"Shiki-senpai, are you sure?"
If this were before he obtained Conquerors Haki Defense, Seven might have spent a considerable amount of time to defeat Golden Lion, even if Golden Lion had returned to his peak.
But things were different now.
Not only had Seven obtained Conquerors Haki Defense, but under the impetus of Dorry and Brogy's Giant Combo Technique Hakkoku, he had also mastered the instant-cast Musou no Hitotachi.
Both his offense and defense were far superior to what they once were.
"Gurarararara~" Golden Lion cackled strangely.
"If you're afraid of losing, you should switch places with me and let me be the Captain sooner. Of course, my previous promise to split the world with you remains unchanged."
Golden Lion made no attempt to hide his desire to betray Beelzebul at any moment, even hoping Beelzebul would expel him.
"Hurry up and call all the brats over."
This time, Golden Lion was determined to personally defeat Beelzebul in front of all the Morning Star Pirates crew members and then recruit them.
He wanted Beelzebul, Dracule Mihawk, Fujitora, Bartholomew Kuma, Ginny, and even the Impel Down brat Shiliew—Golden Lion wanted them all.
Compared to the old members of the Flying Pirate Group, the configuration of the Morning Star Pirates was truly worthy of being called an Emperor-tier Pirate Crew.
"How about this?" Seven suggested.
"Shiki-senpai, at our level, it's hard to determine a winner in a short time. Why don't we each take one move?"
"If I fail to block your move, I lose."
"If you manage to block mine, I lose."
Seven's current focus was on quickly finishing the renovation of Hachinosu Island to serve as the pirate crew's base camp, and then continuing to set sail and explore other sea areas.
He couldn't halt his journey of sailing through the waves and exploring freedom just because of one base of operations.
The highly anticipated helmsman, Blue Fatty... because of the tampering with the coating, he was forced to fly over the Red Line and couldn't even make it to Fish-Man Island.
There was also the giant squirrel Tiele from the Giant Kingdom.
Moreover, rather than defeating Golden Lion head-on again, it was better to save face for this senior pirate.
Hearing this, Golden Lion laughed again.
"Gurarararara~"
"Beelzebul, you are indeed arrogant."
Just like Rocks back in the day, he was extremely confident in himself. Golden Lion didn't understand what exactly had happened during the time he was gone.
What made Beelzebul so confident?
"You said it yourself."
Why wouldn't he take advantage of a good deal?
Golden Lion believed that his most powerful attack would likely be blocked by Beelzebul, but he was equally confident he could block Beelzebul's most powerful attack.
If so, he would win!
It was simple, convenient, and highly satisfying.
A moment later, Seven and Golden Lion stood suspended in the air above the sea near Hachinosu Island.
"You are the senior, please go first."
Under normal circumstances, Seven was very polite.
Only when facing enemies would he activate the Zaunite's Exclusive Skill: Art of Spitting Profanity.
Golden Lion grinned, biting down on his cigar, holding the Famous Blades oto and Karemoku, instantly covering both swords with red and black Haki and Armament Haki Ryuo.
After unleashing a fierce strike that exhausted his peak Haki and swordsmanship, Golden Lion frowned, simply because Beelzebul neither struck back to defend nor dodged.
If he was preparing to tank the hit, why hadn't the characteristic flames of the Lunarian Tribe appeared? Could it be—
In an instant, Golden Lion's pupils contracted, and he recalled his Captain from many years ago... Rocks.
Immediately afterward, a familiar scene flashed into Golden Lion's eyes: invisible barriers seemed to emerge around Beelzebul, staunchly blocking his most powerful attack.
"Conquerors Haki... Defense?"
No wonder this brat was so fearless; he had actually mastered the advanced application of Haoshoku.
In this situation, unless Golden Lion's Haoshoku was stronger than Beelzebul's Haoshoku, it would be impossible to break through the opponent's defense.
As expected, he was consistently lacking in martial ethics.
"Hmph, it's your turn to attack."
Golden Lion bit his cigar, pushing his Armament Haki and his own spirit to the extreme, secretly resolving: even if he suffered heavy injuries, he must block Beelzebul's strongest attack.
If he blocked it, he could incorporate the Morning Star Pirates.
Fail to block it? How could that be possible?
Golden Lion never considered failing to block it. Just a few months ago in the East Blue, he had endured countless Flying Slash attacks from Beelzebul, only suffering injuries.
In just a few months, Beelzebul's ATK couldn't have risen to another level.
Compared to suffering heavy injuries, the immense reward he was about to gain was worth it! Extremely worth it!
"Shiki-senpai, please receive my move."
As Seven finished speaking, countless purple bolts of lightning, red and black Haki resembling thunderbolts, and crimson flames ceaselessly surrounded him.
And he slowly drew musou isshin from his chest.
Seeing this, Golden Lion's eye twitched wildly, and the cigar in his mouth fell toward the sea surface due to his shock.
Drawing a sword from his chest? Doesn't that hurt?
This was even more terrifying than when he cut off his own legs in Impel Down's Infinite Hell.
That was his heart!!!
The most vital organ in the human body!
Truly worthy of the Lunarian Tribe, the race of gods; they could even master such a terrifying technique as integrating a supreme grade blade into their body.
As Beelzebul swung his sword down, Golden Lion was instantly locked onto by a massive, terrifying sense of life and death. Only now did Golden Lion finally understand—
Why Beelzebul was so fearless.
This kind of majesty is unstoppable.
However, in a fraction of a millionth of a second, Golden Lion remembered Beelzebul's distinction between Low-Tier Pirates and High-Tier Pirates.
Those who dodge will be relegated to Low-Tier Pirates!
Golden Lion crossed oto and Karemoku, which were wrapped in Haoshoku and Armament Haki, in front of him. Having traveled the seas for half a lifetime, Golden Lion had never felt such Burning determination.
"I am the Golden Lion!!"
Why should I avoid it? I won't avoid it!
Bang~
Blood sprayed like petals in the wind, and Golden Lion plummeted straight toward the sea surface. Just before he hit the water, Seven, who instantly flashed over, grabbed him.
"Alright, another High-Tier Pirate on the ship."
Blood stained his teeth, and the moment Golden Lion heard the acknowledgement that he was a High-Tier Pirate, he laughed proudly.
"Gura—wah..."
Golden Lion, who was continuously spitting blood, once again updated Seven's understanding of the simple-minded brutes in the Pirate World. He couldn't help but feel hopeful: he wished all opponents were like this.
If so, he would never have to worry about Musou no Hitotachi being dodged.
Returning to Hachinosu Island, Seven called Bartholomew Kuma to extract the injuries and pain Golden Lion had endured, and then Seven absorbed the extracted DMG.
From the physical pain feedback, Seven concluded: Golden Lion, who had his ship's steering wheel removed from his head and had regrown his legs, was currently stronger than Dracule Mihawk and Fujitora.
Truly worthy of being one of the Three Legendary Pirates, renowned alongside Captain Roger and Whitebeard.
If Golden Lion were to encounter Gear Third Luffy in the future, he might directly knock Luffy into doing a sit-up—the nika form.
Golden Lion, half-reclining on the sofa, suddenly spoke: "What was that move called?"
Golden Lion knew that Beelzebul and Dracule Mihawk usually only used ordinary attacks with almost no named techniques, but that move—it absolutely had to have a name.
"Musou no Hitotachi."
At that moment, Shiliew of the Rain knocked on the door and only entered after receiving a response.
"Captain, these are the lists of people who came to Hachinosu Island via the Shipping King's cargo ship to apply to join the crew. I've marked a few promising prospects."
"They are Rosinante, the Silence-Silence Fruit user, Who's-Who, the Ancient Zoan Saber-Toothed Tiger user..."
Noticing the Captain's strange expression, Shiliew's voice grew quieter.
"And also Vergo... his physical combat skills are decent."