Shame flushed the tips of his ears, resentment tightened his fists, and anger nearly burst through his chest; several complex emotions intertwined on Golden Lion's face.
All of this was thanks to that White-Haired Kid.
"Beelzebul, you really deserve to die!"
Before coming, Golden Lion only intended to gauge whether the White-Haired Kid—whom Whitebeard claimed inherited Roger's will—was truly worthy of his reputation or just a fraud.
If he was a fraud, he would kill him directly.
If he wasn't, he would coerce him into submission.
Then, he would gather the remnants of the Flying Pirate Crew and lie low for a while before destroying the East Blue to avenge himself against the World Government and prove Roger's value.
The weakest sea, the East Blue, was not worthy of Roger.
Golden Lion never expected to end up in this situation: a legendary great pirate with a bare bottom.
His lifelong reputation was ruined in an instant.
If he could survive, he had to kill everyone in this village to vent his hatred, along with Beelzebul and the Morning Star Pirates—
Everyone must die!
Golden Lion let out a furious roar, kicking out and sending several slashes of sword qi that tore through space crashing down.
"Lion: Senkyoku."
Seven held musou isshin, the blade wrapped in red and black Haki as it swung down with a roar, forcefully shattering all the incoming sword qi.
"Your ass is quite white, Golden Lion."
Hearing this, bloodshot veins filled Golden Lion's eyes. Like a madman, he used both legs to unleash his famous techniques one after another.
Whether he survived or not was no longer important; Golden Lion now only wanted to kill Beelzebul.
"Die for me!!!"
Seven fought back with all his might, vowing to completely erase the fear that Golden Lion and the Flying Pirate Crew had instilled in him back then.
At that time, even though he knew the Roger Pirates would achieve final victory, he could only hide behind the crew.
But now, the tables had turned.
The two fought fiercely from the Shimotsuki Village harbor all the way to the back mountains, carving shocking ravines through the wilderness wherever they passed.
Two years ago, unable to accept Roger's arrest by the Marines (as the Marines publicly claimed).
Golden Lion charged into Marineford alone, engaging in a fierce battle with Garp and Sengoku, destroying more than half of Marineford. He was only captured after exhausting his strength, leaving countless Marines dead or wounded.
Tonight, two years later, Golden Lion had come once again because of Roger, to gauge the one who inherited Roger's will.
For the same reason, but the outcome was still unknown.
At least, that was what Golden Lion thought.
In reality, Seven was in no hurry to defeat Golden Lion; he was using Golden Lion to hone his swordsmanship and facilitate the fusion of musou isshin's cultivation experience.
On this sea, the swordsmanship of every Great Swordsman was different. It was rare to encounter a decent opponent, so he naturally had to make the most of it.
As Seven's swordsmanship became more refined, such opponents would only become fewer in the future, until perhaps only Mihawk remained.
It would take many years for that guy Shanks to catch up.
That night, the ground of Shimotsuki Village trembled.
That night, Golden Lion's wild laughter tore through the night, rolling across the continuous mountains and villages, as if mocking fate, and as if feeling resentful on behalf of Roger and himself.
Why?
Why was he, who was famous across the Grand Line and known as one of the three legendary pirates alongside Whitebeard and Roger, unable to take down this White-Haired Kid?
In the power system of the pirate world, aside from physical limitations, it relied heavily on one's spirit and will.
Once Golden Lion believed he could not defeat Beelzebul, his defeat was only a matter of time.
"I am the Golden Lion!"
Golden Lion roared unwillingly.
Five years ago, the White-Haired Kid could only hide behind Roger, protected by the other crew members. Back then, he could have killed him with a casual strike.
Why?
Why has only five years passed?
Five years, only five years!
Many five-year periods had passed in Golden Lion's life, but he never expected to end up like this.
First, he was ganged up on by three Great Swordsmen, then outnumbered and heavily injured by Beelzebul and Mihawk, and finally forced to face the strongest, Beelzebul.
If there had been only one, he wouldn't have been in such a pathetic state.
Golden Lion didn't understand.
Why would a pirate crew that had only been at sea for a few months simultaneously possess three Great Swordsmen, three supreme grade blades, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Zushi Zushi no Mi... Beelzebul!
Does fate favor you so much?!
Two years ago, at Marineford, he could still fight Sengoku and Garp until he was exhausted and captured.
Two years later, had he weakened to this extent?
Boom—!
Seven's full-strength strike, wreathed in lightning and Haki infusion, crashed down, smashing Golden Lion heavily into the ground and kicking up countless clouds of dust.
As the dust slowly cleared, the eastern sky was already showing a faint, hazy dawn.
Golden Lion lay paralyzed in the deep pit, a mouthful of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the sky that was about to break into dawn.
When he arrived, the sunset glowed like fire across the sky.
Now, the morning light was as faint as frost.
"I've lost to a man from the East Blue again?"
"Roger!!!"
Golden Lion's vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.
After removing the two famous blades, oto and Kogarashi, from Golden Lion's legs, Seven took out clothes from his system storage, bundled Golden Lion up, and picked him up.
When he returned to the Shimotsuki Village pier, Shimotsuki Kousaburou and his son Shimotsuki Genzo were chatting with Fujitora.
Seeing the two of them, Seven casually asked.
"Do you have any Sea Stone handcuffs?"
Shimotsuki Village was built thirty-three years ago by members of the Shimotsuki clan who left Wano Country; Zoro's grandmother, Shimotsuki Furiko, was the elder sister of the Daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
They were all descendants of Shimotsuki Ryuma.
And the specialty of Wano Country was precisely Sea Stone.
Seeing the blood-stained bundle in Seven's hand, Shimotsuki Kousaburou's eyes couldn't help but twitch. For the legendary great pirate Golden Lion to fall to such a state, it truly was a case of the new waves pushing the old, and the old waves dying on the beach.
"Yes."
"Genzo, go home quickly and bring a few pairs of Sea Stone handcuffs."
If someone asked for one pair, you couldn't just give one.
Even if they didn't have Sea Stone handcuffs at home, they would have to find a way to get some, all for the sake of building a good relationship.
The harmless-looking youth before them was a great pirate who had been certified by a Marine Buster Call, had a bounty of three billion Berries, and had just defeated Golden Lion.
Shimotsuki Genzo nodded in agreement: "Captain Beelzebul, please wait a moment."
"Thank you."
Seven only spoke foully to enemies; to strangers and friends, he usually addressed them as'sir' and used polite honorifics.
He prioritized being polite.
Before long, under the astonished gazes of the Shimotsuki father and son, Seven took the four pairs of Sea Stone handcuffs and locked one pair around Golden Lion's wrists.
Then he locked Golden Lion in the cabin.
Until he found a way to 100% obtain the Float-Float Fruit, Golden Lion would find it hard to even die.
Returning to the harbor, Seven took out 100 million Berries and handed them to Shimotsuki Kousaburou.
"Old gentleman, we are about to leave the East Blue. I'll have to trouble you two with the repairs to the pier."
During the trip to the East Blue, most of his goals were achieved, and he even received an extra gift from Garp, plus Golden Lion had delivered himself to his doorstep. It was time to head to the Grand Line.
Shimotsuki Kousaburou paused for a moment, then bowed slightly and accepted the Berries: "It is my honor."
Such a pirate was truly rare.
Powerful yet polite; the four pairs of Sea Stone handcuffs and the pier repairs wouldn't even cost 100 million Berries in total.
Learning that Seven's group was preparing to leave the East Blue, Shimotsuki Kousaburou hurried to speak again.
"Captain Beelzebul, this old man has a humble request. Could I... observe your blade?"
Regarding the blade in Beelzebul's hand, there were many rumors on the sea. Some said it was one of the twelve supreme grade blades, while others said it was one of the twenty-one great grade blades.
As a renowned swordsmith who had forged the 'Wado Ichimonji' and 'Enma' among the twenty-one great grade blades, Shimotsuki Kousaburou did not want to miss this rare opportunity.
This might be the only chance in his life.
After all, the New World was the stage that belonged exclusively to great pirates like Beelzebul.
"Oh? It's not impossible."
Zoro's childhood friend Kuina seemed to be only one year old this year. Instead of meeting her end on the supreme staircase in the future, it would be better for her to join the Morning Star Pirates as an intern.
Predestined fate? I'm going to change it!
If he raised Kuina as his disciple, she might be able to defeat the protagonist's group in the future, and he could even shout—
"Jie jie jie jie~
Zoro, Kuina is in my hands."