The silence between them was deafening.
Neither Liam Ross nor Kizaru spoke a word.
A smug grin crept across Shiki the Golden Lion's scarred face. "Oh? No response?" His voice slithered through the air. "Does that mean you're admitting it?"
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses, his lips twitching. "..."
This brain-dead fool, he thought grimly. I'd love nothing more than to knock that grin off his face with one punch.
"Jihahahaha!" Shiki's laughter split the sky.
"So it's just as I thought!" he howled. "You Marines are as despicable as ever! Well then… this little show ends here!"
With that, his expression twisted into something savage. His eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he stretched out his hand, fingertips grazing the side of a nearby Marine warship. In an instant, his Float-Float Fruit power surged. The warship shuddered, gravity slipping away, and began to rise steadily into the clouds.
"The ship's flying?!"
"What do we do? He's using his power on our vessel!"
"Don't panic! Vice Admiral Borsalino will save us!"
The warship's deck was filled with terrified Marines. As the ship continued to lift higher and higher, their faces turned pale.
A hundred meters.
Two hundred.
Three hundred…
By the time it stopped, they were a thousand meters above the ocean. Below, the other two Marine warships looked like toy boats.
"If we fall from here, we'll be torn apart," one whispered.
"I just got married… I don't want to die."
"I haven't even been married yet. I can't die!"
Their fear only deepened Shiki's grin. Floating beside the ship, his golden mane whipped wildly in the wind. He heard every desperate plea and laughed, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes. "Jihahahaha! Blame your bad luck! You chose to be Marines."
Then his gaze snapped back to Liam and Kizaru, fury flashing like lightning.
"Die, you Marine rats!"
With a sneer, Shiki released his power.
The warship plummeted.
Wind roared as the massive ship dropped from the sky, falling faster and faster.
Kizaru's eyes, hidden behind his shades, reflected the descending shadow. His expression hardened. The speed was too great even his light couldn't stop the inevitable impact. If it hit the sea, it would destroy the other two warships below.
"Move the ships! Now!" he barked.
Doberman and the others jolted back to life.
"Move! Move!"
The deck erupted into chaos as sailors scrambled to obey, engines roaring.
Liam could only watch. He clenched his fists he couldn't stop something this massive from falling.
Three hundred meters. Two hundred. The ocean rushed closer.
And then
A sharp flash of movement cut through the chaos.
"ICE AGE!"
The voice boomed like thunder, echoing across the sea.
In an instant, the entire falling warship froze solid. Four massive ice pillars erupted from beneath it, spearing deep into the ocean and halting its descent. The waves froze mid-motion, the sea transforming into a vast sheet of glacial blue.
The ship stopped, suspended a hundred meters above the surface.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then cheers.
"We we're alive?!"
"He saved us!"
"It's Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
"Haha! We're really alive!"
The sound of celebration rippled across the frozen sea. Even the Marines on the other ships exhaled in relief.
But above them, Shiki's smile vanished.
The arrival of the young vice admiral had ruined his moment of triumph. His face twisted with rage.
Before he could speak, a thunderous explosion tore through the air.
Boom!
A giant fist of molten magma surged toward him, heat distorting the sky.
Shiki reacted instantly, swinging both legs to unleash a storm of golden sword slashes. "Swish! Swish! Swish!" Each cut split the magma apart, scattering it into a thousand blazing fragments before they fizzled out.
"Shiki the Golden Lion!"
The voice that followed was cold and commanding.
Admiral Sakazuki the future Akainu strode forward, half his body turning to molten fire. "The sea doesn't need unstable scum like you," he said flatly. "Your rightful place is in Impel Down."
Kuzan scratched the back of his head. "Uh… Fleet Admiral Sengoku only ordered us to capture Liam Ross," he reminded, his tone casual but his eyes wary. "Shiki wasn't part of the plan."
He wasn't wrong. Even taking on Liam alone would be difficult. Adding Shiki to the mix was asking for disaster.
But Sakazuki ignored him. The memory of Ohara burned behind his eyes of Liam humiliating him in front of the world. He would not let that go. And Shiki, one of the most dangerous pirates alive, was an opportunity he couldn't ignore.
He growled, magma bubbling around him. "You two handle Shiki. The other one's mine."
The order left no room for argument.
Sparks hissed as molten rock dripped from his fists, burning holes into the ice.
Kuzan glanced once at Liam and sighed. "Well… orders are orders." He turned toward Shiki. "Guess we'll start with the lion."
Shiki snorted. "Come then, you Navy pups!" His twin blades gleamed, slicing the air as he clashed with Kuzan in a blinding storm of ice and steel.
Meanwhile, Liam smirked faintly. "Still holding a grudge, huh, Akainu?"
Sakazuki's only answer was a roar.
"Great Eruption!"
His magma-coated fist blasted forward, scorching the air.
Liam's form blurred Six Powers: Paper Art! his body flowing like a ripple of water as the fiery strike passed just inches from him.
But before he could counter, a teasing voice whispered near his ear.
"Ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
"Shit !" Liam cursed, spinning instinctively.
His Observation Haki wasn't developed enough to sense Kizaru's blinding movements. The man appeared above him, one leg glowing like a miniature sun.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Kizaru brought his heel down, golden light exploding as it struck.
Liam crossed his arms above his head to block.
Bang!
The impact sent him flying backward, skidding across the ice. He landed hard but stayed upright, eyes narrowing.
Kizaru frowned when his attack failed to break through. "Hmph. Tough one." He dissolved into photons, vanishing once more.
Sakazuki came charging again, molten rage in his wake.
Then
A familiar sound chimed softly in Liam's mind.
[System Notification: Invisibility Technique Cooldown Complete.]
His lips curved upward. Perfect timing.
It was time to vanish.
The Marines would take the blame for the chaos, and Shiki would keep them busy. The perfect cover.
If he didn't use his invisibility now, though, he'd never escape the combined assault of all three future admirals. Staying meant certain capture or worse, a one-way trip to Impel Down.
So be it. Exposure was a small price for survival.
As Sakazuki's magma-fist roared toward him, Liam whispered under his breath.
"Invisibility activate."
Whoosh.
His body shimmered, then disappeared completely.
Sakazuki froze mid-swing, eyes widening in disbelief.
"What…? Impossible."
For the first time that day, the Red Dog of the Marines looked genuinely stunned his fiery rage met only with empty air.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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