BOOM!
High above the ocean, the massive floating island trembled violently as chunks of stone and debris cascaded from its ancient foundations, plummeting through the clouds before crashing into the churning sea below.
Within the ornate palace at the island's heart, the towering dome exploded outward in a shower of marble and crystal. Two shadowy figures, one pursuing, one fleeing, rocketed straight up through the devastation, soaring ever higher into the boundless sky.
"Jihahahahaha! Boy... why are you running?"
The figure in the lead was, naturally, Oboro, his black suit pristine despite the violence surrounding them.
Following close behind came Shiki the Golden Lion, his legendary mane whipping in the wind.
Each combatant had deliberately shifted the battlefield skyward. If their clash continued on the floating island, everyone else would be caught in the crossfire. Only a handful of the Hell Pirates, along with Golden Lion's subordinates, would survive such devastation. So while it appeared that one was chasing the other, they were actually moving in unison, though Shiki, clearly relishing the confrontation, let out his characteristic boisterous laughter.
Whoosh!Slash!
Two massive sword waves sliced through the air from below, and Oboro's figure gracefully weaved through the atmosphere, dodging each devastating attack with fluid precision.
These slashing attacks resembled those used by Dracule Mihawk, whom Oboro had previously fought. Both techniques required immense swordsmanship and mastery to execute. Whether in terms of area coverage, distance, or speed, only a formidable swordsman could achieve such concentrated, unbroken flows of sword energy during their strikes, imbuing them with terrifying destructive power.
However, Golden Lion's slashing waves weren't simply bursts of sword energy, his attacks had a wider arc and larger volume, almost several times the size of Mihawk's. While their velocity and sharpness weren't as refined as Hawkeye's, their range was far greater, making them more suitable for inflicting widespread devastation.
Clearly, Shiki had channeled his Float-Float Fruit power into his slashing attacks, allowing the sword force to reach a much wider area. In a large-scale battle, this sword technique would clearly surpass Mihawk's precision-focused approach.
Of course, during their encounter at Reverse Mountain, Mihawk had certainly been holding back many of his techniques, treating their fight more as a probing match than a serious battle.
The current situation was entirely different.
Although he successfully evaded the attacks, the turbulent winds stirred by the passing sword energy caused Oboro to stagger slightly. His dark fedora nearly flew from his head.
"Terrifying old monster..." Oboro chuckled softly, sensing Shiki's relentless pursuit growing closer.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Shiki roared with fury, his legs, now the legendary swords Oto and Kogarashi serving as prosthetic limbs, kicking frantically through the air. With each motion, a blade of compressed wind slashed toward the black dot that Oboro had become in the distance.
Looking up from the floating islands below, even in broad daylight, the sky seemed dotted with "stars" gleaming with dazzling brilliance.
Each of these stars was actually a slashing wave created by the Golden Lion.
The sheer number was staggering.
After reaching the apex of their aerial battlefield, the sword light finally began to dissipate. All the slashing waves exploded simultaneously, merging into one massive maelstrom that enveloped the entire sky.
Oboro, unharmed, stood at the center of the storm, looking down at the still-ascending Golden Lion. An invisible barrier of compressed air coalesced around him, deflecting all the sword energy carried by the wind curtain.
The two opposing forces collided, creating a thunderous roar that echoed across the heavens.
"Boy..."
The approaching Golden Lion was about to unleash a taunt when his vision suddenly blurred as he looked upward.
Above him, Oboro stood silhouetted against the sun itself, raising his arm before swinging it downward with tremendous force.
A giant hand of compressed air suddenly materialized directly above the Golden Lion, slamming down with the weight of a mountain.
Shiki was like a fly being swatted by an enormous hand.
His ascending form was suddenly driven earthward with crushing momentum.
"Huh?"
Oboro narrowed his eyes in surprise.
The expected result didn't occur. Though struck down by his atmospheric manipulation, the Golden Lion remained unharmed. Instead, he erupted with Conqueror's Haki, raising one arm to resist the downward pressure of the 'air palm.' Though his body was falling, he didn't lose his balance or composure.
The force of the air current Oboro had unleashed was no less powerful than when he had hurled Mihawk into the sea during their previous encounter.
"He withstood it..." Oboro was surprised, though not shocked.
Despite his age, this was still Shiki the Golden Lion, a legend from Roger's era!
Crimson lightning crackled around Shiki's entire body as his Conqueror's Haki erupted. With a ferocious roar, he thrust his arm upward. The air currents that had been driving him back toward the ground suddenly dissipated like smoke.
Immediately afterward, a golden slash, as if cleaving the entire sky in two, shot upward toward Oboro.
Seeing this technique, Oboro's expression changed dramatically.
Lion: Thousand Cut Valley (Shishi: Senjindani), a slashing attack unique to the Golden Lion, representing the pinnacle of his swordsmanship.
The power of this slash was truly at the level of a Four Emperor.
This sword technique felt as though it could split the entire ocean in half, and it was enhanced with terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
With a resonant hum, golden light erupted from Oboro's body, forming a bell-shaped shield around him. Simultaneously, he employed numerous defensive techniques to strengthen his form, mobilizing both his Armament Haki and his atmospheric manipulation abilities.
For this attack, he could not dodge.
As the golden light filled his vision, the overwhelming pressure of the sword energy rushed toward him like a hurricane.
The attack was so powerful that it closed the distance between them in an instant.
BOOM!
The 'air barrier' that Oboro had used to shield himself was sliced through like paper.
The slashing wave struck him directly.
Thunder roared across the clear sky as Oboro was sent flying backward through the atmosphere. As he tumbled through the air, droplets of blood scattered in his wake. A horrific wound tore through his black suit, stretching from his shoulder to his waist. The injury was severe.
"Jihahahahaha! When I was ruling the seas alongside Whitebeard and Roger, you little brats were nowhere to be found! With all your tricks and techniques... you think you've gained some power, so you can look down on everyone else?"
"Let me tell you something, they're all leftovers from our generation!"
"The reason I'm called the Golden Lion, the reason I stood as Roger's equal, is because whether it's the World Government, the Marine, or all the pirates combined, I, Shiki the Golden Lion, have always been their most feared and dreaded enemy!"
"In my prime, I commanded the largest pirate fleet of Roger's era!"
"Boy!"
Golden Lion roared with overwhelming arrogance, rapidly closing the distance to Oboro's trajectory.
He reached Oboro's projected landing point before his opponent could recover, positioning himself perfectly for a devastating follow-up attack.
The elderly pirate, radiating supreme confidence, raised his fist. Black metallic gleam coated his knuckles with Armament Haki as he prepared to strike down at Oboro's vulnerable form.
"Conqueror's Haki... Devil Fruit powers... heh, boy, exactly how many years have you been alive?"
Golden Lion was about to deliver the finishing blow when he suddenly felt an unexpected wave of dizziness and difficulty breathing.
Oboro, who had been slashed and sent flying, seemingly temporarily incapacitated, suddenly halted his backward trajectory and came to a perfectly smooth stop, hovering motionless before the Golden Lion. Shiki's eyes were now bloodshot, his expression contorted with sudden agony.
"So... you're the stupid one here..."
As their gazes met, Oboro's blood-stained chest remained perfectly composed. His fingertips, shrouded in Armament Haki that flowed like black water, struck with lightning speed.
In a single fluid motion, he plunged his finger straight into Golden Lion's left eye socket.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Shiki screamed, not in agony, but in pure rage.
After the strike landed, his body seemed to regain full mobility. He instantly withdrew, creating distance between himself and his opponent.
He covered his left eye with one hand, blood seeping between his fingers. His remaining eye blazed with the same arrogance as before, though now tinged with deadly coldness, as if he wanted to tear Oboro apart and devour him alive.
"You dodged it... impressive! I was planning to gouge out both of your eyes." Oboro raised an eyebrow, examining the equally injured Golden Lion. His blood-stained fingertips casually toyed with a warm eyeball, his expression one of dark amusement.
"What makes you think you can definitely defeat me?"
"Stop your pathetic screaming, old man."