Shiki emerged from the crater, scorched and battered, ready to deliver some appropriately threatening declaration. But truthfully, Finn's previous technique had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.
Shiki prided himself on his Float-Float Fruit mastery. He loved dropping entire islands on his enemies, crushing them with sheer mass and inevitability. In terms of raw destructive potential, hurling an island probably equaled what Finn had just done.
But in terms of presence? Sheer dramatic impact? He couldn't compare.
Islands could be understood, anticipated, countered with the right preparations. But Finn had reached into space itself and pulled down a meteorite that should have been invisible to the naked eye. Who could comprehend that kind of power?
The momentum of celestial bodies falling from the sky eclipsed anything Shiki could achieve by dropping an island from ten thousand meters. At least islands didn't ignite during their descent, trailing fire like divine judgment.
These thoughts flickered through Shiki's mind in the span of a heartbeat.
He opened his mouth to speak.
Sengoku's massive golden palm crashed toward him, carrying a devastating shockwave.
The unspoken words lodged in Shiki's throat like broken glass. Combined with the uncomfortable reality that he was the only one seriously injured while Finn and Sengoku remained relatively unscathed, a cold realization settled over him.
I can't win this fight.
Shiki, for all his legendary pride and power, was fundamentally a pragmatist. He recognized the truth of his situation immediately.
If someone other than Finn had been here today, perhaps he could have achieved better results. But Finn's Press-Press Fruit made him feel like a bird with clipped wings. Every advantage his Float-Float Fruit normally provided was neutralized or countered.
Time to cut my losses.
Both swords swept out, slicing through Sengoku's shockwave with precise force. Shiki's mind was already calculating escape vectors, analyzing routes that would minimize pursuit time.
To be completely honest, if he caused havoc in Marineford and then escaped successfully, it wouldn't even be embarrassing. Even with serious injuries, the Marines would be the ones losing face. His reputation might actually increase from the audacity alone.
After all, not everyone possessed the courage to challenge Marine Headquarters solo. Even fewer could leave after wreaking destruction at Marineford's heart. If he departed now, he'd lose nothing and gain infamy.
Before Shiki could execute his retreat, Finn moved.
A gravity-enhanced slash screamed toward him at impossible speed.
Shiki's eyes flashed with irritation. His swords reversed their arc, shattering Finn's attack mid-flight. Without hesitation, he rocketed skyward, gradually increasing the distance between himself and his opponents.
"Finn, he's running!" Sengoku's roar carried absolute urgency.
If that bastard Shiki escaped from Marineford today, Sengoku's reputation and the Marines' justice would be trampled into the mud. The organization's carefully nurtured image would be demolished in an afternoon.
They'd finally captured Roger, arranged his execution to demonstrate the Marines' inevitable triumph over piracy. This was supposed to be a moment of supreme authority, a turning point that would discourage piracy for a generation.
If Shiki pulled off this stunt now, at this critical juncture? Where would Marine momentum and prestige go? Roger's execution might fail to achieve any of its intended psychological impact on the world.
No matter what, they couldn't let Shiki escape.
Sengoku's shout was intended to prompt Finn to quickly restrict Shiki's movement, create an opening for capture.
Instead, Finn stood frozen for a moment, then turned his palm toward Sengoku.
What?
In the original timeline, Shiki had fought both Garp and Sengoku here at Marineford, destroying a third of the fortress before finally being captured from exhaustion. That pirate had never attempted retreat.
Why is this different? We've barely started fighting! Why is he running away already? Do I lack Garp's charm? Can I not hold your attention properly?
Despite his confusion and surprise, Finn's actions remained decisive. He didn't attempt to forcibly control Shiki again, mainly because he lacked the ability. Restraining the Golden Lion like before would require several seconds of preparation and concentration he simply didn't have.
Part of him regretted showing off with the Starfall Impact technique. It hadn't even worked properly, and it had consumed most of his physical stamina in exchange for spectacle.
But then again... if he hadn't seized that moment, that perfect confluence of circumstances, he might never achieve it again. Some opportunities only came through chance. If he'd hesitated, finding that precise state of mind and power later could take months or years of additional training.
Now that he'd successfully performed it once, retained the experience and learned the lessons, wouldn't the second time come easier?
When Sengoku saw Finn pointing at him instead of Shiki, confusion flashed across his face. Are you betraying justice? What are you doing?
Before he could voice the question, his body suddenly lightened. He floated upward, weightless.
Understanding struck immediately. After releasing that meteorite, Finn needed recovery time before he could effectively control Shiki again. But he could reduce Sengoku's weight, granting him near-perfect aerial mobility.
Without hesitation, Sengoku kicked off empty air with Geppo and pursued Shiki.
Freed from his own mass, released from gravity's invisible constraints, Sengoku was surprised by his first aerial step. Too fast! I almost can't control the momentum!
But an Admiral was an Admiral. His body control was beyond question. After two more air-steps to calibrate, Sengoku had completely adapted to the weightless state and caught up with Shiki in seconds.
"Shiki! What do you think Marineford is? Somewhere you can come and go as you please?!" Sengoku's massive golden fist drove forward.
Shiki, floating in midair, threw a backhand punch to intercept, his voice dripping with defiance. "I want to leave! Who's going to stop me?!"
They traded blows in the sky, exchanging attacks while hurling verbal abuse at each other. Perhaps due to his accumulated injuries, or perhaps because Sengoku's weightless state granted unexpected advantages, the Admiral actually gained the upper hand. He suppressed the legendary "Flying Pirate" in aerial combat, preventing easy escape.
Below, Finn gradually caught his breath. He tore off his soaked shirt, revealing his muscular torso, and rotated his waist left and right to work out the tension. "Gion. Shiki wants to escape. We absolutely cannot allow that. Otherwise, where will our dignity be? Where will Marine justice stand?"
"Yes!" Gion's response was immediate and serious.
"I originally thought we could wear him down through endurance, eventually exhaust him into submission." Finn's voice dropped lower, taking on a hard edge. "But now it seems I need to create an opportunity for Admiral Sengoku to finish Shiki with a single decisive strike."
"You mean..." Gion's eyes widened with sudden comprehension.
"I'll make the first move. Follow my lead. I'm going to bind Shiki directly. When the moment comes for you to strike, don't hesitate!" Finn's eyes flashed with cruel determination as he issued the order.
Gion's face went pale. She understood perfectly what Finn was suggesting.
"When you should act decisively, any hesitation brings disaster. Gion, you and I are both soldiers!" Finn met her gaze with unwavering intensity.
If Finn hadn't interfered with the original timeline, the Marines would have definitely captured Shiki today. But because of his meddling, there was now a genuine risk the Golden Lion might escape.
That was something Finn could not accept.
Without giving Gion time for deeper consideration, Finn suddenly made himself weightless, kicked off the ground, and shot into the air like a missile. Several rapid air-steps brought him screaming toward the aerial battle at tremendous speed.
Shiki, still trading blows with Sengoku, caught Finn's approach from the corner of his eye.
He pivoted and launched a devastating kick with all his legendary power.
Finn didn't evade. He crossed both arms, wrapped them in Armament Haki, and blocked the kick directly. The tremendous force transmitted through his forearms, driving his body backward.
But Finn suddenly released a pulse of repulsive gravity behind himself, forcibly arresting his momentum.
Caught between two opposing forces, he had no way to dissipate the impact. Normally, flying backward would have absorbed Shiki's kinetic energy harmlessly. But now he just endured it, swallowing the full brunt of the attack. His chest swelled grotesquely for an instant, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Shiki's eyes widened in shock. That brutally reckless fighting style told him everything immediately.
This bastard intends to die with me!
If it were anyone else, Shiki might suspect a trick or hidden strategy. But he had no doubts about Finn. This was the same madman who'd challenged him as a complete rookie in North Blue, the boy who'd dared to draw his sword against the Golden Lion when he should have been running for his life.
Of course he'd risk death now that he's stronger.
Purple light flashed in Finn's eyes. Invisible gravitational force crashed onto Shiki, making his movements sluggish for a crucial instant.
In that moment, Finn's hand shot forward and locked around Shiki's wrist with iron grip.
Shiki tried to wrench free, but Sengoku's massive fist had already slammed into his chest. BOOM. Shiki's body convulsed, blood spraying from his mouth again.
Finn yanked him forward at the same instant, pulling Shiki against his own chest, then whipped both arms around to lock the pirate in a crushing bear hug.
Shiki reacted with the speed of a man who'd survived countless battles. He released Oto and Kogarashi entirely, letting them float free.
Using his Float-Float Fruit, both famous swords spun through the air. Oto forced Sengoku back with a sweeping slash. Kogarashi circled behind Finn and drove toward his back like a striking viper.
Finn made no attempt to dodge. Grim determination flashed in his eyes as he channeled Armament Haki to protect his vital organs and tightened his grip on Shiki with every ounce of strength he possessed.
"GION!"
Finn's roar split the sky.
The next instant, blood erupted in crimson spray.
Shiki's sword Kogarashi pierced Finn's waist from the side, punching through muscle and viscera. Blood gushed from the wound in pulsing streams.
Gion's form had already materialized before Shiki, appearing from nowhere with her sword Konpira aimed directly at his heart. Faced with her cold, determined expression, genuine terror flashed across the Golden Lion's face.
At this moment of life-or-death crisis, something in Shiki broke.
Power surged through him, smashing past his normal limitations. The rudder embedded in his skull cracked further, fresh blood streaming down his face in scarlet rivulets.
An overwhelming aura exploded from his body.
Conqueror's Haki.
Shiki was one of the rare few who could infuse Conqueror's Haki into physical attacks, using it for more than just intimidation or knocking out weaklings. But ever since the Battle of Edd War, ever since that damned rudder had lodged in his skull, he'd rarely used Conqueror's Haki at all.
Every time he attempted it, his head split with agony beyond description.
Now, simply manifesting Conqueror's Haki was incredibly difficult. Actually using it for combat was nearly impossible.
But survival instinct trumped pain. The burst of Haki affected Gion's thrust ever so slightly.
Konpira, which should have pierced Shiki's heart dead center, deviated by several centimeters. The blade still penetrated his chest, but it struck his lung instead, the same injury Shiki had dealt Finn years ago in North Blue.
"Cough..." Finn suddenly vomited blood.
The sword hadn't just pierced Shiki. Konpira's tip had continued through to stab the chest of the man behind him as well, though not as deeply.
At least Gion had maintained enough control not to drive the entire blade through both bodies. She'd hesitated, just for an instant, needed Finn's command before committing fully.
Sengoku had no such hesitation. From the moment Finn took Shiki's blade and locked the pirate in place, the Admiral understood the plan completely.
Golden light enveloped all three figures: Gion, Shiki, and Finn.
Then came Sengoku's thunderous roar.
"Black Palm of the Buddha!"
Throughout his career, Admiral Sengoku had embodied righteous justice, his golden light representing hope and law. His Buddha form radiated divine beneficence.
But this technique was different. His palms turned utterly black, as if wreathed in malevolent shadows, while his body still blazed with brilliant gold. Light and darkness combined, justice and destruction merged into a single annihilating blow.
After this palm strike landed, none of the three could escape.
Konpira was forcibly repelled from both bodies by the shockwave's pressure. Gion took the attack first, the devastating force hurling her away like a broken doll.
Then Finn's arms, which had held Shiki in an unbreakable grip, finally lost all strength and fell limp. Shiki broke free, blood streaming from his mouth, and plummeted from the sky.
Finn followed an instant later, falling headfirst toward the ground far below.
Sengoku's single strike had effectively down all three of them at once.
The price of victory.