Shiki's expression turned deadly serious. He stomped once on the gun platform beneath his feet, and the metal structure immediately warped and transformed, molding itself into a massive lion that lifted him skyward. The beast's maw opened wide, preparing to pounce on Sengoku.
Finn extended one hand and pressed downward.
The lion, barely formed and still gathering momentum, collapsed under the crushing weight of invisible gravity. Metal and stone compressed into powder that scattered in the rain like grey snow.
Shiki's reaction was instantaneous. Both swords cleared their scabbards in a blur of motion, the famous blades Oto and Kogarashi crossing defensively before his chest. The next microsecond, Sengoku's golden fist slammed into the crossed swords with enough force to crack the air itself.
The impact launched Shiki backward like a cannonball, but his Float-Float Fruit activated immediately, arresting his momentum and leaving him suspended in midair above the fortress.
All three combatants paused, reassessing. Shiki's eyes found Finn over Sengoku's massive golden shoulder.
"So it's true. You ate my fruit," Shiki said quietly, almost conversationally.
Shiki had done considerable research on countering his own Devil Fruit's weaknesses. He'd recruited the world's finest climatologists to predict weather patterns that might interfere with his flight. More importantly, he'd acquired the Press-Press Fruit specifically as insurance against anyone who might possess gravity-based powers.
The restraint relationship between gravity and floating wasn't absolute. It depended heavily on the users' relative strength and skill. But having that fruit in his possession had been a safety measure, a trump card.
Then Edd War had cost him everything, including that fruit. And somehow it had ended up in Marine hands, consumed by this upstart who'd wounded him years ago in North Blue.
"Should I send you a thank-you card?" Finn asked with a slight smile.
"Hmph. You've gotten considerably more arrogant since I last saw you," Shiki growled.
Golden light exploded from Sengoku's body as his Devil Fruit activated fully. In seconds, he'd transformed into an enormous golden Buddha, radiating overwhelming power and authority. His voice boomed with supernatural resonance:
"Finn, combined assault tactics. I'll lead the attack, you control the field!"
"Understood, Admiral!" Finn grinned fiercely.
This was one of the Marines' greatest tactical advantages. While pirates fought as individuals or loosely coordinated crews, the Marines excelled at synchronized combat. Proper coordination could make two fighters function with the effectiveness of three or four. It was the strength of a true military organization, something most pirates couldn't replicate no matter how powerful they were individually.
Sengoku launched himself skyward the moment he finished speaking, his massive golden form shooting toward Shiki like a divine judgment. He thrust one palm forward even while closing the distance.
"Wrath of the Vajra!"
A devastating shockwave erupted from his hand, distorting the air as it screamed toward Shiki.
The Golden Lion's response was fluid and practiced. Both swords traced elegant arcs through space, twin slashing attacks that met Sengoku's shockwave head-on. The techniques collided in a thunderous explosion of force.
Before Shiki could press any advantage, his body suddenly lurched downward as if an invisible hand had grabbed him. Gravity intensified around him dramatically, trying to drag him from the sky.
But Shiki was no amateur. His Float-Float Fruit responded instantly, negating the gravitational pull on his own body and keeping him airborne. He began gathering power for a counterattack when something small and hard struck his ankle.
Shiki glanced down reflexively. A chunk of debris from the destroyed gun platform had attached itself to his leg somehow, clinging like a burr.
What the hell?
"Buddha's Fury: Eliminate Evil!"
Sengoku crashed into Shiki's position, his massive fist already wreathed in Armament Haki. Shiki brought both swords up defensively, their blades coated in his own black Haki, meeting the Admiral's strike with a metallic shriek that echoed across Marineford.
The collision of their Armament created a shockwave that scattered debris in all directions, rain droplets exploding into mist from the pressure wave.
In that moment of impact, Shiki noticed something disturbing. More debris was rising from the ground below, defying both gravity and the violent air currents their battle generated. Cobblestones from Marineford's square plaza lifted into the air and began drifting toward him like iron filings to a magnet.
His eyes snapped to Finn, who stood in the distance with one hand raised and extended toward Shiki. In the center of his palm, a sphere of purple-black energy pulsed with ominous intensity.
What kind of technique is this?
Before Shiki could analyze further, Finn clenched his fist.
The concentrated energy in his palm detonated.
"Gravity Domain: Planetary Devastation!"
Every piece of debris that had been drifting toward Shiki suddenly accelerated dramatically. Earth, stone, metal fragments, cobblestones, all of it converged on him in an instant. They stuck to his body like wet clay, layering over each other faster than he could shake them off. Within seconds, Shiki found himself encased in a rapidly growing sphere of compressed material.
Buddha's Palm: The Great Judgment
Sengoku's fist hammered into the sphere's surface with apocalyptic force. The outer layers shattered, sending fragments exploding outward, while the kinetic energy drove Shiki's entire prison skyward like a meteor in reverse.
But the exploded debris didn't fall away. It chased after the ascending sphere at impossible speeds, rejoining the mass and making it even larger.
"Despicable!" Shiki's voice roared from within the sphere.
How could he not understand now? Sengoku claimed to be leading the assault, but he was actually just a distraction. Finn was the real threat, opening with his technique without any warning or testing moves!
Shouldn't you probe your opponent's abilities first? What kind of madman goes straight for the finishing move?
If Sengoku hadn't been there to occupy his attention, Shiki would never have fallen for such an obvious trap. But the Admiral's timing had been perfect, creating just enough distraction for Finn to set up his attack.
Shiki activated his Float-Float Fruit at maximum output, attempting to repel all the debris stuck to his body. The material began to lift away, but almost immediately it reversed course and slammed back into him. More debris kept arriving, adding to the mass. Soon the sphere encompassed not just stone and metal, but entire sections of destroyed fortifications.
Shiki realized with growing alarm that he'd somehow become the center of an attractive force, pulling everything nearby toward him like a gravity well.
The sphere grew larger. And larger still.
Then two warships in the harbor began to shift, their massive hulls groaning as invisible force dragged them from their moorings. Marines aboard screamed as they abandoned ship, diving into the water to escape as their ships floated upward against all natural law.
The two warships accelerated toward Shiki from opposite directions. They collided with the sphere simultaneously, crushing against its surface before collapsing inward. Wood splintered, metal twisted, sails tore. In moments, both ships had been compressed into the ever-growing sphere, completely scrapped.
Sengoku landed beside Finn, his golden Buddha form radiating heat that turned the rain into steam. "Did we get him?"
He had to admit, their coordination just now had been flawless. Textbook combined assault.
"It's not that simple." Finn's voice was strained, sweat mixing with rain on his face. "He's fighting back. I placed the gravitational focal point on his body, but the Float-Float Fruit is radiating outward from the center. The pressure at the core isn't nearly as intense as it looks. He's pushing back, trying to reverse the effect..."
It was like two invisible forces locked in a tug-of-war. Finn was trying to compress everything inward, crushing Shiki into paste. But Shiki's Devil Fruit was radiating outward from the center, converting gravitational pressure into floating force and using it to break free.
Based on how strongly Shiki was resisting, Finn estimated that if he hadn't prepared this technique in advance and caught Shiki off-guard, the Golden Lion would have already escaped.
In terms of pure Devil Fruit mastery, Shiki clearly had the advantage. Which made sense. The man had been using the Float-Float Fruit for decades, making a living with it. He was a master.
But Finn wasn't discouraged. That was simply reality. He'd work with what he had.
Finn clasped both hands together before his chest and roared with effort. The ground beneath his feet exploded, launching debris that pelted Sengoku's golden form. The Admiral ignored it, his eyes fixed on the massive sphere hovering above the fortress.
He could sense the invisible battle of wills taking place. Two Devil Fruit users fighting for dominance over the same space.
Power surged from Finn's body, and the ground around him began to sink under the inadvertent pressure he was releasing. The earth within five meters of him compressed into something harder than steel.
The sphere above began moving, dragging toward the harbor under Finn's forceful control.
"What are you planning?" Sengoku's eyes lit up with understanding.
"He'll break free eventually. Since I can't seal him permanently..." Finn's voice was tight with strain. "I'll sink him to the bottom of the ocean!"
He had no intention of fighting Shiki for three days and three nights. That was a waste of time. He wanted this bastard dealt with now so they could get to Loguetown for Roger's execution.
The massive sphere slowly descended toward the harbor, its enormous size displacing water and creating waves that crashed against Marineford's seawall. The bay churned violently as the sphere pressed downward, sinking beneath the surface inch by inexorable inch.
Finally, it vanished completely underwater.
Finn exhaled heavily, his hands still extended, maintaining the gravitational pressure. "He's a Devil Fruit user. I pushed him into the sea... That should neutralize his ability to resist, right?"
Sengoku stared at the roiling water, his expression caught between disbelief and cautious optimism.
He'd been surprised when Shiki attacked Marineford alone. That had been the most reckless decision he'd seen in decades, exceeding even Garp's legendary impulsiveness. But Shiki had committed to it, so Sengoku had expected a prolonged battle. The Golden Lion was legitimately one of the world's strongest pirates. If he wanted to cause destruction, he absolutely could.
Instead, they'd tricked him with coordinated tactics, Finn had used some devastating technique, and now Shiki was underwater, potentially defeated.
The entire fight lasted less than thirty minutes.
If someone claimed the Marines had suppressed Golden Lion Shiki in under half an hour, nobody in the world would believe it.
"I... think so?" Sengoku said uncertainly.
He genuinely didn't have experience with this. He'd never even heard of someone handling a top-tier pirate this way. How was he supposed to judge?
Shiki was definitely a Devil Fruit user. Being pushed underwater should count as a loss, right?
Near the plaza's edge, Gion stared at the gradually calming harbor with her mouth slightly open.
Golden Lion Shiki? The legendary pirate who fought Roger and Whitebeard as equals? Pushed underwater like a child in a bath within thirty minutes?
Was Shiki weaker than his reputation suggested, or were Admiral Sengoku and Finn just that monstrously powerful?
Before anyone could celebrate, the bay's surface began churning again.
The water spiraled into a whirlpool. Then massive shapes erupted from the depths, several enormous lions constructed entirely from seawater, rising above the harbor's surface with predatory grace.
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple!" Finn cursed. "Top-tier Devil Fruit users always have methods to counter seawater's weakness!"
He could feel his gravitational control over the submerged sphere slipping away, the technique breaking apart.
The next moment, the sphere itself transformed. Underwater, it reshaped into another massive lion that burst from the bay like a breaching whale. Its enormous paws slammed onto the harbor's seawall, claws digging into stone for purchase.
The water lion slowly opened its jaws.
Shiki stood on its tongue, revealed as the mouth widened, his expression thunderous but his posture commanding. The visual was undeniably impressive, a dramatic reentry that radiated dominance.
But despite the strong showing, Shiki was clearly injured. He raised one hand to wipe blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes finding Finn.
"As expected from someone I marked for death years ago. You've become truly dangerous..."
He didn't give them time to respond. His face hardened into grim determination as he roared:
"Lion's Might: Pack Hunt!"
The water lions sprang into motion along with the massive debris-lion beneath Shiki. They charged onto the seawall and swept toward Marineford's plaza like a natural disaster given form. Every gun emplacement, every fortification in their path was obliterated instantly, crushed beneath tons of animated material moving with predatory intent.
The battle was far from over.
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