Violent winds whipped shattered ice fragments into a spiraling vortex toward the sky.
As the pirate ship creaked and groaned, Golden Lion had already thrust his other famed blade, Kogarashi, backward.
Simultaneously, the ice ball launched by Kuzan struck Golden Lion's body.
The successive attacks caused fresh blood to stream from Golden Lion's wounds once more.
The intense pain triggered his savage nature to erupt.
Both his arms began to swell, and the hand gripping the famed blade thrust toward Raleigh's abdomen at an even faster speed with a hiss!
Unwilling to trade injuries with Golden Lion, Raleigh's figure retreated back above the warship.
A mad and cruel smile spread across Golden Lion's face as he licked his lips and declared:
"Brat, if this is all you're capable of, I'll kill both of you before making my escape."
Hearing Golden Lion's words, both Raleigh and Kuzan's expressions turned somewhat uneasy.
Frankly speaking, Raleigh and Kuzan still had insufficient understanding of top-tier powerhouses.
They had originally thought that after enduring such a terrifying natural disaster, Golden Lion would be in an unprecedented weakened state, making his capture possible.
But now it seemed merely delaying Golden Lion until Garp's return would be difficult enough.
However, Raleigh had already considered these problems.
Exchanging a glance with Kuzan, Raleigh took a step back while Kuzan stepped forward.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak."
A phoenix-like bird rapidly took form in Kuzan's hands, emitting terrifying cold air as it flapped its wings toward Golden Lion.
"Pathetic trick. Slash Wave!"
Seeing Kuzan's Pheasant Beak attack, Golden Lion dismissed it contemptuously, assuming it was just like his own lion techniques—not particularly powerful.
Crack!
Golden Lion's eyes narrowed as he quickly identified the weakness in the Pheasant Beak, then a Sword Beam pierced through its vulnerable point.
Boom!
The Pheasant Beak exploded into glittering fragments that scattered everywhere.
"Shiki, that guy Garp has stopped pursuing Roger's crew. I think he'll reach our vicinity soon," Dr. Indigo said anxiously.
He remained quite fearful of Garp—within the Marines, those who could reliably defeat Garp could be counted on one hand.
Any pirate targeted by Garp, unless their name was Roger, ended up thrown into Impel Down.
"Lion's Icy Assault!"
Using his Devil Fruit power, Golden Lion gathered all the shattered ice crystals he had created, forming numerous smaller lions that appeared before everyone.
Once fully formed, these miniature lions charged directly toward Raleigh and Kuzan's warship.
"He's trying to sink our ship!"
Witnessing this, Raleigh felt a chill run down his spine.
That Golden Lion could still find a way to break the deadlock in such a situation was truly frightening.
The cold gleam of his blade flashed through the air.
"Single Sword Style: Dry Cutting Wind."
A figure gripping a famed blade flickered rapidly through the air as Raleigh alone destroyed all the formed miniature lions.
Perhaps this wasn't Golden Lion's true objective, but undoubtedly Raleigh and Kuzan had achieved their goal.
Garp's warship was already less than five nautical miles away—close enough to sense.
"Make this quick, brats. I don't have time to play house with you anymore."
Golden Lion's expression turned viciously fierce, the color rapidly draining from his face, making him appear utterly weathered.
"Be careful, Kuzan. Golden Lion has gone somewhat mad. It seems he's taken some secret drug that enhances his abilities."
The world of the Pirate King wasn't without such secret drugs, though most were prepared to boost specific individuals' capabilities.
Golden Lion had taken the drug hoping to regain the dominance he possessed in his youth.
He wanted to lift his ship into the sky to avoid Garp wiping them out completely.
However, all of Golden Lion's recent attacks had been countered by either Raleigh or Kuzan, never allowing him to gain the upper hand in their clashes.
"When did you freeze my ship?!"
Golden Lion only realized when trying to lift his vessel that someone had secretly done so much to his pirate ship.
Unbeknownst to him, Kuzan's abilities had been targeting Golden Lion's ship all along.
Now the ship was firmly frozen to the sea's surface. Given Golden Lion's current physical state and strength, retrieving the ship intact was impossible.
"Damn ice brat! How dare you target my ship!"
Golden Lion seethed with anger.
His contorted face made it difficult to distinguish between rage and mockery.
"Thinking you can keep me here with such methods? Pure fantasy!"
True to his legendary pirate status, once Golden Lion determined the ship was irrecoverable, he immediately reached out and transformed Dr. Indigo's clothing into an object controlled by his Float-Float Fruit ability.
The two quickly ascended skyward while continuously launching Sword Beams that rained down like a torrential downpour upon Raleigh and Kuzan pursuing them with Moon Walk.
"Kuzan, cover me! I'm going to cut him down!"
Raleigh roared.
After convincing Garp, persuading Kuzan, and expending so much effort to finally see hope of capturing Golden Lion, he wouldn't let the old fox escape so easily.
Raleigh no longer concealed his Devil Fruit power, his body transforming into a raging gale sweeping toward Golden Lion.
"Golden Lion, you're staying here!"
Raleigh's voice echoed across the sky and sea. Golden Lion's eyes turned cold as he raised his famed sword high and slashed downward:
"Die, you ignorant brat!"
As the sword fell, the world's colors instantly faded to black and white.
In this monochrome scene, a thin line appeared across Raleigh's body before Golden Lion cleanly bisected him from head to toe.
Moreover, the Sword Beam that passed through Raleigh's body continued straight toward the warship below.
A terrifying scene unfolded.
Had Kuzan not used ice pillars to alter the warship's course, it wouldn't have been the sea that was sliced apart, but the Marine vessel instead.
Kuzan's pupils dilated sharply as he gasped involuntarily.
Even though he had already estimated Golden Lion's capabilities highly, witnessing this scene still felt horrifying.
"Truly worthy of being a pirate who dominated the New World long ago," Kuzan marveled.
But after all, Golden Lion far surpassed both Raleigh and him in age and experience. Kuzan believed his strength still had significant room for growth and was absolutely not limited to his current level.
Moreover, the plan devised by Raleigh was not for him and Raleigh alone to capture or eliminate Golden Lion.
Instead, they were waiting for Garp to arrive, ensuring Golden Lion had no hope of turning the tables.
"Great Wind Pressure!"
Raleigh appeared above Golden Lion's head, spreading both hands and unleashing his full Devil Fruit power downward toward Golden Lion.