Although Brian's taunting had prompted the Golden Lion to break out early, some things were inevitable.
Hannibal ended up running straight into the Golden Lion.
Seeing the Golden Lion sitting on a beam, sucking on a cigar while his legs still dripped blood, Hannibal wanted to cry.
"Thanks for taking care of me these last two years. Before I go—tell me where my famed blades Sakuragi and Mokuga are hidden," the pirate demanded.
"I—I—" Hannibal stammered.
"You refuse? Then I'll ask someone else."
A scream cut off the reply. Hannibal didn't even get a chance to resist—he was knocked out in an instant by the Golden Lion.
"Golden Lion is on the third level!"
"Golden Lion is on the third level!"
"Golden Lion is on the third level!"
"Damn—it was right here a moment ago. How did it vanish so fast?"
"Everyone be careful. The chief jailer was just taken down by the Golden Lion."
Dozens of guards with blades and spears tightened their formation, breaths coming in ragged, nervous gasps—each sound unnaturally clear in the tense silence.
"Are you looking for me?" came a cold voice.
"Ah!" "Aaah!" "Aaah!"
Screams sounded one after another, then fell silent—leaving only corpses scattered across the floor.
"Follow me!" Magellan's face went ashen. He led a squad of jailers down toward the third level—but a sword aura suddenly tore through the air, crashing toward them.
The blade energy struck without warning; the guards had no time to react and were sliced in two. Even Magellan's arm was cut.
"Damn—so this is the power of the great pirate Golden Lion?" Magellan concentrated fully, not daring to let his mind wander. But the Golden Lion wasn't targeting him.
"That damned brat must be up there!" the Golden Lion roared.
Using the power of the Float-Float Fruit along with his terrifying swordsmanship, he easily broke through the third level and ignored obstacles with brutal efficiency—he was rushing for the prison exits.
On the sea-side first floor of Impel Down, the Blue Gorilla unit and over five thousand marines were on guard. They were under the command of Head Guard Frederick, waiting for the Golden Lion to appear.
Frederick's forehead beaded with sweat as his nerves tightened while he barked orders: "Stop him at all costs! Do not let Golden Lion escape!"
At the same time, Shiryu—who'd been feeling that something was off—suddenly spoke to Brian. "Vice Admiral Brian, you don't seem very worried about Golden Lion getting away."
Brian smiled slightly and didn't deny it. "Smart of you to notice. But now is not the time to explain."
Shiryu, knowing when to keep his mouth shut, let it go—thinking silently, Brian must have planned this long ago.
Brian's grin widened. "Been plotting for a while, actually."
Just then the deck of the sea-level shattered. Sword-trees capable of cutting anything and needle-grasses that could pierce flesh like pins burst through the floor.
The Blue Gorilla troops and the marines, who had been arrayed and ready, were shredded by the sword-trees and needle-grass—rolling and crawling on the deck in agony, blood streaming everywhere.
Brian watched the nearly annihilated Blue Gorilla unit and the marines and allowed a cold smile to flicker. That Golden Lion is clever—he even knows how to use the environment to his advantage.
"Bastard brat—finally found you!" someone shouted.
Just then, a furious roar split the air.
From the shattered deck, the Golden Lion shot skyward like a comet — his new prosthetic blades, the famed swords Sakuragi and Mokuga, gleamed like lightning as they replaced his severed legs.
"Golden Lion!" Brian shouted, kicking off the ground and launching himself upward with Geppo (Moon Step). "I'll take your head — and use it to claim my seat among the Admirals!"
"Slash Burst!"
The Golden Lion crossed both legs in midair, kicking twice. Two monstrous blades of air roared toward Brian, shrieking as they split the sky apart.
So fast!
Brian's eyes narrowed. This was the first time he'd ever faced an opponent of this level — someone who once stood at the pinnacle of the seas. Even crippled, the Golden Lion's strength was suffocating.
"Hmph! Didn't think you could dodge that," the Golden Lion sneered, his mane whipping around him like fire. With a sudden flex of his blade-legs, he dove from the sky like a meteor.
Brian let out a short shout, his voice cutting through the wind. "Haaah!"
Armament Haki flowed over his arms like molten iron as he began kicking faster, faster — dozens of Geppo steps in a heartbeat, making his position flicker erratically through the air.
"Moon Step — Rising Dragon Strike!"
Using the momentum from every kick, he condensed explosive force into a single, spiraling punch that tore through the clouds toward the descending pirate.
The Golden Lion roared back. His own fist, coated in Armament Haki, met Brian's head-on.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the air itself. Sparks erupted between their fists, as if two meteors had collided mid-sky.
A deafening shockwave tore through the clouds, scattering fragments of sea-spray in every direction.
Then — the two lunged again.
Dozens, hundreds of punches followed in a blur.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Their blows fell like a torrential storm, so fast that to the watching marines below, it looked as if a black tempest was raging above their heads — the wind screaming with every exchange.
Iron fists against iron fists, pure, unrelenting power meeting in midair.
The shockwaves alone shredded the surface of the sea below. Blood streaked both men's faces, the cuts shallow but proof of how close each strike came.
The Golden Lion twisted, swinging one of his blade-legs in a vicious arc.
Brian's instincts screamed — but instead of dodging, he crossed his own legs, coating them with Armament Haki.
"Armament!"
Steel clashed against steel. Sparks exploded between their kicks.
The air rang with the sound of two monsters colliding.
"W–What a terrifying battle…" a wounded marine whispered from below, clutching his bleeding arm.
"Can you believe it? Vice Admiral Brian's that strong…"
"Go, Vice Admiral! Take him down!"
"Vice Admiral Brian, we're with you!"
The shouts echoed up from the wrecked deck, but Brian barely heard them. His focus was absolute.
I underestimated him, Brian thought grimly. The Golden Lion… even crippled, he's still a monster. The kind of man who once fought Roger, Whitebeard, and Sengoku to a standstill…
The truth was clear now: the Golden Lion's current power could rival any of the three Admirals — Akainu, Aokiji, or Kizaru.
Even Brian, with his monstrous physique and mastery of Rokushiki, was only barely keeping pace.
"You brat…" The Golden Lion's grin widened, madness gleaming in his eyes. "I truly underestimated you. But it's time to end this!"
Brian frowned. He could sense the killing intent thickening in the air.
At that same moment, the Golden Lion's expression twisted — equal parts admiration and dread.
A man this strong, this young… if he survives, he'll be a threat to me forever.
"Lion — Thousand Cuts Valley!!!"
The Golden Lion slashed his sword-legs in a wild, sweeping arc.
Countless flying blades burst forth — a hurricane of sword energy descending like rain from the heavens, each strike capable of cleaving a battleship in half.
The storm of death howled toward Brian—
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