But Shiki was Shiki—no ordinary man. He not only sensed the ten IBM behind him, he reacted with terrifying speed and slipped clear of their ambush.
Whiteflame's neat plan to finish Shiki quickly had failed.
"Brat, don't get cocky in front of me!" Shiki roared. He slammed both feet down and unleashed Lion's Thousand-Cut Valley again—countless blade-waves crisscrossed the air, a dense, devastating storm of sword-energy that in an instant shattered the remaining ten IBM.
"Such pathetic tricks might work on low-class pirates… but to take me down? You're naïve."
Shiki's eyes went cold. "My patience is spent. To die by my true strength—that will be your one and only honor."
He lifted his hand. Far off, a floating island began to tremble.
Lion's Might — Lion Earth Roll.
Boom!
A huge slab of rock split away beneath the island and, under Shiki's control, shattered into gargantuan stone lions. They opened gaping maws and roared as they plunged down from the sky toward Whiteflame!
"Don't get it twisted, Golden Lion. You're nothing but a relic—insignificant," Whiteflame said coolly. "But to die by my hand—that will be your true glory."
Whiteflame's eyes flashed. Facing dozens of roaring stone lions charging to crush him, he looked calm as ever—as if the legend before him were nothing more than an ordinary pirate.
He clapped his hands, and suddenly dozens of biscuits materialized in the air. They snapped together into sword-wielding biscuit soldiers.
"Shields!"
The Legend Falls
On Whiteflame's command, the biscuit soldiers locked shields together to form a massive biscuit bulwark that stood between him and the oncoming stone beasts.
Boom—boom—boom!
The rock lions smashed into the biscuit shield with thunderous impact—but the shield, laced with extremely powerful Armament Haki, did not budge. The stone lions shattered against it, reduced to rubble while the biscuit wall remained intact.
"What is this?!" Shiki ground his teeth, his face stormy.
From the very beginning Shiki had felt something strange about Whiteflame. The white-thread web that blocked his floating ship, the golden furious dragon that neutralized his slash, the bandage monsters that nearly ambushed him from behind—and now these biscuit things out of nowhere. What sort of man could wield so many different powers?
Even Shiki, worldly and seasoned as he was, could not name it.
"You think stopping my attack is enough?" Shiki snarled. "You may be a devil-fruit user—but that means you also face the most terrible of foes!"
With a roar, Shiki dropped toward the sea. He skimmed the surface and lightly touched the water with his fingertips. A confident, triumphant smile spread across his face.
"Watch, brat," he said. "Soon you'll taste fear and death."
He raised his hand—and the sea began to part. Around him, within nearly two kilometers, the ocean itself floated upward, centered on Shiki.
"No way! He's not a devil-fruit user—how is he controlling seawater?!" Baby-5 cried.
"The Float-Float Fruit is terrifying," Monet said grimly. "It can suspend anything it touches—even sea water."
Sea water is the bane of Devil Fruit users—their fundamental weakness. That Shiki could manipulate it demonstrated the extent of his terror-inducing power. Few on the ocean could rival him in that regard.
"Gyahahahaha—see that, brat? This is the horror of my power!" Shiki laughed, moving his hands faster. Massive volumes of ocean rose under his control and slammed toward Whiteflame from every direction, forming a crushing deluge.
At the sight of the rushing sea, every Devil Fruit user would feel horror swell in their chest—escape was the only thought left. Shiki had never used this tactic against a Devil Fruit user before.
"Shiki, I don't know whether to call you stupid or foolish," Whiteflame said, cold amusement in his eyes.
Whiteflame stood his ground in the air, not dodging. He didn't flinch. The tidal waves descended, sweeping Whiteflame and the three women behind him into their torrent.
"Gyahahahaha! I never forgive those who oppose me. An insignificant nobody dares be so arrogant—see the price of angering Shiki! You'll be the first soul I reclaim in my return!"
Shiki laughed triumphantly.
"What's so great about drenching me with seawater?" one of Shiki's cronies scoffed. "Is that enough for you to gloat?"
"The so-called legendary figures are nothing more than this…" another muttered.
As the sea fell, Whiteflame remained perfectly upright in midair. Behind him, the giant biscuit shield sheltered the three women, protecting them from the onslaught. But Whiteflame himself made no special defenses—he let the seawater wash over him, standing with a disdainful look aimed down at Shiki.
The sea numbed his fruits, not his body; bandages and Haki-woven threads held him aloft. He didn't need a Devil Fruit's buoy to stand.
"This… impossible! No way! Absolutely impossible!!"
Shiki's eyes bulged, bloodshot and huge as copper bells. His face was a mask of disbelief and mounting terror.
How could seawater have no effect? He was a confirmed Devil Fruit user—no one could change that fact. Even Whitebeard was constrained by it. So why could this brat stand tall while drenched, his look of contempt unchanged?
It couldn't be. There had to be another reason—some trick, some way he avoided the sea's effect.
It must be that.
Shiki's mind crumbled. Everything he believed about Devil Fruit users and the sea had been shattered by this sight.
"Shiki—seems like despair looks good on you," Whiteflame said. "Perfect. Die with that despair in your heart."
The words snapped Shiki back into action. He recovered his composure and sensed danger—too late.
Because his shock had dulled him for a sliver of time, his movements lagged. Although he used the Float-Float Fruit to dodge, an unexpected attack struck his back.
Tear—
Blood sprayed; two deep, intercrossing claw-gashes gouged Shiki's back.
He staggered, wrenching around—and when he saw the person who had left those wounds, his face drained of color.
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