South Blue, Sabah Island.
It was a volcanic island shrouded in rising steam.
Across the barren island, pitted lakes bubbled everywhere, boiling like scalding water under the heat of the magma beneath the earth.
Along the surrounding coast, layers of white crystals had formed. Washed again and again by the crashing waves, they created a unique stretch of white beach.
As the sky began to brighten and the sun rose from the horizon, a massive island representing Shiki the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates slowly drifted over from the direction of the sunrise.
On the bow deck, the fierce sea breeze battered Shiki the Golden Lion's burly body. His great cloak whipped loudly in the wind.
Behind Shiki stood the only two subordinates he had left: his ship's doctor, Dr. Indigo, and his gorilla pet, Scarlet.
Because of the overwhelming pressure radiating from their captain, neither of them dared to speak.
Fortunately, Shiki clenched his fists at that moment, feeling the power in his body. With a wild expression, he said, "Dr. Indigo, your medicine works well. I've never felt this good!"
Dr. Indigo looked troubled as he said, "Boss Shiki, this medicine can temporarily suppress the interference caused by the injury in your head and restore your strength to its prime. But you absolutely cannot fight for too long. If it goes on too long, there will be irreversible side effects. Your brain may fall into occasional confusion and blankness."
"I know! But if I don't win the battle ahead, then the future won't matter anyway."
Seeing this, Dr. Indigo could say nothing more. Scarlet, on the other hand, excitedly beat his chest.
Just then, Sabah Island appeared clearly before them. However, the surrounding sea was completely empty.
"Could the guy from the Sky Pirates have lost his nerve and decided not to come?"
Dr. Indigo asked curiously.
Shiki shook his head with a wild laugh.
"No. He's already waiting for us on the island."
As soon as he finished speaking, under Shiki's control, the entire pirate ship sped through the steaming air above Sabah Island and arrived at the center of the island.
Unlike the steaming sea and island around them, a bone-chilling cold swept over them here. What appeared before their eyes was a frozen world, and at the center of that world of ice and snow stood the figures of two people and one fox.
"Come down with me!"
As Shiki leaped down from the sky, Dr. Indigo and Scarlet followed close behind.
After landing on the ice plain, Dr. Indigo stared at the three figures before him, especially the red-haired boy, and could not help exclaiming in amazement.
"So this is the boy who's going to challenge Boss Shiki? He's so young!"
...
No one would have imagined that two pirate crews capable of shaking the world's balance would appear on such an uninhabited island.
On the frozen plain at the island's center, Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates, and Shiki, captain of the Flying Pirates, looked each other in the eye.
It almost felt like fate. These two pirate crews, whose names differed by only a single word, had finally met here.
Even the people present seemed to mirror one another.
Captain versus captain.
Ship's doctor versus ship's doctor.
Pet versus pet.
Though Lillilu probably would not agree with being called a pet.
As three pairs of eyes met, Yemu, who was acting as the host, spoke first.
"You're finally here, Shiki. I've been waiting for you here for days."
Yemu's words broke the silence on the icy plain, and Shiki laughed boldly.
"Shihahaha! Brat, looks like your body recovered pretty well. I was worried you might run away!"
"You don't have to worry about that."
As Yemu spoke, he placed his large hand on Ayala's head and rubbed it.
"My ship's doctor is very reliable."
"You actually let a little kid serve as your ship's doctor. You really are a willful brat."
Over the past fifteen days, Shiki had gathered all the information he could on the Sky Pirates, so he understood each of their members to some extent.
Ayala, who had been mentioned out of nowhere, felt nervous and at a loss under the gaze of two such major figures. But when she thought of Yemu's expectations for her, she gathered her courage and glared at Shiki without backing down.
Shiki froze at the glare. Even pirates on the sea with bounties in the billions would not dare look at him like that, yet this little girl actually dared to glare at him.
"Interesting… But did you really bring only this little girl and Lillilu to duel me?"
"That's enough. This battle belongs only to you and me. Besides, I don't want you to hold back. I want to see just how powerful the legendary great pirate Shiki the Golden Lion truly is."
"You brat… You're so arrogant it's annoying. But… yes… Since you defeated Sengoku, you do have the right to make me take this seriously."
At this point, Shiki looked at Yemu with a trace of acknowledgment in his eyes.
"Since you want to see my full power, then… Dr. Indigo, Scarlet, you two take our pirate ship and leave this place. Head out to sea. From here on, unless the battle here is over, don't come anywhere near this island."
"Boss Shiki, you…"
Dr. Indigo looked at Shiki worriedly.
"Enough talking. Leave."
"Yes…"
As Dr. Indigo and Scarlet quickly left, Yemu turned to Ayala and Lillilu as well.
"Lillilu, take Ayala and leave too. Go far away and wait for me to come back."
"I understand. Ayala, get on."
As soon as she spoke, Lillilu transformed into a giant cat-yōkai. Ayala held Yemu's hands very seriously.
"Yemu-nii-san, this is all the luck I have. Lillilu and I will wait for you outside!"
"Mm. Go on."
...
Once both sides had left, only Yemu and Shiki remained on the entire ice plain.
A murderous atmosphere lingered around them.
However, the battle did not begin immediately. Shiki took a cigar from his clothes and placed it in his mouth.
After lighting it, he looked at Yemu with great interest. Taking a long drag, he exhaled smoke and said, "I looked into you properly over the past few days. You really are a bold brat. No wonder you dared to invade Impel Down and even wanted to kill this old man to obtain my Fuwa Fuwa no Mi ability."
At this point, Shiki's gaze sharpened as he stared at Yemu.
"But even so, changing the world is something Rocks couldn't do, and Roger couldn't do either. What makes you think you can?"