Even when facing the adult-stage Shiki inside the card space, Black could now gain the upper hand.
However, Shiki's Float-Float Fruit granted him overwhelming superiority in aerial combat.
When Black relied only on Moonwalk to fight in the sky, his strength was greatly restricted.
It would still take at least three to five days of continuous battle to completely defeat him.
But the rooster-headed man standing before him now was different.
Black even wanted to see how much strength he still had left.
If I can't easily defeat the adult Shiki in the card space, surely I can handle this rooster-headed guy in reality?
Standing before the ruined palace, Black held his sword in his right hand, the blade pointing diagonally toward the ground as he spoke with feigned regret.
"Senior Shiki, such a minor injury shouldn't be anything to you, right?"
"If you can't stand up after something like this, that would be quite disappointing."
"Jie ha ha ha ha…!"
A wild laugh erupted from beneath the rubble.
"Damn brat! Don't underestimate the pirates of the old era!!!"
"Who do you think I am?!"
"I am the Golden Lion!!!"
Shiki slowly floated upward from the ruins.
The large ship's rudder that had once been stuck in his head was now gone.
Black narrowed his eyes.
It seemed the old lion had finally decided to go all out.
Yet he still spoke casually.
"Senior Shiki should have changed stylists a long time ago."
"A ship rudder that old should have retired as well."
Golden Lion ignored the provocation for the moment and instead felt the changes in his body.
"This damned rudder tormented me for so many years… and today I'm finally free of it!"
As he spoke, he reached down to his legs.
Gripping the two legendary swords Oto and Kogarashi he pulled hard.
Blood and flesh splattered.
The blades that had almost fused with his legs were forcibly ripped free.
Boom!
Conqueror's Haki erupted with a deafening roar.
The Haoshoku burst outward like a lion roaring toward the heavens, tearing open the cloud layer above.
The power that had been suppressed for years exploded at once.
Its intensity was nearly three parts stronger than the adult Shiki inside the card space.
On the sanctuary in the distance, Mandy had been watching the battle closely.
Suddenly she felt dizzy, as if a heavy hammer had struck her head.
She grabbed the railing to keep herself from collapsing.
Turning her head, she saw Koala holding her forehead while staggering.
"Ugh… this feels awful."
Aside from Koala, everyone else on the deck had already fainted.
On the island, standing directly before Golden Lion's Conqueror's Haki, Black's expression did not change.
A gentle wind brushed past his face, lifting his hair slightly.
"Senior Shiki's Haki truly is formidable."
"But mine isn't bad either."
As he spoke, his own Conqueror's Haki surged outward.
In the next moment, it completely suppressed Golden Lion's Haoshoku.
A trace of shock appeared on Golden Lion's face.
"What spirit is this?!"
"I didn't expect a brat like you to possess the ambition to rule the world!"
"Then let me see if you're worthy of it!"
Golden Lion's attack speed suddenly tripled.
The trajectories of Oto and Kogarashi carved blazing golden arcs through the sky.
Black parried every strike with precise accuracy, yet the floating island beneath their feet began collapsing from the shockwaves.
"Finally getting serious?"
"What a pity…"
Black switched to a two-handed grip for the first time.
"I'm already tired of watching the same old death struggles."
Golden Lion lunged forward, Conqueror's Haki already wrapping around his twin swords.
"Lion's Might: Blade Tornado!"
"Secret Art: Storm!"
The crisscrossing sword energy condensed into lion-shaped shockwaves that lunged forward.
Black spun suddenly.
Ghost Qi spiraled around his blade like a drilling spear, splitting the lion head apart.
The aftermath carved a chasm thousands of meters long across the ground, nearly splitting the floating island in half.
"I heard Senior Shiki used to be a gangster."
Black chuckled.
"But I must admit your move names sound quite cultured."
"Unfortunately…"
"The power behind them is lacking."
Before his sentence finished, Golden Lion had already flashed above him, twin swords crossing as they slashed downward.
"Sharp-tongued brat!"
"Don't think blocking one move makes you invincible!"
Black raised his blade to meet the strike.
The shockwave from the three blades colliding obliterated the remaining buildings across the island.
"So that was the second move?"
"And now comes the third!"
Golden Lion retreated dozens of meters, floating high in the air.
"Lion God: Awakening!"
Armament Haki surged wildly across his body.
Golden mane-like Haki flowed around him.
Oto and Kogarashi trembled violently in his hands, wrapped in condensed Conqueror's Haki.
Everything around them began floating.
The sky darkened as lightning and thunder roared.
Golden Lion raised both swords together and crossed them before charging straight toward Black.
Even before the attack arrived, the pressure alone crushed the floating island beneath Black's feet into fragments falling toward the Blue Sea far below.
Black inhaled slowly.
The rapier in his hand shone with blinding brilliance.
Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and Ghost Qi wrapped around the blade simultaneously, condensing into a single line.
Black swung his sword.
The motion appeared slow, yet was incredibly fast.
Afterimages followed the blade as it collided with Golden Lion's twin swords.
For a brief moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent.
Then
An earth-shattering explosion erupted.
A towering mushroom cloud swallowed both figures.
The floating island beneath them disintegrated into dust.
Even nearby Ice Islands and Beast Islands began collapsing.
"Oh no!"
Koala, who had just regained consciousness, shouted.
Her body flashed with golden light as she instantly appeared at the bow.
"Haaah!"
She placed both hands against the ship's bow and pushed the sanctuary backward with all her strength.
She didn't know how far she pushed it.
But when she finally turned around, the entire region behind them had vanished.
The clouds, islands, and lightning were gone.
Only two figures remained suspended in the air.
Black's rapier had pierced straight through Golden Lion's chest.
Black spat lightly, a calm smile still on his face.
"Senior Shiki's strength truly is impressive."
"I've experienced it firsthand."
Black felt slight internal vibrations but had not been injured.
Golden Lion's body, however, was bleeding from every orifice.
The wound in his head poured blood.
His teeth were stained red as sunlight pierced through thinning clouds and reflected in his fading pupils.
"The new era… really is bright…"
"Roger…"
With those final words, his body lost all strength and fell from ten thousand meters toward the Blue Sea below.
Black casually grabbed the two swords, Oto and Kogarashi.
"I'm not part of any new era."
"I only want my own era."
After muttering to himself, Black stepped onto Moonwalk and flew back toward the sanctuary.
When Koala saw him return, she rushed forward and frantically checked his body.
"Your Highness! Are you alright?!"
Even Mandy, who rarely showed emotion, looked at him with concern.
Black handed the three swords he carried to Mandy and gently patted Koala's golden hair.
"A mere Golden Lion…"
"couldn't harm me in the slightest."