"Clang!" Rosinante's long sword collided heavily with Golden Lion's twin blades. In the next instant, both combatants separated, disappearing from sight.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The sound of swords clashing echoed relentlessly, but their movements were too fast for anyone to follow. Their bodies became nothing more than fleeting shadows, impossible to see clearly.
"Jahaha! Rosinante, I'm starting to admire you more and more… so die already! Lion's Might—Imperial Ground Scroll!" Golden Lion roared.
With his shout, the sky itself began to quake violently.
The previously torn cloud island, the surrounding clouds, and the flowing cloud rivers swirled together, forming an enormous lion head that surged toward Rosinante with a deafening roar.
This time, it truly swept across the heavens. The colossal lion head measured an astounding 207 kilometers, as if the entire sky was pressing down on Rosinante.
Its roar emanated an overwhelming pressure, like a celestial beast awakening and declaring war against him.
"Ah… this is incredible… Silence, Limit Sky-Crushing Slash!" Rosinante raised his sword high and slashed downward.
The strike cut through the air at lightning speed, colliding with the lion-shaped surge of sword qi. The immense power of his slash erupted instantly, unleashing a torrent of sword energy that tore through the lion attack.
Even a 207-kilometer-tall Lion's Might couldn't stop his slash. The lion head was cleaved in two and continued advancing toward Golden Lion.
"Jahaha! Rosinante, it's useless! Die already!" Golden Lion laughed, moving quickly to evade the massive slash. He pointed his twin blades at Rosinante, and the severed lion head reformed, roaring and lunging once more.
"Because it's a physical entity? Silence Fruit's ability cannot erase real objects… troublesome! Limit Strike!" Rosinante said, his fist punching toward the lion surge.
The force of his blow concentrated at a single point, erupting with unimaginable power.
Unlike the Collapsing Strike, which focused on penetration and sustained force, the Limit Strike concentrated all power into an instantaneous explosion. Originally a simplified version of the Collapsing Strike, it had been perfected over time and, in raw explosive force, surpassed its predecessor.
The colossal lion attack began to crumble inch by inch under the punch's impact.
"Incredible strength… You've shattered my fully unleashed Imperial Ground Scroll in an instant. But it's useless—clouds are formless; even if shattered, they won't hurt them. Die, Rosinante!" Golden Lion shouted.
"Roar!" The shredded clouds reformed, and a fully intact Lion's Might surged at Rosinante once more.
"Truly, you deserve the title Golden Lion. Terrifying strength… Even in a weakened state, you remain formidable. I've already expended a lot of energy in this battle, so to defeat you, I have no choice but to go all out!" Rosinante said.
As he spoke, waves of overwhelming vitality radiated from his body.
Alongside this life force came an eternal, silent will.
"Hmm?" Golden Lion's expression shifted, sensing this unyielding presence.
Before he could react, Rosinante lifted his gaze toward him, and the eternal will expanded outward.
Under its influence, the world itself lost its color. Everything fell into an eerie, oppressive silence.
The colossal lion attack, previously under Golden Lion's control, lunged forward—but within this colorless realm, the invisible pressure made controlling it increasingly difficult. Movements that were once effortless became a struggle.
Even so, the lion attack continued roaring toward Rosinante—but in this realm, its roar produced no sound.
Yet none of this compared to the true shock:
Within this eternal will, the lion head began crumbling even before it reached Rosinante.
Golden Lion felt his Devil Fruit power being drastically suppressed. The massive 207-kilometer lion he had effortlessly commanded before was now beyond his control.