A week later...
East Blue!
Above the sea of clouds, thousands of meters high, more than a dozen islands of various sizes surrounded a central, perennial, snow-covered winter island. This was the lair of Golden Lion Shiki, one of the three legendary pirates as famous as Roger and Whitebeard. More than twenty years after escaping the Impel Down, he had been dormant here.
"As expected of the Golden Lion, he's probably the only one who can pull this off !"
Adrian stood on Winter Island, scanning the surrounding islands, and praised sincerely. The sheer scale of this floating territory was incredible. And yet, this same legendary powerhouse had lost to Luffy, who couldn't even use Conqueror'sHaki right now?
Adrian found it absolutely ridiculous every time he thought about it.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass on Captain Golden Lion's island!"
As soon as Adrian arrived in front of the palace, he was discovered by patrolling pirates. And without a word, they charged at him.
"I'm not here for you. It's best for the cannon fodder to leave as soon as possible!"
The corners of Adrian's lips curved slightly, and an electric arc flickered on his right arm. He immediately activated his Thunder Fruit ability, unleashing a chain lightning attack of 20 million volts.
Crackling...
The group of pirates instantly collapsed to the ground, covered in scorch marks.
"Before the real fight starts, I'd better turn this place into my main battlefield... Erosion!"
Adrian activated his Sand-Sand Fruit ability, pressing his right hand, which could absorb any moisture, present in the ground. In the next second, the snow-covered winter island melted away instantly, revealing the original ground. But then the earth began to shrivel and crack, quickly becoming a barren, hopeless desert.
"The Sand-Sand Fruit is so convenient! No wonder Crocodile was able to fight against Bullet, the Demon heir, when he was young!" Adrian said with a smile.
Bang!
A dull explosion erupted, and an angry figure shot up from the yellow sand.
"Damn it, you bastard, did you destroy this old man's palace?!"
"Do you know that there was a secret potion the old man spent twenty years meticulously developing in here?!"
"I'll tear you to pieces... Slash Wave!"
The Golden Lion's bloodshot eyes locked onto Adrian, roaring like a madman. The "IQ" potion he had spent two decades perfecting, which could turn animals violent, was now buried in the endless yellow sand along with his palace. This was the weapon he'd planned to use for his revenge on the World Government and the Marines! Now, it was all lost because of this brat.
Swish!
The famous sword, Oto, tied to his right foot, slashed out a massive wave of sword energy. The crescent-shaped slash cut a wide gully into the ground and rocketed towards Adrian with astonishing power.
However, for Adrian, who possessed Advanced Observation Haki, the Slash Wave could be easily and calmly dodged.
"I kept thinking about you Golden Lion. After escaping from Impel Down, wouldn't it have been better for a legend to choose a place to die in peace? You had to keep looking for death!" Adrian said with a slight hint of a joke in his voice.
"Damn it! Who the hell are you, kid? How did you dodge my Slash Wave?" a serious look appeared on Golden Lion's face.
Although his Conqueror's Haki and overall strength had been greatly diminished after the "Battle of Edd War" due to the influence of the ship's rudder stuck in his head, he was still very confident in his swordsmanship. His Slash Wave wasn't just fast—it was powerful enough to cut the sea for hundreds of kilometers, a great swordsman's level. It was the only thing he was still proud of besides the Float-Float Fruit.
The fact that the boy opposite him dodged it so easily was a bit of a surprise.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What's important is... I'm here to plunder your Float-Float Fruit today!" The corner of Adrian's mouth curved into a sly smile, and he said provocatively, his eyes filled with fighting spirit. "As remnants of the old era, the stage for you old guys has come to an end. So stop jumping out and stealing the limelight from the young people!"
"Arrogant and ignorant brat! Do you know how tall the grass is on the grave of the last guy who dared to talk to me like that?" Golden Lion was instantly enraged. No one had dared to be so presumptuous with him.
How could he stand for this? The two swords on his feet swung rapidly, and a series of giant slashing waves, shining with a dazzling golden light, whizzed out!
"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!"
The dense Slash Wave was like a golden storm raging between the sky and the earth, as if it wanted to tear the sky apart, sealing off every possible direction for Adrian.
Zizi...
However, Adrian turned into a blue arc. Relying on his Observation Haki, he calmly passed through the layers of Slash Wave and appeared above Golden Lion's head in the blink of an eye.
"I heard you're afraid of thunder... Discharge: 200 Million Volts!"
A dazzling burst of electricity instantly enveloped the Golden Lion.
In the movie, Luffy used the thundercloud and his "Rubber Titan Thunder Axe" in Gear Three to defeat the Golden Lion. Adrian simply wanted to verify if the Golden Lion was really that weak against electricity.
"Slash Wave!"
A sword slash soaring into the sky directly chopped the lightning and burst it apart in mid-air. A huge slash came across, but Adrian calmly dodged it, already having his answer.
That kid Luffy is absolutely out of control!
"Who told you that I'm afraid of thunder? But it's really unexpected... I didn't think you'd be a double Devil Fruit user!"
The Golden Lion had to be a legendary pirate. After resisting 200 million volts, his body staggered a few times, but he didn't fall. Smoke wafted from his scorched body. The long golden hair he was so proud of was now all burnt off, and he looked incredibly embarrassed. But even so, he hadn't lost his fighting power. Instead, he stared at Adrian with burning eyes.
"Little brat, tell me quickly, how did you manage to eat two Devil Fruits at the same time without exploding?" Golden Lion's face was full of greed. He saw new hope in Adrian. If he could figure out the secret of a double Devil Fruit user, he would be able to create a powerful army that would strike fear into the entire world.
And then, neither the World Government nor the Marines could stop him from reaching the top.
"Want to know? I'll tell you after I win!"