Roger, who hadn't fought at full strength for a long time, was now completely consumed by battle frenzy.
The daily burden of facing death's fear due to his illness and the enormous pressure of pursuing his dreams had weighed heavily on Roger's mind.
Now, the battle initiated by Golden Lion allowed Roger to cast aside all restraint and fight with reckless abandon.
He tightly gripped Ace, its black blade enveloped in Conqueror's Haki.
The muscles on both his arms bulged prominently, veins coiling like blue dragons along his limbs.
A circular sword beam erupted from his body, sweeping outwards in all directions, forcing Golden Lion, who wielded his two renowned swords, into retreat.
Pushed back by Roger's sword beam, Golden Lion laughed maniacally:
"Roger, Roger! Someone as powerful as you, why won't you join me in ruling the world?!"
"Why must you force me to kill you? Lion's Threat: Imperial Sea!"
Golden Lion Shiki effortlessly controlled his recoiling momentum, skimming across the sea surface as he raced toward Roger.
His two famed swords had already been plunged into the ocean at some point.
As Golden Lion activated his ability, the seawater behind him rose into the air. In an instant, he closed the distance to within thirty meters of Roger.
Behind him, thousands of tons of seawater spheres had already coalesced.
"Merge!"
With Golden Lion's loud shout, all the levitating seawater converged, forming an enormous two-headed lion within three breaths.
Roger gazed at the seawater-constructed two-headed lion before him, his eyes blazing with intense fighting spirit.
He believed in his own strength, wasn't a Devil Fruit user, and had no fear of seawater immersion, so he didn't bother dodging.
"Divine Departure!"
Roger gripped Ace with both hands and delivered a fierce slash.
A magnificent Sword Beam shot toward the Golden Lion's two-headed lion, which fearlessly roared and charged at the beam.
BOOM!
The deafening explosion was clearly audible even dozens of nautical miles away.
Golden light erupted as the Sword Beam and the seawater-formed two-headed lion annihilated each other.
Under the violent shockwave, seawater cascaded from the sky like a long-planned torrential downpour.
Roger stood in the rain, completely unfazed by the seawater drenching him, merely lifting his head to gaze at the Golden Lion above.
Due to his Devil Fruit ability, the Golden Lion feared seawater, so he had flown upward before the collision occurred.
Now, the eyes of the two powerhouses—one above, one below—locked once again.
Ace faced Oto and Kogarashi from a distance.
"Roger, warm-up time is over. It's time for the real battle."
The Golden Lion grinned ferociously, the cigar in his mouth still smoldering.
Roger wiped his wet beard and flashed a radiant smile.
"Shiki, you can't defeat me."
Boom!
The next moment, their figures clashed again, the violent impact causing the surrounding seawater to tremble uncontrollably.
Both the Golden Lion and Roger were sent flying backward.
Roger's right arm was slashed by the Golden Lion's Oto, while the Golden Lion's chest was cut open by Ace.
Now, their battle had escalated into a more perilous close-quarters combat phase.
"Jihahahaha! Roger, how much longer can that body of yours hold up?"
The Golden Lion taunted without restraint.
Roger's critical illness was no secret in their circle—most pirate captains knew about it.
This was also why few dared to provoke Roger; no one would antagonize a powerhouse whose lifespan was uncertain.
But the Golden Lion desperately wanted the location of the Ancient Weapon that Roger knew.
Ever since his days in the Rocks Pirates, he had dreamed of ruling the world.
Rocks failed because he underestimated how treacherous his subordinates were.
Although the captains under Rocks were all world-class in strength, their goals didn't align with his, which was why they betrayed him without hesitation during the God Valley War.
Shiki, however, had no such concerns, having long cultivated loyalty among his crew.
He didn't want idealists like Whitebeard and Big Mom—he wanted desperadoes, pirates obsessed only with money and slaughter.
Unfortunately, Kaido ignored Shiki's recruitment attempts, or else Shiki would have battled Roger long ago.
Roger's eyes were tinged with crimson as he glanced at the wound on his arm and burst into laughter.
"Shiki, I don't know how much longer I'll live, but I guarantee I won't fall before you die by Ace!"
The Golden Lion grinned, unbothered by Roger's retort.
"Lion's Thousand Cut Valley!"
Countless sharp Sword Beams were unleashed by the Golden Lion, each one fast enough to instantly kill a Marine Captain-level combatant.
Yet such an attack was merely a casual, probing move from the Golden Lion.
Roger held Ace in one hand, his legs executing Moon Walk as he charged toward Golden Lion.
Crack, crack, crack.
As if something fragile had been effortlessly shattered, Golden Lion's slashes broke like glass before Roger, destroyed with a casual swing.
Conqueror's Haki flowed along the blade as Roger forcefully swung Ace toward Golden Lion.
"Divine Departure!"
"Lion's Roar: Cut Valley!"
Golden Lion, gripping Oto and Kogarashi in both hands, also wrapped his blades in Conqueror's Haki, clashing directly with Roger's Ace.
Clang!
At the moment of impact, powerful waves of pressure and shockwaves radiated outward from their bodies.
Even the Roger Pirates fighting below against the Flying Pirates felt the startling intensity.
"Captain Roger has grown even stronger!"
Douglas Bullet had just snapped the necks of two pirates, licking the blood from his lips as he watched the two locked in a stalemate in the sky.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of weapons piercing flesh echoed, followed by the heavy thumps of bodies collapsing.
Rayleigh, his face splattered with blood, emerged from the cabin holding a famous sword, a ship full of pirate corpses lying behind him.
"If the Captain is fighting so hard, we can't afford to fall behind. We must defeat them quickly."
Rayleigh spoke as if it were a trivial matter, though in truth, just wiping out one ship of pirates had drained much of their stamina.
Golden Lion's Flying Pirates were no ragtag group. Even the cannon fodder among them had survived brutal competition to join—each pirate had killed at least ten people, including one or two of their own comrades.
Though the Roger Pirates far surpassed them in strength, stamina depletion was inevitable.
Boom!
The clash in the sky finally ended. Roger's body hurtled downward at high speed.
Golden Lion was sent flying upward, the air currents around him churning violently in his wake.
However, Golden Lion stabilized himself after being thrown back just a few hundred meters.
He looked down in confusion at Roger, who was still diving toward the sea, a puzzled expression on his face!
In the sky, Roger closed his eyes. His unique talent—the ability to Hear the Voice of All Things—fully activated his Observation Haki.
Even during his fierce battle with Golden Lion, he had heard a mysterious voice from the depths of the ocean.
"Escape quickly."
But with Golden Lion to contend with, he hadn't been able to focus entirely on locating the source of the voice.
Now, having feigned a weakness to break away and descend from the sky, he sought to uncover the mystery behind that voice.
Finally, with his Observation Haki fully unleashed, Roger both heard and "saw" the owner of the voice and its meaning.
Beneath the turbulent sea, fierce undercurrents raged as Sea Kings, each over three to four hundred meters long, collectively fled the battle area.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator