to swallow Zephyr whole. But just as it bit down, the huge force inside shattered it. Zephyr was about to land a punch when he saw a massive wave rushing toward him.
He kicked out, his leg strike slicing the wave clean in half like a blade. Then he dropped back down onto his ship, looking up at the Golden Lion still in the sky.
"Tricks for Devil Fruit users won't work on me, Shiki. Don't forget, I'm a Marine Admiral. If I let a leftover from the Rocks crew take a Shikon Jewel shard from me, where would my pride go?"
Golden Lion's power was terrifying at sea because he could control seawater at will, shaping it however he wanted. That made him a nightmare for Devil Fruit users.
Even for those without a Devil Fruit, if their ship sank or they faced a tsunami, it was still a huge problem.
"Calling me a leftover from Rocks, huh, Marine? You've got guts." Golden Lion gave a fierce smile. "Then there's no other way. Let's tear this ocean apart!"
The battle broke out in this sea right away. Zephyr and Shiki were among the strongest on the seas, and their clash basically lit the fuse for the Shikon Jewel wars that came later.
People were now willing to fight the Marines head-on for a single shard. This only made everyone's obsession with the Shikon Jewel even stronger.
"Jie hahaha! It's useless, Zephyr! Do you really think you can get away from me?" The Golden Lion gripped his two swords and in an instant swung out countless slashes.
"Lion's Thousand Cuts Valley!"
Haki wrapped around his blades and burst out. This was the advanced way of using Armament Haki. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of golden slashes filled the sky. Each one could cut a battleship in half, and now they fell like raindrops from above toward the front.
Zephyr clicked his tongue, leaped into the air, and threw a full-force punch. The air in front of him twisted under that punch as his own Armament Haki burst out, blocking a large number of those golden slashes.
Below, the ships had already started firing cannons on the sea. Zephyr used Moonwalk to stand in the air and fight fiercely against the Golden Lion.
"When did Marines start thinking about running away when facing pirates?" Zephyr shouted down at him, "You're wrong, Shiki. Justice will never turn its back on pirates like you!"
"Then you can all die here!" Shiki swung his twin swords and shouted again, "Lion Might: Imperial Earth Scroll!"
The seawater gathered together and turned into several lion heads. Don't think they were just water—when so much water comes together, its weight becomes terrifying. The sea boiled like it was alive, massive water spun into whirlwinds around Shiki, then merged into giant ocean lions that roared and charged at Zephyr.
"Troublesome…" Zephyr thought to himself. Shiki's Float-Float Fruit was one of the hardest powers to deal with. He had heard long ago that even in the Rocks Pirates, his strength was no weaker than Edward Newgate. Zephyr had rarely fought them before, but now he saw those rumors were true.
He could handle himself, but his men…
Zephyr glanced toward the warships. They had no way to defend against Shiki's attacks.
"How about it, Zephyr? If you don't hand over the Shikon Jewel fragment, even if you survive, all your precious men will die! Jie hahaha!" The Golden Lion noticed Zephyr's eyes and knew his character, laughing loudly again.
"A Marine Admiral doesn't give in to threats…"
Zephyr spoke in a deep voice. "The Shikon Jewel fragment must never fall into your hands, Shiki. Give up!"
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