"Jihahahaha! Jihahahaha!"
When Aeridar finished laughing, Shiki burst into his own loud laughter. He looked at Aeridar with undisguised admiration. "So modern science can do that now? You're a clever one, kid! You've got guts! Take my ability; I'll be watching you from below, watching to see just how far you can go."
Shiki understood what Aeridar meant. A man with high-speed flight and teleportation was already in an unassailable position. If he added the power of the Float-Float Fruit and moved his base of operations into the sky, his Chris Pirates would truly be invincible. No one could threaten them, not even the World Government.
"Sigh."
Aeridar suddenly sighed, a look of regret on his face. "Actually, besides the Float-Float Fruit, I had many other options. I was originally more inclined to work with you, Shiki-san. If we had partnered up back then, I might have even found a way to restore your body. It's a real shame you chose the wrong person to work with."
Shiki gave Aeridar a long, meaningful look. "Kid, there's no right or wrong choice. There's only whether or not you have the power to make it happen."
"Even at death's door, you're teaching me a lesson. Those are truly words of wisdom," Aeridar said, full of emotion. The Golden Lion was right. A "wrong choice" was just an excuse for a lack of power to see it through.
"Jihahahaha! Kid, if you get the chance, do me a favor and give those five old geezers in the World Government a good thrashing! Jihahahaha!" Shiki grinned, his white teeth bared, laughing wildly.
"My goal is to be the 'strongest' and achieve 'immortality.' As for those five old geezers in the World Government, I'll deal with them sooner or later!" a fanatical glint appeared in Aeridar's eyes, and he spoke with a sinister tone.
"Jihahahaha! Go on, then!" Shiki laughed and looked at Aeridar with a fearless expression.
Aeridar walked silently to Shiki and pulled a delicate-looking flintlock pistol from his waist.
Click.
Aeridar flicked off the safety, aimed at Shiki's chest, and quietly said, "Well, so long."
Bang!
A loud gunshot rang out. A flash of fire erupted from the barrel, and the thick smell of gunpowder filled the air. A splash of blood burst from Shiki's chest as the powerful bullet instantly pierced his heart.
"So I... lost to a man from the East Blue again!"
Countless images flashed through his mind. With a mix of relief and regret, Shiki slowly closed his eyes.
On April 25, 1519, at 10:11 AM, the legendary Flying Pirate, Pirate Admiral, Lion-Ghost, Golden Lion Shiki died. He died at the hand of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Golden Ring Chris T. Aeridar, or rather, at the hand of a man from another world.
The once mighty pirate who brought countless legends and terror to the seas had finally reached the end of his life.
A moment later, an invisible ripple spread through the room. In a corner, in a box of white pears, a single pear on the top—the one seemingly closest to Shiki's body—began to change. It developed a helix-like spiral pattern on its surface, and its color shifted to sky blue.
Seeing Shiki's death, Aeridar stood in silence for a dozen seconds before turning to search through the piles of fruit.
Soon, he found it in the corner, on top of the box of white pears: a sky-blue Devil Fruit with the shape of a pear.
"Sky blue... representing the sky, eh? Heh heh heh heh..." Aeridar picked up the newly formed Devil Fruit. He knew at a glance that it was the Float-Float Fruit he had desired.
"Now all I have to do is wait for Dalt to perfect the technology."
Aeridar looked at the Float-Float Fruit in his hand, the joy of his victory washing away the complicated feelings brought on by Shiki's death. He toyed with it for a bit before placing it in an elegant small box, which he then locked. He knew he had to personally guard such a precious item.
Aeridar and Doflamingo had won a great victory. Their side suffered casualties of barely a quarter of their forces, and they had completely annihilated the Garfield Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates. Among their officers, only Enel, Ward, Gladius, and Dellinger had suffered serious injuries.
However, a closer look revealed that all four of them were injured by the Garfield Pirates' Eighth Island Ruler, the 'Pale Lady,' Elsa Katrina. This greatly surprised both Aeridar and Doflamingo. They never expected there to be such a strong person within the Garfield Pirates.
Aeridar had learned a little about her from Ward, but he didn't expect the woman to be so powerful when she went all out, taking down three strong fighters from the Chris Pirates and the Donquixote Family in a row.
If Enel hadn't arrived just in time, they would have suffered a great loss. Even Enel, a person with a bounty of at least 500 million, was almost defeated by her. While Enel might have underestimated her, her power was still astounding.
At least they had one gain: Enel had become more obedient than before. He realized that the world was more dangerous than he thought, and it was better to stick with Aeridar.
What's more, Ward revealed some shocking news he got from Elsa Katrina: her strange condition was somehow related to the World Government, a result of some kind of experiment.
After seeing Elsa Katrina's charred corpse, Aeridar and Doflamingo walked silently out of the temporary morgue in Fort Respler.
"Fufufufufu! That state she was in reminds me of one of the World Government's experiments," Doflamingo said with a bizarre laugh as they walked.
Doflamingo had a very wide network of connections, and because of his status as a Celestial Dragon, he even knew about the Marines' Pacifista Project. He was familiar with many of the World Government and Marine's top-secret experiments, including failed human gigantification experiments and biological weapon experiments.
"Oh, what kind of experiment?" Aeridar asked, intrigued.
An experiment that could give a woman with a not-very-strong body (she was even weaker than Ward) a power comparable to someone with a 400 or 500 million bounty was a major find. Even the later Cavendish, who had a similar dual personality, couldn't match her. How could Aeridar not be interested in such an experiment?
Science changes destinies and can also grant power. Aeridar's hidden trump card was a product of science. Then there are the androids from the Dragon Ball universe, like Android 16, 17, and 18, and Cell, all products of science. Even Majin Buu was created, though his creation method was magic, a different kind of science.
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