Cracks spread across the floating island, and soon the massive landmass was destroyed.
Shiki was hurled through the island.
"Luffy!" Uta immediately released her Observation Haki, keeping close attention to the situation.
"Luffy…" Robin dropped the book in her hands and looked toward the sky as well.
Zoro sat on the rooftop, holding a jug of sake and watching the battle unfold, unable to keep a smile off his face.
Pfffff!
Under the sunset's glow, Shiki spewed blood across the sky.
He plummeted toward Loguetown.
Knocked off the floating island by a single punch, he crashed through the land, tore through the waters below, and finally plummeted toward the city beneath.
His Conqueror's spirit shattered the moment he was struck.
The opponent's Conqueror's Haki was far superior. If he were younger, perhaps he could have fought back—but now he was no longer as strong as he once was, unable to withstand even a single direct punch.
Just before he hit the ground, Shiki's eyes snapped wide open, bloodshot and fierce.
The power of his Devil Fruit flared to its limits, halting his body ten meters above Loguetown.
"Haaa~"
Panting heavily, blood running down his head, he looked up—only to see that Luffy had already chased him down.
"Jiehahaha… That's really terrifying, brat!"
Shiki grinned, teeth stained with blood, the metallic taste filling his mouth.
Suddenly, he raised his clawed hands toward the sky.
Boom!
Under his Devil Fruit's control, the waters floating above the Sky Island suddenly formed into nine massive sea dragons, sealing off every direction around Luffy.
They resembled hollow, towering water poles that continuously shrank as they advanced.
"Hm?"
Luffy raised an eyebrow.
"Jiehahahaha… You didn't expect this, did you? My Devil Fruit can even control the sea itself!"
Shiki laughed maniacally, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. "Straw Hat boy, you're far too strong! To be honest, you remind me of Roger in his youth."
There was no mockery, no flattery—only a faint emotion from the moment.
But his tone grew cold: "Unlike Roger, though, you ate a Devil Fruit…"
The words had barely left his mouth before his dried fingers clenched tight.
The water sphere formed by the dragons shrank hundreds of times in an instant, completely trapping Luffy in seawater.
And this was not ordinary seawater.
It was seawater dominated and compressed to its absolute limit by Shiki's Devil Fruit power—pressure equal to the depths of 10,000 meters below the sea.
Perhaps that didn't sound clear enough.
But its pressure equaled 1,000 atmospheres!
Put simply, even a steel tank under such force would be crushed into a pile of scrap.
"Jiehahahaha!! It seems the final victory is mine."
Shiki let out a breath of relief and mocked: "Let me tell you something, brat! If you had attacked me with full power earlier, I wouldn't have had the chance to use this technique!"
Hearing this, Zoro silently rose from the rooftop, gripping the hilt of his katana with his right hand.
"There's no need." Uta's gentle voice cut through. "Luffy won't lose."
As if to confirm her words—
The water sphere in the sky froze for an instant, and then—boom!!
The sphere exploded, bursting into a torrential downpour.
"What…?!" Shiki's eyes went wide in disbelief, his face frozen.
"That's it?"
Luffy brushed back his wet hair and stared at Shiki with an empty expression.
"Impossible! How…?"
Shiki muttered, stunned, completely unable to comprehend.
No matter how powerful a Devil Fruit user was, they always became helpless when surrounded by seawater.
Yet the scene before him shattered his understanding.
"Gol D. Roger, Edward Newgate, and Shiki." Luffy began to speak.
"After Roger's death, Whitebeard ruled the vast seas of the New World. But you… After escaping prison, you hid for twenty years. You sought revenge, but not against the World Government. Instead, you came to East Blue—the weakest of all seas."
As he spoke, he stepped through the air as though descending an invisible staircase, approaching Shiki step by step.
"The old era has already ended. You should retire too. There's no place for you in this new age."
The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from sight.
Shiki's expression twisted in shock.
Here it comes again!
Once more, he lost track of his opponent's movements.
Suddenly, the back of his head was seized by a hand, and his body was hurled skyward.
"Goodbye, Shiki."
Upon reaching the Sky Island once more, Luffy hurled him back toward the floating land.
At the same time, his right arm swelled as his fist tightened.
Supreme King's Haki!
Armament Haki!
The power of vibration!
"Giant Pistol!"
The massive punch slammed into Shiki, crushing him into the floating island.
Boom!!
With a deafening roar, the island—already split in half—was reduced to countless fragments under the impact.
Shiki, fatally struck, lost consciousness once again and fell into darkness.
[I've told you this many times before, Roger. Though we had many grudges in our youth, let's forget them!]
[With the weapons capable of destroying the world, my strength, and the perfect plan I spent years building, I could rule the world instantly!]
[Be my right hand, Roger!]
[A sea without Roger? The walls that confined us are gone. It seems now it's your time, Whitebeard.]
[I'll disappear for a while, and then let this peaceful era witness the terror of true pirates!]
He had lost once again.
He lost to Roger, he lost to Whitebeard, and now… he lost to Straw Hat.
Boom!
His body crashed heavily into the execution plaza of Loguetown.
And with his death, Sky Island itself trembled, collapsing toward the city.
"Shit…!" Zoro's face darkened.
—
Luffy picked up the blank fruit, which was mutating at that very moment, a spiral pattern forming on its surface.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, reborn.
"Your era ended long ago, and your fruit is gone with it."
Luffy opened his mouth and bit into it.
In the next instant, he gained the power of a third Devil Fruit.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."