Amidst the mud-smeared, shattered ground, Shiki suddenly snapped back to his senses. Only then did he realize he had briefly blacked out.
Just as he tried to move, pain shot through every part of his body. A mouthful of blood surged up uncontrollably, spraying from his throat and splattering across half his face.
Several ribs were clearly broken. Burns covered large patches of his body. His left arm was likely fractured, and the stabbing pain from within told him his organs were bleeding. Even breathing felt strained. Each gasp carried the stench of blood and the tearing sensation of his throat and lungs.
A devastating injury. Absolutely devastating!
At that moment, Shiki thought he heard an argument nearby.
"What the hell was that just now?"
"What do you mean? I wasn't losing it. That strike was pretty cool, wasn't it?"
"If that had landed on Marineford, did you even think about the consequences?"
"I nearly had to kick off my Neo Marines Headquarters plan because of you, bastard!"
"No, I saw Admiral Sengoku and Garp-san down there—that's why I struck. It was all about teamwork, and it proved we worked together perfectly!"
Forcing himself through the pain, Shiki staggered unsteadily to his feet and turned toward the voices. There, Sengoku and Garp were surrounding that lightning brat, Ortoren, scolding him harshly, while Ortoren argued back at the top of his lungs.
For a moment, Shiki didn't even know how to put his feelings into words.
"I haven't lost yet... you damn Mari—" Shiki roared furiously.
But before he could finish, Ortoren heard his voice. His head snapped around, eyes wide with astonishment and disbelief.
"He's still standing?" Ortoren blurted out.
From what he remembered, Shiki's body wasn't anything abnormal. If he had Kaidou's monstrous hide or Charlotte Linlin's steel-hard frame, he wouldn't have ended up with a ship's wheel stuck in his head. And yet, after taking such a brutal combined strike, he could still stand and spit out threats!?
Was this the man who had nearly become the second Pirate King after Rocks?
In the blink of an eye, as Shiki caught sight of Ortoren's stunned expression, he also saw him blur into a bolt of lightning, rushing straight at him. Shiki's instincts screamed to lift his arms, but the agony tearing through his body left him frozen.
The next moment, he felt arms clamp around him from behind. A powerful grip slipped under his armpits, yanked him back, and warm hands locked tight around his neck.
"As expected," Ortoren said firmly. "A great pirate like you deserves special treatment..."
Still dazed, Shiki had no chance to react—he hadn't even processed the words before his body lifted off the ground, feet dangling in the air. Then, blinding flashes of lightning swallowed his senses whole.
Through the chaos, he vaguely heard Ortoren's furious roar... something about a bomb?
The next instant, a crushing impact slammed into him, knocking him completely unconscious—along with every trace of the unbearable pain that had consumed him.
Meanwhile, in the eyes of Sengoku and the others, the scene likely unfolded like this.
Shiki staggered to his feet, looking utterly disheveled, as if he intended to spit out some kind of threat. But before he could finish, Ortoren flickered behind him in a flash of lightning and drove him straight into the ground with a brutal Lightning Self Bomb...
As the smoke and stray sparks cleared, Ortoren stood where he was, rubbing his chin as he looked down at Shiki, whose torso was already half-buried in the ground. After waiting a moment, he nodded slightly as if confirming his thoughts.
"Still, nothing beats this move for raw power. Can't get back up, huh?"
Sengoku and Garp walked over. Garp crouched down, placing a hand near Shiki's face to check his breathing. After a moment, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Damn, Shiki's tough. He's still alive..."
He then ran his hands over Shiki's battered frame before letting out a low sigh.
"But these injuries are really bad. Nearly every bone in his body is broken. Judging from the blood pouring out of his seven orifices, his insides must be a complete wreck. If he doesn't get treatment, he'll die for sure."
Hearing Garp's assessment, Sengoku let out a small sigh of relief and immediately called for medics to take Shiki away for treatment.
It wasn't out of humanitarian concern that the Marines chose to save a pirate. The Marines had a well-established system for dealing with cases like this. Shiki's ability was both powerful and terrifying. If he died here, the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi would instantly respawn somewhere else in the world. If that fruit fell into the wrong hands, it could easily cause another disaster.
For Devil Fruit users of such immense power, the Marines' longstanding practice had always been to capture them and imprison them in Impel Down. It served as both punishment and deterrence, while also delaying the reemergence of their dangerous fruits.
In fact, some of the most dangerous users had been frozen within Impel Down itself, ensuring their abilities could never resurface. One such example was the Great Pirate Byrnndi World, also known as the World Destroyer, who had been locked away years ago.
His Moa Moa no Mi could amplify the power of even an ordinary cannon to unimaginable levels. Pair it with a giant weapon, and it could rival the Ancient Weapons. He had even gone around shouting about blowing up Mary Geoise. The World Government eventually dealt with him by freezing him solid in Impel Down to prevent such a dangerous power from ever circulating again.
...
Once Shiki was dragged away, Garp finally asked, "What the hell was that guy thinking? Why attack Marineford alone? That's just asking for death!"
Sengoku frowned. "No idea. I was just working in my office when the alarm went off. Next thing I knew, I saw Ortoren fighting him. That's all I know."
Both men turned to Ortoren. Scratching his head, he said, "I think I heard something about Roger. Didn't catch it too clearly... maybe he came looking for Roger?"
Garp nodded. "That might be it. Shiki's always been strange. Anything involving Roger, he just loses it. It was like that at Edd War, and now again here..."
Ortoren gave Garp a strange look, thinking to himself, You've got some nerve talking about Shiki. If anything, the two of you are cut from the same cloth when it comes to Roger. A dragon and a phoenix—what a pair!
Admiral Sengoku waved them off. "Alright, enough chatter. At least Shiki didn't unleash his full power this time. Marineford didn't take too much damage. Get reconstruction moving right away. As for Roger's situation, the higher-ups have already made arrangements. Better not delay. Let's get him transferred to the East Blue quickly. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of another lunatic like Shiki showing up."
Soon after, Sengoku and Garp both went about their duties.
Ortoren also turned to leave, but after just a few steps, he noticed Momonga waving him over from a distance.
Seeing this, Ortoren chuckled and walked up.
"You're really stubborn. Attacking Shiki before backup arrived?"
"Who had time to think back then?" Momonga gave a wry smile, then spoke seriously. "Still, thanks. I almost lost my life."
"Looks like you're tough enough to survive without me," Ortoren said, patting Momonga's shoulder.
Then he exaggeratedly rolled his shoulder in front of him and muttered, "Ah, my shoulder feels itchy. Take a look—anything on it?"
Momonga scowled. "Cut the act. It's just a Vice Admiral's insignia. I saw it."
"Hahahaha! Momonga Rear Admiral, you'd better work hard. Aim to be a glorious Vice Admiral like me someday!" Ortoren laughed arrogantly.
Momonga sneered. "I should learn from you, huh? You're not that young anymore. Time to settle down. I hear you're married now, Vice Admiral Ortoren?"
"Ah, well..." Ortoren's face stiffened, leaving him momentarily speechless.