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Gray and black dust scattered into the sea. The Marines on the warship breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Although they had long become numb to the power of their Vice Admiral, the fact that he could annihilate an island in a single blow was still terrifying.
In reality, it was only a small island. Atlas could have gradually worn it down with continuous explosive impacts, so he wasn't surprised by the result.
The crew looked up at the sky, trying to find the source of the recent crisis. There was nothing above them; no trace of any floating islands within their line of sight.
A red glint flashed in Atlas's eyes. His powerful Observation Haki quickly spread upwards, its tendrils of perception extending further and further...
Found it! Soon, several floating islands appeared within the range of Atlas's senses, teeming with powerful, savage life forces.
Atlas let out a fierce grin. After making arrangements for the crew on the warship, he quickly changed his clothes and used Moonwalk to head toward the floating islands.
"An old geezer? Floating islands, could it be..." Smoker muttered to himself, then his whole body trembled as an uncontrollable thought surged into his mind.
"Who's the old geezer Atlas was talking about?" Ace's ears perked up, sharply catching Smoker's whisper, and he asked with a curious look.
"The Golden Lion!" Smoker's expression was grim.
Although he had never faced this legendary pirate himself, he had heard about the man's fearsomeness from other old-time Marines, especially from ten years ago.
He had single-handedly invaded Marine Headquarters at Marineford, and countless Marines had died in that battle!
In the end, it had taken the combined efforts of Admiral Sengoku and the Marine Hero Garp to subdue him, and even then, it had cost them the destruction of nearly half of Marineford.
"The man who was known as one of the three legendary pirates alongside Roger and Whitebeard before the Great Pirate Era..."
"Roger... a man like that?" Ace quietly clenched his fists.
He never expected to hear about a legendary pirate on par with Roger here.
"Phew~" Smoker slowly blew a smoke ring, a look of disbelief still lingering on his face.
"If that guy hadn't been so unlucky, Roger might never have had the chance to become the Pirate King."
"During the Battle of Edd War, a sudden storm wiped out more than half of his fleet, which allowed the Roger Pirates, who were at a dead end, to escape."
'Atlas should be able to handle this, right?' Smoker thought, looking worriedly at the figure gradually disappearing into the sky.
Several huge floating islands were pieced together. On the largest island in the center stood a palace. The interior of the palace was not particularly luxurious.
It had deep red beams, and in front of a curtain emblazoned with a golden lion's head stood a spacious throne.
On it sat a man with a smoking cigar, a ship's helm stuck in his head.
A cascade of golden hair fell from the back of his head to the floor, and an arrogant smile played on his lips.
"It disappeared? Was it destroyed?" Shiki sensed that the island he had been controlling with his Devil Fruit ability had suddenly vanished from his grasp.
It had either been destroyed by someone or had fallen into the sea. However, sensing a powerful life force entering the range of his Observation Haki, Shiki let out a fierce grin.
"Looks like it was the former. How interesting. I wonder if it's a Marine or a pirate!"
"Hey! Indigo, where are we now?"
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft...
As soon as he spoke, a series of fart-like footsteps echoed through the palace, followed by the appearance of a man in thick, clown-like makeup.
His exaggerated makeup, sunglasses perched on his head, and the combination of deep blue hair and a white lab coat made him look rather ridiculous.
"Lord Shiki, we are currently located in the East Blue."
Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared on the Golden Lion's face, and then he threw his head back and laughed.
"The East Blue, eh? The hometown of that bastard Roger. To think another strong fighter has appeared. How interesting, Jihahahaha!"
"Lord Shiki, it appears to be a Marine," an observer below the palace reported, lowering his spyglass and turning to Shiki.
"A Marine? This is getting more and more interesting. Are the Marines these days all so arrogant? Daring to attack me all alone. Has the name of the Golden Lion been forgotten?!"
Hearing the word "Marine," a flash of hatred appeared in Shiki's eyes.
He subconsciously glanced at the prosthetic legs that held his famed swords, 'Oto' and 'Kogarashi', a dull ache in his heart.
"Lord Shiki, should we launch an attack?"
"No, we'll wait for him here. Also, Indigo, when will the drug made from IQ be ready?" Shiki asked, turning to the white-faced clown.
"Kalekale, it won't be long, Lord Shiki! Once we've truly created IQ, the entire world will tremble in fear of us, and the seas will sing your name once more!"
Indigo laughed maniacally, a fanatical look on his pale face. He was so excited that his whole body trembled, causing large amounts of powder to fall from his face.
"Jihahaha, when that time comes, I will destroy the East Blue to announce the return of the Golden Lion to the world! This sea where Roger was born!"
Moonwalk was incredibly fast, especially with Atlas's monstrous physical abilities to support it. Soon, a large cluster of floating islands appeared in his line of sight.
It had to be said, the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit was an ability of strategic importance.
No wonder the Marines had been searching for him for so long without success.
He had used his fruit's power to suspend these islands in the clouds, beyond the range of the naked eye, and combined with his powerful mobility, even the World Government's CP intelligence agencies had difficulty gathering information on him.
What surprised Atlas the most was that Shiki had managed to bring up large amounts of seawater to surround several of the islands.
This kind of Devil Fruit ability was simply absurd. It also showed that truly powerful Devil Fruit users were not afraid of the sea's curse and could even play with the ocean itself.
People say there are only weak users, not weak fruits, but that's only partly true. There is a hierarchy among fruits.
While the strength of an ability does require development, some fruits grant immense combat power the moment they are eaten. That's what it means to win at the starting line.
Sweeping the area with his Observation Haki, Atlas found that it wasn't teeming with ferocious beasts as he had imagined.
"It seems the Golden Lion hasn't developed that drug yet..." Atlas ignored the other islands and headed straight for the largest one in the center.
In his senses, Shiki's presence remained motionless within the palace. This was a silent display of contempt!
"Heh... does he really think he's still the same Golden Lion of the past?"
Admittedly, as one of the three great pirates who stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard, he did have the right to look down on the seas.
But the Golden Lion's luck had been poor. Since the Battle of Edd War, a huge ship's helm had been lodged in his brain.
In the short term, it didn't affect his strength much; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to invade Marine Headquarters alone later.
It had even required Garp and Sengoku to team up to capture him.
Although they were mainly trying to minimize Marine casualties by taking him down quickly, it was still enough to highlight his terrifying power.
As time passed, the damage to his brain from the helm would eventually affect his use of Haki.
Coupled with the loss of his legs, he couldn't fully utilize his skills as a Great Swordsman, to the point where, more than a decade later, he was defeated by a pre-Haki Luffy.
Of course, the power levels in the movies can't be taken as a direct reference, but it does reflect how much his old age and severe injuries had weakened him.
Soon, the Golden Lion's palace appeared before Atlas, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Honestly, still dreaming of being the king of the world."
"Explosion!" With a soft word, a blast of fire, carrying a rolling heat wave, shot straight toward the palace!
BOOM!
The residence that the Golden Lion had painstakingly built was turned to ash by Atlas's explosive fire.
A massive cloud of smoke billowed into the sky! An enraged roar came from within the smoke, and a rapidly moving figure flew into the air, carrying a limp, humanoid creature.
The face of this legendary pirate was finally revealed to Atlas.
Golden beard, golden mane—his appearance was worthy of the name "Golden Lion," with only a thin layer of black stubble around his mouth.
Atlas suspected his hair color was dyed. He wore a traditional orange-and-yellow striped kimono, the iconic ship's helm was stuck in his head, and his face was contorted in fury. In place of his legs were two Great Grade swords.
"Marine brat, do you not know the name of the Golden Lion? Are you trying to end your Marine career here? Jihahahaha!" Shiki widened one eye in a bizarre expression, a clear sign of his inner rage.
This Marine had just destroyed his palace, which had housed the top meteorological and research talents he had gathered from all over!
He casually threw the unconscious Indigo from the sky, but the expected splat of flesh and bone didn't happen.
It was as if a giant, invisible hand had caught his limp body and gently lowered him to one of the islands below.
"Tch~ Useless trash!" If Indigo weren't so useful for his IQ research, he wouldn't have bothered to save his life. Subordinates were just disposable tools.
"I never thought you could develop the Float-Float Fruit to this extent. As expected of the legendary great pirate, the Golden Lion!"
Atlas knew that Shiki's fruit could only make non-living things other than himself defy gravity, and only after he had touched them.
Once touched, he had permanent control over the object as long as he wasn't unconscious.
The scene before him was clearly not Shiki breaking the inherent rules of his fruit, but rather controlling the air to create a lifting force on Indigo's body.
"This! This was clearly the ability of an Awakened fruit!"
As one of the three legendary pirates of the previous era, his Devil Fruit ability and Haki level were undoubtedly at the pinnacle of his time.
Devil Fruit Awakening was standard for someone like him!
"Jihahaha! To think you know about Fruit Awakening. However..." Shiki grinned, revealing his red gums.
"You'll be staying here! My masterpiece is not yet complete, and I can't let the Marines know my location!"
"That's not for you to decide!" As soon as he spoke, an explosion erupted under Atlas's feet, and he used the recoil to charge forward!
At almost the exact moment, the airborne Shiki slashed out several giant sword auras with 'Oto' from his leg in Atlas's direction!
Slashing Wave! Shiki's unique sword attack is powerful enough to cut the sea for hundreds of kilometers and give the ocean a middle part.
"Kamisori: Godspeed!" Kamisori was a Rokushiki technique combining Moonwalk and Shave, compensating for the inability to change direction in mid-air combat.
Choosing not to meet the attack head-on, Atlas easily dodged the several Slashing Waves with his Future Sight!
"Such speed! What an interesting Marine," Shiki's pupils contracted. In all his years sailing the seas, he had never encountered such pure physical speed.
"You praise me too much, old man," Atlas's voice came from above Shiki. Before Shiki could react, a powerful downward chop smashed toward him!
Explosion: Battle Axe!
BANG!
The airborne Shiki was undoubtedly smashed to the ground. The shockwave from the impact spread out in all directions, kicking up a storm of sand and dust, instantly reducing visibility.
However, Atlas's Observation Haki told him that Shiki's presence hadn't been significantly damaged.
The explosive force of that attack should have been more than Shiki's aging body could handle.
"Tch~ What a troublesome Devil Fruit ability!"
But Atlas was not one to give his enemy a chance to breathe. With his Haki locked on, he charged straight toward Shiki's position!
"Lion Menace: Earth Coiling!" a deep voice roared. The weather in the sky suddenly turned into a blizzard.
Wind blades and snowflakes quickly formed a majestic lion's head, which lunged at Atlas with its fangs bared!
One of the reasons Logia types are called the strongest is their ability to manipulate natural forces, creating disaster-level attacks.
Now, Shiki, a Paramecia user, could do the same. Although Atlas didn't know how the old geezer did it, this move made him take Shiki seriously.
Though the lion is old, it can still fight!
"Explosion: Flame Dragon!"
A dragon formed of flames quickly took shape and grew, its interlocking scales clearly etched onto its body.
Although the Dragon Talisman granted the power of explosion, the carrier of that explosive force was still tangible flame. Thus, constructing a flame dragon was a simple matter for Atlas.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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