Shiki's face turned serious. He lightly stomped his foot, and the cannon platform instantly transformed into a lion, which lifted him up.
Just then, Diarmuid extended his hand and pushed it down. The newly-formed lion, which was about to pounce on Sengoku, was immediately crushed by Diarmuid's gravity, turning into dust on the spot.
Shiki's reaction was incredibly fast. He drew his twin swords from his waist and crossed them in front of him. In the very next moment, Sengoku's punch slammed into the two blades. The immense force sent Shiki flying backward. Shiki used the momentum to float into the air.
All three combatants paused their attacks. Shiki's gaze went past Sengoku and locked onto Diarmuid. "As I thought. You ate my Devil Fruit, didn't you, kid?" Shiki said softly.
Back then, to minimize his own weaknesses, Shiki had done a lot of work. For example, he sought out the world's best climatologists to serve him. He also searched for Devil Fruits that countered his own power, like the Gravity-Gravity Fruit, so he could keep them from falling into anyone else's hands.
The counter between gravity and the Float-Float Fruit wasn't absolute; it depended on the strength of the user. It wasn't as if any gravity could suppress Shiki. But it would still have some effect, which was why he had kept the fruit.
He never expected his entire fortune to be ruined at the Edd War. And to top it off, the Gravity-Gravity Fruit had inexplicably fallen into the hands of the Marines.
"Should I thank you?" Diarmuid said with a smile.
"Hmph. You've gotten a lot more arrogant in the past few years," Shiki snorted.
Just then, Sengoku activated his ability. In a matter of moments, his entire body transformed into a magnificent, golden Buddha. "Diarmuid, we'll use a combined attack. I'll go on the offense, and you'll provide cover!" Sengoku ordered.
"Got it, Admiral!" Diarmuid said with a grin. One of the reasons the Marines ruled the seas was their mastery of combined attacks, which allowed them to display a power far beyond their individual strength. This was the advantage of a disciplined army, something a rogue pirate could never learn.
As soon as Sengoku finished speaking, he stomped his foot, launched himself into the air, and flew toward Shiki, unleashing a palm strike from a distance.
"Wrath of Vajra!" Sengoku bellowed. In the blink of an eye, a powerful shockwave erupted from his palm.
Shiki twisted his hands, and his twin swords, Kogarashi and Oto, fired off two slashes that met Sengoku's shockwave. Before Shiki could counter, he suddenly felt a heavy force pulling him down toward the ground.
He didn't panic and immediately used the power of his Float-Float Fruit to nullify the gravity. But before he could make another move, a chunk of debris from the shattered cannon platform stuck to his ankle.
"What is this?" Shiki looked down, confused.
"Buddha's Fury: Evil Expulsion!" Sengoku roared again as he arrived in front of Shiki.
Another powerful shockwave erupted, and Shiki coated his blades in Armament Haki and swung them at Sengoku's fist.
The clash of Armament Haki created a massive shockwave that blew debris and junk away from the two men. It was then that Shiki noticed a huge amount of rocks and pieces of paving stone from the plaza flying up from the ground. They were moving against the air current and were sticking to him.
Only then did Shiki look toward Diarmuid. Diarmuid was standing in the distance, his hand raised and a dense, purple aura of energy gathered in his palm.
"What kind of technique is this?" Shiki wondered. Before he could figure it out, Diarmuid clenched his fist, and the aura exploded.
"Planetary Devastation!" Diarmuid roared.
With that shout, the rocks, debris, and paving stones that were already flying toward Shiki suddenly accelerated. In moments, they all attached to him, and in the blink of an eye, they encased him completely.
"Great Illumination: Evil Expulsion!" Sengoku roared, punching the rock shell. A powerful force exploded, shattering the rocks and sending Shiki flying. But the debris continued to follow him, sticking to him as he tried to get away.
"You're a coward!" Shiki cursed. He finally understood. Sengoku had just been a distraction. Diarmuid was the main attacker all along, and he had gone for the kill right away!
They didn't even bother with a warm-up. If Sengoku hadn't been distracting him, there was no way Shiki would have been caught so easily.
Shiki used the power of his Float-Float Fruit to shake off the debris, but they quickly broke free of his control and reattached to him. As time passed, more and more rocks stuck to him.
Shiki felt like the center of some kind of irresistible attraction. Soon, not just the rocks but even the battleships in the harbor were being pulled toward him by an invisible gravitational force.
A large number of Marines screamed and jumped off the ships. Before long, two huge battleships smashed into Shiki from either side. They collapsed and were crushed into a huge sphere that completely encased Shiki.
"Did we get him?" Sengoku asked, landing beside Diarmuid. He looked very satisfied with their perfect, underhanded teamwork.
"Not so easily. He's struggling. I've focused my gravity on him, but he's still leaking Float-Float Fruit energy. The pressure at the center is nowhere near as strong as it looks, and it's even pushing back…" Diarmuid said grimly.
It was as if Diarmuid was using all his might to crush Shiki, but Shiki was using his power to push back, resisting the gravity and trying to escape.
Judging from Shiki's resistance, Diarmuid guessed that if he hadn't prepared the attack and caught Shiki off guard, Shiki would have already broken free. In terms of mastery, Shiki was clearly a more skilled Devil Fruit user. But Diarmuid wasn't discouraged. It was to be expected. Shiki was an absolute monster who relied on his fruit.
Diarmuid put his hands together in front of his chest and yelled. The ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered, and the debris splattered onto Sengoku. But Sengoku didn't mind. He was focused on the massive sphere in the sky. He could feel two invisible forces fighting for control of the sphere.
The energy from Diarmuid's ability surged, and the ground around him began to sink, becoming unnaturally dense as his power leaked out. At the same time, the huge sphere in the sky began to move toward the harbor, pulled along by Diarmuid's control.
"You're going to…?" Sengoku's eyes lit up.
"He's going to get out eventually. Since I can't seal him, I'll sink him to the bottom of the sea!" Diarmuid said with a grave expression. He had no intention of fighting Shiki for three days and three nights. He just wanted to deal with this guy as fast as possible so he could get to Loguetown for Roger's execution.
Soon, under Diarmuid's control, the giant sphere began to sink into the sea. The sheer weight of it created massive waves that slammed against the harbor walls. Before long, the sphere was at the bottom of the harbor. Only then did Diarmuid let out a sigh of relief.
"He's a Devil Fruit user, and I've sunk him to the bottom of the ocean… He shouldn't be able to fight back, right?" Diarmuid asked.
Sengoku was in disbelief. Shiki's brazen, single-handed attack on Marineford was already the most reckless thing he'd seen in decades; even Garp couldn't compare. But he had prepared for a long fight, believing that even with Shiki's recklessness, his strength was top-tier. Shiki was a genuine threat.
But now, it seemed it was over. He and Diarmuid had teamed up, tricked Shiki, and Diarmuid had simply used his ultimate attack to sink him into the sea. It was over. The battle hadn't even lasted thirty minutes.
If they told the world that Shiki was suppressed in under thirty minutes, no one would believe them.
"I think so?" Sengoku said, unsure. He had no experience with this kind of thing and couldn't be sure. Shiki was a Devil Fruit user. Being at the bottom of the ocean… he should be defeated, right?
Not far away, Gion was also watching the harbor water slowly calm down. Was that it? Golden Lion Shiki? The pirate who shook the seas?
In under thirty minutes, he had been taken out by Sengoku and Diarmuid and forced to drink seawater at the bottom of the ocean? Was Shiki too weak, or were Sengoku and Diarmuid just that strong?
But before they could celebrate, the surface of the water changed again. The calm water began to swirl, and then several giant lions made of seawater emerged from the depths.
"I knew it. It was never going to be that simple. Top-tier Devil Fruit users always have a way to deal with their weaknesses!" Diarmuid muttered.
As he spoke, he felt the control he had over the sunken sphere slip away. In the next moment, the sphere turned into a massive lion under the water. It then burst from the surface, planting its paws on the harbor wall. The lion slowly opened its mouth, and Shiki stood on its tongue, revealing himself.
His re-emergence was incredibly impressive. But Shiki was not unscathed. Diarmuid's Planetary Devastation was no joke. He raised his hand and wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Diarmuid. "That's the power I was worried about, all right… it's a lot stronger than I thought…"
But he didn't give Diarmuid or the others a chance to speak. After giving his grudging praise, his face turned cold, and he roared, "Lion's Threat: Great Hunt!"
With that, the sea lions and the giant lion he was standing on all came to life. They charged up the harbor wall and stormed toward the Marines in the plaza, destroying everything—cannons, fortifications, and anything else in their path.
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