Chapter 25: Clash of Kings: The Golden Lion's Last Roar!
The wind atop the floating islands had died down, replaced by a suffocating stillness.
Shiki, the Golden Lion, stood amidst the wreckage of his ambition. His golden eyes, usually sharp with arrogance and madness, were now wide and vacant, staring blankly at the young man with flowing black hair standing across the broken earth.
The vast and mighty Conqueror's Haki that had just washed over the island felt less like a wave and more like a tangible storm, a physical weight that threatened to buckle the very air itself. It pressed against Shiki's skin, heavy and suffocating, reminiscent of an era he thought long buried.
'This aura...' Shiki's mind reeled, his thoughts fragmented. 'It is in no way inferior to my own at its absolute peak. It tastes of domination. It tastes of a King.'
He looked around slowly. The army of rare, genetically modified beasts—creatures he had spent nearly two decades patiently planning, cultivating, and evolving—now lay paralyzed in swathes. They had fallen silently, like wheat harvested by an invisible scythe, foaming at the mouth, their instincts crushed under the absolute weight of Suzaku's will.
These beasts were meant to be his vanguard. They were meant to tear down the East Blue, then the Grand Line, and finally topple the World Government. They were his twenty-year plan.
And they had been neutralized in a single second by a rookie who hadn't even lifted a finger.
A tremendous sense of disparity and absurdity instantly struck Shiki. It was a cold, hollow feeling in his gut. An indescribable bitterness surged in his heart, mixing with the bile of defeat and self-mockery.
"Roger..."
He almost unconsciously murmured the name of the man who had defined his life. His gaze seemingly pierced through Suzaku, looking past the present and into a distant, magnificent era belonging to monsters like them.
"After you left... it seems I truly lost my way," Shiki whispered, his voice trembling. "I focused so much on plans, on armies, on weapons... I even lost that youthful spirit of looking down on the world completely."
He, Golden Lion Shiki, the man who once contended with Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard Edward Newgate for supremacy over the seas, had now fallen to this? To the point where he needed to rely on these external creations—mindless beasts—to support his ambition?
Even worse... he was currently being mercilessly taught the meaning of true "strength" by a brat who wasn't even a fraction of his age. Suzaku stood there, hands in his pockets, using the purest, most unadulterated Conqueror's Haki to show him the difference between a ruler and a schemer.
This thought, like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely pierced his deeply buried pride. It burned hotter than any flame.
"Preposterous...!"
The brief trance and self-reflection were instantly consumed by a towering, volcanic rage.
He abruptly raised his head. His single eye was bloodshot, veins bulging around his temples until they looked like throbbing worms. The ferocity and arrogance belonging to a legendary pirate burned wildly once more, ignited by the humiliation.
"I am Golden Lion Shiki! The Fleet Admiral of the Flying Pirates! The man who once made the entire world tremble!!"
He roared at Suzaku, his voice cracking the stone beneath his bladed feet. He was roaring at the boy, but also at that momentary wavering in his own heart.
"How could I... how could I possibly be looked down upon by a brat who doesn't know his place!!!"
Shiki suddenly reached up. His hand, trembling with adrenaline and madness, grabbed the wooden object protruding from the top of his skull.
It was the steering wheel of a ship, lodged deep in his brain during the Battle of Edd War twenty years ago. It was the symbol of his defeat, the limiter of his power, the constant, throbbing reminder of his failure against Roger. Doctors had warned him that removing it would kill him instantly.
But in this moment, Shiki didn't care about survival. He cared about dignity.
A fierce, suicidal glint flashed in his eye.
"HAAAAAA!"
With a guttural scream that tore at his throat, he exerted force.
CRUNCH!
The sickening sound of bone snapping and wood splintering echoed across the silent battlefield.
He didn't even glance at the culprit that had tormented him day and night. He casually tossed the bloody, brain-matter-stained wood into the churning sea below as if discarding a piece of useless trash.
Splatter.
Warm blood immediately gushed from the jagged wound on his forehead like a broken fountain. It poured down his face, instantly staining half his visage crimson. It dripped down his nose and chin, dyeing his golden beard red, making him appear even more crazed and terrifying—a demon bathed in his own vitality.
But he paid no attention to it. The pain was clarity. The blood was fuel.
"Don't think you're the only one with the 'King's' qualifications!! Brat!"
Shiki's voice changed. It was no longer the voice of a scheming old man; it was the roar of a lion in its prime. It carried an undeniable arrogance and resolve that shook the heavens.
"I am... the Golden Lion! In a clash of Conqueror's Haki, I will never lose to anyone—!"
Before his words faded, Shiki's eyes widened to their limit.
BOOM—!!!
An equally vast, yet even more violent and untamed Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body with a roar!
Unlike Suzaku's controlled dominance, Shiki's Haki was wild, chaotic, and desperate. Dark red lightning arcs wildly leaped from his body, crackling like a primeval beast breaking free from its cage. It carried Shiki's pride, his history, his madness, and his unwillingness to be surpassed.
It surged forward like a tidal wave, fiercely colliding with Suzaku's fiery and sharp Haki torrent in the center of the battlefield!
RUMBLE—!!!
Two top-tier 'King's' qualifications violently collided, compressed, and tore at each other in the air!
The space between them warped. The invisible force field twisted the atmosphere, erupting in a thunderous roar as if the sky itself were cracking open. The sound was not just heard; it was felt in the marrow of every living being for miles.
The sea surface below the floating islands was once again pressed downwards by this terrifying aura, forming a giant, swirling whirlpool that threatened to swallow the ocean itself.
On the deck of the Freedom, located not far away, the ship bore the brunt of the shockwave. It shook violently like a leaf in a storm, the wood groaning under the strain of the atmospheric pressure.
"Ah...!"
Nami didn't even have time to react. The moment the two earth-shattering auras pressed down, her eyes rolled back. She felt her vision go black, her consciousness snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. She couldn't even let out a whimper before she softly collapsed onto the deck, completely losing consciousness. The pressure was simply too great for a normal human to withstand.
"Ugh...!"
Rem let out a suppressed groan, her knees buckling. The immense pressure felt like gravity had increased tenfold. She dropped to one knee, her hands gripping the handle of her morning star flail so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"This pressure... it's heavy..."
Between her azure short hair, a small, sharp white horn suddenly emerged from her forehead. Her skin faintly flushed red, and her mana surged. She unhesitatingly activated her Oni bloodline power to resist the crushing weight of the Haki!
But even so, in the aftershocks of the two Haki collisions, which were like divine wrath, her legs still trembled. The air felt like lead, thick and impossible to breathe.
Yet, the petite maid grit her teeth. Using all her strength, she stubbornly raised her head, her blue eyes struggling to lock onto the god-like figure of her master standing in the air.
"Rem... Rem is Suzaku-sama's maid..." She whispered, perseverance shining in her eyes. "How can I... be so useless! I must watch him... until the end!"
On the entire ship, only Albedo remained unmoving.
Her dark Gothic long dress didn't even ripple in the chaotic winds, protected by her own immense power. Her golden vertical pupils coldly observed the world-destroying collision before her, as if it were merely a negligible breeze. To her, this was simply the natural order of things asserting itself.
"A dying lion roaring at the sun," she murmured disdainfully. "Futile."
If Suzaku-sama hadn't explicitly stated that he would personally deal with this opponent to test his limits, she would have long since taken action herself. She would have torn the arrogant madman who dared to offend the Supreme Being into pieces and scattered them across the four seas.
In the sky, the clash intensified.
Shiki ignored the blood loss. His aura suddenly surged, fueled by his life force. Powerful Armament Haki poured out like a black tide, flowing down his legs and precisely, violently coiling around the famous swords "Oto" and "Kogarashi" that replaced his feet.
The blades turned pitch black, gleaming with a lethal sheen that promised death.
Clang!
The two swords clanged together as he crossed his legs, emitting a heart-pounding tremor.
"Lion's Threat: Sickle-Shear (Shishi Odoshi: Chimaki)!"
Shiki screamed the name of his technique, his voice raw with power.
He abruptly swung his crossed feet, one sword striking downwards, the other slashing upwards in reverse, creating a scissor-like motion of immense scale!
SLASH!
Two massive golden slashes, even larger and far more condensed than his previous attacks, were born with a roar! They screamed through the air, tearing the clouds apart.
They intersected, forming a cross-shape like a merciless giant maw suddenly closing between heaven and earth. They carried destructive energy capable of tearing the sky and severing the sea, sweeping towards Suzaku with unstoppable force!
Wherever they passed, the air distorted violently. Everything seemed to be swallowed and twisted by the sheer power of the attack. It was a technique designed to decapitate mountains.
"As expected of a legend of the sea! Is this your true strength after breaking free from your restraints?!"
A strong exclamation flashed in Suzaku's eyes. The excitement of battle coursed through his veins, heating his blood. This was the level of combat he desired!
But his hands moved faster than his thoughts!
"Vermilion Bird!"
He shook his arms, and the blazing golden flames around him furiously gathered in his palms. The high temperature twisted and boiled the very space around him, turning the air into a shimmering haze. The heat was so intense that the moisture in the air evaporated instantly, creating a dry, scorching vacuum.
A luminous sword, purely compressed and condensed from extreme flames, suddenly appeared in his hand! It wasn't made of steel, but of superheated plasma held together by will.
The sword body was dazzling, flickering and flowing as if alive. The surrounding air constantly crackled with explosive sounds due to the extreme heat, unable to withstand the temperature.
"Nirvana Sword: Ignis Fatuus!"
Suzaku gripped this blazing flame sword with both hands. Without a shred of fear, he swung it fiercely at the destructive slashes coming for him!
BOOM——————!!!
The collision was apocalyptic.
The ultimate sharpness of Shiki's Haki-infused slashes and the ultimate high-temperature of Suzaku's flame sword violently collided in the center of the sky!
A terrifying energy shock instantly erupted. It wasn't just an explosion; it was a displacement of reality.
The force of the impact actually forced the vast sea surface below to concave downwards. The water was pushed away by the sheer pressure, forming a huge void with an astonishing diameter and dozens of meters deep. It was as if the sea had been punched by an invisible god, creating a giant, temporary bowl in the ocean, revealing the dark abyss below.
The surging seawater was repelled by the invisible force, rolling up high like a circular wall of liquid, a tsunami frozen in time, unable to pour back in against the pressure.
The light from the clash was blinding, turning the world white.
However, the aftershocks of this world-destroying collision had not yet dissipated. In the next instant, amidst the chaos of energy, both figures vanished from their original positions!
Flash!
They reappeared in the center of the vacuum, suspended above the hollowed-out sea.
Shiki, bleeding and manic, spun in the air, his sword-legs becoming a blur of death. Suzaku, wreathed in golden fire, met him blow for blow.
CLANG! BOOM! CRASH!
Sparks and flames rained down into the empty bowl of the sea. They moved faster than sound, appearing as streaks of gold and black light colliding over and over again.
"Is this the best you've got, rookie?!" Shiki roared, saliva and blood flying from his mouth. "I ruled this sea before your father was born!"
"Times change, old man!" Suzaku retorted, dodging a lethal kick that sliced a stray cloud in half. He drove a flaming fist into Shiki's ribs. "And the sun is setting on your era!"
The battle for the sky had only just begun.