"J-Just now, unless I saw wrong..." Caterina Devon, transformed into her nine-tailed fox hybrid form, swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly.
"That person who was beheaded... was it Shiki?"
"It seems... so."
Shiryu of the Rain nodded silently.
Then...
He sheathed his sword and immediately fled toward the coastline.
"Are you all planning to stay here and wait for death?"
Shiryu's words, though spoken softly, rang like thunder in the pirates' ears.
The vicious criminals from Impel Down's Level Six scrambled away in panic, fleeing toward their pirate ships.
Even Bullet, Redfield and World exchanged glances before turning to leave...
Though they chose not to flee alongside the rabble they despised.
They had only followed Shiki to see what the old man could accomplish.
Now that he was dead...
It was time for them to go.
Stella and Crocodile exchanged bewildered looks.
They had both steeled themselves for a fight to the death...
Yet their enemies scattered like frightened animals just because Shiki had fallen?
"Running away just like that? Isn't that too reckless?"
But as it turned out, it wasn't reckless at all.
Less than five minutes later, Garp arrived with the SWORD Classified Special Forces—fashionably late.
Sanjuan Wolf had already fled with the pirate ships.
"You two teachers are cutting it a bit close..." Stella stood up and walked toward Garp and Zephyr at the front.
"Don't blame me for this," Zephyr said dryly, pointing at Garp.
"He used Galaxy Impact to speed up the battleship... but overdid it and sent us crashing into a reverse current... almost straight into the Calm Belt."
"Ahem, it's not like anything major happened," Garp replied with an awkward grin. "But judging by your state, those pirates just ran?"
"Yeah, after Michael killed Shiki at full strength, they scattered like rats."
"Uh... Stella, need I remind you that Michael is with the Revolutionary Army now, not the Marines?"
"What's the difference?" Stella rolled her eyes at the two old men. "Weren't you and Michael always in cahoots from the start, teacher?"
"Don't say it so bluntly..." Garp chuckled awkwardly, unable to argue since his star pupil wasn't sparing his pride.
After all, he had nearly botched the mission—hardly a position to act tough.
"So... where's Michael?"
"He took Shiki's body and landed over there..." Stella pointed toward the distance.
"That's Egghead's highest peak."
"Alright, Zephyr and I will go see Michael... you handle the cleanup."
With that, they turned and left.
"Seriously? We didn't even get a taste of the action?" Rosinante muttered, his lips twitching.
"Not necessarily. At the very least, we can go back and file a complaint against Vice Admiral Garp for his misconduct," Shu said with a laugh.
Beside him, T-Bone frowned, about to retort, but after considering Garp's mistake this time, he ultimately nodded in agreement.
"Enough! All of you, stop talking! Big Sister is about to lose it!"
"That's right! Just hearing the name Michael was enough to make her lose all reason."
Sandersonia and Marigold were using all their strength to restrain Hancock, who had transformed into some indescribable creature.
"What are you all doing? Some kind of sisterly sumo wrestling?" Smoker asked, eyeing the three sisters strangely.
"Hina is very confused. Have you not grown a single brain cell all these years? Secondhand Smoke!"
"Who are you calling Secondhand Smoke?!"
...
Michael stood before Shiki's grave, unmoving.
The moment the battle ended, his Observation Haki had already detected the presence of Garp and the others.
This wasn't the right time to meet the rest of the SWORD Classified Special Forces...
At least, not openly like this.
So Michael simply stayed where he was.
"Hey, Michael, since when did you pick up funeral services?" came the irreverent voice of Garp from behind.
"Is this... Shiki's grave?" Zephyr's voice followed.
"Yes, Shiki's grave," Michael turned around to face the two old men—Garp and Zephyr.
"It's been a while, Instructor Zephyr... and old man Garp."
"When will you ever show me that kind of respect?" Garp crossed his arms and walked up to the grave.
"From a distance, we could sense both Shiki's and your presence... Honestly, before today, I'd almost forgotten what Shiki looked like at his true peak."
"He pulled out the rudder, traded his life for this final climactic battle... He earned this."
"But his era is completely over now."
"The name Shiki will gradually fade from the seas."
"If someone comes to Egghead in the future and sees this tombstone... they might even ask in confusion, 'Who was Shiki? Never heard of him.'"
"Then those old but knowledgeable folks will recall those turbulent years and tell the younger generations about Shiki's heinous deeds—as a cautionary tale."
Garp and Zephyr nodded.
They weren't the least bit surprised by Michael's actions.
Truthfully, Michael had always been a hot-tempered, passionate man.
He only suppressed his nature at times for the sake of revolutionary ideals.
And the Michael who fought Shiki—hadn't he, too, found joy and exhilaration in unleashing his true self?
"So! Shiki!"
"No one can resist the tides of time!"
"But those so-called tides can never wash away the marks left by those who came before."
"Roger was no exception..."
"And neither were you!"
Michael looked up with a smile:
"Your name will be remembered across the seas."
"I'll make sure you're remembered as the most ruthless pirate in history—a warning to all!"
"Your legacy as a villain is destined to endure."
"Farewell, Shiki.""I'll burn some incense for you during the holidays in the future..."
"Try being a good person in your next life."
As the words fell, a gust of wind swept past his ears.
It whirled up a cluster of leaves, swirling in midair and faintly forming the shape of a lion.
Riding the wind, it drifted forward and crashed headlong into the tombstone.
The leaves scattered across the ground.
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