Even facing the adult stage Shiki in the card space, Black could now gain the upper hand.
However, Shiki's Devil Fruit gave him an aerial advantage.
Black's strength was greatly diminished by fighting him using Moonwalk.
It would take at least three to five days to completely defeat him.
But this rooster-headed man in front of him was different.
Black even wanted to witness his full strength.
If I can't take down the adult stage Shiki, surely I can defeat this rooster-headed guy?
Facing the palace ruins, Black held his sword in his right hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground, and said with feigned regret:
"Senior Shiki, this minor injury shouldn't be anything to you, right?"
"If you can't get up like this, that would be too disappointing."
"Jie ha ha ha ha..."
A wild laugh came from beneath the ruins:
"Damn brat! Don't underestimate the pirates of the old era!!!"
"Who do you think I am?!"
"I am Golden Lion!!!"
Shiki's figure slowly floated up from the ruins, the ship's rudder on his head now gone.
Black's eyes narrowed; it seemed the old man was going all out.
But he still spoke casually:
"Senior Shiki should have changed his hairstylist a long time ago."
"A ship's rudder that old also needs to retire."
Golden Lion didn't immediately respond to Black's provocation but instead felt the changes in his body:
"This damned rudder, it tormented me for so many years, and today I'm finally rid of it!"
Saying that, he reached down to his legs, pressed on the two famous swords, Sakurajū and kogarashi, and pulled hard.
With flesh and blood splattering, the two swords, which had almost become one with his legs, were forcibly pulled out.
Boom!
Conqueror's Haki erupted with a roar.
The Conqueror's Haki, like a lion roaring in all directions, shot straight into the sky, tearing a gap in the clouds.
It was as if the suppressed power of so many years was unleashed in an instant, almost three parts stronger than the adult stage Shiki in the card space.
On the sanctuary in the distance, Mandy, who had been watching the two men fight intently, suddenly felt a dizzy spell, her head feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.
She struggled to hold onto the ship's rail, barely avoiding falling.
Turning her head, she saw Koala pressing one hand to her forehead, staggering:
"Ugh... so uncomfortable."
Besides Koala, everyone else on the deck had also fainted.
On the island, facing Golden Lion's Conqueror's Haki at close range, Black's expression remained unchanged.
A gentle breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair.
"Senior Shiki's Haki mastery is indeed profound, but I'm not bad either."
Saying that, his own Conqueror's Haki also surged, and in a moment, it suppressed Golden Lion's Conqueror's Haki.
Golden Lion's face showed surprise:
"What a spirit?!"
"I didn't expect you, a mere brat, to also have the ambition to become the King of the World!"
"Then let me see if you are worthy!"
Golden Lion's attack speed increased by more than threefold, the trajectories of his twin swords leaving scorching golden afterimages in the air.
Black precisely parried each sword, but the floating island beneath his feet began to collapse under the impact.
"Finally willing to get serious? What a pity..."
He adopted a two-handed sword grip for the first time:
"I'm tired of seeing the same old death throes."
Golden Lion pounced, Conqueror's Haki already coiling around his twin swords:
"Lion's Might: Blade Tornado!"
"Secret Art: Storm!"
The crisscrossing sword energy materialized into Golden Lions that lunged forward.
Black suddenly spun, Ghost Qi forming a spiral drill on his sword blade, splitting the lion's head in two.
The aftermath carved a chasm thousands of meters long in the ground between them, almost splitting the entire floating island in half.
"I heard Senior Shiki used to be a gangster, but I didn't expect him to be quite cultured; at least his move names are good."
Black chuckled:
"Too bad the force isn't quite there."
Before he finished speaking, Golden Lion had flashed above his head, his twin swords crossed and slashing down:
"Sharp-tongued brat! Don't think you can get cocky just because you blocked one of my moves!"
Black raised his sword to meet him, the shockwave of the three blades colliding shattered the remaining buildings on the main island:
"So this is the second move?"
"And there's a third move!"
Golden Lion retreated dozens of meters, floating in the air:
"Lion God: Awakening!"
The Armament Haki on his body surged wildly, his entire body covered in golden, mane-like Haki.
The two famous swords, Sakurajū and kogarashi, trembled incessantly in Golden Lion's hands, wrapped in solidified Conqueror's Haki.
Everything around them began to float, and the sky changed color, with lightning and thunder.
Golden Lion held his swords together, crossed them, and charged rapidly towards Black.
Before the attack even reached him, an astonishing pressure washed over him.
The floating island beneath Black's feet began to crumble into pieces, falling towards the blue sea below.
He took a deep breath, and the rapier in his hand glowed with dazzling light.
Armament Haki, Haoshoku, and Ghost Qi all coiled around it simultaneously, almost forming a single line along the blade.
Black slowly swung his blade, his movements seeming slow but actually fast, the long sword leaving afterimages as it collided with Golden Lion's twin swords.
At this moment, it seemed as if heaven and earth fell silent for an instant.
Immediately after, with an earth-shattering roar, a mushroom cloud reaching the sky swallowed both their figures.
The floating island beneath Black's feet was gradually turning to dust, and the closest Ice and Beast Islands also began to collapse and disintegrate.
"Oh no!"
Koala, who had just recovered, shouted and instantly appeared at the bow of the ship as a flash of light.
"Hoorah!"
She placed both hands on the bow and pushed the sanctuary backward with all her might.
She didn't know how far they had gone, but when she looked back, the area behind them was completely empty.
Clouds, floating islands, lightning... all gone, only two figures stood facing each other in the air.
Black's rapier had pierced Golden Lion's chest.
He spat, a gentle smile still on his face:
"Senior Shiki's strength is truly astonishing; I have experienced it."
Black felt some internal tremors but was not injured.
Blood had begun to seep from Golden Lion's seven orifices, and the hole in his head was bleeding profusely.
He bared his teeth, stained crimson, as the sunlight pierced through the gradually thinning clouds, casting its final speck of light into his fading pupils.
"The new era... is indeed very bright..."
"Roger..."
With that, his figure lost all strength and fell from ten thousand meters high towards the blue sea.
Black casually grabbed Sakurajū and kogarashi in his hands:
"I am not some new era."
"I only want my era."
After muttering, Black stepped on Moonwalk and flew towards the sanctuary.
Koala on the deck saw Black return and rushed forward, feeling all over his body:
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Even the usually expressionless Mandy cast a concerned look.
Black handed the three swords in his hand to Mandy and then patted Koala's little head:
"A mere Golden Lion couldn't harm me in the slightest."