After fighting Shirakawa for some time, the Golden Lion's expression grew somber. He had to admit, that ship's rudder jammed into his head was still a real nuisance.
And Shirakawa's strength had already far exceeded his expectations. He hadn't imagined that someone who had only just advanced to Great Swordsman could actually fight him to a standstill.
By now, the Golden Lion had bitten straight through the cigar clenched in his teeth. The other half had already dropped into the sea and disappeared without a trace.
This was not the Golden Lion who would fight Luffy over twenty years later. His legs hadn't been amputated yet, and the sword techniques he unleashed with both hands were far stronger than what he'd be capable of more than two decades from now.
The Golden Lion's body now bore quite a few wounds, all of them courtesy of Shirakawa. In contrast, Shirakawa's body was completely intact, though his presence was noticeably weaker than before.
"Brat, that ability of yours really is a pain."
After fighting this long, the Golden Lion naturally understood that Shirakawa could regenerate from his injuries.
And the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit ability didn't give him much of an edge on the open sea.
"Then I'll take that as a compliment."
As he spoke, Shirakawa sent out a flying slash. It wasn't fast, but it felt extraordinarily sharp and fierce.
"Hmph, such a brazen little brat."
The Golden Lion fired off two slashes in return. One canceled out Shirakawa's attack, and the other shot straight toward Shirakawa himself.
Throughout this battle, the two had barely used any flashy named techniques. It was all simple, unadorned exchanges. Named sword techniques were nothing more than names to them now.
At their current level, a casual strike from either of them could serve as the ultimate trump card for an ordinary swordsman.
The two collided once again, moving at such extreme speed that an ordinary person couldn't even track their movements. All that could be seen were the aftereffects of air pressure rippling outward when they clashed.
Then, both stopped their attacks, each standing at opposite ends of the sky, facing each other. The atmosphere grew taut with tension.
"Golden Lion, why don't you join us? With your strength, you could easily become my right-hand man."
"What did you say?" Just as Shirakawa expected, hearing those words made the Golden Lion absolutely furious.
After all, this was the same Golden Lion who had once dared to try recruiting Roger. How could he ever bow his head and submit to someone else now? He was no longer Shiki, crew member of the Rocks Pirates.
He was Shiki the Golden Lion, captain of the Flying Pirates. It had been a very long time since he'd last heard anyone try to recruit him.
"I said, how about becoming my subordinate, Golden Lion?"
"Scythe Wave."
In response to Shirakawa's words, the Golden Lion answered directly with a flying slash. The Golden Lion's slash was fast and powerful, and Shirakawa barely managed to dodge it.
But it still carved a chunk of flesh from Shirakawa's arm. When the slash landed on the sea, it split the ocean surface for thousands of kilometers—a clear sign of just how much fury was packed into that strike.
Shirakawa glanced at the spot where the Golden Lion had cut away flesh. Honestly, it really hurt—so much that he'd nearly cried out just now.
But luckily, he healed quickly. A warm, soothing sensation soon spread through the wound, and the missing flesh slowly grew back, returning to exactly how it was before.
"I don't want to hear anything like that again."
The Golden Lion's eyes grew deeply dark and gloomy, as if ringed with shadowy kohl.
"Fine, I won't say it anymore."
An enraged Golden Lion was still a terrifying thing. Shirakawa really wasn't the Golden Lion's match right now. If Shiki truly went berserk, Shirakawa himself could escape without a problem, but his crew might not be so lucky.
"What's going on? Why did they stop?"
A member of the Silver Pirates who had been watching the battle muttered in confusion. They were just getting into the excitement.
It wasn't that they didn't care about Shirakawa; they simply had absolute confidence in him. The Golden Lion might carry the title of overlord, but their captain literally had an immortal body.
An immortal body—at least, they hadn't yet come up with any way to overcome an ability like that.
Just imagine what a disgustingly frustrating thing it would be to fight against Shirakawa.
No matter how many times you try, you can't kill him. No matter how severe his injuries, he recovers instantly—and all the while, you yourself could be slowly worn down to death.
"I'd bet the Golden Lion isn't feeling too great right now either,"
Kurokam said. Though he couldn't see exactly what was happening on the battlefield, it wasn't hard to figure out by putting himself in the Golden Lion's shoes.
Shirakawa's strength might be weaker than the Golden Lion's, but presumably not by much. If they kept dragging this out, the one who would end up at a disadvantage was definitely the Golden Lion.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield between Shirakawa and the Golden Lion, Shiki had already sheathed his sword.
"What, you don't want to fight anymore?"
"Hmph. I'm not in the mood today, and I don't feel like playing with you. I'll come find you for a proper sparring match some other day when I'm feeling better."
With that, the Golden Lion activated his ability and flew straight away.
Not giving Shirakawa the slightest chance to exchange any more nonsense with him.
Seeing this, Shirakawa let out a soft chuckle. There was no deep-seated hatred between them; there was no need to fight to the death like sworn enemies.
The Golden Lion flew directly over the Silver Pirates' ship.
"The Golden Lion... ran off?"
Jora said with some surprise, watching the figure disappear into the distance.
"Does that mean our captain won? Our captain can actually beat an overlord of the New World?"
Jora's voice grew increasingly excited. If word of this got out, wouldn't they get to bask in a little glory too?
"The Golden Lion actually retreated in defeat?"
The marines on the warship wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"This can't wait—this has to be reported to Headquarters immediately. Silver Sword actually defeated the Golden Lion."
That marine's heart was equally filled with incredulity.
"Now, turn the ship around at once and get us out of here."
"Yes, sir!"
Once Shirakawa returned, there was no telling what his attitude toward them would be. If Shirakawa decided to wipe them out, after the fight they'd just witnessed, they would have absolutely no ability to resist.
The warship had just turned and started to leave, barely getting any distance, when Shirakawa returned.
"Captain, you're incredible! You actually made the Golden Lion retreat!"
"Hah, of course. Your captain now has the strength of a peak world-class fighter."
Shirakawa said it without a hint of modesty. Although this "peak world-class" status might be a little watered down, as long as it wasn't a life-or-death struggle, Shirakawa now feared no one in this world.
Though the other crew members didn't say anything, they all gave Shirakawa a thumbs-up.
No doubt the news that Shirakawa had defeated the Golden Lion would be spread worldwide by the Navy within a couple of days—partly to steal some of the spotlight from the Roger Pirates right now.
Although there was still no news of the Roger Pirates themselves, the forces stationed in the New World had long since learned of Roger's current destination.
/-\
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