On the deck of the warship, the CP0 with a white mask stared blankly at the two figures in the sky.
The sea breeze blew past, sending a chill down his spine.
At this moment, even his loyalty to the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders was shaken a little.
Such a monster, even the gods, is not a match, right?!
"What happened? Wasn't White Knight Gawain only holding his ground before, thanks to his Devil Fruit ability? Why has the tide turned in an instant?"
"Was he hiding his strength all along, or..."
"No."
Akainu said while looking up with narrowed eyes.
"He must have had a sudden realization."
"Haki, which is born of conviction, is the most mysterious power in this world. Just one moment of clarity can change everything."
"The stronger your belief, the stronger you become."
"What is it in Water 7 that would drive a pirate to such lengths?"
As murmurs passed among them, Akainu already had his answer.
Distant lights had begun to appear on the coastline, faint glimmers as several ragged, malnourished refugees gathered on the beach.
And with time, more lights were appearing.
Akainu knew exactly what that meant.
He reached out and pressed the military cap, and the brim of the cap was pressed down to block his eyes, but it couldn't hide the muscles on his cheeks that kept throbbing.
… … …
In the center of the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The continuous impacts almost completely flattened everything within Law's sight.
The two people fighting in the center of the battlefield were like some kind of giant beast or human-shaped god who wanted only to release the power in their bodies and scrape off a layer of skin from the earth.
"Can he win?!"
"Can he really win?!"
"If even a seemingly invincible monster like Golden Lion can be defeated, then what can't that man overcome?!"
Law's body was already covered with wounds, some of which were scratched by flying gravel, and some were just wounds caused by the airflow that was accidentally disturbed when Gawain fought with Golden Lion.
Every second he stayed in this vicinity, he might die, but Law no longer cared about this.
He only wanted to witness the final result of the two people's fight to the death.
Witness the defeat of Golden Lion and Gawain's ascent to the top!
"I'm sure he will!"
"White Knight Gawain, what kind of man are you to have the strength to challenge Golden Lion at your age!"
Boom!
A loud explosion interrupted Law's thinking.
He looked up.
He looked up and saw a figure with wings on his back, suspended in the sky, holding a sword, radiating dominance and exuding absolute confidence from his eyes.
"White Knight Gawain… The one that fell..."
Law quickly turned his head and saw Golden Lion buried beneath rubble, his hand weakly trying to push away a slab of stone.
The overwhelming pressure he had once exuded was gone.
The tide had turned!
"Jihahahaha!"
"Interesting!"
"It's so interesting!"
Despite his disheveled appearance, there wasn't a hint of despair on Golden Lion's face, only a calm befitting a legend.
He had experienced countless battles and even crushing defeats like this many times before.
To him, it was no more than dust on his clothes.
But, other than the legendary battle of Edd War over twenty years ago, he had never wanted to win so badly as he did now.
He would win, even if it cost him his life!
Whoosh!
When the ground beneath his feet shattered, the figure of Golden Lion had already rushed towards Gawain in the sky.
With him, countless fragments of buildings and debris rose into the air, rapidly converging and twisting into vicious lion heads that lunged at Gawain!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
…
Relentless collisions followed, debris forming and breaking apart as if alive under Golden Lion's control, biting at Gawain from all directions.
Such power and attack are no different from those of the gods!
But Golden Lion knew that this level of attack had no meaning to Gawain.
Sure enough, the next moment, a figure burst from the sea of debris and slashed toward him.
Bang!
The swords collided, and their Haki spread outwards.
In terms of Haki alone, Gawain is now on par with Golden Lion, but his body is younger, his physique is stronger, and his Zoan Fruit is better at hand-to-hand combat.
Not to mention the current Golden Lion. Even if he had faced Golden Lion in his prime twenty years ago, Gawain was not afraid at all!
"Shiki!"
"You lose!"
Boom!
Golden Lion fell again, like a meteor, and crashed directly into the ground.
Cracks spread all the way to the edge of Water 7, causing countless seawaters to flow back, and the terrain was almost completely changed.
"I haven't lost!"
Golden Lion burst out of the ground again, his eyes burning like torches.
If the battle had reached this level normally, it would have been meaningless to continue the fight.
After all, the most important thing had been obtained, and Golden Lion gradually became aware of the marine warships gathered around Water 7.
The Marines' appearance at this time was almost malicious.
But at this moment, Golden Lion wanted only one thing… To defeat the opponent in front of him, even if he had to sacrifice his life!
He gasped for breath.
Obviously, even if his old injuries healed, his aging body no longer had the endurance to fight for days and nights like he had with Roger and Whitebeard in his youth.
Just a few hours of fighting had already made him feel exhausted.
"Come again!"
After a loud shout, Golden Lion jumped up and flew towards Gawain, but after a while of entanglement, he fell to the ground again.
Boom! Boom!Boom!
The same scene was repeated in the center of the battlefield, but this time the suppressed party was no longer Gawain but Golden Lion, a legend who once roamed the sea.
Everyone watched the battle numbly and even forgot to speak.
…
Mary Geoise.
In the familiar office, the Five Elders, back in their seats, watched the footage transmitted by the projection Den Den Mushi.
Their expressions were exceedingly grim.
At this moment, Gawain, who had the power to directly suppress Golden Lion, was now enough to make them take him seriously.
No, this could even be said to be fear.
That was the red dragon fruit after all!
As long as the battlefield was chosen correctly, with Gawain's current display of power, unless they resorted to using an Ancient Weapon to completely wipe him and the land beneath him off the face of the earth, it would be nearly impossible to eliminate him.
A pirate who cannot be wiped out… The threat is not much weaker than Rocks back then!
"The will of that esteemed individual is absolute. Once the Buster Call is given, it must not be changed!"
St. Marcus Mars repeated the words he had just said. His eyes fell on Gawain in the center of the battlefield, and it became increasingly fierce: "Are we going to wipe that guy out completely?!"
Tap!
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro tapped the sword in his hand and rubbed his eyebrows: "Although every time I see that sword, it makes me particularly irritated, but even if we take action, if that guy is determined to escape, I'm afraid we can't stop him."
As his voice fell, the office fell silent for a moment; they all knew that St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro was speaking the truth.
In terms of threat level, the power of the red dragon fruit is already among the top among the known Mythical Zoan Fruit, and it is even more powerful in the hands of Gawain, who is as strong as Golden Lion.
At this point, the situation had already taken on a sense of being unable to back out.
The Five Elders silently looked at the screen and felt that things were developing in the direction of getting out of control.
This feeling is rare in their long memory. The most recent time was when Roger said that sentence on the execution platform twenty years ago.