"Donquixote Doflamingo, huh… And the String-String Fruit, awakened, no less. A decent ability." Golden Lion Shiki glanced down at Doflamingo's feet, immediately seeing the function of his "Sky Path."
"Fufufufufu! It's an honor to meet you, the legendary Flying Pirate, Pirate Admiral, Shiki-san! Fufufufufu!" Doflamingo pulled at the corner of his mouth, a smile that couldn't quite reach his eyes.
To be honest, Doflamingo was genuinely spooked and terrified. He wasn't even sure he could beat Caesar alone. Now, with the addition of a living legend, the infamous Flying Pirate, he was worried he might not get out of this alive. After all, he had already fully experienced the horrifying power of Redfield, who was Shiki's equal. Even with a combined assault from so many powerful individuals, he was nearly killed. Now, with only himself and the unseen Aeridar, he was afraid it was a lost cause. He even suspected that Aeridar hadn't shown up because he had recognized the Golden Lion and already fled.
"Hey! Am I... am I seeing things?"
"This is crazy! Why would a legendary figure like him show up here?"
"No way, this has to be a dream!"
"We're gonna die! We're all gonna die!"
At this moment, the pirates and underworld mercenaries on the battlefield recognized the identity of the Golden Lion Shiki.
"That name... Donquixote... It has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?" Shiki looked directly at Doflamingo, his words full of meaning.
Doflamingo's eyes widened, his pupils suddenly contracting.
"Hey, hey, hey, Doffy, this is just pathetic. I don't remember you looking like this when you met Redfield!"
Suddenly, a playful voice came from the air. Everyone looked up to see Aeridar, his arms crossed, slowly descending from the sky just as Shiki had done.
"That man is... Golden Ring Aeridar!" Caesar immediately recognized him, having seen pictures even though he had never met him in person.
"Ae-ri-dar!" Shiki gritted his teeth, the name a snarl that seemed to carry an infuriated hatred.
"Fufufufufu... Aeridar, this is a completely different situation." Doflamingo looked at Aeridar in surprise, not expecting him to have stuck around. He also glanced at Shiki, confused by the hatred in his voice.
"Well, Golden Lion-san, we meet again." Aeridar spread his hands and laughed playfully. "Honestly, I never expected a bigshot like you to be in such a state."
So what if he was the Golden Lion? If he were in his prime, Aeridar might have been intimidated, but now, with his power severely diminished, Aeridar was confident he wouldn't lose.
"Jihahahahaha! Our last meeting left a lasting impression, didn't it?" Shiki's face darkened, his laugh cold and sharp.
"It looks like you two have been plotting against me for a while. If I hadn't brought Shiki-san here, I really would have been finished." Caesar said, his gaze fixed on Aeridar.
"Can't be helped. You were in the way," Aeridar replied with a smirk.
"Hmph! You're a real bastard," Caesar scoffed, then fell silent.
"Doffy, I'm leaving this glass-head bastard to you," Aeridar said, turning to him.
"Alright, no problem with that, but..." Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, hesitating. "Are you sure you can handle him?"
It wasn't that Doflamingo doubted Aeridar's power, but Redfield's terrifying strength had truly frightened him. And now, someone even more notorious had arrived—the Golden Lion, a man who nearly became the Pirate King and one of the three legendary pirates.
"Don't put him on such a pedestal, Doffy. See the ship's rudder stuck in his head and the swords for his feet?" Aeridar said, giving Shiki a long, appraising look. "This man's power has seriously declined. The rudder in his head has stripped him of his Conqueror's Haki and even affected his Observation Haki. His swordsmanship, which he uses with his feet, is much weaker than it used to be."
"Wha—"
Upon hearing Aeridar's words, Doflamingo and Caesar stared at Shiki in shock. They never would have guessed that the great Golden Lion Shiki was in such a state.
"Fufufufufu... I see!" Doflamingo knew Aeridar wouldn't lie about something like this, and a look of pure delight spread across his face.
"Shiki-san," Caesar said, looking at Shiki. He didn't know if Aeridar was telling the truth, but his heart was still pounding.
With his secret exposed, Shiki's face turned grim, his eyes growing colder, but he simply laughed. "Jihahahahaha! I am the Golden Lion!"
BOOM!
A tremendous, overwhelming pressure surged from Shiki, like a tidal wave, making Aeridar, Doflamingo, and Caesar all struggle to breathe.
"I will kill you today! Let's take this fight to the sky!" Shiki snarled, then shot up into the air.
At the same time, a dozen smaller ships full of pirates flew from the main island ship and landed on the battlefield below.
"Charge!"
"For Captain Shiki!"
"Kill those bastards from the Chris Pirates!"
"The smell of blood! All of you, die!"
Each ship was about thirty to forty meters long and seven or eight meters high, carrying around two hundred people. The battlefield was suddenly flooded with over two thousand elite pirates.
"Hohohoho! What a show of force! But an old man is still an old man. Even a legend must eventually take his final bow." Aeridar grinned viciously and flew up into the sky.
"Let me help you with your curtain call!"
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's Office.
Bang!
"What did you say?! The Golden Lion is on Aznat?!" Sengoku grabbed the Den Den Mushi and stood up abruptly, his face a mix of shock and disbelief.
"Is the information confirmed?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it is. Our intelligence officers on the battlefield have even taken pictures." The Den Den Mushi's expression was just as shocked.
"Send me the photos!" Sengoku practically yelled.
Soon, a larger Den Den Mushi next to him spit out a photograph. Sengoku quickly snatched it up. The picture showed a golden-haired man standing in the air, a ship's rudder in his head and swords for feet. Sengoku instantly recognized the Golden Lion.
"Why? We've been looking for him for over a decade, and he just shows up there?!" Sengoku's mouth felt dry. Since the Golden Lion's escape, both the Marines' intelligence agents and the World Government's CP agents had been frantically searching for his whereabouts. But a man with the Float-Float Fruit should be impossible to find if he wants to hide. So why would he suddenly appear on Aznat Island after all this time?
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