Dr. Indigo's face, thickly painted like a circus clown, typically concealed his emotions from the world. Now, however, his fury was unmistakable to everyone present.
Kuro's metal claws rested against Indigo's throat, their razor-sharp blades poised to end his life with the slightest pressure.
The scientist's right hand remained pinned beneath Kuro's foot, while his left was firmly trapped under Don Krieg's heavy boot.
The room's occupants stood frozen in indecision, unwilling to risk Indigo's life. As the doctor desperately calculated his options and Shiki's subordinates debated how to neutralize the "traitors" without endangering their chief scientist, chaos erupted from an unexpected quarter.
With a resounding CRASH, the command center's window shattered inward. Selkirk landed in a half-kneeling position, calmly withdrawing his bloodied fingers from the corpse beneath him. Raising his head, he surveyed the room with calculated precision before allowing himself a cold, satisfied smile.
Another window exploded in a shower of glass as Aramis vaulted through. Almost simultaneously, twin flashes of light carved through one wall of the command center. A heartbeat later, the entire section collapsed with a thunderous roar, its edges gleaming with mirror-like precision. Edmond strode through the opening, katana in hand, his purposeful steps echoing across the floor.
Moments later, the sound of coordinated footfalls announced the arrival of more than a dozen East Blue warriors pouring through the breach.
"Which one is Dr. Indigo?" Edmond asked casually, his entire form drenched in crimson—a walking embodiment of carnage.
His tone suggested not an invader in enemy territory, but a commander on his own ground.
Though surrounded by hostile forces, Kuro maintained perfect composure. Neither tense from the encirclement nor visibly elated by his allies' arrival, he replied with clinical detachment: "The one beneath my foot."
Dr. Indigo represented one of William's highest-priority targets. In William's assessment, the scientist might well prove the most valuable acquisition of the entire operation.
"You've truly outdone yourself this time," Edmond chuckled, offering Kuro an appreciative thumbs-up.
Indeed, Kuro's contribution had been invaluable. Beyond providing critical intelligence about Golden Lion Shiki's operations, his masterstroke had been releasing the supposedly deceased Harden rather than escaping himself or with Krieg—a decision that had successfully misdirected Shiki's suspicions.
Meanwhile, Aramis moistened his lips as his gaze swept across the room, focusing on the numerous white-coated scientists who trembled at the sudden reversal of fortune.
Aramis smiled, his dimples and prominent canines lending his expression a predatory playfulness. "Scientists—drop your weapons, hands on heads, squat down."
His smile widened as he abruptly drew the revolver from his waist. "As for everyone else..." In one fluid motion, he aimed and fired, dropping a nearby guard with a single shot. "Go to hell!"
The instant Aramis pulled the trigger, Kuro delivered a precise blow to Indigo's nose, rendering him unconscious. Seizing the doctor's collar, Kuro activated Shave—one of the Six Powers techniques—to instantly remove himself and his captive from the center of the impending bloodbath.
The command center rapidly descended into slaughter. When the violence finally subsided, the room stood in ruins. The compliant scientists crouched with hands atop their heads, their terrified gazes repeatedly darting to their fallen colleagues—similarly clad in white coats—whose bodies now littered the floor.
At that moment, a deafening thunderclap shook the building, drawing everyone's attention toward the windows. Seconds later, the rhythmic drumming of heavy rain against glass filled the silence.
The heavens had split open, unleashing a torrential downpour upon the world below.
Intermittent lightning transformed the landscape into stark monochrome tableaux, reminiscent of freeze-frames from vintage black and white cinema.
High above, the massive cloud of steam began to contract—or more precisely, to coalesce. Gradually, it assumed a humanoid shape before fully reconstituting into William's physical form.
In ancient Egyptian belief, the Eye of Horus symbolized not only divine protection and supreme authority, but also resurrection and rebirth.
Having released the immense pressure within his body to "explode" into vapor before "resurrecting" himself, William's complexion had turned noticeably ashen. This steam explosion technique, while devastatingly powerful, relied on Iron Body—a method that used his own physical form as a containment vessel. Combined with the earlier strain of his Overheat state, William's internal organs throbbed with dull pain.
Yet compared to Golden Lion Shiki—blood-soaked and missing one of the swords that normally adorned his legs—William appeared in considerably better condition.
Their positions had reversed since the battle's beginning. Now Shiki stood below, gazing upward at William who hovered in the air above him.
Raindrops that touched William's skin instantly vaporized, creating a swirling aura of steam around his form. From Shiki's perspective, William appeared silhouetted against the roiling storm clouds and dancing lightning—a god-like figure of terrible majesty and unstoppable power.
The sight pierced Shiki to his core.
A storm. Again, a storm!
An East Blue man. Again, an East Blue man!
Why?! By what right?!
Shiki's frustration boiled over into rage. More than a decade ago, his ambitions had been crushed by an unexpected tempest and a man from the East Blue. Was history now repeating itself? Would he again lose everything to another East Blue upstart beneath these same skies?
At least Roger had already established his reputation back then. But this William—what was he in the grand scheme of the world?
Decades of infamy, years of patient planning and endurance—were they all to become merely a stepping stone for some no-name challenger?
Shiki slowly descended, positioning himself above an island's surface. Around him raged the storm, with howling winds and sheets of rain. Above, lightning fractured the darkness. Continuing their aerial battle at higher altitudes risked a direct lightning strike.
Shiki's gaze hardened as he observed William. The scattered steam surrounding his opponent compressed back into his body, causing his exposed skin to visibly redden. Raindrops evaporated before making contact, transformed into vapor by the intense heat radiating from his form.
As William also descended, Shiki channeled his power into his hands and the swords at his feet. Invisible energy swirled around them, growing more intense until it manifested as a black coating that enveloped both his fists and blades like living armor.
Armament Haki!
Shiki's features contorted with murderous rage, his eyes bloodshot with fury. The wound at the back of his head—where a ship's wheel remained embedded—throbbed painfully. A thin stream of blood trickled from his nose, only to be immediately washed away by the relentless rain.
Death? Pain?
What were these compared to failure? He was Shiki—the man destined to roar like a lion across the world. He could die, but surrender was inconceivable. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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