Ten thousand meters above sea level.
The world in Golden Lion Shiki's eyes was collapsing.
Sound, light, air... everything was being twisted and devoured by the will that shot up from the reef.
His proud Conqueror's Haki, that kingly qualification that once made the sea tremble and armies retreat, was now like a speck of dust in a strong wind, ridiculously insignificant.
His will was crushed.
Like ice and snow melting in the scorching sun, it was completely evaporated without leaving a trace of resistance.
"No... impossible!"
Shiki let out a beast-like roar from his throat, but the sound could not escape, completely confined by the silent will space.
He widened his eyes, the corners almost tearing, blood vessels spreading wildly.
How could this be!
How could there be such a huge gap!
He was Golden Lion Shiki! The man who vied for the throne on the same sea as Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate!
Even when facing the combined efforts of Garp and Sengoku, he had never felt such complete... despair!
Facing this pressure, it was as if he were an ant, looking up at a planet about to crash into the earth, even the thought of escaping seemed absurd.
"I... I am the Golden Lion!"
Shiki roared madly in his heart, his remaining will turning into the last fuel, supporting him from collapsing on the spot.
He tried his best to mobilize every bit of strength in his body to resist the omnipresent pressure.
But that was like trying to hold up a collapsing sky with two hands; there would be no other outcome than his own destruction.
On Kizaru's forehead, a drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Dragon, beside him, also had a solemn expression.
The two exchanged a tacit glance, both seeing a hint of lingering fear, and a hint of... relief, in each other's eyes.
Fortunately, it wasn't them who went to probe.
Fortunately, there was the Golden Lion, a madman whose mind was clouded by the era, willing to crash into this bottomless iron plate.
"This monster..." Kizaru muttered to himself, realizing for the first time that the Marineford Fleet Admiral's assessment of the man before him was still too conservative.
The Fleet Admiral is truly wise and mighty.
High above, the Golden Lion realized that in a pure clash of Haoshoku, he had lost, completely and utterly.
"Since will isn't enough..."
"Then I'll use these two swords to cut you, and your will, into pieces!!!"
The Golden Lion's eyes were bloodshot, giving up meaningless resistance, pouring all his strength into his two legs—the legendary famous swords, "Sakura-ju" and "Kogarasu"!
Buzz—!
Golden sword energy, mixed with pitch-black Armament Haki, furiously condensed on the two famous swords!
This was his last dignity as a great swordsman!
"Lion: Thousand Slashes!!!"
He suddenly pushed off, his body tracing a bizarre arc in the air, his twin swords crossing, unleashing two massive golden slashes that blotted out the sky!
The slashes were not mere sword energy; they twisted and coiled like two ferocious golden angry dragons, tearing through everything in their path, spiraling towards White Night's location!
This was his long-famous ultimate technique, capable of easily splitting an island!
However, facing this world-destroying strike.
White Night didn't even change his posture.
What strong willpower, worthy of a great pirate who once dominated the seas.
The brave are angry and draw their swords against the stronger; the timid are angry and draw their swords against the weaker.
White Night's gaze held a hint of admiration.
He merely casually pushed forward his right hand, in whose palm a dark Uzumaki was swirling.
"Release."
Boom!
That small dark Uzumaki, as if receiving some command, instantly expanded!
A giant pitch-black sphere, over a hundred meters in diameter, appeared out of thin air, engulfing everything in front of White Night.
Light, air, matter, everything, was silently twisted, pulled, and devoured as it approached it.
Two roaring golden sword energy dragons plunged into this darkness.
There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected.
No fierce collision of sword energy and darkness.
That terrifying slash, capable of splitting mountains and islands, upon touching the dark sphere, was like a pebble thrown into the deep sea; it failed to even stir a ripple before being completely swallowed and vanishing without a trace.
High above, the fanaticism and greed on Golden Lion Shiki's face finally froze completely, replaced by a deep shock originating from the depths of his soul!
"This... this is..."
His lips trembled, every word squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Does the Dark-Dark Fruit have such an ability?!"
As a legend who contended with Roger and Whitebeard, how could he not understand this Logia Devil Fruit, hailed as the "most evil in Devil Fruit history"!
But did the Dark-Dark Fruit have such powerful abilities?
He had also seen users of this Fruit, but the power they displayed was like the difference between a firefly and a bright moon compared to this youngster!
Devouring sword energy?
What a joke!
Shiki's slashes were the swords of a conqueror, capable of splitting an island in two!
And this could devour them!
You might as well call it the Devour-Devour Fruit!
Hey!
White Night raised a finger, suddenly thinking of a move.
Don't tell me!
"You really did remind me."
High above, Golden Lion Shiki heard this, and the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger.
Remind? Remind him of what?
He hadn't had time to figure it out.
On the reef, White Night had slowly brought his palms together.
A simple gesture.
Yet it made Garp, Kizaru, and Dragon's hair stand on end at the same time!
They felt the terrifying energy contained between White Night's hands, constantly compressing!
Observation Haki frantically warned them; if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would have thought their Observation Haki premonition was out of control.
Under the gaze of these three world-class powerhouses.
White Night slowly pulled apart his clasped hands.
A fist-sized, pitch-black sphere, as if capable of devouring even light, floated silently between his palms.
The black sphere had no energy leakage, yet it emitted an indescribable gravitational pull.
The surrounding air, light, and even space were collapsing and twisting towards that small black sphere.
As if it wasn't a sphere, but a... black hole, being born!
"You..."
Ten thousand meters above, Golden Lion Shiki only managed to utter a single syllable of shock.
White Night had already raised his eyelids, looking at him calmly.
"I'll send you to the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun."
Before he finished speaking, he flicked his finger.
Whoosh—!
That small black sphere transformed into a stream of light, appearing instantly ten thousand meters high, directly above Golden Lion Shiki's floating island, in a bizarre way that seemed slow but actually ignored spatial distance!
Then, White Night's voice, like a divine decree, echoed leisurely in this silent world.
"Dark Release: Chibaku Tensei!"
Buzz—!!!!!!