Above the surging, storm-tossed sea, amid the roar of the waves and the howl of the gale, red-black lightning and purple lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the ocean again and again. Bright moonlight spilled through the gaps in the clouds, falling across the battle-hungry faces of the two men. Under the glare of lightning, they looked like demon gods.
Conqueror's Haki, which had once only surged outward as intimidation to crush an opponent, was now flowing in full.
In the sky, it took the shape of a giant dragon and a mighty lion, roaring at each other.
"Shihahaha..."
After the shock passed, Shiki went utterly wild.
"I never expected this... I really never expected it! You brat actually learned it, and you even stole my move!"
Yemu was just as excited, feeling the Conqueror's Haki flowing around him.
"So this is the power of Conqueror's Haki coating? Just how strong is it?"
With that thought, Yemu looked at Shiki.
"I really have to thank you. Without you, I'm confident I would have mastered this power sooner or later, but definitely not this soon."
"Shihahaha... No need to thank me. I told you, the current you is finally worth killing... Shihahaha... Now, the real battle begins."
"As you wish!"
In an instant, both Yemu and Shiki drew the two swords at their waists. At the same time, the giant dragon and mighty lion behind them began to flow, and all of their Conqueror's Haki wrapped around their blades.
Visible to the naked eye, the Meito in their hands turned pitch-black, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki that flowed like smoke and mist, with lightning crackling around them.
This was the power known as Conqueror's Haki coating.
Then...
As crimson light flared in both their eyes, their figures moved at once.
The true final battle had begun.
...
With a sound like the very air being torn apart, the two men became phantoms and lunged at each other.
Their speed surpassed any opponent Yemu had ever faced.
"Shihahaha... Take this, brat! Lion God!"
Facing the colossal Lion God rushing toward him as if it would tear through everything, Yemu grinned.
"Thank you, Shiki. After this battle, I'll bury your body in my country."
With that, he swung the twin blades in his hands as well.
"Go, Dragon God!"
"Zzt, zzt..."
The two men never even touched. The red-black giant dragon and the purple lion slammed into each other in an instant. With a violent impact and a deafening roar, the dark clouds in the sky were blown apart, while the sea beneath their feet was blasted open by the tremendous force, forming a crater thousands of meters deep and nearly a hundred kilometers wide.
Lillilu, Ayala, and the people aboard Shiki's pirate ship watched from afar, too stunned to say a word.
Out at sea, at the very center of the clash between their Conqueror's Haki, both men's expressions filled with excitement.
"Shihahaha... That's it! That's the feeling! You bastard, this time I truly acknowledge that you have the right to become a king of these seas!"
Under that tremendous collision of power, neither man took a single step back. Instead, the world around their clash was swallowed by waves nearly a thousand meters high, surging up like a sphere and completely enclosing the two of them.
"You too, Shiki the Golden Lion. You truly live up to the name of a legendary Great Pirate. You're without a doubt the strongest enemy I've ever faced. After you die, I'll do my best to fulfill your dream."
"Shihahaha... You can say that after you manage to kill me!"
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