The whispers reached the Golden Lion's ears, and like he had been petrified, he remained in his original position, motionless. It wasn't due to anything else—it was mainly because he felt a bit awkward.
According to his initial thought, regardless of whether the other party was shocked, fearful, or even looked down upon him upon hearing of the Golden Lion's name, he could respond appropriately.
He never imagined that these young people would give him such a response.
His current identity was quite special; his bounty was even set at zero externally. This was because after he was thrown into prison by Garp and Sengoku, his bounty was temporarily nullified.
Although the Golden Lion successfully broke out of prison, the World Government didn't intend to publicize this matter. For them, it wasn't an achievement but a disgrace.
Moreover, given the reality that the Golden Lion vanished like thin air after the prison break, they didn't reissue the bounty.
If a remnant of the old era decided to retire peacefully, that would be the outcome they most desired. Rayleigh was living very stably in Shampodi for just this reason.
Even though this was the Golden Lion's own idea, he never thought he would be forgotten so thoroughly.
"Ahem, young people these days are lacking; they don't even know a thing about their elders. Fine, let me, this old man, tell you just how gentle the current era is compared to back then..."
"No, it's just that I can't remember who the Golden Lion is. Hey, old man, were you famous back in the day?"
Finally, the Golden Lion found a way out for himself, but before he even took two steps, Yamato dismantled it again.
"No, I think you don't really understand the past..."
"Nonsense! I had excellent scores in history! Roger, Whitebeard, Red Earl, Byrnndi Wald, Ochoku, John, aren't these all great pirates of the old era?"
The Golden Lion rubbed his chest; he felt a bit short of breath.
The earlier ones were understandable—Pirate King, the world's strongest man, top figures in the pirate circle. He could even understand the Red Earl as a lone wolf, or that lunatic Wald, but Ochoku and John...
In those days, they were all on the same ship, and after the breakup of Rocks, his name was far more prominent than those two, yet somehow, the other party couldn't remember him.
It's essentially a brief lapse in memory, very much like reciting an ancient poem where one forgets the particular line while remembering the whole poem. For Yamato and Jack, the Golden Lion was just like that forgotten line.
The two parties were strictly speaking enemies, so this kind of conversation wasn't appropriate. However, ever since the ship's steering wheel got stuck in his head, the Golden Lion's way of thinking became increasingly bizarre. He knew he'd never sleep again unless he clarified this issue.
"Listen up, you brat! I'm the...legendary great pirate! Captain of the Flying Sky Pirates, Admiral of the Golden Lion Pirate Fleet, Roger's arch-nemesis! Golden Lion Shiki! You've even heard of those two guys, Ochoku and John, and yet you don't know my name?!"
There was no mutual submission among the officers on Rocks' ship. The Golden Lion acknowledged Whitebeard's strength, and Roger was someone he saw as his lifetime rival. It would be odd if no one knew about them. But as for the others, that was something he couldn't accept.
But he and Yamato were parallel lines now, with no common language or rather, Yamato focused on a completely different point from what he intended.
"Roger's arch-nemesis? Wasn't his nemesis Garp from the Navy?"
"...That man is one I acknowledged! His greatest enemy in life was me! If it weren't for that bastard's luck, how could he ever become the Pirate King?! Mere Garp, what does he count for?!
Do you even know what you're saying, kid?"
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Regardless of how famous you were before, today I'm going to completely knock you out!"
"..."
The momentum the Golden Lion had painstakingly built was once again stifled. He didn't like the opponent's offbeat way of speaking, to the point of suspecting if he had been isolated too long, questioning if this was the style of the current Sea.
...
"Jiehahahaha, the youngsters nowadays aren't just ignorant, they're incredibly foolish. You three brats barged into my territory, all because of that bird?"
At times, he seemed like an old madman, yet he wasn't truly insane. Even after Corviknight Gigantamaxed, one could still discern its original appearance. Coupled with the previously malfunctioning locator, even thinking with the ship's steering wheel embedded in his head, he knew exactly what happened.
These two big birds appeared even mightier, more akin to the war weapons he envisioned.
"Someone like you, who doesn't understand Pokemon...isn't worthy to mention them! The suffering you brought to Corviknight, I'll repay you today!"
Just now it seemed like a strange debate setting, but in the blink of an eye, it escalated to a heightened tension.
Yamato took a deep breath, the Akin 7.0 crafted by Tinkatons appeared in her hand, Armament covered it, and the "Fang" crafted from Arceus Steel glinted with a cold light.
White fur began spreading over her body, gradually enveloping it entirely—it was a modified Okuchi no Makami with full firepower.
She still couldn't remember who this golden-haired guy was, but the previous Water Lion made it clear that this wasn't a simple opponent.
..
"Beasts are just tools; if you hold such things in high regard, you'll eventually pay the price. Since the Sea has forgotten about me, then I'll make you remember the terror of me once again!
I am Golden Lion-Shiki!"
Saying that, the Golden Lion clenched his big hand, and the island's ground surged like waves, the soil and stones gathered in the sky, forming an enormous earth and rock lion,
"Lion's Might·Earth Scroll!"
Rumble!!!
The earth trembled, and the sound of moving stones roared like a lion, the giant lion's mouth lunged towards Yamato.
This island floated in the sky due to his abilities, and all inanimate objects on the island were under his control.
"Thundering Hakken!!"
Facing the attacking Lion Mountain, as Haki transformed into a new kind of power on Akin, she swung a stick, creating a massive hole on Lion Mountain, and the hardy rocks turned to dust.
But the significance of this attack was minimal; the Golden Lion simply clenched his hand again, and the shattered parts were restored, just like before with the Water Lion. Against the Float-Float Fruit, merely breaking it was pointless.
Even turned to dust, it remained fundamentally an inorganic matter under the Golden Lion's influence. Unless it vanished into thin air, no attacks would be effective.
But taking this opportunity, Yamato had already passed through Lion Mountain, while Jack and Maria, with Corviknight's aid, ascended into the sky once again, evading the Golden Lion's first wave of attacks.
Their target was firmly locked on the Golden Lion himself; they wouldn't waste time with things controlled by him instead of focusing on the ability user.