"The power of the Float-Float Fruit is truly incredible!" Aeridar said, standing in midair as he looked at the lion-shaped masses of earth surrounding him.
The entire ground had been turned upside down—truly powerful.
Of course, the most powerful aspect was Shiki himself. His Float-Float Fruit allowed him to make himself and inanimate objects float in the air, but he also had the ability to re-shape the floating objects into any form he wanted. The fact that he could even float these huge islands showed the terrifying extent of his Devil Fruit mastery.
"Jihahahaha! Kid, show me what you've got!" Shiki roared with laughter.
Rumble! Roar!
The earth surged, and the giant lion heads charged toward Aeridar.
"Well, well, even if you're a senior, I can't let you look down on me!" Aeridar said. He clasped his hands together, then thrust them outward with a loud shout, "Shinra Tensei!"
Hum!
A soft sound, and a powerful shockwave erupted from Aeridar's body, spreading out in all directions. A visible air ripple appeared in the atmosphere.
Rumble!
In an instant, the five or six giant lion heads shattered, sending countless fragments of rock flying everywhere.
"What is that ability?" Shiki asked, biting his cigar and frowning.
"My turn!" Aeridar shouted. He punched toward Shiki from a distance.
Whoosh!
The air trembled violently, and then the atmosphere condensed, forming a transparent, white, ring-shaped shockwave.
"What?! Sengoku's shockwave?!" Shiki's eyes widened. He thought he was seeing things. Sengoku and Shiki were old rivals, and he was familiar with the former's shockwave. However, this one was a little different.
Shiki, slightly stunned, saw the shockwave approaching and quickly accelerated toward the sky to dodge.
Rumble!
Rocks flew everywhere, and a loud rumbling sound continued. The shockwave that fell from the sky left a ten-meter-deep gully in the ground, and the earth shook relentlessly.
"Severing Wave!"
High in the sky, Shiki did a midair flip and slashed down with his legs.
Whoosh!
A huge golden sword slash streaked across the sky, exuding a sharp, dangerous aura. Aeridar didn't dare to take it head-on and dodged to the side.
Skkrrrttzzz! Rumble!!!
The ground instantly split open, forming a canyon-like fissure that stretched across nearly a third of the island.
"Gasp… What a terrifying slash!" Aeridar inhaled sharply. The island's area wasn't small, it was only slightly smaller than Dressrosa.
"Jihahahahaha! Die, you brat!" Shiki's golden hair danced wildly as he exuded a domineering, arrogant aura that looked down on all things. "Lion's Threat: Imperial Earth Bind!"
Rumble!
Along with Golden Lion Shiki's domineering voice, the ground trembled violently. Then, all the ground, except for the palace, was turned upside down and surged toward the sky.
Roar!
Countless pieces of earth, rock, and trees were kneaded together, forming a dozen roaring giant lion heads. Each giant lion head weighed dozens of tons, carrying immense power as it lunged toward Aeridar.
"Oh my God!"
"Shiki-sama, we're down here too!"
"Help! Help me!"
"This… this can't be real! The island will fall!"
Looking at the apocalyptic scene that changed the landscape, the Golden Lion Pirates below were all terrified. The older members of the Golden Lion Pirates were mostly gone, and the remaining were all new members who had never seen Shiki fight at full power before.
"This is truly terrifying! If he wasn't worried about the palace below, he would've probably thrown the entire island at me." Aeridar looked at the dozen giant lion heads lunging toward him, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. He muttered, "To think he still possesses this kind of power. I can't believe that in three years, his strength will regress to that extent."
Swoosh!
Aeridar quickly rose higher into the sky, and the dozen giant lion heads followed him, still lunging.
"Maximum Ring: Impact Wave!"
Suddenly, Aeridar, who was flying higher, turned around and punched downward.
Whoosh!
The air instantly became chaotic, forming a violent vortex over several hundred meters. However, this terrifying air current instantly condensed, forming a massive, ring-shaped shockwave.
Rumble!
A white halo erupted, and the enormous shockwave instantly pulverized more than half of the giant lion heads below. Countless pieces of earth and rock fell, blocking out the sun.
"One more hit! Maximum Ring: Impact Wave!"
Seeing that a few of the giant lion heads still remained, Aeridar punched down again. The massive shockwave erupted once more.
Rumble!
There was no doubt that when the white halo erupted, the remaining giant lion heads were directly shattered by the powerful shockwave. Accompanied by the previous air current, it formed a hurricane-like blast. Many pirates in the palace below were blown away, and even the roofs of many buildings were torn off.
Shiki, who was suspended in midair, also had to raise his arm to shield his eyes from the violent hurricane. His golden hair danced wildly in the wind.
"Damn it! It's even more powerful than Sengoku's shockwave!" Shiki narrowed his eyes, a dark expression on his face as he stared at the figure in the sky.
However, Shiki raised his hand and hooked his index finger upward.
Whoosh!
The outermost floating island quickly floated upward like a massive cannonball, carrying immense kinetic energy and smashing toward Aeridar.
"He's directly controlling an island to hit me… If it were someone else, it would be a tough opponent, but it's me." Aeridar was surprised at first to see an island flying toward him, but then a sneer appeared on his face.
Without even coating his entire body in Haki, Aeridar, wrapped in Haki, flew toward the rapidly rising island like a falling meteor. He was enveloped in a white air current due to his extreme speed, and even fire was starting to appear, a result of the rapid friction with the air.
"Impact Secret Art: Starfall!"
"Is that guy… crazy?" Shiki stared at Aeridar, who was trying to hit the island with his body. His mind was completely blank.
Even after all his years of sailing the seas, he had never seen a sight like this. Even Roger, Whitebeard, or Redfield wouldn't have used their bodies to block an attack.