Inside the room, the air was thick with the ozone crackle of raw power.
The Golden Lion stood tall, his expression one of pure, unadulterated ecstasy.
He tilted his head back, a slow, genuine grin spreading across his face, his eyes gleaming with a light that had been extinguished for twenty long years.
He felt… light.
The crushing, unbearable weight that had been his constant companion for decades was simply gone.
He was finally free of that damned ship's helm.
For twenty years, it had been more than an injury; it had been an unbreakable shackle, a crown of thorns that tormented him day and night.
He remembered the storms at sea, where every rumble of thunder, every flash of lightning, seemed to send a sympathetic jolt of agony straight into his brain.
The pain was a living entity, a demon howling inside his skull, driving him to the brink of madness.
But now… silence.
A profound, beautiful silence in his own mind.
He was free.
The feeling was so overwhelming it was dizzying. It was a ray of sunlight piercing through an endless, dark storm cloud, filling him with a boundless hope and strength he thought he'd lost forever.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, and the very air seemed to taste fresh and new, as if the entire world had been reborn in that single moment.
"Jiahahaha… JIAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A wild, booming laugh erupted from his chest, full of joy and relief.
The golden Flames of Rebirth still blazed fiercely atop his head, licking at the air like a phantom mane, yet his long, golden hair remained completely unsinged.
Under the flickering glow of the ethereal fire, the horrific wound on his head was knitting itself shut, the gnarled scar tissue smoothing over until it vanished completely, as if it had never been there at all.
Ron watched the entire spectacle, his expression calm but his mind filled with a genuine sense of awe.
'This guy… he really is a monster.'
The helm had plunged deep into Shiki's skull, an injury that should have been instantly fatal.
Yet, against all logic and medical science, the man had simply… lived.
Ron could only shake his head, marveling at the sheer, stubborn tenacity of a true top-tier pirate.
As the last of the flames on his head dimmed, Shiki's restoration was complete.
And then, something new happened.
Something powerful.
It started as a tremor in the air, a sudden drop in pressure.
Then, it exploded.
A surge of raw, untamed spiritual energy erupted from Shiki's body, a force so immense it felt like the space itself was groaning under the strain.
His tattered robes billowed out as if caught in a typhoon, supported by an invisible, unstoppable force.
Conqueror's Haki.
It wasn't a conscious act.
It was the roar of a lion long-caged, its spirit finally uncaged and unleashed upon the world.
For the first time in two decades, Shiki felt the world not just with his eyes and ears, but with his very soul.
His Observation Haki flared to life, the space around him no longer just a room, but a tapestry of auras and intentions.
He could feel Ron's presence, a core of calm, deep power.
He could feel the very fabric of Jozu's pocket dimension.
Then came the feeling of hardness, of invincibility.
His Armament Haki flooded his limbs, a familiar sense of spiritual armor that he had sorely missed.
He was no longer just a man of flesh and bone.
He was a weapon.
Feeling the resurgence of his full power, the aged pirate's eyes welled with tears.
He looked at Ron, his voice choked with an overwhelming mix of emotions.
"How many years… How many years has it been, Ron boy?" he asked, his voice thick.
"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this day?"
There was sorrow in his tone, but it was drowned out by a tidal wave of joy and profound satisfaction.
Ron gave a simple, understanding nod.
He could only imagine the hell Shiki had endured, a legend shackled by his own body, stripped of his full strength, forced to watch the world from the sidelines.
It was also worth noting that, under the vitalizing influence of the Phoenix Fruit, Shiki's appearance had subtly changed.
The deep lines on his face seemed softer, some of the gray in his hair had receded, and the gaunt, weathered look had been replaced by a renewed, fearsome vigor.
He looked ten, maybe fifteen years younger.
After a moment, Shiki's wild, unrestrained aura began to settle, though the immense pressure of his presence remained.
"Ron," he said, his tone turning to business.
"What about the other five pounds of blood I owe you?"
Ron shook his head.
"It's no longer necessary. Your Devil Fruit ability has been replaced. The power of the Float-Float Fruit that once saturated your blood is now gone."
The reality of Ron's words slowly sank in.
The system-modified blood could only replicate the original.
With Shiki's body now attuned to the Phoenix Fruit, the "original" was gone.
This meant the Float-Float Fruit, now absent from the world, would be reborn somewhere in the vast seas.
And it also meant that the five pounds of blood Ron held was now the only remaining sample of its power in existence.
"...What a shame," Shiki said, his voice quiet.
He slowly calmed down, his gaze turning inward.
He could feel the phantom sensation of his old power, the ability to make anything he touched weightless, to command islands as his own personal fleet.
It was like a phantom limb, an ache for a power that was no longer his.
He had been given a miraculous gift, but he had also lost his most prized weapon.
And most importantly, the only path to ever regaining that power led directly through the calm, smiling young man standing in front of him.
There was no other way.
It was a trap.
A gilded, beautiful, miraculous trap, and he had walked into it with his eyes wide open.
After a long moment of silence, Shiki let out a soft sigh
. "Ron boy," he began, the legendary pride in his voice replaced by a note of reluctant pleading.
"Can we… do this on credit? You know my reputation. The Golden Lion always keeps his word. Once I get my Float-Float ability back, a mere hundred billion Berries will be pocket change for me!"
He watched Ron, his eyes betraying a deep, desperate longing for the power that had defined him.
Hearing this, Ron simply shook his head, his gaze steady and his answer firm, leaving no room for argument.
"Shiki, the Whitebeard Pirates do not do business on credit."
The hope that had been blazing in Shiki's eyes just moments ago was instantly extinguished.
His face fell, and his shoulders slumped.
He felt like he'd been given a lifeline only to have it snatched away at the last second.
Just as he was sinking into a pit of utter despair, Ron spoke again, and his next words were a sudden beam of light in the darkness, a thunderclap that shook Shiki to his core.
"However, Shiki, while we don't offer credit, we can cooperate."
Shiki was momentarily stunned, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
"Cooperate? Wasn't the Phoenix Fruit part of our cooperation…?" He couldn't quite grasp what Ron was getting at.
Observing the legend's puzzled expression, Ron's faint smile returned.
"Shiki," he said slowly, letting each word land with calculated weight.
"Our cooperation has only just begun."
The air in the dimly lit space grew heavy with anticipation.
Shiki's previously calm face was now a mask of astonishment.
His eyes widened as if he were witnessing something impossible, his gaze locked on Ron, desperately trying to decipher the meaning behind his words.
Ron, on the other hand, remained the picture of composure.
He lifted his chin slightly, his voice clear and resonant, delivering the final, stunning terms of his proposal.
"I can unconditionally restore your Float-Float Fruit ability, making you a wielder of two Devil Fruits." He paused, letting the impossible offer sink in, before delivering the price.
"But in exchange, you must join the Whitebeard Pirates. You will serve Whitebeard for three years."