"A bunch of damned brats!"
"I am the Golden Lion!"
"Slash Wave!"
Surrounded and slashed at by Hammer and his squad, Shiki had never felt such rage.
With a swing of his two famed swords, Oto and Kogarashi, he unleashed massive slashes that forced the three attackers back.
But the next second, an annoyingly sleazy voice suddenly whispered right by his ear:
"Excuse me, Golden Lion… have you ever been kicked by light?"
"Light Speed~~ Kick!"
Brilliant golden light gathered into a human shape, and a glowing right leg swept straight into Golden Lion's waist.
"Damn it!"
"Lion Roa-ugh!"
When it comes to raw power, Whitebeard was second to none on these seas.
But if you were talking about speed, no one could beat the man standing here now.
The man who ate the Glint-Glint Fruit… er, no, the creepy guy who ate the Glint-Glint Fruit!
One of the Marine's rising stars, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Borsalino, known to the world as Kizaru the Yellow Monkey
Thanks to the natural advantage of his Logia-type fruit, Borsalino made it here from Punk Hazard in just a few minutes.
Of course, it helped that Hammer's location wasn't far from Punk Hazard to begin with.
His surprise attack caught Golden Lion completely off guard. His leg slammed squarely into Shiki's side.
Gritting his teeth, Shiki hurled himself backward, putting distance between them.
"Monkey Bro, you sure took your sweet time."
Hammer stepped out with a Moonwalk, steadying himself midair.
"Well now, I really did come at top speed, Hammer-kun… you should appreciate that, you know~?"
Borsalino shrugged helplessly. He really had rushed as fast as possible.
"Focus on the fight. That old lion's not so easy to handle."
The group's eyes all turned back to the hovering Golden Lion above them.
"Old man, that ship's wheel in your head must be messing you up!"
"Your performance is way worse than Whitebeard's, you know!"
When it came to taunting, Hammer was second to none.
Sure enough, the moment Golden Lion heard "ship's wheel", his face darkened like a storm cloud.
That damn rudder stuck in his head had crippled part of his strength. If he pulled it out, he'd risk his life, but leaving it there also weakened him.
His Conqueror's Haki… because of that thing, Shiki could no longer use his Conqueror's Haki.
Otherwise, he'd have unleashed it long ago.
"Damn it!"
"I don't care how many of you there are. Today you all die!"
"Lion Menace: Wind Coiling!"
Furious beyond reason, Shiki struck with even more vicious power.
The floating island above him cracked apart, sending huge chunks of rock and dust turning the sky yellow.
"Geez, Hammer-kun, did you really have to piss him off?"
"Don't pin this on me, Monkey Bro, even if I didn't taunt him, he wouldn't spare me anyway! Now get moving!"
"Don't let that rubble fall, my ship's still down there!"
Borsalino pushed up his sunglasses. The next moment, his whole body shone with blinding gold.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless dazzling light bullets shot from Borsalino's hand, blasting upward at the falling debris.
Boom!
Under Kizaru's full assault, the rubble was pulverized into dust in an instant.
"Attack!"
"Don't give him a chance to strike back!"
Hammer gripped his air hammer and charged for Shiki again.
Momonga and the others followed right after.
"Thousand Slashes!"
Of course, Shiki wouldn't just let them close in; dozens of slashes rained down instantly.
"Oh come on, give it a rest!"
"Air Hammer!"
With the Air Hammer's sheer power, Hammer forcefully blocked the falling slashes, but it halted his charge too.
"Momonga! Didn't you say you wanted to try being the Hammer King?"
"I'll give you your shot!"
"Lance, Yamanakaji, cover us!"
Momonga had just parried a slash when he heard Hammer's words, and his eyes instantly lit up with excitement.
Lance and Yamanakaji exchanged a quick nod, then leapt forward to help block Shiki's slashes.
His sniper instantly shifted into a machine gun; each large-caliber bullet shattered a slash on impact, but it ate up huge amounts of Lance's Armament Haki.
Hammer spread his arms wide and roared:
"Oath Hammer!"
Taking advantage of the brief gap, Hammer transformed into the Oath Hammer.
Momonga reached out, and the hammer fell into his grasp.
The energy of the Hammer-Hammer Fruit flooded into Momonga's body.
"So this is the Hammer-Hammer Fruit? Feels great!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Quit laughing your damn head off, just smash him already!"
Hammer grumbled, but Momonga didn't care at all. He was hyped.
"Golden Lion! Here I come!"
Golden Lion glanced at Momonga in disdain.
"A mere Rear Admiral dares?"
"…Huh? Where's that bastard Hammer?!"
Suddenly, Golden Lion realized he'd lost sight of Hammer. He immediately activated his Observation Haki to find him.
"How?! He can't just disappear!"
He didn't notice the black-silver hammer now in Momonga's hand.
"I'll boost you with my Devil Fruit, charge, Momonga!"
Hammer activated the Hammer-Hammer Fruit, firing shockwaves from Momonga's feet,
instantly doubling Momonga's speed.
"Whoa!"
"Shiki! EAT THIS!"
"Heavy Hammer Spark!"
In a blink, Momonga was right in front of Shiki.
The Oath Hammer swung wide, crashing down toward Shiki's head.
A massive inferno burst out, turning the yellow sky red with flame.
"That bastard's ability, impossible!"
Shiki scrambled to summon more lion heads to shield himself, but the hammer's firepower was on a whole new level.
The lion heads couldn't withstand it; they were instantly engulfed in flames.
"Slash Wave!"
Out of options, Shiki was forced to split the flames apart with another slash.
But Momonga's hammer was already on him again.
"Hammering of the Soul!"
"Hammer Space!"
Two different hammer attacks slammed in at once.
In an instant, Shiki felt the space around him twist, an invisible force wrapped around him as countless hammer blows crashed in from every side.
At the same time, a strike slammed straight into his mind like a gong.
"Damn it! Armament! Hardening!"
Biting his tongue to stay conscious, Shiki coated himself in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Duang!
Duang!
Hammers rained down in the Hammer Space, each impact thudding against his hardened Haki.
"Don't stop, Momonga! Keep going!"
"Lance! Yamanakaji! Monkey Bro!"
Hammer knew that just this level wouldn't finish Shiki. He shouted to remind Momonga and called to the others.
Bang!
Barrett spat out another bullet.
"Amaterasu!"
A searing golden beam shot into the sky.
"One Sword Style: Mountain Splitter!"
A heavy flying slash howled through the air.
Three people, three attacks, all targeting the Golden Lion.