Flower Capital, second floor of the pleasure district.
Kenji lied back comfortably, his head resting on something soft and snowy white, strands of dark hair brushing his ear, tickling him slightly.
His left hand was casually outstretched, holding a Den Den Mushi.
The courtesan, who served as his human cushion, had a flushed face and watery eyes as she looked at Kenji, gently massaging him with her delicate hands.
Kuzan's somewhat exasperated voice continued to come from the Den Den Mushi.
"Kenji-san, what should we do? Shiki has run off with our Marine ship."
The more Kuzan spoke, the more exasperated he felt, still unable to comprehend one thing.
"A dignified Legendary Pirate, traveling thousands of miles to launch a sneak attack... just to steal a Marine ship?"
"What in the world is that Golden Lion thinking?"
Kuzan muttered to himself in confusion, also intending to ask Kenji.
However, he didn't know that Kenji didn't have much free time to help him ponder the answer to his question.
In fact, upon hearing Kuzan's report, Kenji had already thought of a countermeasure.
That was to have Kuzan continue to monitor the battlefield, and that's exactly what Kenji instructed Kuzan to do.
"Ah? Just monitor? Then our ship... we can only watch as Shiki takes it?"
Kuzan was very confused, stating directly, "I don't understand."
Kenji smiled upon hearing this and said, "Indeed, we cannot just watch pirates rob us..."
"Then, it's up to you to deal with Shiki."
"Huh? Me again?"
Kuzan's eyes widened as he looked at the distant coastal battlefield, struggling to maintain his composure.
The last time he encountered Whitebeard, it was also on this coast, and he was asked to take him down.
Now, here again, he was asked to deal with another Legendary Pirate, Golden Lion.
He's just a small, unofficial Marine! Why does he have to confront Legendary Pirates every day?
Kuzan wanted to question him back loudly, but he ultimately held back.
Because after experiencing many major battles since sailing with Kenji, he had learned to think.
It could also be said he learned caution, caution in stating his stance, no longer carelessly revealing his thoughts.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be very embarrassing to be immediately proven wrong?
He was, after all, the disciple of 'Marine Hero' Garp! If he was constantly proven wrong by facts, what prestige would he have left in the Marine? And he would also embarrass Garp.
After many thoughts ran through his mind, Kuzan responded with a mix of helplessness and suspicion, "I will carry out the order... Do you have a plan, Kenji-san?"
Kenji chuckled, offering no response.
Kuzan continued to observe the battlefield and happened to witness the fierce battle between Shiki and Whitebeard.
The two top powerhouses unleashed their immense strength, clashing with high-energy techniques that distorted space itself.
"Jihahahaha! It's useless, Newgate!" Shiki wore his characteristic arrogant smile, continuously slashing with his twin swords.
Conqueror's Haki flowed over the blades.
"You should have known this already, shouldn't you?"
"Your Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability is strong, but it can't block my slashes."
As the wild laughter echoed, the scene on the field confirmed Shiki's arrogant words.
The sharp slash, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, unleashed by Shiki's two famous swords, forcefully cut through the shockwaves unleashed by Whitebeard.
"Are you sure you only intend to use your Tremor-Tremor Fruit power?" Shiki laughed loudly, his posture arrogant.
"Such power alone is far from threatening me!"
Below, at the epicenter of the battlefield's tremors, Whitebeard looked up, expressionless, meeting Shiki's gaze.
"You talk too much, as annoying as ever."
As he spoke, Whitebeard gripped his naginata tightly, finally unleashing his Conqueror's Haki.
The next moment, Conqueror's Haki swirled around the blade. And at the same time, a pure white light appeared on the blade.
"Jihahahaha! Now that's more like a fight."
In mid-air, Shiki noticed Whitebeard's movements, but he seemed even more excited.
Then, he crossed his twin swords, gathering power, while simultaneously using his Float-Float Fruit ability, causing the ground below to instantly rise.
Large sections of the ground lifted, as if the earth's surface was being forcefully torn apart by an invisible power.
Endless rocks and earth surged towards Whitebeard, like the earth opening its bloody maw, ready to swallow Whitebeard whole.
Just then, Whitebeard had completed his charge and launched his slash one step ahead of Shiki.
The blade, entwined with top-tier Conqueror's Haki, tore through space, and the full power of the tremor wave erupted after the blade's strike.
Boom—Rumble!
In an instant, the torn space violently twisted due to the vibrating force, and Whitebeard's figure was distorted by the light into an indescribable behemoth.
"Hmm?" Shiki in the air raised an eyebrow, chuckling.
"Are you getting serious?"
"But unfortunately..."
A strange smile suddenly curled on Shiki's lips.
Immediately after, he unleashed his two blades, which had been charging for a long time, with full force.
The Conqueror's Haki-infused slash instantly ripped through space, colliding with the surging vibrating Conqueror's Haki-infused slash from below at a speed difficult to track with the naked eye.
Boom!
The Conqueror's Haki attached to the slashes exploded from a distance, and their collision unleashed endless arcs, blooming like fireworks.
The arc's light was dim but carried destructive power, relentlessly striking the ground.
However, at the center of the collision, light shone like a scorching sun.
The Conqueror's Haki condensed into a dark red energy sphere. The endless arcs erupting outside was merely a portion of the energy radiating from this sphere. Just as the two Conqueror's Haki were in a stalemate, a strong shockwave suddenly erupted from Whitebeard's slash.
Amidst the terrifying vibration, the nearby space seemed to twist instantly. From afar, the dark red energy sphere was stretched very long.
But in reality, this was merely a light refraction effect.
And the vibrating force did not entirely rush towards Shiki's Conqueror's Haki-infused slash. More of the shockwaves diverted to both sides, bypassing the Conqueror's Haki, and quickly reached Shiki's vicinity.
The Conqueror's Haki-infused slash was extremely fast. From the moment they launched their slashes until now, less than three seconds had passed.
Facing the seemingly endless, continuous waves of shockwaves, Shiki no longer had enough time to charge up and unleash a stronger slash. He could only forcefully unleash several slashes and use Armament Haki Emission to defend.
Boom!
The several hastily launched slashes ultimately failed to cut through the shockwaves as before, though the Armament Haki Emission did manage to block some of the shockwaves.
However, a significant force still struck Shiki's body.
In an instant, Shiki felt his entire body, inside and out, vibrating, and blood spilled from the corner of his lips.