Golden Lion's eyes remained fixed on the jungle ahead.
An unprecedented tension rose in his heart.
"Who's there!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than his right leg lashed out like a whip.
A merciless slash shot toward the jungle.
In the blink of an eye, the flying slash tore through the air toward the trees.
Roya utilized the power of the Rooster Talisman to levitate upward, effortlessly dodging Golden Lion's attack.
The slash grew larger as it traveled, cleanly bisecting the jungle, then continuing to split the houses beyond in two!
"I'm just passing through. Believe me or not."
Roya adjusted his cloak, speaking calmly to Golden Lion.
The floating figure before him made Golden Lion's eyes flash with astonishment.
Golden Lion's lips twisted into a grin as he said, "Tell me what Devil Fruit power that is, and maybe I'll believe you."
This levitating stranger gave Golden Lion an inexplicable sense of immense threat.
He couldn't tell whether it was Roya's eerie presence or just his instincts.
Regardless, Golden Lion detested this feeling.
After all, he was Golden Lion!
The once legendary sky pirate!
How could some mysterious figure make him feel unsettled?!
Roya's hidden eyes beneath the hood gazed impassively at Golden Lion before he finally spoke: "My ability is simple—just levitation and telekinetic control of objects."
As the words fell, Roya had thoroughly ignited Golden Lion's fury."Kekekeke, I say, you bastard, you're messing with me, right? There's no way your ability could be the same as mine! You should know I'm the Float-Float Man who ate the Float-Float Fruit—there's absolutely no way two identical Devil Fruits could exist on these seas!"
"Lion's Roar: Earth Roll!"
With that, Golden Lion Shiki slammed both hands onto the ground, using his Float-Float Fruit powers to upheave the entire terrain, molding it into multiple lion-shaped earthen masses that came crashing toward Roya's direction.
"You claimed your ability is the same as mine? If that's the case, let's see whose power is stronger!"
Five lion-headed chunks of earth, whipped up by fierce winds, charged at Roya.
Faced with such a ferocious assault, Roya merely tugged lightly at his cloak with one hand while mimicking Shiki's stance, pressing his other palm against the ground.
A faint blue glow flickered—the power of the Rooster Talisman activating.
The ground before Roya began to levitate, swiftly coalescing into the form of a dragon's head. The details of this dragon head were strikingly lifelike, surpassing even the intricacy of Shiki's lion heads!
Golden Lion's pupils constricted sharply as he instinctively muttered, "How is this possible?!"
"Boom!"
"Crash!"
"KABOOM!"
Roya's dragon head roared forward, smashing through the first four lion heads before colliding with the fifth in mutual destruction.
As both attacks shattered, a storm of dust and debris filled the air.
This outcome was utterly unacceptable to Golden Lion. Faced with someone wielding powers nearly identical to his own, there was no way he'd let this slide.
"You bastard... you've really pissed me off now. Since that's how it is, I'll make you taste—"
Before Shiki could finish, the distant thunder of cannon fire reached their ears.
Turning toward the sound, they saw pitch-black cannonballs raining down upon the island of Verumeo, exploding upon impact and leaving craters in their wake.
Spotting the ten warships in the distance, a cold sweat broke out on Shiki's forehead.
"Damn Marines! To think they'd send ten battleships just to capture me!"
He even recognized the familiar figures of Sengoku and Garp among them.
Standing beside Shiki, Roya remarked casually, "Don't flatter yourself. Those ten ships aren't just for you—I'd say half the credit belongs to me."
"Half? Did you pull off something major before I broke out of prison?"
"Just a minor incident. I merely snatched something precious from the Navy's jaws, then annihilated their Buster Call with a single sword strike."
"A single sword strike wiping out a Buster Call? Kekekeke!" Shiki laughed mockingly. "You've got quite the mouth on you! Even I couldn't pull off something like that!"After a pause, Golden Lion continued, "But since you dare to speak such words, you must have some strength. How about joining my Flying Pirate Crew? I'll make you the vice-captain! With our combined power, we can easily escape from these damned Marines! And then, with the IQ plants on this island, we'll surely rule the world and accomplish what even Gol D. Roger couldn't!"
Hearing Golden Lion's words, Roya showed no interest. "I refuse. I'm just passing by. Besides, you're too weak. Those who rely on external power instead of their own strength are ultimately weaklings!"
With that, Roya turned and walked away.
He had only come to check in, not to get involved in any battles.
However, Roya's words struck Golden Lion's heart like a sharp blade.
The freshly escaped pirate instantly flew into a rage.
After all, he was the great pirate Golden Lion Shiki, the Fleet Admiral of the Flying Pirate Crew, a legendary sky pirate!
To be called a weakling by someone—unacceptable!
"You bastard, you dare call me weak?! Fine, let me see just how strong you really are!"
"Slash Wave!"
Golden Lion swung his leg, unleashing a massive sword slash from "Shigure," the blade attached to his foot.
This slash was at least ten times larger than the previous one.
Everywhere the eye could see, sword energy filled the air.
Even the Marines rapidly approaching Verwe Island in the distance were momentarily stunned.
On the warship, Sengoku turned to Garp beside him. "Garp, what's going on between them? Why are they fighting?"
Garp scratched his head, equally puzzled.
He had feared that Roya and Golden Lion might join forces, but now it seemed they had worried for nothing.
Seeing this, Sengoku declared, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits. All units, prepare to attack! This time, we'll capture both of them!"