"The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger died early, so I never met him, but he was a great man who started an era. Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, I haven't met him either, but he wasn't called the World's Strongest Man for nothing. The 'Red-Haired' Shanks is also a monster, and then there's Patrick Redfield. He isn't one of the three great legendary pirates, but his power is on par with the first two. I don't know if his strength has declined, but I've witnessed his monstrous power. It's no exaggeration. At least, he's the strongest person I've ever met so far," Aeridar continued slowly, not seeming to care about the situation.
Shiki didn't speak when he heard Aeridar mention these three, either in agreement or silent acknowledgment. The slight trembling in the hall had subsided.
"And then there's the man in front of me, the legendary pirate admiral, the great flying pirate, the man like a lion ghost, Golden Lion Shiki," Aeridar said, gesturing toward Shiki.
Shiki's eyes flashed, but he still didn't say anything.
"Back then, you fought the Marine Headquarters alone and were defeated by the combined forces of 'Buddha' Sengoku and 'Hero' Garp. You were then imprisoned in the world's greatest prison—Impel Down. You were already severely injured and suffered from the torture in the prison before you escaped by cutting off your own legs," Aeridar said, speaking as if he were commenting on a historical event.
"Even with your monstrously strong body, under such continuous torture, you must have suffered irreparable damage. Not to mention, your swordsmanship must have plummeted after losing your legs. And that ship's wheel stuck in your head has had a fatal impact on you, which is evident from the fact that you can't even use Conqueror's Haki."
"Jihahahahaha!" Shiki's face darkened, and he let out a cold laugh. "Kid, you're not qualified to lecture me! Thrust Strike!"
As he spoke, Shiki kicked out, and the sword that served as his leg slashed through the air, immediately creating a massive, crescent-shaped golden blade.
Whoosh!
Aeridar quickly crossed his arms, and the blade hit them, creating a violent gust of wind. However, Aeridar had underestimated the power of the sword slash. Caught off guard, he was sent flying out of the hall.
"Long live Shiki-sama!"
Seeing the intruder sent flying, the pirates in the hall cheered.
"Jihahahahaha! Is that all you've got, you brat?!" Shiki said, biting his cigar. His body flew out of the hall like a sharp arrow.
In the plaza outside the hall, Aeridar stood in the air, a meter off the ground.
"As expected of a man on par with the Pirate King and Whitebeard, he still has so much power," Aeridar said to himself in awe.
In the movie, this guy was defeated by Luffy, who couldn't even use Haki. Although it was because of the protagonist's plot armor, it still showed how much Golden Lion's strength had regressed at that time.
"You can fly too! You must be a great Devil Fruit user," Shiki said, flying out of the hall with a frown as he looked at Aeridar.
"Even though you're my senior, I can't relax for even a second when facing a legend," Aeridar said, stretching his limbs slightly.
Swoosh!
The next moment, Aeridar had disappeared from his spot.
"So fast!" Shiki was shocked and immediately thrust his leg backward.
Clang!
A black, metal-like fist collided with a sharp sword, creating a powerful air blast.
Aeridar and Shiki were in a stalemate for a moment, then they simultaneously withdrew and retreated.
"Tsk. So your Observation Haki is still active," Aeridar said with a pout. He then swung his fists again and charged forward.
"Brat, you've got some good strength," Shiki said, blowing out a smoke ring and also charging toward Aeridar.
Clank, clank, clank, clank…
The two engaged in a fierce fight in midair.
As a master of physical combat, every punch and kick from Aeridar possessed immense power. His fists, infused with Armament Haki, were invulnerable.
Meanwhile, Shiki used his legs as hands, and his swordsmanship was as sharp as ever, a display of his former glory as a great swordsman.
For some reason, the two seemed to have a silent agreement. Besides using their powers to fly, one would use physical combat while the other used swordsmanship to attack.
Whoosh!
A huge golden crescent-shaped sword slash fell, leaving a bottomless scar dozens of meters long on the plaza.
Next, a midair punch shattered the lion statue in the middle of the plaza into countless pieces of flying rubble.
"Run!"
"Shiki-sama is angry!"
"Damn it, that intruder can actually fight Shiki-sama to this extent…!"
"Get away from them! You'll get killed!"
Some pirates who had just arrived were so terrified by the aftermath of the battle that they immediately fled in all directions.
"Rankyaku: Storm Moon!"
Aeridar twisted his body and whipped his right leg forward, kicking at the empty space.
Whoosh!
A two-meter-tall blue-white crescent-shaped slash appeared in the air.
"A mere Rokushiki dares to show off in front of me? Golden Cut!"
Shiki raised his leg and brought it down in a high whip kick, creating a golden crescent-shaped sword slash.
Boom!
The two slashes collided in the air, creating a visible air ripple before they both dissipated.
"You idiot! Lion's Mane: Valley Scroll!"
Seeing his sword slash get canceled out by the other's vacuum slash, Shiki became furious. He moved his legs, which were his prosthetics, 'Oto' and 'Kogarashi,' and began kicking rapidly.
Dozens of golden sword slashes were kicked out. Aeridar felt a barrage of golden blades coming at him as if they were going to tear him to pieces.
"Armament: Full Body!" Aeridar shouted.
Hum!
With a light sound, Aeridar's entire body was covered in a black, metal-like coating.
Clang, clang, clang, clank…
The black, metal-man-like Aeridar faced the dozens of incoming golden sword slashes head-on. He punched and kicked, shattering the golden slashes.
"Your Haki… you've trained it well."
Shiki muttered as he took a deep puff of his cigar and blew out three smoke rings.
"However, the testing ends here," Shiki said, showing off his large white teeth and biting down on his cigar. He then waved both his hands.
"Lion's Threat: Earth Bind!"
Rumble!
The plaza began to shake. Cracks appeared on the ground, and then the earth surged, as if the entire ground was being lifted, blocking out the sky and sun.
Roar!
The surging land formed five or six lion heads that were dozens of meters tall. They roared like real lions, surrounding Aeridar.