"Lion's Brilliance!"
A sword slash wrapped in sharp, golden energy screamed through the air.
SLASH!
The metal shield Kid hastily erected was instantly cleaved apart like butter.
The residual impact slammed into him, sending him flying dozens of meters backward.
"Captain!"
Killer swiftly threw his rotating scythes in an attempt to rescue him, but he was forced back by stone spikes suddenly jutting from the ground.
Beneath his blue-and-white striped mask, a flicker of anxiety passed, but he quickly regained composure, retreating to adjust his tactics.
...
In the VIP seats.
Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the battlefield's chaos.
"Fufufu... Looks like we won't need to lift a finger. That red-haired brat is done for."
His fingers silently threaded invisible strings around the spectator railings. "Get ready to take over, family. Once the lion eats the prey, the hyenas take the leftovers."
Trebol and Diamante exchanged glances, excitement flashing in their eyes.
They knew Doflamingo's plan was already in motion; they merely needed to wait for the perfect moment to seize the Glint-Glint Fruit while Shiki was distracted counting his money.
...
"Gehahaha! Let me show you how formidable the New Generation really is!"
Kid struggled to his feet from the rubble, an unyielding glint in his eyes.
His mechanical left arm began operating at overload, causing all metal objects in the entire arena—and even some from the stands—to vibrate violently.
His body trembled slightly, but his eyes burned with mad flames.
"Old man..." Kid spat out a mouthful of blood, his smile blazing with insanity. "You think this is over?"
Shiki raised an eyebrow at the disturbed metal around them, suddenly realizing the scale of the attack.
"Don't tell me—"
"Magnetic Death Lance!"
With Kid's roar, the entire arena's floor reinforcements, railings, and even the metal components of empty spectator seats disintegrated.
They coalesced mid-air, fusing together to form a massive, high-tech railgun spear.
The weapon emitted a crimson glow as Kid stood atop it, wreathed in nearly tangible Conqueror's Haki.
The spectators erupted in uproar.
Sasaki's eyes widened, the rice cake he was eating dropping to the ground.
"Now... this is interesting."
His voice carried surprise and excitement, clearly stunned that a rookie could produce such destructive force.
Shiki grinned instead of showing alarm, crossing his swords in a ready stance.
"Now we're talking!" His golden hair flowed without wind as he unleashed tremendous Haki. "Let's see how many of my strikes you can take with that toy!"
Killer seized the moment to signal, and the pirate crew members quickly occupied strategic positions.
Everyone understood—the outcome of this one strike would determine their fate.
"JIHAHAHA!"
Shiki's maniacal laughter echoed across the arena as he manipulated the environment with simple finger motions.
His famed swords Oto and Kogarashi simultaneously radiated dazzling golden light.
"Lion's Threat: Imperial Earth Bind!"
With this roar, the entire arena floor writhed like a living creature.
Massive amounts of rock and soil frantically gathered, rising up like a tsunami of earth
. Instantly, they formed three lifelike, gigantic stone lion heads.
These earth-constructed beasts opened their gaping maws.
Before Kid could fire his railgun, the lions lunged, swallowing the metal scrap!
CRUNCH!
The debris collapsed into countless fragments, trapped within the stone lions' mouths.
Then, the stone lions curled into enormous earthen spheres, rising directly a thousand meters into the sky, taking Kid's metal supply with them.
"What?!"
Kid's pupils contracted sharply, fear and disbelief flashing in his eyes.
He desperately pushed his Magnet-Magnet Fruit ability to its limits, only to find the swallowed metal seemed to have been insulated by the thick earth, completely cutting off his magnetic connection.
A foreboding dread surged within him as he realized he had been hard-countered.
"Gyahahaha! Kid!"
Shiki hovered high in the air, his golden mane whipping wildly.
"Did you think I dominated the New World for decades just by luck?!"
His right hand suddenly rose high.
The purple-black Haki wrapping around the famed sword Oto nearly materialized, tearing through the very air with black lightning.
"Let me show you... what a real slash looks like!"
"Lion: Thousand Ravine Cut!!!"
In that instant, the world lost its color.
Dozens of terrifying flying slashes, each capable of cleaving mountains, intertwined into a net of destruction.
Each blade of wind was entangled with terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
Shiki's sword energy poured down like a storm, enveloping the entire coliseum with his overwhelming presence.
Kid hastily constructed defenses with his last remaining metal fragments, but they proved utterly fragile against Shiki's legendary power.
SHING!
They were shredded to pieces upon contact, as if they were made of paper.
"Guh-ack—!"
Blood gushed from Kid's mouth as his body was sent flying hundreds of meters like a ragdoll.
He crashed heavily against the barrier at the edge of the coliseum, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the energy shield.
His crimson coat was in tatters, revealing his mangled, bloody body beneath.
Though trembling in excruciating pain, his eyes still burned with defiance.
"Captain!!"
Killer's eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
He frantically swung his rotating scythes in a desperate rescue attempt, but was brutally struck in the abdomen by a stone pillar that suddenly erupted from the ground.
BAM!
His body was sent flying before crashing heavily to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Shiki whistled leisurely, casually waving his left hand.
The ground swelled once more, trapping the remaining members of the Kid Pirates in rocky prisons, leaving only their heads exposed.
A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes as he mocked these overambitious opponents.
"Game over, kids~"
He floated down before Kid, using the tip of his sword to lift the Supernova's chin.
"Now do you understand what 'Legend' means?"
Kid struggled to open his single eye, blood continuously streaming down his forehead.
His lips moved as if trying to speak, but ultimately his head slumped powerlessly.
He had fainted.
The spectator stands fell into dead silence, the very air freezing solid.
Doflamingo's sunglasses slid to the tip of his nose, revealing his shocked eyes. "You've got to be kidding me... That Kid actually lost this quickly... How boring."
Other pirates kept up a constant stream of mockery, all discussing Kid's defeat, unaware that they would likely fare even worse.
Shiki flicked the blood off his sword and turned toward the surveillance Den Den Mushi floating in the air.
"Hey, Ron!" He grinned widely, counting on his fingers. "Remember to count my money! One pirate crew, eleven heads... that's one hundred and ten million Belly!"
He pointed at the unconscious Killer. "Besides, this was a team battle—you should pay extra for the combo!"
With a casual swing of his sword, the stone prisons trapping Killer and the others suddenly constricted, knocking them all out cold.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Every member of the Kid Pirates had completely lost consciousness.
"Who's next?"
Shiki rested his sword on his shoulder, looking down arrogantly at the challengers below.
"I'm in a good mood today—I can take on a few more jobs!"
Doflamingo's expression darkened silently, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He realized a terrifying truth: Shiki's power... has grown even stronger since he joined the Divine Kingdom!
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