After Golden Lion Shiki departed, Dr. Indigo immediately dispatched messengers to summon Don Krieg and Kuro.
When the messenger located Kuro, he was quietly reading in his quarters. Upon hearing the reason for his summons, Kuro maintained a neutral expression and dutifully followed the messenger to the surveillance room where Dr. Indigo awaited.
En route, Kuro encountered Don Krieg, who had likewise been summoned. Seizing a moment when their escort was distracted, Krieg exchanged a meaningful glance with Kuro, subtly tilting his head toward the palace square.
Following Krieg's signal, Kuro peered through the corridor window and observed numerous heavily armed pirates rushing from the palace. They gathered in the square below, boarding a massive vessel composed entirely of rock and soil under Golden Lion Shiki's direct command.
Witnessing this development, Kuro adjusted his glasses, a barely perceptible smile flickering across his features.
The two men proceeded to the surveillance room, where Dr. Indigo paced anxiously, desperately contemplating solutions to the poison gas crisis. Upon their arrival, he immediately demanded: "Quick! Tell me everything about William's poison gas!"
His tone carried unmistakable frustration: "Had you properly briefed Shiki about these weapons earlier, we wouldn't be in such a vulnerable position now!"
While Kuro remained tactfully silent, Krieg responded with characteristic insolence: "We mentioned it before. If his arrogance prevented him from taking it seriously, who's truly at fault?"
Dr. Indigo's expression darkened. Krieg's current demeanor contrasted starkly with the servility he displayed in Shiki's presence. Throughout Merveille, only Shiki himself commanded Krieg's genuine respect—with the pirate lord absent, expecting Krieg to maintain any pretense of deference was futile.
Kuro, ever the strategist, intervened to defuse the brewing confrontation: "Having just arrived, we lack context regarding recent developments. Perhaps you could brief us on the current situation?"
Dr. Indigo shot Krieg a withering glare before summarizing events.
He explained how William had led an airship fleet to Merveille, openly challenging Shiki through the Transponder Snail surveillance network. William had simultaneously deployed airships to neighboring islands, releasing poison gas bombs that forced Shiki to take immediate action. Upon hearing this account, Kuro and Krieg exchanged a brief, knowing glance.
"Captain Shiki personally departed to confront William?" Kuro inquired with calculated nonchalance.
When Dr. Indigo confirmed this, Kuro maintained his impassive exterior while inwardly sneering. Krieg proved less adept at concealing his satisfaction, the corner of his mouth betraying a momentary upward twitch.
The longer they observed Shiki, the more clearly they recognized the truth behind the legendary pirate's fading glory. His current state could be aptly described as a hollow shell of former greatness—imposing from a distance but fundamentally compromised.
Shiki embodied the archetype of a tyrannical leader who would execute subordinates for trivial transgressions and a cold-blooded captain who abandoned crew members at the first sign of trouble.
Though he once commanded vast numbers, unlike Whitebeard Edward Newgate, who united his "sons" through bonds of family and honor, Shiki's followers never developed genuine loyalty. They remained at his side purely through fear of his violence and authority.
This became painfully evident when Shiki, in a moment of impulsive rage, attacked Marine Headquarters alone and subsequently found himself imprisoned in Impel Down. During his two-year incarceration, not a single subordinate attempted a rescue. Ultimately, Shiki secured his freedom only by severing his own legs.
During his imprisonment, his once-formidable empire had crumbled. Former subordinates either perished or scattered, leaving his power base in ruins.
Shiki likely recognized this vulnerability. After escaping Impel Down at his weakest, he avoided seeking out his former crew—perhaps fearing his diminished intimidation factor would fail to command their loyalty or, worse, invite betrayal. Instead, he brought only Dr. Indigo and a skeleton crew to Merveille, establishing foundations for his plans while intending to reconsolidate his forces only after successfully cultivating the IQ plant.
Consequently, despite his legendary status—once considered an equal to the Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard—Shiki now commanded a pitifully inadequate force. Among his subordinates, virtually none qualified as top-tier combatants. Even the veterans he had summoned to the East Blue were impressive only by that sea's modest standards.
In truth, the sole formidable figure in Shiki's organization remained Shiki himself.
Yet even Shiki had fallen far from his prime. Every life experiences peaks and valleys—if Shiki reached his zenith before the Battle of Edd War, then his defeat marked the beginning of his decline.
The ship's wheel embedded in his skull posed a constant life-threatening condition. His injuries from Impel Down further compounded his deterioration, compounded by the loss of both legs.
Most critically, Shiki failed to acknowledge these limitations. Perhaps provoked by the influx of emerging talent in the Great Pirate Era that Roger had initiated, Shiki grew increasingly reckless rather than cautious, his arrogance unchecked by self-awareness.
To casual observers, Shiki's reputation alone sufficed to intimidate and blind them to these deficiencies. But Krieg and Kuro—both shrewd, calculating men harboring their own ambitions—had been methodically analyzing Shiki's organization from the beginning. Their perspective revealed his weaknesses clearly, reinforcing their confidence in the impending conflict's outcome.
Moreover, with Shiki now leading his veteran forces to confront William, the palace stood virtually undefended—explaining Krieg's brazen attitude toward Dr. Indigo. Kuro, however, exercised greater caution, unwilling to reveal his true allegiance until Shiki became fully engaged with William's forces.
...
Upon exiting the palace, Shiki proceeded directly to his flagship.
To call it a "ship" stretched the definition—it more closely resembled a small island sculpted into a vessel's form, constructed entirely from earth and stone. Though it featured masts and sails, its fundamental design rendered conventional navigation impossible. It moved solely through the power of Shiki's Float-Float Fruit.
Once his assembled subordinates had boarded, Shiki activated his Devil Fruit ability, causing the massive vessel to rise rapidly into the air. It ascended and accelerated toward William's position at a velocity far exceeding the capabilities of William's airships.
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