As the fierce battle raged on, the massive Lionhead Island-ship finally began to collapse under the weight of destruction unleashed by the three combatants.
Barrett, finding no stable ground to stand on, was forced to abandon his fused giant form. Kicking off with Moonwalk, he leapt into the air, maintaining altitude as fragments of his enormous body fell apart.
The landmass that had been fused through his awakened Fusion-Fusion Fruit power—no longer held aloft by Shiki's Float-Float Fruit—began plummeting toward Lorenz Island below.
"Run! It's raining mud from the sky!"
"That's not mud—it's chunks of an island!"
"This is a damn catastrophe!"
"So this… this is what a battle between legendary pirates looks like?!"
Towering fragments, hundreds of meters tall, came crashing down, smashing through buildings and sending shockwaves through the ground. Pirates and islanders alike screamed as they fled for their lives.
"Souta Kiryuu!!" Shiki the Golden Lion roared from atop the disintegrating island-ship, his mane wild and his eyes blazing with fury. "Return Indigo to me! Take the floating fleet if you must—but don't push me too far!"
The remnants of his ship had reformed into a colossal floating lion, and he stood proudly upon its head, his rage filling the skies.
Kiryuu looked up at him, a mocking grin tugging at his lips. "Do I need your charity? Forget the ships—even you, Golden Lion, will be my spoils of war."
The moment his words fell, lightning ripped across the heavens—Enel, the Thunder God, descended like a wrathful deity. Dozens of roaring thunder dragons tore through the air toward Shiki.
Barrett, now airborne, shot forward with Moonwalk, landing upon the floating lion.
"Hey-hee-hee! The old lion's cornered now! That corpse is mine!"
Moriah's shrill laughter echoed across the battlefield, feeding off the chaos.
Even without Kiryuu himself or the Seraphim joining the fight, Barrett and Enel alone had forced the legendary pirate into a desperate struggle. His downfall was now only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, high above, six draconic silhouettes shimmered through the air—Kiryuu's Six Paths. They had already begun encircling the entire battlefield, cutting off every possible escape route.
Souta Kiryuu hovered in the skies, arms crossed, his gaze cold and detached. The outcome was already decided. His attention drifted elsewhere—to the chaos below.
On the island, Bartolomeo's crew had surrounded Kid and Killer, closing in with overwhelming numbers. The two Supernovas fought fiercely but were being drained of strength, their backs literally against the wall.
Out at sea, the retreating Navy fleet watched in awe and disbelief as Kiryuu's forces clashed with the Flying Pirates.
"Let them fight! Pirates being pirates—biting each other to death is the best outcome for us!"
Vice Admiral Onigumo grinned grimly. "As long as they're too busy killing one another to unite, the World Government can breathe easier."
The Navy had been shaken by Kiryuu's previous feats—his uncanny ability to rally countless pirate crews and criminal factions under his banner.
A united pirate front was the government's greatest nightmare.
But now? Seeing Kiryuu turning his might against Shiki himself—it was a relief.
"This confirms it," another officer muttered. "Kiryuu's not looking to cooperate with the other Emperors. He's carving out his own empire."
"With just his crew, the threat is manageable," Onigumo said with satisfaction. "Report this to Fleet Admiral Sengoku immediately. Souta Kiryuu's ambitions are finally showing. He's no ally to the others anymore."
"Do you think he means to kill Shiki or to recruit him?"
"Recruit him? Ha! The Golden Lion would never kneel. He cut off his own legs to escape Impel Down rather than bow to anyone."
"Then we'd better move out fast. Once Kiryuu finishes with Shiki, he might turn his claws on us next."
The fleet hastily shifted course, rowing manually to escape the deadly airspace. Without an Admiral present, none of them dared risk Kiryuu's wrath.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru received the latest intelligence.
"Hm," Sengoku murmured, adjusting his glasses. "So Kiryuu's hunting down the Flying Pirates now."
"Either outcome works in our favor," Tsuru replied coolly. "If he kills Shiki, the old alliances crumble. If he enslaves him, the Emperors will distrust him. Either way, cooperation between them becomes impossible."
The logic was sound.
Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido—all had history with Shiki. If Kiryuu destroyed him, none of them would ever ally with him again.
"So the World Government can rest easier," Sengoku said, finally exhaling.
"But…" Tsuru frowned. "Why would Kiryuu still go after him? His Seraphim already inherited the Float-Float Fruit's power. Unless…"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"…he's after Shiki's fleet—or the Devil Fruits Shiki stole from God-Demon Island."
"Or maybe," Sengoku said quietly, "he wants to subjugate him. Like he did with Moria and Crocodile."
In the New World, at the mobile headquarters of the World Economy News Agency, Big News Morgans was practically shaking with excitement.
"Kwahaha! Souta Kiryuu versus the Golden Lion—now that's a story!"
Even for the ever-sensational Morgans, this was a headline that could shake the world.
"It's been too quiet since the Holy Land incident," he chuckled, feathers ruffling as he spread his wings. "At last, the seas roar again!"
He barked orders to his staff. "Keep eyes on Lorenz Island! I want every detail, every explosion, every scream! When the dust settles, I want the front page ready to fly!"
Back on Lorenz Island, amidst fire and thunder, Eustass Kid roared in rage as Killer fell, bloodied and broken.
Driven to the edge, Kid's fury erupted—his Conqueror's Haki exploded outward in a violent shockwave, knocking out half of the surrounding pirates instantly.
The sudden surge caught everyone's attention—even members of the Kiryuu Pirates, including Bonney and Law, who had been striving to awaken their own Conqueror's Haki.
High above, Souta Kiryuu's gaze shifted toward the trembling magnetic pirate. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"So… he's awakened it after all," he murmured. "But even a spark of kingship can't change fate."
Kid's journey, Souta Kiryuu decided, would end here—on the burning ruins of Lorenz Island.