CRACK!
Shiki nearly bit through his cigar.
The boy was foul-mouthed. Just like his grandfather.
"Hmph. Don't get cocky, brat."
He lifted his chin, trying to regain his dignity. "I've been out of the loop. But I hear people are calling you the Fifth Emperor? Ridiculous. You're still wet behind the ears."
The other Emperors? Whitebeard was his equal. Big Mom and Kaido? They had been interns on Rocks' ship.
He had been Rocks' ally.
And these brats thought they were his level?
He was the king of kings.
"I don't think so."
Luffy picked his ear. "You're not my level."
Power was strange. Shiki did not press on him like Aokiji did.
But Luffy felt it. This would be a good fight.
Shiki stared at him. Then he laughed. The sound was cold. Murderous.
"Jihahahaha!"
He threw his head back. Laughter echoed through the clouds. Filled with anger.
When the sound stopped, Luffy squinted.
ROAR!
Pressure erupted from Shiki. Like a dam breaking. Purple lightning split the air around the Sunny.
The sky went dark.
Clouds for hundreds of meters swirled into a vortex. Heaven and earth lost color. Wind and clouds churned.
King's Haki. Raw. Brute. The presence of an old tyrant.
"Six hundred sixty million means nothing to me!" Shiki's voice cut through the pressure. "Before Impel Down, my bounty was four billion, two hundred thirty million, five hundred thousand!"
Luffy did not flinch.
Bounties meant nothing. Just a number. Not power.
The pressure was good. It stirred something in him.
He stepped forward.
"King's Haki."
He felt it pushing at his mind, his body. He grinned.
"Grandpa had it. You have it too."
Crimson flashed in his eyes.
Black-red force erupted from him.
BOOM!
Two King's Haki met. Silent. But the impact was heavier than thunder.
The air twisted. Black-red lightning jumped. The vortex above shredded.
"You have it too." Shiki laughed. "Garp's grandson. Stormed Enies Lobby. Survived a Buster Call. Of course you have the king's disposition."
Their forces held. Neither moved. Then it faded.
The sky cleared. The tension did not.
Nami, Usopp, Chopper—their hearts were in fists. Hard to breathe. Cold sweat. They held on.
Zoro and Sanji were excited.
"A legend. Not bad."
Shiki looked at them. Not afraid. Eager.
He rose into the air. Looked down at Luffy.
"Good courage. Good blood. For your grandfather's sake, I'll give you another chance."
He pointed. "Give me whoever can make your ship fly. The rest go free."
The flying power. He wanted it. It would help his plan.
Luffy had been curious. About the old days. About his grandfather. About Roger.
But Shiki touched what Luffy would not give.
Nakama. Not things. Not for trade.
Luffy's face went cold.
"Changed my mind. I'm sending you flying."
"Jihahaha! Big words, brat."
Shiki laughed. He had seen brats like this. Talent. Luck. Quick rise. Arrogant.
They did not know the gap. Between them and true power.
Pain taught them. Failure taught them.
"You want to feel that gap?"
He rose higher. Fifty meters above the Sunny.
"Let me show you. Those Emperors—Kaido, Big Mom? They called me Captain."
He was their senior.
"Then you're old now."
Luffy smiled. "This is our era. Old pirates should fade."
Time was fair. Even his grandfather's fists were weaker now.
Shiki had lost to Garp. And he wanted to recruit him?
Shiki stared. Then sneered.
"We'll see if your mouth is all you have."
His right leg rose. A sword was fitted there. Named Deadwood.
He swung it down.
A golden arc of light. Condensed. Real. Tearing the sky toward the Sunny.
The air screamed. Clouds parted.
This was strong. Only Mihawk's swords were stronger.
Shiki was a great swordsman.
Luffy had fought Mihawk in his dreams. He knew sword slashes.
The cut was not meant to kill. To scare. To destroy the ship. Show the gap.
But the ship and his nakama—both were Luffy's treasures.
Shiki touched both at once.
Luffy's rage hit its peak.
Legend?
Just an old man. From an old era.
A man who lost to his grandfather.
You touch my nakama? My ship?
He did not dodge.
"Gear Second! Plus!"
Red-black lines flowed. Haki on his fist.
"Triple Release!"
He punched.
The shockwave met the golden arc. Exploded.
Luffy stood on the deck. His eyes were cold.
The legends were legends for a reason. Shiki's fruit power was extreme. His casual slash was better than ninety-nine percent of swordsmen.
His attacks were dangerous.
If they fought here, the Sunny would be lost.
Luffy knew this. "Somewhere else."
Shiki watched his slash shatter. His eyes narrowed.
The boy was stronger than he thought. Stronger than the bounty suggested.
"Somewhere else?" Shiki sneered. "You don't choose."
Luffy blurred.
He was fast. Faster than Shiki's Observation Haki could track.
Then he was in front of Shiki.
His fist, black with Haki, drove into Shiki's stomach before the old legend could react.
***
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