Boom!
Aeridar, wrapped in flames like a streaking meteor, crashed into the small island. An deafening roar echoed, and a violent air current, like a Category 12 hurricane, swept across the area, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
The animals on the island scattered in terror, but the entire island shook violently. Countless fissures appeared, spreading quickly and creating bottomless chasms.
Boom!
In just a few seconds, the entire island exploded into pieces. Mountains of dirt and rock flew in all directions, some smashing onto the main island, others onto nearby islands.
The immense weight and terrifying impact caused several of the surrounding islands to shake violently. Countless animals were killed, and countless trees were destroyed.
"What… is that guy's power?" Shiki's face was ashen. He watched the figure in the smoke, his eyes filled with growing apprehension.
Suddenly, the figure in the smoke disappeared. The next moment, Aeridar appeared in front of Shiki without a single warning.
"What?!" Shiki jumped in surprise. "What is that? Teleportation?"
Aeridar patted some dust off his body, standing ten meters away from Shiki in the air. He smiled and said, "Senior, have you had enough?"
"What is your ability?" Shiki stared at Aeridar, his eyes full of caution.
"I'm an Impact-Impact Fruit user, the Impact Man," Aeridar answered nonchalantly. "I can release and absorb shockwaves."
"The Impact Fruit!" Shiki muttered to himself. "Releasing shockwaves to propel your body allows you to float and fly. It's the same logic when you hit the island. You released a shockwave for acceleration, and then the recoil was absorbed by your ability, so you weren't hurt at all. But… what about that sudden movement?"
"Oh, wow, you really are an experienced senior. You saw through the principle of my ability right away," Aeridar said, shaking his head in mock surprise. "That ability is something I learned and copied from someone else. It's very useful."
"Tch! What do you want, you brat?" Shiki asked coldly.
This time, Shiki didn't make a move. He knew that attacking with his ability to control matter was completely useless against Aeridar. The only exception would be controlling the sea, but the sea was a Devil Fruit user's weakness. Even if he went all out, he couldn't turn over the ocean, and a small amount of seawater would just be knocked away by Aeridar's shockwave.
Also, with his vastly weakened swordsmanship, he couldn't defeat the other party. Although he hadn't used his full power, neither had Aeridar. Continuing this stalemate would only cause more damage to the hidden land of Merveille, which would be detrimental to his plans.
"Well, I just happened to stumble upon this place and didn't know whose territory it was. So I came to pay a visit and see if a collaboration was possible. I didn't expect such a big surprise," Aeridar said with a half-truthful smile, seeing that the Golden Lion didn't intend to continue fighting.
"Jihahahahaha! You little brat! I have no intention of collaborating with you! Get off my turf now!" Shiki laughed furiously.
"Is that so? What a shame," Aeridar said, narrowing his eyes. He actually turned to leave, waving at Shiki with his back to him. "Since the owner doesn't welcome me, I'll take my leave. Don't worry, I won't tell the Marines."
As soon as he spoke, Aeridar disappeared from the spot. Shiki frowned and looked around, but he couldn't find Aeridar.
"What is that little brat up to?" Shiki's expression turned dark. He was baffled by the sudden appearance and departure. It was weird. Very weird. Extremely weird!
After thinking for a moment in the air, Shiki looked at the chaotic islands nearby and turned to return to the only undamaged palace hall on the main island.
Clank, clank, clank, clank…
The tips of 'Oto' and 'Kogarashi' clanked on the stone tiles of the hall. Shiki crossed his arms and walked with a gloomy expression to his throne and sat down.
Pootz, pootz, pootz, pootz…
Dr. Indigo approached Shiki with a farting sound and began to gesticulate wildly.
"Is that so? I understand." Shiki looked at Dr. Indigo's gestures and nodded as if he understood.
Dr. Indigo froze. His eyes widened in shock.
'…He actually understood?!'
....
In the sky outside of Merveille, a figure suddenly appeared.
"This is a truly surprising gain, Golden Lion Shiki. I'll be back. Heh heh heh…"
Aeridar looked back at the floating islands, a sinister grin on his face as he let out a maniacal laugh. In his coat pocket were seven or eight small pink plant spheres with petals and a half-torn piece of white paper.
....
Somewhere in the first half of the Grand Line.
Boom, boom, boom! Rumble, rumble!
A pirate ship was sailing quickly on the sea. Not far away, there were three Marine battleships and one second-rate ship. The two sides were in a pursuit, engaging in a fierce cannon battle.
"Captain Ace! The Marine cannons are too strong!"
"We're at a disadvantage in a cannon battle!"
"Damn it, their range and firepower are superior to ours! At this rate, the ship will sink!"
"What should we do? We have to find a way to fight up close. That's our only chance of winning."
On the pirate ship, a group of pirates dodged the Marine cannonballs, feeling frustrated.
"Well, well, four battleships. What a pain to deal with on the sea!" A freckled young man stood at the stern of the ship, smiling brightly.
"Captain Ace! There's nothing to laugh about, we're about to be wiped out!" the surrounding pirates yelled at Ace.
"Captain! Look! An island up ahead!" a lookout in the crow's nest shouted with a pleasant surprise.
"Ha ha ha ha! Everyone! Let's land on the island!" Ace pressed his orange cowboy hat down and laughed.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/AlexandrusTL [remove the parentheses ( )]