"Roger—!!!"
Golden Lion Shiki dove down from the sky like a golden streak of light!
"Let's settle this once and for all!!!"
His twin sabers were wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, and his target was only one—Roger!
"Shiki—today I'll make you give up for good!"
Roger also shouted loudly, stepping off the deck as his entire body shot into the sky like a cannonball.
Two figures collided violently in midair!
Clang—!!!
The moment blade met blade, the heavens and earth seemed to change color!
Black-red Haki lightning erupted and scattered in all directions, tearing the surrounding clouds to shreds.
Roger's saber and Golden Lion's crossed blades pressed firmly against each other!
Both erupted with their strongest Haki at the same time, locked in a standoff in midair!
"The boss is fighting—let's charge too!!!"
The dozens of pirate ships under Golden Lion's command accelerated simultaneously, charging from all directions toward the central Oro Jackson!
The great battle had erupted in full force!
Golden Lion Pirates' second-in-command, Lyle, was the first to strike!
He was a Zoan-Type, Ancient Griffin Fruit user, now transformed into a massive griffin with a wingspan exceeding fifty meters.
"Griffin Fire Dragon Bullet—!!!"
With a roar from the giant griffin, the flames on its body instantly surged!
A massive fireball over ten meters in diameter shot from its mouth, rapidly condensing and stretching in the air—
Transforming into a hundred-meter-long colossal fire dragon!
The fire dragon opened its enormous maw, descending toward the Oro Jackson with terrifying high temperatures capable of incinerating everything!
If this strike hit, the entire ship would be reduced to ashes in an instant!
If the ship sank, the Roger Pirates would lose their foothold, and defeat would be near.
"Hey, hey, hey…"
Rayleigh looked up at the giant fire dragon diving down.
"Don't lay a hand on our ship, you bastard."
He crossed his arms in front of his chest, raising his saber high.
Haki gathered, and the blade glowed with an eerie black light.
"Other Shore Flower Bloom."
With a single slash.
Black light surged from the blade, rapidly spreading and condensing in the air—
Transforming into a massive black lotus.
The black lotus slowly bloomed, meeting the diving fire dragon as the two collided violently in midair.
The black lotus's petals closed, enveloping the entire fire dragon within.
The flames struggled, burned, and extinguished within the darkness—
Until finally, they vanished completely.
Rayleigh sheathed his sword, stomped hard on the deck, and soared into the air!
His figure moved like a ghost, instantly appearing before the giant griffin, slashing down with his blade!
"Hahaha! Roger's right hand, Dark King Rayleigh?!" Lyle laughed wildly. "Now we can fight to our heart's content!"
His claws instantly wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, simultaneously igniting with blazing flames.
"Flame Claw—!!!"
The massive lion claws, carrying rolling flames, slammed down fiercely toward Rayleigh!
Rayleigh didn't even dodge.
His blade continued to slash straight down.
The instant blade and claw collided across space—
BOOM!!!
Lyle felt an unstoppable force transmit through his blade!
His Flaming Lion King Claw shattered like paper against that single slash, instantly disintegrating!
Immediately after, the blade light solidly struck his body!
"Pfft—!"
Lyle spat out a mouthful of blood as his massive frame was sent flying over a hundred meters away, tumbling several times mid-air before he stabilized himself.
Looking down at the deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Cough... How is this possible..."
Rayleigh sheathed his sword, hovering in mid-air, his tone indifferent:
"You haven't even mastered Conqueror's Haki Coating. You're no match for me."
Lyle's face turned ashen.
Conqueror's Haki Coating—that was a realm only top-tier experts could reach.
He truly hadn't mastered it yet, hadn't even awakened Conqueror's Haki itself.
While Rayleigh had already perfected its application.
This was the gap between them.
...
On the deck of the Oro Jackson.
Buggy suddenly pointed at the sea, his face pale as paper:
"Shark! A huge shark! It's swimming toward us!"
Everyone followed his finger and gasped in unison.
Beneath the sea surface, a massive shadow was rapidly approaching.
It was a shark.
A shark even larger than the Oro Jackson.
The shark opened its gaping maw, filled with rows upon rows of serrated teeth.
If it bit down, the entire ship would likely be shattered to pieces.
The newcomer was none other than the third-in-command of the Golden Lion Pirates, in his Zoan-Type, Ancient Megalodon Form.
"I'll handle this."
Gaban's voice came from nearby.
He stepped off the deck, leaping into the air.
Raising his twin axes high, a dark red Conqueror's Haki instantly enveloped them.
Black and red Haki Lightning crackled and exploded along the axe blades.
"Dominant Axe—!"
The twin axes descended with earth-shattering force!
Just as the Megalodon breached the surface, opening its jaws to crush the ship—
A flash of axe light!
BOOM—!!!
The Megalodon's colossal body was struck like a cannonball, plunging deep into the ocean.
A massive spray erupted on the sea surface as the shark vanished into the deep blue waters, its fate unknown.
Gaban landed back on the deck, retracting his axes:
"Done."
But the battle was far from over.
Dozens of pirate ships surrounding them from all directions had closed in on the Oro Jackson.
"Charge!!!"
The pirates brandished grappling hooks, hurling them forcefully.
Hundreds of hooks latched precisely onto the Oro Jackson's rails, masts, and guardrails.
Swinging on ropes, they swarmed the ship like dumplings dropping into boiling water.
"Hold the ship! Don't let them board!"
The combatants of the Roger Pirates sprang into action!
Sailor Sanbell—the only Fish-Man in the Roger Pirates, standing three meters tall—whirled his steel trident with formidable force.
Positioned at the ship's edge, he stabbed down one pirate after another, knocking all boarders into the sea!
"Fish-Man Karate: Sea Current Shoulder Throw!"
He threw a punch, sending a column of seawater soaring skyward and capsizing an entire pirate ship.
Ship's doctor Crocus, now wielding a harpoon, left fallen pirates in his wake.
"Even medics can kill," he remarked calmly.
Sniper Bitam—perched atop the mast, his sniper rifle barely needing to aim.
With every shot, a pirate would plummet from the sky.
His bullets could strike targets kilometers away, let alone at this close range.
Lookout Dolinger—with bat-like wings sprouting from his back, he darted through the air.
His speed was blinding; each pass claimed the lives of several pirates.
Combatant Nozdon—a giant over ten meters tall, standing on the deck like a moving mountain.
"Get back!"
He snatched boarding pirates and hurled them into the sea like bowling balls.
Combatant Taro—his blade work flowed like water, and pirates fell in waves beneath his sword.
Before joining the Roger Pirates, he was a Sword Master with a modest reputation in the New World.