East Blue, Loguetown.
From high above, the entire island looked like it had descended into chaos.
Rows upon rows of Marines in white uniforms stood along the main roads, working to maintain order.
The Loguetown Marine Branch's branch chief was shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Move, move, move!"
"Grab only what you can carry easily and head to the evacuation ships at the port, now!"
"Don't linger! Don't linger!"
"Roger's enemy, the great pirate Golden Lion, is on his way here!"
"Get off the island immediately!!!"
"Abandon anything unnecessary!"
"Move!"
Thanks to the branch chief's usual influence, coupled with the notorious name of the great pirate Golden Lion, Roger's enemy, the islanders surged toward the several evacuation ships docked at the port.
"Dammit! Don't push me!"
"I was here first!"
"Don't cut in line, you bastard!"
"Who cares about you?!"
"Out of my way! I'm getting on first!"
"Bastard!!!"
On one of the evacuation ships that had already set sail, a middle-aged merchant holding a child finally found his wife and let out a relieved sigh.
"Good thing we made it aboard… Are the kids okay?"
Beside him, his gentle and pretty wife held two children.
"They're fine, just stepped on a few times."
The middle-aged merchant sighed softly.
"As long as you're all safe, that's what matters most."
His wife's face was filled with worry.
"When will days like this ever end?"
"Damn pirates… Damn Roger, can't even rest in peace after death."
"All our goods are left behind on the island. Who knows how much we'll lose this time."
"At this rate, we won't last another year."
The merchant, an optimist, gently put an arm around her shoulder.
"It's fine, as long as our family stays safe."
"As long as we're alive, we can always get back on our feet."
"At least we're still alive. The Sakos family—weren't they all killed by pirates because they were greedy for their wealth…?"
His wife quickly cut him off.
"Alright, enough. I know."
"I just can't get over it… Sigh."
The merchant held her close.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Suddenly, she felt her husband's body stiffen.
Looking up in the direction of his gaze, she began trembling uncontrollably—and so did everyone else on the ship.
Someone gasped in horror:
"Those islands!!"
"It's Golden Lion's ability!!!"
...
Above Loguetown.
After crossing Reverse Mountain without pause, Golden Lion was now hurtling toward Loguetown with several islands in tow.
Setting aside the panic of those who saw him coming—
He looked at the island drawing closer and suddenly felt… nothing.
This island, where Roger had been executed, was no different from any other he'd seen.
At his arrival, everyone had fled. His Observation Haki could clearly sense the frantic chaos of the people below.
His heart calmed, as if he had transcended worldly concerns.
"So this is the island that produced a man like Roger, huh?"
"How boring..."
"Let's start here, then."
His indifferent voice carried no emotion.
With a single swing of his remaining right hand, four island fragments—each about the size of Loguetown—plummeted downward.
...
On the island, both civilians and soldiers stared in terror at the descending landmasses.
Bodies shook uncontrollably. Many collapsed to the ground, staring in despair at the massive shadows bearing down on them.
Flashes of their lives sped through their minds like a revolving lantern.
Countless people shut their eyes in hopeless resignation.
"So it's over…"
"Guess I'm dying like this…"
Whoosh—
A sharp, urgent sound rang in the ears of the despairing crowd.
Then, a calm yet deeply reassuring voice echoed through the sky:
"Dark Hound!!!"
With the voice came a crimson meteor tearing through the heavens.
In an instant, it pierced two of the falling islands. Magma burst from the impact, rapidly expanding and detonating.
Boom—Boom—
The explosive magma formed two massive umbrella-shaped canopies in the sky.
They caught the other two incoming islands, engulfing them and sending them plummeting into the sea.
Boom—Boom—
Even though the remaining islands struck from some distance away, the impact churned up colossal waves.
The surging waters capsized who knew how many people and destroyed countless buildings.
Yet no one felt pain—instead, they all laughed like mad.
"A-alive… we're alive!!!!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
"It's an Admiral! An Admiral!!!"
"We survived!!!"
"Hahahaha!!!!"
The entire island erupted into frenzied cheers…
...
A thousand meters above the sea.
The falling islands had halted. Golden Lion stepped forward.
His golden cloak and long flowing mane of hair billowed behind him like a lion's mane.
Looking a hundred meters away at Sakazuki standing atop a giant molten gold eagle, he spoke in a calm voice:
"You're in my way, magma brat."
The moment he saw Sakazuki, Golden Lion knew this journey would likely end here.
But… an old lion is still a lion.
Narrowing his eyes, he stared at Sakazuki with cold indifference.
Sakazuki stood on his molten eagle.
Hearing Golden Lion's detached tone, he let out a faint chuckle.
"Already accepted your fate, have you, Golden Lion?"
Seeing that irritating smile, Golden Lion took a deep drag from his cigar and slowly exhaled.
"Huu—"
"Sharp tongue you've got there, magma brat."
"But…"
"Who dies here is still up in the air."
With his remaining right hand, he drew the sword at his waist, his whole body rising into the air.
Sakazuki swung his right hand, conjuring a long blade of magma and twirling it in a flourish.
It was coated in jet-black Armament Haki, entwined with the will of Conqueror's Haki.
"Plenty of bite in your words. Let's see if your bones are as tough."
Golden Lion sneered, eyes locked on Sakazuki.
Sakazuki's lips also curled into a feral grin as he fixed his gaze on the Golden Lion across from him.
"Hah..."
Two cold snorts rang out.
In the sky, a streak of golden light and a streak of crimson light hurtled toward each other at incredible speed.
Boom—
The white clouds as far as the eye could see were blown apart in a perfect circle centered on the two of them, scattering rapidly into nothing.
At the point where blade and sword clashed, threads of black-violet lightning flickered.
Only a moment of deadlock passed before the Golden Lion began to falter. Sakazuki sneered.
"You've gotten old..."
Feeling the blade pressing ever closer to his neck, the Golden Lion had to admit it—he... had already... He drew a deep breath.
"Then try this, magma brat!"
With an explosive burst of strength, he shoved back, reversing the pressure. At the same time, the twin swords that served as his legs slashed toward Sakazuki's chest.
In an instant, Sakazuki's entire body was coated in Armament Haki. He took the twin slashes head-on, the muscles in his sword arm bulging.
Whoosh—
The Golden Lion was knocked flying backward through the air, smashing into a nearby island.
The crimson figure of Sakazuki followed close behind, charging after him.
Boom—
The island exploded into fragments under a blast of magma, dust and debris billowing skyward.
Rip—
With a sound like tearing cloth, a streak of sword light split the dust cloud in two. The Golden Lion shot straight up toward the heavens.
Standing atop a massive chunk of shattered island, Sakazuki's form suddenly swelled and twisted.
A five-hundred-meter-tall magma giant appeared, a thousand arms sprouting from its back, its face a hideous demon's mask.
It was just the right size to stand on the floating chunk of island.
"Descent of the Thousand Hands!"
All thousand arms pointed toward the Golden Lion soaring upward.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Countless arms detached from the giant's body, magma blasting from their ends as they streaked toward the Golden Lion.
The entire sky was flooded with magma, swallowing the Golden Lion whole.
Boom—
Suddenly, a massive hole blew open in the magma. Behind the Golden Lion floated countless chunks of magma, condensed into a massive lion's head dozens of meters across.
Clad in Haki and wielding his longswords, he dove toward Sakazuki.
From Sakazuki's perspective, it looked like an enormous lion's phantom was charging at him, sword aura razor-sharp. He gave a quiet chuckle.
The magma giant's thousand arms suddenly melted into magma, streaming toward its topmost two arms.
The magma merged into a colossal blade, hundreds of meters long, gripped tightly in the giant's hands.
Both hands brought the sword behind its back, then swung down at the charging lion phantom.
Whoosh—
BOOM!!!
The sound was as if the sky and sea had been split in two.
The two figures passed each other and came to a halt.
The massive lion phantom split cleanly down the middle and vanished.
From the center of his brow downward, a thin line of blood appeared on the Golden Lion, slicing down through his chin and across his chest.
He looked down at the wound in a daze.
"Lost, huh..."
So this was it... He suddenly grew calm.
Turning toward Sakazuki not far behind him, he spoke.
"Magma brat."
"Do you think I'm worse than Roger?"
The magma greatsword in Sakazuki's hands slowly melted back into his arm and disappeared.
"You're both just ocean trash. What's there to compare—who's rottener?"
The Golden Lion gave a quiet snort, tightening his grip on his swords and taking a deep breath.
"Forget it. Wasn't expecting you to say anything nice anyway."
"Magma brat."
"Take this move and see if you can handle it."
"Hah..."
As his words fell, the Golden Lion's aura began to surge, but so too did his life force begin to ebb away.
The countless fragments from the ten shattered islands began to converge and merge.
They formed an unimaginably huge lion's head.
Before this stone lion's head, the island below—Loguetown—was barely the size of its eye.
Panting heavily, sweat soaking through his clothes, the Golden Lion stood behind the massive lion head and pushed forward with both hands.
The colossal lion head seemed to tilt the very sky as it descended toward the falling Sakazuki.
"Take this! Magma brat!!!"
"I am the! Golden! Lion!!!"
ROAR—
A deafening roar bellowed from the stone lion's mouth, surging toward Sakazuki.
Sakazuki stepped upward into the air, charging diagonally up, his pitch-black right arm wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, drawing back to strike.
At the instant they collided—
The Golden Lion's entire Armament and Conqueror's Haki coated the front of the lion head, faintly wrapping it.
BOOM!!!!
It was like a meteor striking the earth.
The center of the massive lion's face began to cave in.
But the weight of ten full islands still drove Sakazuki downward toward the sea.
Sakazuki took a deep breath.
"As I thought, it's no good... too heavy."
A blinding crimson light burst from his body.
"Meteor Volcano."
BOOM—
The magma erupted outward, forming what seemed like an anti-air wall of molten rock in the sky.
The shockwave made the colossal lion head pause for an instant.
Sakazuki instantly reformed his body and hammered three consecutive blows at the center of the lion's face.
Each sharp strike compounded the last, breaking through at a single point.
The muscles in his right arm bulged as he struck once more.
"Dark Hound!!!"
A crimson beam pierced through the massive lion head, the searing magma punching through the Golden Lion's chest behind it.
The enormous lion head disintegrated instantly, its Haki and Conqueror's Haki dispersing.
The Golden Lion looked down at the gaping hole in his chest, opened his mouth... but no sound came out.
It's over. In a haze, his heart sighed.
"How many times now..."
"My whole life... has really been a failure..."
"Roger..."
His eyes slowly closed, and despite his unwillingness, he sank into darkness.
As the islands fell toward the sea—
Whoosh—
A streak of crimson light flashed by. Sakazuki caught the Golden Lion.
Looking at the dead man, Sakazuki's tone was flat. With a casual twist, he tore off the Golden Lion's head.
"Still need you to make a statement, old man."
"Make the one and only contribution you can to this world."
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