At this moment, Zoro and Kuma, holding the Vivre Card, successfully landed on Golden Lion's territory.
It was a small island located beneath the floating island chain, where a pirate crew that obeyed Golden Lion was stationed.
They discovered the two intruders and attempted to deal with the unexpected invaders.
Zoro merely drew a single blade, and with one Flying Slash, buried those people together with their stronghold. Consider it a greeting for Golden Lion.
"What do you plan to do?"
Zoro tied on his bandana, his Observation Haki firmly locking onto the strongest presence in the distance. Before Kuma could answer, he continued on his own, "I'm going straight to cut down Golden Lion.
"A legendary pirate from the previous era. Using him as my whetstone isn't bad either."
For a swordsman, although Golden Lion was not the current greatest swordsman like Mihawk, a Great Swordsman from the last era was still worth anticipating.
Of course, the main reason was that after his previous spar with Mihawk, Zoro had felt pressure.
By stepping on the stone called Golden Lion, perhaps he could go even further. At the very least, Ren had said Golden Lion was very likely capable of Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
In a battle to the death, there was no doubt that he would be the best possible choice.
"Then I'll leave him to you. I'll handle everyone else."
Kuma had no particular desire for battle. He lightly slapped his own body, and as a paw-shaped bubble burst, he appeared above the very top of the floating island chain.
"Violent Pressure Cannon!"
Paw-shaped bubbles rained down, covering the entire floating island chain as they swept away every enemy in sight at astonishing speed.
Ordinary pirates had no way to withstand those terrifying shock waves. However, the savage beasts on the islands could still barely move after taking several hits.
Looking closely, those savage beasts were rare and powerful creatures like ancient dinosaurs, violent bears, and man-eating cats.
Any single one of them, if placed outside, would be a mighty beast king capable of ruling an island.
Of course, if that was all, they would still not be able to endure Kuma's attacks.
"IQ-induced ferocity, is it?"
Kuma thoughtfully recalled what Ren had told him. The savage beasts on the floating island chain were all carefully selected specimens. On top of that, they had been administered a drug containing an ingredient called IQ, making their strength even more terrifying.
Even Marine officers of captain or commodore rank, or pirates with bounties in the tens of millions, would find it difficult to defeat any one of those savage beasts in a one-on-one fight.
And here, their numbers were nearly ten thousand.
Of course, for Kuma, it was still not a problem. He adjusted the power of his Pressure Cannon and still knocked down one savage beast with a single bubble.
If not for the fact that Ren needed to keep these savage beasts as materials to convert into new Angels, he would have ended the battle in a much simpler way.
At the same time, Kuma's huge commotion finally drew Golden Lion's furious attack.
A golden Flying Slash tore through the roof of the palace on the highest island, flying straight toward Kuma at extreme speed.
However, before it arrived, a cyan Flying Slash flew in from an oblique angle and directly cut Golden Lion's slash in two at the waist.
At the hole in the palace roof, Golden Lion, with a ship's wheel embedded in his head, abruptly turned.
Below, Zoro walked over with Shusui in hand, his cold eyes fixed on his prey.
"Rather than worrying about what's happening outside, how about you protect your own life first?"
"Pirate Hunter?"
Golden Lion recognized him at a glance and grinned. "To think you Demon Pirates could find this place. You really do intend to make enemies of pirates, don't you?
"Where's Demon Ren? I'd like to see what the brat who defeated Big Mom looks like."
"The captain didn't come. He only told me one thing."
Zoro entered Three-Sword Style, biting Wado Ichimonji between his teeth as he said coldly, "Bring you back. Dead or alive."
"…How arrogant."
Golden Lion's smile slowly vanished, and his expression became abnormally displeased.
"Arrogant? I don't think so."
Zoro took his stance. Cyan-green flames emerged and wrapped around his three blades, while a blood-red aura rose and condensed into an Asura.
Conqueror's Haki Infusion! Demon Aura: Nine-Sword Style!
"You're not worthy of making our captain act. I'm enough!"
A cyan blade light crossed several hundred meters and swept toward Golden Lion.
'Has it started over there too?'
Ren withdrew his gaze.
He had no intention of going over, because he did not believe Zoro would be unable to take down Golden Lion.
Although the other party was a legend from the same era as the Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard,
Ren had killed many similar legends in Impel Down.
Golden Lion was too old. During his naval battle with Roger, a ship's wheel had been lodged in his head, and the reason he had not removed it after so many years was because the consequences were too severe.
Afterward, in order to escape Impel Down, he had cut off both his legs. On the floating island chain, he had also stopped fighting and merely devoted himself to researching savage beasts.
How much strength he still had left was unknown.
There was no need for Ren to personally make the trip.
The reason he had acted against Golden Lion was, on one hand, because he was afraid this man would become a troublemaker and affect his next plan.
On the other hand, it was for Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit.
Ren was considering using that fruit to create an aerial base, a mobile core fortress.
Although Skypiea was ten thousand meters above the sea, it was not as if the World Government had no way to affect that side.
At the same time, other than him, it was much more troublesome for everyone else to enter and leave.
Fine. In truth, he simply felt Golden Lion was not that strong, and he had also taken a fancy to the Float-Float Fruit and planned to get his hands on it.
The Float-Float Fruit was a Paramecia fruit. After Awakening, it could exert influence over the outside world. Judging from Golden Lion's performance, it manifested as manipulation of the external world.
For example, the simplest use was that it could raise tsunamis.
Of course, the most important thing was still finding suitable fuel for the Lord of Devils.
In Ren's view, the power of floating was fairly decent. He wanted to try whether he could use a concept like "planets revolving around the sun" to transform the Float-Float Fruit's ability into gravitational manipulation.
However, that was only a hypothesis. Ren's concept for the final product was still at the conceptual stage.
Next, what he needed to look at was… Vegapunk.
As time passed, Vegapunk had finally learned about Ren's group through various channels.
Under that premise, Ren showed Vegapunk the wonders of the Dimensional Roulette.
Near-infinite possibilities greatly attracted Vegapunk as a scientist.
Only after seeing Ren's true secret did Vegapunk understand just how terrifying the potential of the man before him truly was.
Even without cooperating with him, it would only be a difference of three to five years before Ren reached an irresistible level.
Yes, it was that terrifying.
'Rather than stand on your opposite side, I may as well stand on your side now, and bet that after you devour everything, you will still make room for my ideals.
'My demand is not high. I want to borrow your ability to help me continue completing the unlimited supply of productivity.'
That was the fundamental reason Vegapunk agreed to join Ren and help him complete that achievement.
Compared with cooperating with the World Government, he saw a far broader future in Ren.
Vegapunk had already seen the conscience of the Five Elders and the very foundation of the entire system.
Rather than bet on those filthy things, he would rather bet on Ren reaching the summit, surpassing the entire scope of the world, and no longer craving anything from the mortal world.
Just like… the blazing sun hanging high in the heavens never demands anything from mortals.
Because it has no need.
"Speaking of which, why did you come here?"
After discussing matters with Ren, Vegapunk met Kuzan, who had just joined, and could not help asking in surprise.
"Because the Marines are finished."
Kuzan said softly, "Perhaps a scientist like you wouldn't understand, but as a Marine, I do."
He did not say much more and simply turned to leave.
But that was the truth.
In Kuzan's view, the Marineford War was the most evil and ruthless time Ren had ever acted. With cunning schemes, he had shattered the justice in the hearts of all Marines.
With the collapse of justice, all that remained was a group of people fighting for profit and position.
Even more terrifying was Borsalino becoming Fleet Admiral. The result caused by such a lazy man was that those above would stop caring, and those below would indulge in endless greed.
Even if Borsalino now followed the World Government's instructions and launched a worldwide military draft, all he could attract would be a group of people working for money.
This could already be seen from the Buster Call incident.
The Marines' spine had already been broken!
Whoosh—!
A cold, sharp blade light cut out a Flying Slash, and a massive cyan crescent collided with the golden crescents raining down.
Zoro and Golden Lion's battle had entered a white-hot stage. The battlefield of the two sides had shifted from the highest island to the middle layer.
Because their first battlefield had already been torn apart by their Flying Slashes.
Their second battlefield had been consumed clean by Golden Lion using the power of the Float-Float Fruit to unleash Lion's Roll: Earth Prison.
Clearly, ordinary attacks could do nothing to Zoro.
By now, Golden Lion had already fallen into a disadvantage. He once again poured out a large number of golden Flying Slashes with Lion: Thousand Slice Valley, then pulled back and opened some distance.
Zoro swung a single blade horizontally, cutting and wiping away the many slash waves in one motion.
He did not pursue, merely stopping and looking at the panting Golden Lion.
"You're too old. And your strength is restricted too."
As he spoke, he tossed out a bottle of medicine, throwing it toward Golden Lion's feet.
"Are you pitying me!?"
Golden Lion's face instantly became savage. But immediately afterward, a splitting headache struck him. That damned ship's wheel was still affecting him.
"I got this from the captain. Pull out the ship's wheel on your head and pour it in, and you can be healed."
Zoro's tone remained cold. "This isn't pity. It's desire.
"I want to witness your full strength, defeat you in a satisfying battle, and learn more useful things. At the very least, I want to see your Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
"Not take advantage of your current state and cut down an old lion already on his last legs."
Those extremely subtle words made Golden Lion fall silent.
Pride had no meaning in the face of a gap in strength. A cunning pirate like him naturally understood that.
"To think there'd come a day when I'd be forced into this state by a junior."
Golden Lion grinned. He crushed the medicine Zoro had given him beneath one foot, then violently pulled the ship's wheel out of his head.
"But I don't want to be looked down on by a brat like you!
"You want to witness my full strength? Then come and try it!"
Conqueror's Haki pressure shot into the sky. Golden Lion, freed from the ship wheel's restriction, immediately felt much lighter.
Of course, he also understood that his violent action just now had given him a fatal weakness, and had worsened the injury to his head even further.
But that did not matter. As the proud Golden Lion, he would satisfy his opponent's desire!
(End of Chapter)