High above the Edd War Sea, dark clouds churned as violent winds howled through the sky.
Golden Lion Shiki's Flying Pirates Grand Fleet descended like an encroaching storm front. Warships spread out in a wide fan formation, sealing every escape route and completely encircling the Oro Jackson, which had sailed straight into a meticulously prepared pocket trap along its course.
Cannons bristled coldly from every direction. At least thirty different New World pirate flags snapped and roared in the gale, their presence saturating the sea with a suffocating, murderous pressure.
On the deck of the flagship Flying Lion, Shiki stood tall. His wild, golden mane-like hair whipped violently in the wind. A cigar clenched between his teeth, he split his face into a feral grin and roared like thunder:
"ROGER!!!"
At the bow of the Oro Jackson, Gol D. Roger stood with his arms crossed, gazing calmly at his old rival.
Behind him, Rayleigh, Gaban, and Bullet stood ready, their auras taut and dangerous. Shanks and Buggy gripped their weapons tightly, faces pale with tension.
"Oh! Long time no see, Shiki!" Roger laughed heartily, then continued,"What's this? You brought so many people just to welcome me?"
As he glanced over the overwhelming formation, a flicker of caution passed through his eyes.
"This isn't just an interception—you've mobilized everything, haven't you?"
"Heh heh heh!"Shiki let out a cold laugh. Spreading his arms wide, his wooden sandals planted on the rail, he looked down at Roger from above with domineering arrogance.
"Roger! Don't play dumb!""I'll give you one last chance…"
"Join me. Become my right-hand man."
His voice detonated like a thunderclap, shaking the sea itself into rolling waves.
"With your strength—and your knowledge of those ancient weapons—combined with my fleet, if we join forces…""The entire world will be ours!!"
Shiki's words echoed across the battlefield.
Roger's grin slowly faded, replaced by a hard, razor-sharp calm.
He lifted his head, eyes burning."Shiki… sorry about that."
The next instant, his voice rose, overwhelming and absolute.
"I'm rejecting you again!""Because I have zero interest in ruling the world!!"
Hearing Roger refuse him even now, Shiki ground his teeth, his tone turning icy.
"Roger, do you even understand the situation you're in right now?!"
"I do."
"And knowing that… you still refuse me?"
"Because I know," Roger replied solemnly, taking a step forward, his grip tightening around Ace,"I don't want to kill you here.""Shiki!!!"
"Kill me?"Shiki's eyes darkened instantly, a savage grin tearing across his face.
"HAHAHAHA!""So what you're saying is—"You could kill me anytime you want, Roger?!"
Before the words had even finished—
BOOM!!!
Two overwhelming waves of Conqueror's Haki collided head-on!
Roger's dark crimson Haki surged outward like a raging tide, while Shiki's roared like a furious lion unleashed!
In an instant, the sky itself was torn apart. Black clouds twisted violently as thunder exploded!
The Oro Jackson and the Flying Lion rocked violently. Crew members clutched anything they could grab; weaker fighters collapsed unconscious on the spot!
"ATTACK!!!" Shiki bellowed, drawing Kogarashi and Sakura Ten, pointing them forward.
"KILL THEM!!!"
The Flying Pirates charged with bloodcurdling roars. Cannons fired in unison as blades flashed and clashed!
In a single bound, Roger launched himself forward, Ace coated in roaring Haki, aiming straight for Shiki.
"DIVINE DEPARTURE!!!"
Shiki snarled, Haki wrapping around his twin blades as his Float-Float Fruit activated, lifting him into the air.
"Lion—Chikiri Valley!!!"
Countless golden slashes poured down like a storm, colliding violently with Roger's blade!
BOOOOOM!!!
The sea erupted. Towering waves surged skyward.
The battle between two legends had officially begun.
...
Above the Edd War Sea, the sky had been forcibly ripped open by clashing Conqueror's Haki, sunlight spearing down through a massive裂口, scattering fractured light across the water below.
On the deck of the reconnaissance ship, Gern Reginald Sigmar and Borsalino stood atop the observation tower, watching from afar as a confrontation worthy of history unfolded.
"Roger's Conqueror's Haki is as outrageous as ever…"Gern narrowed his eyes."No wonder he reached the summit through Haki alone."
Even from several nautical miles away, the pressure stabbed into his skin like needles.
"Yaa~ scary~"Borsalino pushed up his sunglasses, cold sweat beading on his forehead even as his trademark lazy smile remained."So this is the power of a 'legend'? How terrifying~"
On the sea, Roger and Shiki had become streaks of light. Every collision triggered earth-shattering explosions.
Ace crackled with dark crimson lightning, each of Roger's swings carrying the force to split the heavens.
Shiki's twin swords moved like a lion's claws, golden slashes crisscrossing and carving the sea into shattered fragments.
BANG!!
Another clash—A ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward, forcibly compressing the sea within a kilometer into a massive depression. The exposed seabed cracked like a spiderweb.
"So this is…"Gern's pupils shrank as his fingers unconsciously tightened around the hilt of Black Blade: Eight Desolations."A true battle between kings?"
This was nothing like his previous encounter with Roger.
Now, Roger was holding nothing back. Every strike carried absolute destruction.
Gern suddenly realized—
Back then, even one of these blows would have crushed him outright.
And yet Golden Lion was handling them head-on.
"The gap…"Gern muttered hoarsely."It's… this big…"
A heavy weight seemed to press against his chest.
"Hey, hey—don't zone out now."Borsalino suddenly patted his shoulder and pointed."Look over there."
Following his finger, Gern saw Rayleigh being surrounded by three high-ranking Flying Pirates officers.
One was covered in steel-like scales.Another had arms transformed into massive cannon barrels.The third hovered in midair, jet-black wings spread wide behind him.
"Those are… 'Iron-Scale' Grut, 'Gunner' Ballest, and 'Black Wing' Morris?"Gern recognized the infamous New World pirates instantly."All monsters with bounties over a billion…"
"Not just them~"Borsalino whistled lightly."Look at Gaban."
Gaban was swinging his twin axes against a colossal fish-man.
Dark blue scales armored the fish-man's body, tusks jutting outward. Every punch he threw raised monstrous waves.
"'Deep-Sea Tyrant' Dogg…"Gern's brow furrowed deeper."Former Royal Guard Captain of Fish-Man Island. Bounty—730 million."
"The Flying Pirates really dragged out their entire war chest…"
The situation was dire for the Roger Pirates.
Even with Rayleigh and Gaban's overwhelming strength, the sheer numerical advantage of the Flying Pirates was crushing.
Almost every Roger Pirates member was fighting multiple enemies at once.
Bullet was surrounded by five officers—his monstrous body beginning to show signs of fatigue.
Young Shanks and Buggy fought back-to-back, blood already staining their bodies.
Even Crocus, the ship's doctor, had taken up a trident and joined the fight.
"The Roger Pirates…"Borsalino said quietly, unusually serious."They're going to lose."
Gern turned sharply."Why? Roger and Shiki are still evenly—"
"Because war isn't a duel, Gern."Borsalino cut him off, his gaze sharp behind the lenses."Roger might match Shiki, but his crew won't last much longer."
As if to prove his point, a scream echoed across the sea.
One of the Roger Pirates was struck head-on by a shell from "Gunner" Ballest.
"The first," Borsalino murmured.
Then the second.The third.
One by one, Roger's crewmates fell, blood staining the deck of the Oro Jackson.
"BASTARDS!!!"Roger roared, trying to rush back—only to be firmly entangled by Shiki.
"HAHAHAHA!"Shiki laughed wildly, twin swords dancing in blinding gold."Now do you understand the price of rejecting me, Roger?!"
Roger's eyes turned glacial.
The Haki around Ace surged violently.
"Shiki…""You're dead!!!"
"DIVINE DEPARTURE!!!"
The dark crimson slash tore through heaven and sea.
Shiki blocked in haste—
And was sent flying hundreds of meters, crashing straight through the hull of his own flagship, the Flying Lion, and into its inner decks.