Next Bonus, 100!!
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Jin and Shiki, the Golden Lion, faced each other.
Shiki laughed. Before launching his attack, he had sent his men to scout the flying islands and gather basic intelligence.
After a moment, his laughter subsided. His eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Jin.
The man was young, tall, and slender, with sharp eyes and a handsome, resolute face. His expression was calm, almost detached. He possessed a unique aura, the kind that naturally develops after holding a position of great power for a long time.
And, just like him, he was floating in the air.
Some kind of Devil Fruit? Shiki wondered.
"The 'God' of Skypiea," he said, his voice booming. "If you and your men surrender to me, I will not only forgive your transgressions, but I will also make you one of my commanders. Let us conquer the world together. What do you say?"
Instead of attacking immediately, Shiki had chosen to try and "persuade" him.
Jin just smiled. "How about this instead, Golden Lion? You surrender to me, and I'll forgive your transgressions."
Shiki's eyes turned cold. "Many young fools have said such things to me in the past," he sneered. "Words about taking my head. They're all either dead now, or they've bent the knee. You'll be no exception."
"Heh," Jin chuckled. "You've been hiding for over twenty years, and only now you dare to show your face? Is this just the last, desperate struggle of a dying man who can't accept his fate?"
"What did you say?"
A surge of rage, hot as blood, rose from Shiki's chest and rushed to his head. The veins on his face and forehead bulged, as if they were about to burst. His face flushed a deep red, almost as if it were on fire.
"DIE!"
Shiki spread his arms, and the rocks, the splintered wood, everything on the ground below began to float into the air. The debris gathered behind him, a vast, swirling river that blotted out the sky.
Under his control, the countless pieces of debris shot toward Jin.
Jin raised a hand. A magnetic field erupted from his body, and all the metal objects within the swirling debris were instantly magnetized, their trajectory altered.
They shot toward Shiki, faster than a bullet from a Kar98k.
Shiki was stunned. He quickly moved a massive boulder in front of him to act as a shield.
In an instant, the boulder was riddled with pieces of iron and other metal, including several swords.
Jin had been studying the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, combining its power with his knowledge of physics to develop new applications. His time was limited, so although he had acquired several fruits, he had focused his efforts on just a few. The rest he had left for his crew to develop.
Their new techniques were then fed back to the demonic carrier, and Jin could use them as well.
But the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Magnet-Magnet Fruit... those he had developed himself. He was confident that no one understood electricity and magnetism better than he did.
The boulder exploded, and Shiki was sent flying by the shockwave, forced to dodge the countless swords and other metal objects that were now hurtling toward him.
This technique was called "Magnetic Field Rotation." It created a magnetic field with Jin at its center. Within this field, all metal objects were magnetized and brought under his control.
It was a power worthy of a sword master.
"Dammit!" Shiki roared. "Lion's Threat: Earth Bind!"
He knew he couldn't keep dodging forever. He unleashed his own technique, and the very ground began to rise up, forming into the shape of a giant lion's head.
The lion heads crashed into the swords, and some of them shot toward Jin.
But it was useless. It wasn't that the technique was weak; it was that Shiki was weak. He was relying entirely on his fruit. He was at the level of a Warlord, and a Warlord without Haki at that...
Looking at the calm young man before him, Shiki was beginning to understand what it meant to be a product of a bygone era.
His old body was already beginning to tire.
And his opponent hadn't even moved. He had just stood there, using his fruit to control the swords.
In his prime, not even Roger would have dared to be so arrogant.
'He's mocking my weakness.'
Shiki was furious. He kicked out with both feet, sending a flurry of slicing attacks at Jin. But Jin just waved his hand, and a wall of swords met the attack.
Shiki used his Float-Float Fruit to lift one of the islands and send it crashing down on Jin, but Jin just enveloped it in his magnetic field. The countless metal objects within the island were magnetized, and the two fruit powers battled for control.
Another island rose into the air and shot toward Jin.
It was clear that Shiki's Float-Float Fruit was awakened. Within his sphere of influence, everything was under his control, and it was suppressing Jin's still-unawakened Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
A golden light suddenly erupted from Jin's eyes, a light so bright it momentarily outshone the sun.
Conqueror's Haki??
The thought flashed through Shiki's mind, and in the next instant, a sharp, piercing aura washed over him.
The powerful aura of a king, like an ocean, like an abyss, pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating.
It filled the space between them, suppressing even the power of his awakened fruit, and whipped up a fierce wind. The waterfalls on the islands were momentarily sucked up into the sky.
Shiki was stunned.
The man before him was now a blade unsheathed.
The unshakable belief in his own invincibility... it reminded him of the men of his era.
Rocks, Newgate, Roger, Garp, Sengoku...
And himself.
When they were young, they had all been the same.
They feared no one.
Not even the gods themselves.
That indomitable spirit...
He missed it.
Shiki snapped back to reality.
His own Conqueror's Haki, which he hadn't used in years, as if provoked, erupted from his body.
A deep, dark-red Conqueror's Haki, still as heavy and sharp as ever, radiated outward.
The clash of their Haki was so powerful that cracks, like lightning, like sparks, spread across the sky and the ground.
Shiki's Haki was not weak. He may have been old, on the verge of death, but the heart of a conqueror still beat within him.
Jin raised an eyebrow. He noticed that Shiki's head was bleeding.
So that was it. The ship's wheel embedded in his head was sealing his power. If he pushed himself too hard, he would self-destruct.
And even so, he was still fighting.
That spirit... it was a hundred times stronger than the likes of Moria.
"As expected of a great pirate from the legendary era," Jin said. "Shiki, you have my respect."
'Huh??' Shiki thought, a sense of extreme danger washing over him. He glanced over and saw Jin reach into the air and pull out a jet-black sword.
In an instant, the black blade was upon him.
Danger!
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