"He's called Ace?" Upon hearing Setsuna's words, Shiki didn't get angry. Instead, he became serious. "To possess such mettle, you are indeed no ordinary fellow. Brat, announce your name."
Setsuna hovered in mid-air, his white haori billowing in the wind: "Chiaki Setsuna."
"Chiaki Setsuna?" Shiki was rather surprised. "Are you from the Wano Country?"
Setsuna's face darkened… this was indeed his greatest concern. "I have no relation to that country whatsoever."
"No matter." Shiki didn't care either, laughing heartily. "Anyway, you'll all die here."
Accompanying this laugh, a tremendously powerful Conqueror's Haki surged forth.
The clouds in the sky were instantly shattered, the atmosphere twisted, the rocks on the island cracked inch by inch, and the entire island trembled.
Setsuna also erupted with the Conqueror's Haki within him. He had just come into contact with Haki, and this was precisely the moment he needed 'guidance' from a master.
"Not bad Haki, but Conqueror's isn't used like that!" The famous swords on Shiki's legs, [Oto] and [Kogarashi], became entangled with Haki. Dark red Conqueror's Haki lightning flickered on the blades.
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
Slashing waves dozens of times more powerful than the previous ones rampaged across the land. The island shook violently, but Shiki paid it no mind, savoring his long-lost strength.
While dodging, Setsuna raised his right arm, a blazing white energy sphere gathering in his palm.
Boom!
Blinding white light collided with the slashes. A terrifying shockwave exploded, causing the entire island to shake violently. The ground was torn up, and countless rocks were swept into the sky.
Shiki's figure charged out from the explosion, his twin swords crossing as he slashed down.
"Slash Wave: Mighty Dragon!"
The sword light was like a dragon, a slash entwined with Conqueror's and Armament Haki aimed straight for Setsuna's throat.
Setsuna tilted his body slightly, his right hand forming a claw that fiercely clamped onto Shiki's shoulder.
"Crack!"
The sound of shattering bones echoed. Shiki grunted, but reacted extremely fast. His left leg, bearing Oto, kicked fiercely towards Setsuna's temple.
Setsuna blocked with his left hand, explosive force erupting. Both men were forced back dozens of meters simultaneously, deep furrows plowed into the ground.
"This is Armament Haki?" Setsuna recalled the recent battle. His explosive force had only managed to cause minor fractures in Shiki's shoulder blade.
"To have such power without even knowing Armament Haki... truly a brute force like that guy Newgate's." Shiki grinned, then slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Lion Menace: Govern Place Earth Coiling!"
The entire island's ground twisted and transformed, morphing into dozens of roaring giant stone lions, each coated with Armament Haki, tearing towards Setsuna.
"How much repressed Armament Haki do you have?" Setsuna was also somewhat amazed. Even Doflamingo's ultimate move after awakening merely coated 16 giant waves of white string with Armament Haki.
But here with Shiki, the Armament Haki coating a single random stone lion might rival the total amount in Doflamingo's ultimate move.
"Anyway, I'll reach my limit after this fight, so I might as well enjoy myself to the fullest!" Shiki laughed heartily, flinging Armament Haki around as if it were free.
"It seems I should get a bit more serious too." Setsuna instantly opened the Seventh Gate. A pale blue aura ignited around his body.
After a year of training, he was now able to open the Seventh Gate.
Of course, even if he could open all Eight Gates, he would at most open up to the Seventh. He had no desire to test whether Senzu Beans could save him from the consequences.
As for Sage Mode, this world certainly possessed Natural Energy, but there was no residual Chakra left in this world. To condense Senjutsu Chakra, he couldn't rely on the lazy method of using Don Slime anymore.
Until he learned to refine Senjutsu Chakra himself, Sage Mode was effectively temporarily banned.
Setsuna's speed increased dramatically. His figure turned into an afterimage, weaving through the pack of stone lions. Where his fists and feet struck, rocks shattered.
However, after these stone lions shattered, they instantly reassembled, pouncing on Setsuna with undiminished ferocity.
Setsuna took a deep breath, concentrating all his strength into his fist, unleashing it fully.
"Daytime Tiger!"
A single punch, compressing the air to its limit before violently exploding.
Over a dozen stone lions ahead were instantly pulverized. The residual shockwave tore through the island, even causing several nearby islands to sway dangerously.
Shiki crossed his swords and violently swung them.
Dozens of golden slashing waves, entwined with Armament Haki, tore through the atmosphere, converging on Setsuna from all directions.
Setsuna's eyes sharpened. His right hand formed a claw, fiercely grabbing one of the slashing waves.
"What? Armament Haki?" Shiki's eyes widened in shock. Seeing Armament Haki on someone of Setsuna's caliber was normal, but it was obvious the other party had just learned it.
"Yeah, thanks for the instruction." Setsuna looked at his own fist. Haki was also a form of 'energy'. As long as someone demonstrated it in front of him, mastering this power wasn't difficult.
"You damn brat! What do you take me for?" Shiki was furious. This was the final battle of his life, not a teaching session.
"Lion Menace: Ikkoku!"
He crossed his swords, Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki converging, slashing out with an attack that seemed to pierce heaven and earth.
"Instant? Don't just add every technique after 'Lion Menace'!" Setsuna felt powerless to complain, 'How come even Big Mom's technique was here? Could one of Big Mom's sons be Shiki's?'
Setsuna didn't dodge either, instead trying to infuse Armament Haki into his Kamehameha.
"Armament Haki: Kamehameha."
A blazing white pillar of light collided with the slash. A terrifying energy storm swept across the entire island.
Crack, crack, crack-
A massive canyon split open at the island's center. Peaks toppled, strata tore apart.
The entire island began to tilt. The two continued their battle on the fracturing earth.
Every collision triggered violent explosions. The rock layers kept collapsing, massive rocks constantly plummeting into the sea below.
"So incredible... is this the strength of the top-tier powerhouses on the sea?" Ace watched, his heart surging. With his current strength, he could barely withstand even the residual shockwaves of their battle.
Their battle lasted from night until day. Setsuna was covered in blood, yet incredibly exhilarated. He hadn't had such a thoroughly enjoyable fight in a long time.
Of course, his injuries were merely superficial. If he wished, he could recover instantly using Food Honor.
But Shiki was different. He had forcibly restored his power, and one could say it was a final flare before death.
That he could still fight fiercely with Setsuna for half a day in this state was already a miracle of life.
"Brat, why wear that expression? Are you pitying me?" Shiki gasped heavily, but the fighting spirit in his eyes didn't diminish.
"I wouldn't pity a lion. Even an aged lion can still kill." Setsuna shook his head slightly.
"Shihahaha! You're right! I'm the Golden Lion! Even in death, I'll take a bite out of you!" Shiki laughed maniacally, squeezing out his final strength. He crossed his swords, Conqueror's Haki wound to its limit.
"Lion Menace: Divine Departure!"
"I said, stop adding every technique after 'Lion Menace'!" Setsuna was speechless, 'You don't want to be the Pirate King, you want to be the King of Thieves on the Sea, right? Stealing everyone else's techniques.'
"Shihahaha! This will be the final memory I, along with Roger, leave for this world!" Shiki laughed. A flying slash capable of cleaving an island in two slashed out.
Setsuna took a deep breath, condensing the Kamehameha before him, then pushing it out in the manner of [Daytime Tiger]. The energy sphere compressed further before crashing into the slash.
The world seemed to freeze for a moment. An instant later… the flying island completely shattered!