If Whitebeard was Maude's primary target in this historic, large-scale war…
Then his secondary targets were undoubtedly the ability experience of Golden Lion and the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Float-Float Fruit).
Having already accomplished his primary goal, Maude felt more than satisfied.
So, if circumstances didn't allow it, he was prepared to abandon the idea of acquiring Golden Lion's ability experience and Devil Fruit.
But unexpectedly, just as he was about to leave Marineford, Sengoku delivered a flawless assist—practically handing Golden Lion's head to him.
It was so sudden.
So sudden that Maude couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Sengoku had no knowledge of the existence of the Hunter's Notebook, nor could he have foreseen how his surprise attack would bring a drastic change for Maude.
When he saw Maude and Law working together to extract Golden Lion's heart, he was merely surprised.
After all, betrayal and slaughter among pirates were commonplace.
Even if Maude crushed Golden Lion's heart in the very next second, Sengoku wouldn't have been the least bit shocked.
However…
If possible, Sengoku didn't want to see Golden Lion die here.
Because the moment Golden Lion perished, his Float-Float Fruit—just like Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit—would be reborn somewhere in the world.
If the Marines could obtain these two legendary Devil Fruits, it would be an unparalleled advantage.
But if they ended up in the hands of pirates, it would mean the Marines would once again have to contend with the looming threats of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Float-Float Fruit.
Even though Sengoku considered these consequences, the choice of how to deal with Golden Lion was not in his hands.
"My heart…?"
Golden Lion's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his still-beating heart in Maude's hand.
Panic surging through him, he roared in fury, commanding the nearby rubble to coalesce into roaring stone lions that lunged at the shadow lions constricting his body.
At the same time, the foot blades at the ends of his legs trembled violently, slashing toward the nearest shadow lions.
Even with his throat locked in a deadly grip, Golden Lion refused to resign himself to fate.
"A futile struggle."
Maude spread his fingers and clenched hard, distorting the shape of the heart in his grasp.
In an instant—
Golden Lion was overwhelmed by an indescribable, soul-crushing pain.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Even a battle-hardened warrior like him couldn't suppress a scream of agony.
The lions he had just summoned collapsed mid-air, shattering into a rain of rubble and dust.
While continuing to squeeze the heart, Maude retracted most of his shadows, leaving only a basketball-sized shadow mass constricting Golden Lion's vitals.
Golden Lion's face turned deathly pale as cold sweat streamed down his forehead. His strength drained away as he plummeted to the ground, landing with a heavy crash.
But Maude didn't stop squeezing the heart.
Golden Lion clutched his chest, writhing and screaming in pain.
This wasn't just any pain—it was a pure, unrelenting torment that could break a person's will to resist.
"Shadow Curtain."
With Golden Lion subdued, Maude willed his shadows to form a barrier, swiftly enclosing himself and Law.
It was a risky move.
If Sengoku or anyone else attacked the Shadow Curtain with Armament Haki, Maude would take direct damage.
But he had Golden Lion's heart in his hand.
The rewards of experience and a Devil Fruit were within reach—this risk was worth taking.
"Let's make this quick."
Under the cover of the Shadow Curtain, Maude immediately retrieved a fruit from his Shadow Casket and tossed it to Law along with Golden Lion's heart.
Law, already well-versed in this process, caught them effortlessly and, within a single second, expanded the heart's outer membrane before inserting the fruit inside.
Once the task was complete, he flipped the heart back to Maude.
"What an unexpected harvest."
Maude caught the heart, activating the basketball-sized shadow mass still attached to Golden Lion.
Outside the Shadow Curtain—
The shadow constricting Golden Lion suddenly morphed into a razor-sharp circular blade and tore through his neck, chest, and abdomen in one seamless cut.
Schlick—!
Blood erupted like a fountain from the massive wound.
Golden Lion's body trembled violently, his eyes widening to their limits.
"I can't… fall here…!"
As his strength drained away along with his blood, he struggled to keep his eyelids from closing, his heart filled with unwillingness.
But moments later—
His heavy eyelids shut.
The light in his eyes faded.
With deep regret still lingering in his heart, Golden Lion took his final breath.
Ultimately—
This man who once ruled the seas, like Whitebeard before him, had fallen on the battlefield that would change the course of history.
With Golden Lion dead—
A surge of unimaginable gains flooded into Maude's body.
In an instant, he felt streams of warmth coursing through his veins, spreading to every fiber of his being.
His physique, Haki, swordsmanship, and Devil Fruit abilities—
Even after being divided among these aspects, the rewards were still astonishing.
Like twinkling stardust, the benefits coalesced next to the star frames in his Hunter's Notebook.
Feeling the tangible growth in his strength, a pleased expression flashed across Maude's face as he quickly closed his eyes to absorb the changes.
[Physique: ★★★★★★★★☆]
[Swordsmanship: ★★★★★★★★☆]
[Haki: ★★★★★★★★☆]
[Devil Fruit: ★★★★★★★★☆]
For the first time in history, the star rankings of his abilities were perfectly aligned.
The experience gained from Golden Lion had directly brought his Swordsmanship, Haki, and Devil Fruit skills to the brink of their ninth star.
This meant that once Maude fully filled in these four ninth stars, he would officially step into the realm of the top-tier powerhouses.
However, Maude understood that even if he killed another opponent on par with Golden Lion, he wouldn't instantly reach a full nine-star rating in all four categories.
That threshold wasn't so easy to cross.
After all—
He could never absorb 100% of his target's abilities through the Hunter's Notebook. Even obtaining 50% was already an exceptional gain.
As Maude reviewed his updated star rankings, the fruit in his hand underwent a transformation, its outer appearance changing as the Devil Fruit's essence infused into it.
Boom!
At that moment, a heavy impact struck the Shadow Curtain.
Maude's eyes snapped open. Reacting instinctively, he opened his Shadow Casket and swiftly stored both the now-still heart and the newly formed Float-Float Fruit inside.
Boom!
Crack, crack—!
Just as Maude secured the Float-Float Fruit, another thunderous blow landed. Cracks spread rapidly across the Shadow Curtain.
Maude's body trembled slightly, and a thin trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Sengoku, huh…"
Maude retracted the Shadow Curtain.
As it dissipated, blinding light from all directions flooded toward him and Law.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Alongside the light, the sharp, countdown-like sound of Kizaru charging up a laser attack filled the air.
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