Shiki turned his head, staring at the mountain of earth in disbelief.
A hand reached out from the mound, and a pure white door manifested on its surface—a portal existing within a four-dimensional space ([4-Dimensional Mansion]). A second later, a flash of white light erupted, and Chrollo stepped out, dragging a trembling Bonney along with him.
Uvogin and Nobunaga, who had been heavily injured within the earth, were nowhere to be seen. Chrollo had already used [Instant Displacement] to swap them with Nami and Machi for emergency medical treatment.
"They were right, you know," Chrollo said, his eyes narrowing slowly. "You've grown old. So old that you've abandoned the very posture of a true powerhouse."
"A true powerhouse is someone people follow out of genuine respect."
"You claim to be the equal of Roger and Whitebeard. But look at them. Roger had Rayleigh and Gaban as his wings, fierce commanders like Douglas Bullet and Oden, and a rising star like Red-Haired Shanks."
"Whitebeard has sixteen division captains, each capable of holding their own against anyone."
"And you? What do you have?" A contemptuous smile touched Chrollo's lips. "All you have left is incompetent rage and the strength to reminisce about your 'glory days.'"
"Golden Lion..." Chrollo's voice was cold and clinical. "You're finished."
Shiki's fury exploded. "YOU BRAT—! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"Did I stutter?" Chrollo looked up, meeting Shiki's gaze with unshakable intensity. "What I see before me isn't a legend who rivaled the King of the Pirates. I don't see the hero who nearly leveled Marineford single-handedly. I see a lonely beast licking its wounds in the dark."
"A real powerhouse wouldn't hide on a floating rock for twenty years just to cook up some mystery drug. A real powerhouse wouldn't need to beg small-fry pirates to join him just to destroy the East Blue."
As Chrollo spoke, Bonney's small frame shook even harder. She gritted her teeth in terror. "Stop... please stop talking... you're going to get us killed..."
Shiki stared at this newcomer, his relaxed posture gone. He could sense immediately that Chrollo was on an entirely different level than the two he had just fought. But he was Shiki. He wasn't about to let some nameless brat talk down to him.
He looked at the blood on Chrollo's clothes and realized where he had been. "You went to the banquet hall? My pirate allies... what did you do to them?"
"Them?" Chrollo acted as if he were thinking. "They're currently lining up at the gates of hell for their next reincarnation."
"You killed them all?!" Shiki's rage peaked, then suddenly vanished into a chilling calm. "Fine. They were just pawns anyway. You're right, kid... I'm all I need."
Shiki spread his arms. "I alone am enough to flip the East Blue upside down. I will prove to the world that a man like Roger doesn't get caught by the Marines! I'll make the entire East Blue... his funeral pyre!"
"And I'll start with you—"
"Lion's Threat: Heavenly Fall!"
With a violent upward thrust of Shiki's hands, a smaller nearby island was uprooted and flipped over, rocketing toward Chrollo's position. The sky and sea seemed to trade places. The island descended like a gargantuan meteorite, friction with the air igniting it into a blazing inferno with a trail of white-hot fire.
Thunder rolled. Before the island even hit, the atmospheric pressure was so immense that trees, rocks, and the very air itself were crushed into the ground. A shockwave of dust and debris exploded outward from the target zone, leveling everything for miles.
"Perfect," Chrollo's eyes burned with excitement. Finally, an opponent worthy of his full strength.
Bonney collapsed to the ground, her eyes glazed with despair. "This is the power of a legend... This has to be cheating. There's no way we can fight this."
"Correct your thinking, Bonney," Chrollo said without looking back. "This isn't the 'peak' of the ocean's power. There are things far scarier than this."
"And it's not 'cheating.' Haven't you heard? Only Haki transcends all. In a one-on-one fight, no gimmick can stand against pure Haki."
"One last thing..." Chrollo turned his head back toward her. "He's not the only monster here."
Chrollo's grin was feral. "How do you think I wiped out everyone on the original Black Whale...?"
"I'm the real monster here."
Chrollo placed his hand on Bonney's shoulder.
Poof.
Pink light flashed. Adult Bonney reverted to a toddler, and Chrollo instantly extracted the [Age-Age Fruit] ability.
> [Plunder: Hidden Clause]
> Any ability stolen once becomes a permanent part of the Host's collection, accessible for use at any time.
He used [Instant Displacement] to warp the child Bonney back to the safety of the Troupe. Then, he touched his own chest.
Vrumm—
His body began to age at a visible rate. One year... two years... three years...
[Age-Age Fruit: Distorted Future]
> By accessing a 'potential future' in the flow of probability, the user can temporarily manifest that physical state as current reality.
In the original timeline, Bonney used this to manifest a future where she had the powers of Nika. Chrollo hadn't developed the fruit to that insane level yet, but he could accelerate his own timeline.
Under the influence of [Bandit's Secret], three years of growth was enough to turn Chrollo into an unthinkable nightmare. While his number of abilities didn't change, his base stats reached a horrifying ceiling.
### Current Stats: Chrollo (Peak Evolution)
---
Strength: (S)
Agility: (S)
Intelligence: (S)
Stamina: (S)
Armament Haki: Top-tier
Aura (Nen): units
---
His Armament Haki had reached the absolute peak of mastery. Feeling the tectonic power surging through his veins, Chrollo let out a low, predatory chuckle.
"Well... I only have ten minutes."
He looked up at the descending island and the Golden Lion behind it.
"But ten minutes... is more than enough."
---
The final showdown has begun!