The entire sky trembled from the intensity of the battle between Rosinante and Golden Lion.
The two had been clashing with unrelenting fury for a long time.
"Golden Lion, are you at your limit? Your sword slashes are losing power!" Rosinante taunted coldly.
Golden Lion didn't respond. He continued to unleash his slashes, attacking Rosinante frantically. Yet the power in his strikes was gradually waning. More and more, his attacks served simply to block Rosinante's advance while he sought an opening to turn the tide.
Rosinante, using his sword and body to endure every strike, rushed forward, landing a punch squarely on Golden Lion.
Some of the force from Golden Lion's sword slashes was automatically muted by the will of Eternal Silence, some deliberately restrained by Rosinante himself, and the remaining force still tore massive gashes across Golden Lion's body.
Even with his regenerative and life-sealing powers, such enormous wounds required time to heal.
Rosinante's punch pierced through Golden Lion, shattering muscle and bone, bursting out from his back. Golden Lion spat blood violently.
Damn it! His body swayed.
Neither combatant could tell how long they had been fighting. Golden Lion felt the world spinning before his eyes, dizziness and fatigue setting in from blood loss.
Yet knowing his predicament didn't help—he was trapped in a deadly cycle, with almost no chance of escape.
Could it be… that Golden Lion, a pirate who had roamed the New World for decades, would die at the hands of this kid? No! I won't accept it! I won't die like this! I must find a way!
Golden Lion pressed forward, striking Rosinante relentlessly while his mind raced.
As time passed, he felt his stamina reaching its limit.
Not good! He thought.
Earlier, his frenzied attacks had regained some advantage, but such attacks came at an immense cost.
If he couldn't eliminate his opponent immediately, his own recklessness would exact a price.
Time wore on, and the frenzied strikes drained most of Golden Lion's remaining strength. Coupled with the dizziness and weakness from blood loss, he even felt his consciousness starting to blur.
Is this… the end? A terrible premonition arose in his mind.
But then something strange happened.
Though Golden Lion felt himself weakening and nearly unable to withstand Rosinante's attacks, and though Rosinante could have easily taken advantage of this to land a lethal strike, each time Rosinante aimed to finish him, he hesitated. The strikes didn't come with full lethality, allowing Golden Lion to narrowly survive several fatal moments.
This kid… doesn't actually want to kill me? Does he want something from me instead? Golden Lion's eyes flashed sharply.
Even Borsalino, observing from afar, sensed something unusual. Golden Lion looked on the verge of collapse. With a bit more force, Rosinante could have finished him. Why, then, had he slowed his attacks?
"Could Rosinante have some hidden plan?" Borsalino wondered.
Rosinante himself was cautious. From the aura Golden Lion emitted, he could see the pirate was clearly near exhaustion—but he couldn't afford to be careless.
The final moments of a battle are the most dangerous; a desperate counterattack could be fatal. Moreover, Rosinante's goal was to subdue Golden Lion without killing him.
He reminded himself repeatedly: be careful, conserve strength, and slowly wear him down.
Even so, Rosinante felt his own stamina beginning to falter.
Releasing the full power of his awakened Devil Fruit, repeatedly unleashing Extreme Smash Critical to counter Golden Lion's attacks, and maintaining control over his silent, restrained body—all this drained him at a visible rate.
Without the support of Life Seal, he would likely have already been exhausted.
Testing the waters, Rosinante raised his sword high. A surge of overwhelming sword energy erupted, forming a massive blade of concentrated force.
"Die!" Rosinante slashed fiercely toward Golden Lion.
"Ah… this is a terrifying strike! Could the legendary New World pirate Golden Lion really die?" Borsalino muttered, tilting his head in disbelief.