The Golden Lion unleashed a furious kick, sending out dozens of slashing shockwaves in a single breath. Though he had yet to fully adapt to the legendary blades that now served as his prosthetic legs, the resulting sword aura still sliced through both the sea and the thick stone floor of Impel Down with ease.
"Lord Bryan, allow me to assist you!"
At that moment, Shiryu of the Rain drew his blade and lunged at the Golden Lion.
"Another fool rushing to his death," the Golden Lion snorted coldly as he met Shiryu head-on.
In Shiryu's hand gleamed the Second Generation Kitetsu, while the Golden Lion wielded two famed swords beneath his feet.
When their blades clashed, sparks exploded and sword auras tore through the air.
Seeing an opening, Bryan dashed forward and attacked from behind, forcing the Golden Lion to divide his attention between the two of them.
The Golden Lion had roamed the seas for decades. He'd faced two, even three opponents at once before—including Sengoku and Garp themselves. Though he was ultimately defeated and captured, his strength remained fearsome beyond measure.
Yet Bryan's assault placed him under tremendous pressure—not because of raw strength, but because Bryan fought dirty.
Eye-jabs, throat-grabs, groin-kicks—every move went straight for the Golden Lion's vital points.
"You little brat, you fight nothing like a Marine! Your tactics are filthy!" the Golden Lion growled furiously. Then, slashing both sword-legs against the ground, he roared:
"Lion's Might: Earth Scroll!"
In an instant, the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit activated. The ground beneath his feet heaved upward—massive stone slabs rose into the air, twisting and fusing into a colossal lion hundreds of meters tall and several hundred meters long. The stone beast opened its maw wide, lunging down toward Bryan below.
"Rokushiki Secret Art—Grand Wheel Rokuōgan!"
At that very moment, Bryan's eyes narrowed. He unleashed the ultimate technique of the Six Powers.
A shockwave burst forth and collided head-on with the giant stone lion.
BOOM!
The explosion sent a massive air blast ripping across the battlefield, flinging thousands of Marines through the air. Their ears rang, their vision spun—most couldn't even stand straight.
But that was inevitable. When monsters fought, the weak could only suffer. In battles of this level, anyone without the strength to survive would do well to stay far away—unless they wanted to die as collateral damage.
Bryan was driven back over a hundred meters before skidding to a stop, while the Golden Lion was forced several dozen paces back himself.
Seeing his attack blocked, the Golden Lion's anger flared. "You're one stubborn brat—you're starting to remind me of that damn Garp!"
"Don't compare me to that clown. My IQ's at least ten times higher than his."
Bryan vanished in a blur, his movements so fast they seemed to multiply.
"Shave—Triple Mirage!"
Three Bryans appeared simultaneously, darting in from different directions, shifting positions so quickly that even the Golden Lion found it hard to lock onto his true form.
Meanwhile, Shiryu unleashed several more slashing waves to keep the Golden Lion distracted and buy Bryan an opening.
"It seems unless I show you my true power, you little brats will never understand what it means to face a real monster."
The Golden Lion shifted his stance, gathering strength for a lethal strike—his gaze fixed on Shiryu.
"Poison Pufferfish!"
Just then, Magellan arrived in the nick of time, spewing a barrage of massive poison orbs toward the Golden Lion.
"Another one? Seems there's no shortage of fools eager to die today."
The Golden Lion snorted, muscles tensing as he prepared to counterattack—
—but Bryan's sharp voice cut through the chaos:
"Just hold him off! Reinforcements from Headquarters will be here any moment!"
"Understood."
"Got it."
Magellan and Shiryu of the Rain replied at the same time. But both of them were puzzled—no matter how fast Naval Headquarters sent reinforcements, it was impossible for them to arrive so soon.
"More reinforcements?" Golden Lion's heart skipped a beat. If the reinforcements were Garp or Sengoku, and they joined forces with Bryan, then his situation would turn dire. Without a moment's hesitation, the Golden Lion shot up into the sky. He had no intention of returning to prison—he'd settle his scores with the Navy another day.
Watching the Golden Lion soar away, Bryan had no intention of pursuing.
Magellan was just about to order his men to give chase when Shiryu stopped him.
"No need to chase." Bryan spoke up at that moment.
Magellan frowned in confusion. "Vice Admiral Bryan, why are we letting him go? Didn't you say our reinforcements were almost here?"
"I just said that to rattle him," Bryan replied casually. "There's no way I could stop him alone. And if he's determined to flee, even if Garp and Sengoku were both here, I doubt they could keep him."
Bryan wasn't exaggerating. The Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit was practically the perfect Devil Fruit for killing and plundering—so long as he had that power, he could escape any naval pursuit. No matter how many ships the Navy sent, how big their cannons were, or how strong their officers, none of them could keep up with a pirate who could literally fly.
More importantly, Bryan had only bluffed about the reinforcements. He hadn't expected things to escalate for real and end up clashing head-on with the Golden Lion.
"Damn it… how are we supposed to report this now?" Magellan muttered gloomily, his tone a mix of frustration and defeat. Still, he knew Bryan wasn't trying to shirk responsibility—Magellan had seen it clearly with his own eyes: Bryan had done everything he could. The Golden Lion's strength was simply overwhelming; it was impossible for Bryan alone to stop him.
"Just tell the truth. I'm sure Headquarters will understand," Bryan said offhandedly to comfort him.
—
Marine Headquarters, Marineford — Marshal's Office.
"The Golden Lion escaped from prison?! How the hell am I supposed to 'understand' that?"
When the news of the Golden Lion's breakout arrived, Fleet Admiral Kong's eyes looked ready to burst into flames—his fury was palpable.
Sengoku, however, replied calmly, "It's said he cut off his own legs to break free from the Sea-Prism Stone shackles."
Kong took a deep breath, suppressing his rage, and asked, "Then what about Bryan? What was he doing while the Golden Lion escaped?"
Shaking his head, Sengoku answered, "According to Magellan's report, Bryan did everything he could to stop him—but he still couldn't hold him back."
At that moment, Garp, who had been quietly sipping tea and munching on rice crackers, finally spoke up. "We all know how strong the Golden Lion is. Which one of us here could confidently claim we could catch him? Unless another Roger appeared—and then Roger himself turned himself in to Headquarters, forcing the Golden Lion into a berserk frenzy and fighting until he dropped."
When Garp mentioned "losing sanity," Sengoku added a piece of information he'd been holding back.
"According to the guards of Impel Down's Infinite Hell," he began, "Bryan had been stationed outside the Golden Lion's cell for quite some time… constantly taunting and humiliating him with words—and even with some rather indecent physical behavior. Tell me, do you all think that sounds reasonable?"
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