After all, Minion Island was the largest black market exchange center in all of North Blue, filled with all sorts of goods, from legal to illicit. As long as you paid, you could buy anything.
Therefore, there were almost no good people on Minion Island, not even ordinary citizens.
All that existed here were pirates, gangsters, middlemen, black marketeers, and evil individuals from the Dark World.
Precisely because they were so evil, very few people caused trouble on Minion Island, because causing trouble here would offend many villains, and that would not end well.
But there was always an exception to every rule.
Minion Island, where evil resided, finally welcomed someone even more evil.
That was the Great Pirate Golden Lion Shiki.
Compared to a top-tier big shot like Shiki, who was renowned worldwide, everyone on Minion Island was a small fry, with no one capable of fighting.
Therefore, from the current situation, among all pirate forces in the world, Golden Lion could currently rank in the top three, and many would even agree if he were ranked first.
Most people referred to him as the Pirate Overlord.
Many also believed that he would eventually achieve his pirate ambitions and go further than Rocks did back then!
And those who could be compared to Shiki at present were only Whitebeard Edward Newgate and the famous 'Golden Roger'!
The other three big shots who would rise to the peak of piracy in the future were currently no match for Shiki.
Kaido was probably planning how to conquer Wano Country, while Charlotte Linlin was busy forming her ideal Totto Land.
As for Shanks, he was truly a junior among juniors, still an apprentice crewmate on Roger's ship, spending his days messing around with Buggy, mopping decks, and cleaning floors.
In short, Shiki was currently in his prime. But calculating the time, it was late 1495 Sea Calendar, just a few days before the new year.
And in 1496 Sea Calendar, Shiki would face the greatest setback of his life: a battle with the Roger Pirates in the Eddo Wōru (Edd War) Sea Area, where a massive storm would almost destroy all his ambitions and grand plans... cutting short his flourishing reign!
But now, everything was yet to come, and Shiki still had the momentum to reach the top.
Therefore, during his time on Minion Island, the entire island was subdued beneath the awe-inspiring presence of this Golden Lion who roared across the four seas.
At the port's dock, Shiki was walking from Minion Island's evil town.
He came to Minion Island merely to purchase some special materials. Recently, he had been supporting his subordinate, Dr. Indigo, in researching a new subject: the ferocious beasts that Shiki and his crew discovered in the New World, Merlville.
At present, the Donquixote Family hadn't yet grown strong enough to weave the entire Dark World into their spiderweb.
Thus, the circulation of various goods within the Dark World was far less developed than it would be more than twenty years later.
Back then, you could virtually just place an order with the Donquixote Family, without needing to travel around, and before long, this middleman would deliver the goods directly to your home.
Now, unfortunately, everyone operated independently, and famous black markets existed in various sea areas.
Minion Island was precisely North Blue's black market.
Shiki only came all the way from the New World because he heard there was something he wanted here.
Now that he had what he wanted, he was ready to leave. There was nothing else in North Blue worth his stay. In Shiki's view, his great ambition still lay in the New World, and one day, he would emerge from the New World and sweep his ambition across the entire world!
Just as Shiki was about to board the ship, he suddenly stopped, walked a few steps towards the edge of the port, looked at the distant sea horizon, and then frowned slightly.
It was a warship, a huge warship. Undoubtedly, the Marine branches in North Blue were not qualified to use a warship of this level.
The arrivals must be from Marine Headquarters, Marineford. Looking at their clear objective, they were undoubtedly here to cause him trouble.
Then, among the Marines, there really weren't many people qualified and bold enough to come looking for trouble with him, Shiki!
"Is it Sengoku? Or Garp, or that guy Zephyr?" Shiki murmured softly.
But he had no fear whatsoever. He was different from most pirates.
That is, Shiki was more aggressive.
Whether it was Roger or Newgate, even if they weren't afraid of the Marine's power, generally speaking, upon seeing the Marine, they would run if they could, and avoid conflict if possible.
There's nothing to say about that; after all, one is a thief and the other is a soldier.
But Shiki had never been like this. Usually, he would crush these Marines who appeared in his sight!
He even audaciously went to challenge Marine Headquarters, Marineford alone later on.
Of course, the outcome was also very tragic. He was directly two-on-one by Sengoku and Garp, and finally sent to the deep-sea prison, Impel Down, for rehabilitation, which literally cost him his legs.
"Then let's see who it is..." Shiki said with a sinister smile on his lips.
As his voice fell, he gently stomped his foot, and an inexplicable invisible force quickly spread out from beneath his feet, extending from the port's dock into the sea.
The next second, the originally calm sea instantly became turbulent. A massive tsunami, in an impossible state, forcefully appeared outside the port. Then, this tsunami seemed to be controlled by someone, surging violently towards the distant Marine warship that was approaching.
This was precisely the ability of the great pirate, Golden Lion Shiki.
It was also one of the top-tier Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities.
The Float-Float Fruit!
Shiki could control almost all matter in this world, even seawater.
At the same time, on the Marine warship, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr were also watching the surging tsunami approaching from a distance.
"Tsk tsk, it really is him, isn't it? Is his greeting always this grand?" Zephyr smacked his lips.
"After all, that guy Shiki is naturally a very flamboyant bastard..." Fleet Admiral Sengoku pushed up the frames of his glasses.
At this moment, in the cabin, Dante was also looking at the surging tsunami, his heart filled with shock.
In his previous life, he had naturally seen and understood this world very well, especially yearning for those top-tier powerhouses.
But when he saw the top-tier power of this world with his own eyes, he realized that the impact was far beyond what he could feel through a screen and paper in his previous life.
Powerhouses of Golden Lion Shiki's level often possessed the power to destroy the world with a casual small movement.
However, although his heart was filled with shock, he wasn't overly worried.
Although Shiki was strong, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr were also in their prime, so there was no reason they couldn't win.
He just had to be careful not to get caught in the aftermath of these top-tier powerhouses' battles.
"I hope the warship is fine..." Dante muttered to himself.
Just then, he felt the warship's bow suddenly dip, as if the giant warship had just nodded.
It was certainly not the warship becoming sentient and agreeing with his thoughts.
Sure enough, the next second, through the window, Dante saw several golden lights scattering down from the bow. Although he couldn't see clearly from this angle, Dante had already guessed what had happened.
If nothing unexpected, it should be Fleet Admiral Sengoku's ability.
The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Daibutsu Form!
This was also the origin of Fleet Admiral Sengoku's title, 'Admiral of the Fleet Sengoku the Buddha'!
Before Dante could think too much, a powerful shockwave instantly erupted from the bow. The surging tsunami, which was powerful enough to directly smash this huge warship, was instantly overwhelmed by this powerful shockwave.
After the tsunami dissipated, the resulting waves caused the warship to undulate, making it very unstable.
"So strong... Is this the power of a top-tier powerhouse?" Dante grabbed the window sill to steady himself, exclaiming in shock.
He felt that compared to them, these big shots, a mere sneeze would be enough to kill him, Dante.
"Gehahahaha, Sengoku?" Shiki, seeing this scene, stood on the port and burst into maniacal laughter.
Then, his figure moved without wind, rapidly ascending into the air.
He didn't make another move immediately, but instead snapped his fingers. As he did so, the huge pirate ship that had been docked in Minion Island's port also quickly ascended into the air.
"You guys go first. I'm going to see an old friend." Shiki said with a domineering wave of his hand.
Then, completely ignoring his subordinates, he raised a hand and pointed in the direction of the warship.
"Go!" Shiki roared.
As his voice fell, all the miscellaneous ships in Minion Island's port were guided by an invisible force, floating up from the sea. Then, like giant cannonballs, they flew towards the warship.
"Zephyr, I'll leave the warship to you." Fleet Admiral Sengoku said in a deep voice.
Admiral Zephyr casually lit a cigar and exhaled, "Oh, don't worry."
Upon hearing this response, Fleet Admiral Sengoku no longer hesitated. He stomped his foot forcefully, causing some of the thick wooden deck to splinter. His figure charged out at an extremely fast speed.
Only then could Dante see his figure.
In the air, there was a giant Buddha radiating golden light!
"Don't get too carried away, Shiki!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku roared.
Then, several powerful shockwaves destroyed everything in his path...