"Captain Shiki!" Indigo and Scarlet turned pale—what they feared was happening. They didn't dare delay and sprinted toward the battlefield, a mass of pirates rushing after them.
"Ah! Ah! It hurts! Roger! How long are you going to torture me?! Roger!" The Golden Lion rolled on the ground clutching his head.
"Ah! Ah! I won't lose to you again, Roger—ah!" Just as Leno moved, the fallen Golden Lion suddenly grabbed the half–ship's wheel embedded in his skull and, with a wet pop, yanked it free.
"Captain Shiki!" both Indigo and Scarlet cried, hearts in their throats. If the wheel was removed, Shiki was finished. Indigo had examined him for years—the helm was buried deep in his brain. Pulling it out recklessly would cause massive bleeding and death within moments.
Let alone ripping it out by brute force like this—his life was now on a countdown.
"Roger, I will not lose to you again!" The Golden Lion fixed Leno with a death stare.
Leno: "?!? What are you talking about?" 'He's gone crazy. He's confusing me with Roger?'
"All of you, go back! Don't disturb me!" Shiki looked at his crew quickly approaching in the distance.
"Boss Shiki!"
"Captain!"
"Get lost!" The air pressure plunged. Scarlet lightning crackled. The pirates turned tail, tumbling and scrambling back to the shore.
Conqueror's Haki surged from Shiki, racing toward Leno. Leno locked eyes with him and unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki. Dark red clashed with Leno's blue-gold, grinding with a harsh creak, creak.
In that instant of collision, Leno felt his body sink, a mountain of pressure bearing down—an urge to "submit" pressed into his mind. Submit? What a joke. My fate is mine and mine alone!
"Ah!" Leno roared. His short golden hair stood on end; bloodshot eyes flared. An even greater wave of Conqueror's Haki burst forth.
The dark red and blue-gold auras wrestled as equals, twining and crushing against each other—until, with a thunderous boom, they shattered, and the world fell clear.
"Roger—come!" Scarlet arcs danced along Shiki's twin blades. He bared his teeth and lunged!
Leno flooded his blade with top-tier Armament Haki and charged to meet him.
"Clang! Vmmm!"
A ring of black-red lightning rippled out from them. Rumble, rumble—the ground beneath collapsed, then heaved up and blasted outward. Low hills flipped; forests tore free; the entire floating island roared.
Pirates at the island's rim fainted white-eyed at the first shockwave, then were swept off by avalanches of dirt and rock, delivered straight down to the Sea Kings below. Even at that distance, they couldn't escape their captain's stray fire.
Leno and Shiki locked blades for a heartbeat before Leno was hurled away, smashing straight through a low hill. Crash! Dust billowed.
"Cough, cough—ptoo!" Leno clawed out of the rubble and spat blood. A massive "X" was carved across his chest. Before he could draw breath, another colossal slash screamed in—boom!—blasting him away again. He spewed mouthfuls of blood and sprawled on the ground, every bone feeling shattered.
He dragged himself up, staring at the Golden Lion in the distance, fingers tightening around Wind Rift.
"Boy, do you feel it—the power at the peak of the sea? You're still far from being the strongest."
'Hmm? He's thinking clearly now?' Leno realized. He stared intently at Shiki. "I did. You truly are a legendary great pirate! Your strength is beyond my imagination!"
"Jyahahaha…" "Jyahahaha…"
"I am Pirate Admiral—Golden Lion—Shiki!"
"Jyahahaha —" Laughing, Shiki suddenly dropped out of the sky and thudded to the ground—lifeless.
"Huff… huff…" Leno collapsed to a seat, chest burning like fire as a tide of pain crashed over him.
He dragged himself to the corpse, eyes complicated. If Shiki's body hadn't given out, Leno would've died here today. He'd been getting cocky.
This blow to the head finally woke him up. He still wasn't strong enough—he had to keep getting stronger.
He casually took Shiki's two Great Grade swords, then headed into the ruined buildings nearby. After a long search, he found only a safe. Feeling the island's fall speeding up, he had no choice but to stow the safe and vanish.
At Cocoyasi Village, by the sea, the body clone controlling the flying ship managed to land it safely. Leno, who was lying on the bull's head, blacked out and passed out.
With a rumbling stomach, Leno slowly opened his eyes. Beside him, Nojiko had fallen asleep with her head by the bed, tear tracks clear on her cheeks. Seeing his injuries must have terrified her. Heart aching, he raised a hand and gently stroked Nojiko's soft blue hair.
Sleepy-eyed, Nojiko looked up to find Leno gazing at her with warmth. Her tears burst forth anew.
"Uu-uu-uu… Leno, Leno, you finally woke up! You slept for days—you scared us to death!" Nojiko threw herself into his arms and sobbed. From the next room, Nami and Kuina rushed in at the sound of crying. Seeing Leno awake, both girls' eyes reddened.
Nami flung herself over Leno's legs, hugging tight. "Stupid Leno, you finally woke up! You have no idea what these days were like—you scared us so bad!" She spoke through tears, and the more Leno wiped them away, the more they fell.
Leno reached out his hand, and Kuina also put aside her composure and threw herself into his arms, quietly sobbing. The past few days had truly frightened her. He gently stroked Kuina's hair, feeling the girls' deep concern and fear. Leno's heart felt incredibly warm. In this familiar yet foreign world, Leno had found deep bonds. And it was these bonds that motivated him to keep moving forward.
After soothing the three red-eyed girls, Leno asked what had happened these past days.
That day, the girls were training by the sea when a ship fell from the sky. Guessing Leno had returned, they ran over, only to find him covered in blood and barely alive. Panic erupted. Little Aileen burst into tears, crying "Big brother!" over and over.
Kuina reacted first—she sent Nami to fetch a doctor, then cast Holy Light Heal on the spot. Belle-Mère, Genzo, and the villagers arrived soon after.
In the end, the doctor dispersed the crowd to avoid delaying treatment. Seeing the hideous wounds all over Leno—especially the two deep gashes across his chest, nearly exposing organs—the girls broke into sobs. Nojiko bit her lip hard, trembling as tears wouldn't stop.
Nami clung to Belle-Mère and cried. Belle-Mère, eyes red, covered Aileen's eyes to spare her the sight. The little one bawled in her mother's arms.
Because the sword slashes were so fierce, Kuina had a very difficult time with the healing. Fortunately, her physique had improved, and her Devil Fruit ability had been developed well, or she wouldn't have been able to keep it up.
Once the wounds closed, the diagnosis was severe blood loss—but with his strong body, he should wake soon. Yet days passed without movement; the girls panicked again. The doctor said recovery looked good, so they could only keep waiting.
They took turns watching over him, wiping away tears in secret as he lay unconscious. Fortunately, today Leno finally woke—otherwise they wouldn't have known what to do.
Leno stroked the girls' heads. "Thank you for everything."
The girls all shook their heads. "Grumble!" "Grumble!"
Smiling through the tears, the girls bustled off to prepare food for him.