After the sixteenth consecutive Hakoku Sovereignty struck—
Shiki finally felt it.
His body grew unbearably heavy.
Each breath became torture.
Blood poured uncontrollably from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears—
the terrifying phenomenon known as bleeding from the seven apertures.
His internal organs were already on the verge of collapse.
If not for his physique—one that far surpassed ordinary humans—
his organs would have burst like fragile balloons under the relentless pressure of sixteen overlapping Hakoku Sovereignties.
Shiki was still holding on.
But the steering wheel embedded in his skull—
could not.
That object had been lodged in his head for nearly twenty years.
It was nothing more than ordinary metal, worn down by time.
And now—
it had reached its limit.
Cracks spread rapidly.
Then—
CRACK!
Like shattered glass, the steering wheel exploded into countless fragments.
A violent jet of blood shot outward, forcibly ejecting the object that had imprisoned Shiki's mind for two decades.
At that moment—
a legend reached its end.
Unless a user of the Op-Op Fruit appeared immediately—
even if Shiki somehow survived this battle, death was inevitable.
BOOM!
But Shiki refused to accept it.
The instant the steering wheel was torn free, unbearable pain surged through his skull—
and yet—
for the first time in twenty years—
his mind became clear.
The Conqueror's Haki that had vanished long ago—
was never gone.
It had been sealed.
Blocked.
Crushed beneath that wheel.
And now—
it erupted.
An incomparably violent Conqueror's Haki burst forth from Shiki's body.
Dark-red lightning tore through the sky, its pressure overwhelming, its presence tyrannical.
This was not ordinary Conqueror's Haki.
It carried power from an entirely different dimension.
An invisible barrier formed—
forcibly separating the sixteen Hakoku Sovereignties that had imprisoned him.
El's ability to read intent screamed in warning.
His expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation—
he vanished.
Retreating at full speed.
The very next second—
Shiki finally broke free.
Raising his left prosthetic sword, Kogarashi, he slashed toward El.
Dark-red lightning wrapped around the blade—
and with it—
a Conqueror-Coated Flying Slash (Tobu Zangeki) was unleashed.
The slash stood nearly two hundred meters tall.
Like the scythe of a death god, it screamed through the sky—
its speed surpassing even El's Hakoku Sovereignty.
If not for El's ability to read intent—
he would have died instantly.
Barely escaping its trajectory, El watched as the slash passed his previous position—
and struck the mountain behind him.
BOOM—!!
The mountain was cleaved cleanly in two.
The slash continued onward—
striking another island—
carving a trench that stretched for dozens of miles before finally dispersing into countless wind blades.
Only after that—
did the dark-red Conqueror's fluctuations slowly fade.
Silence fell.
El stared.
Carina and Kuina—already in Asura Form, observing through radio-wave-amplified Observation Haki—
fell completely silent as well.
This redefined Flying Slashes.
El could destroy mountains.
Whether through Flying Slashes or Hakoku Sovereignty.
But—
he could not yet produce a slash that:
split a mountain
crossed islands
and carved land for miles afterward
This was power from a higher realm.
Shiki hovered weakly in the air.
His aura had collapsed.
That slash—
was his final Conqueror's Coating.
El did not pursue.
Because he knew—
Shiki had already burned everything he had left.
"Jihahahaha…"
Blood still flowed from Shiki's seven apertures as he laughed in admiration.
"Even your Observation Haki can predict the future?
What a terrifying little devil…"
He touched his head.
Looked at the blood on his palm.
Then stared into the distance.
"…Did I really lose to someone from the East Blue again?"
As death approached—
memories resurfaced.
Faces from the Rocks era.
From the age after it.
All flashing through his fading mind.
"I possess an Observation Haki that can read inner thoughts."
El walked forward and spoke calmly.
"A gifted one… like Redfield?"
Shiki looked at El.
There was no bitterness.
No despair.
Only exhilaration.
"You're not just talented.
That physique… at this age… you monsters are unfair."
El nodded, his sword already sheathed.
"Correct.
I was born with abnormal Observation Haki—and a body different from ordinary people."
"Redfield's perception… and Linlin's body…"
Shiki laughed weakly.
"…Then I suppose I have no excuse for losing."
He was like a candle in the wind.
Flickering.
About to go out.
"Boy…"
Shiki spoke again.
"I'll give you my head.
But spare my subordinates."
"This is the last thing I can do… as their captain."
"I will."
El nodded without hesitation.
After a brief pause—
El finally spoke his true purpose.
"I came here for your Devil Fruit, senior.
I have the means to take it."
Shiki froze.
Then—
"JIHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!"
A roar of laughter echoed across the sky.
At the end of it—
he smiled the same smile he once wore facing Roger.
With anticipation burning in his eyes, he looked at El.
"Then take it."
"Take my power."
"And let the sea once again remember—"
"The terror of the Flying Pirates."
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