"Sengoku, Garp—twenty-two years ago, the two of you only managed to bring me down by joining forces," Golden Lion Shiki said, the corners of his lips curling into a sly, mocking grin. "But don't think the same trick will work again. You're no longer facing the same man. This time, you stand before the king of the sea!"
"Shiki! What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?!" Garp roared, his voice booming across the battlefield.
"Golden Lion!" Marshal Sengoku's golden aura flared as his voice echoed like thunder. "What are you doing here? What's your purpose in coming to Marineford today?!"
"Jie-hahahahaha! I almost forgot to mention it!" Shiki laughed wildly, his golden mane whipping in the wind as he spread his arms dramatically. "Everyone knows me as the legendary Flying Pirate, the scourge of the old era. But I have another identity now—one that you might find even harder to believe!"
He pointed to himself, a manic gleam in his eyes.
"Right now, I'm the captain of Fairy Tail's Sky Division—and the manager of the Fairy Resort 'E'!"
For a brief, disbelieving moment, the entire Marineford battlefield fell utterly silent.
Then, chaos exploded.
"Wait—WAIT A SECOND!!!"
"Did he just say… what I think he said?!"
"Golden Lion Shiki… works for Fairy Tail?!"
"The legend of the last era—the Flying Pirate who stood beside the Pirate King Roger and the Emperor Whitebeard—is now serving under Sugisawa Yuuto, the new Emperor of the Seas?!"
The Marines' collective shout rippled across the island, a mix of disbelief, panic, and outrage.
"Are you kidding me?!" bellowed one of the Vice Admirals, eyes wide as saucers. "That man was one of the most feared legends of the old world! There's no way he'd bow to anyone!"
Vice Admiral Hoshōzan, whose eyes were always half-closed, suddenly looked completely awake. "I thought the Golden Lion was too proud to ever serve another. This… this is insane."
"Tch. For a man once hailed as a legend, lowering himself to follow another… disgraceful," sneered Vice Admiral Onigumo, arms crossed.
Even the Marines who had spent their lives hunting Shiki couldn't hide their shock. In their eyes, no king of the past—no matter how broken—would ever bend the knee to a newcomer.
But the impossible had happened.
"Even the rebellious Golden Lion has submitted…" murmured pink-haired Colonel Hina, her face pale with disbelief. "Fairy Tail's President Sugisawa Yuuto… just how terrifying is that man?"
"Indeed," said Gion, one of the Admirals-in-training, her brow furrowed. "We had intelligence that Fairy Tail was making contact with Shiki—but this? I never thought that proud monster would actually join them."
Smoker exhaled sharply, a cloud of smoke curling from his lips. "If even the Golden Lion's joined willingly, Fairy Tail's power is already far beyond what we imagined. The real question is—how many more monsters like him are they hiding?"
"Ooooooh!!!"
On the other side of the battlefield, the shock turned into awe.
The Whitebeard Pirates, and even many of the other pirate crews, erupted into excited cheers.
"As expected of President Sugisawa Yuuto!"
"Even Golden Lion Shiki bows to him!"
"The man truly is the King of the Seas!"
"Hahaha! Shiki, you picked the right ship to sail on!"
The air was filled with shouts of admiration and reverence. After all, most of those pirates had only survived this war because of Sugisawa Yuuto's intervention. Flattering him was the least they could do.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard's deep laughter boomed through the chaos. "Shiki, you've had your share of bad luck in life—but it seems fortune's finally smiling on you, old friend!"
As someone who had lived through that bygone age, Whitebeard knew Shiki's story all too well.
Thirty-six years ago, after the fall of the Rocks Pirates in the God Valley Incident, Shiki had been one of the few to emerge stronger than before. He gathered his followers and built the Flying Pirates, commanding a fleet that ruled the skies.
For a time, he was unstoppable—a man destined to inherit the seas after Rocks' fall.
But fate had other plans.
A sudden, violent storm during the Battle of Ed War had destroyed much of his fleet. Shiki himself was gravely injured, the ship's wheel embedding deep into his skull.
Years passed. He withdrew from the world to recover, biding his time.
Then came Roger's execution. Shiki, enraged by the death of his old rival, stormed Marineford alone and nearly destroyed it—but was finally captured and imprisoned in Impel Down.
Two years later, in one of the most legendary escapes in history, Shiki severed his own legs to break free.
But after that… he vanished.
For twenty years, the world forgot the name Golden Lion Shiki.
Until now.
Now, he stood once again in Marineford—not as an enemy, but as the right hand of Sugisawa Yuuto, the new Emperor of the Seas.
To the world, it might have looked like humiliation.
But Whitebeard saw something else.
"Gurarara… Maybe this is your luck at last, Shiki," he said with a grin. "You've finally found a ship worth sailing on."
"Jie-hahahahaha!" Shiki threw his head back, laughing uproariously. "You don't need to tell me that, Newgate!"
Then his golden eyes glinted with mischief.
"Speaking of which—Chairman Sugisawa's done you quite a favor this time, hasn't he? How do you plan to repay him, eh?"
Whitebeard grinned, the corners of his mustache twitching. "Let's talk about repayment after I make it back to the New World alive!"
"That won't do!" Shiki said, wagging a finger with a wicked smirk. "A deal's a deal—best we set the terms now!"
He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I think I've just thought of something perfect…"