Floating in midair, Shiki wore an almost comical expression.
His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open like a defeated rooster, so shocked that the cigar in his mouth nearly fell out.
It was simply too unbelievable.
On the ground beneath Shiki, the power of his slash was rampaging freely across the entire island. Explosions thundered one after another, and everything on the island was being destroyed under his slash as if melting away like snow and ice.
Yet only at the very center of the slash, where its power was most concentrated, a force silently emerged to oppose Shiki's slash head-on.
To the naked eye, a layer of air began forming around Yemu's body, which had been swallowed by Shiki's pitch-black Lion God. Looking closely, one could see Haki colliding endlessly, like the point of a needle meeting the tip of a blade.
"Hey, hey… You've got to be kidding me."
As the other side of the battle, Shiki naturally sensed exactly what it was.
It was the strongest advanced technique of Armament Haki, the power known as internal destruction.
But this brat clearly had not mastered it before. When he fought Sengoku, all he had shown was Armament Haki coating.
And judging from how awkward and unpracticed Yemu looked while using it now…
"This brat actually learned Armament Haki internal destruction from my slash!"
Shiki knew that a life-or-death battle was the best teacher for training, but wasn't this brat a little too much of a monster?
"The decisive battle has only just begun, and you're already giving me a surprise like this?"
After his initial shock, Shiki became completely excited and roared.
"Interesting… Very interesting… Then let me see just how far you can go!"
At that, the twin blades in Shiki's hands swung again and again, sending pitch-black slashes mercilessly toward the center of the island, toward where Yemu stood.
Rumble.
As time passed, Sabah Island began to split apart under Shiki's relentless slashes. Amid violent explosions, the island broke into pieces, and the surging waves began swallowing it whole.
...
No one knew how much time had passed.
Suddenly, Shiki, who had been pouring out power, felt an extremely dangerous sensation through his Observation Haki.
Almost instinctively, he shifted his body to the side.
The moment he dodged, a dazzling slash cut across the sky.
There was no doubt about it. That was absolutely not a slash Shiki himself had unleashed.
Then there was only one answer.
Shiki stopped swinging, lowered his head, and looked down at the island below, which had already turned into a boiling sea.
Yemu stood there, scarlet blood flowing straight from his forehead down to his feet, staining the ice beneath him red. The twin blades in his hands were still held in the posture left behind after his last slash.
Looking at this scene, Shiki was surprised at first, but then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"You can already swing a decent slash now?"
That was right. Shiki could clearly sense it.
The slash Yemu had just unleashed, the one that had even made him feel danger, was no longer a slash thrown out with pure physical strength. Like the slash of a great swordsman, it contained powerful Haki.
He had not expected that his storm of attacks just now would not only fail to trouble Yemu, but would instead make him improve even faster.
"That speed of growth… the Child of Destiny?"
At that moment, Shiki became even more excited.
This was clearly a decisive battle where one of them would live and the other would die, yet Shiki truly wanted to see just how extraordinary this so-called Child of Destiny could be.
"Shihahaha… Let me see where your limit is!"
As soon as he spoke, Shiki's figure turned into a shooting star and rushed down from the sky toward Yemu.
In that instant, the two clashed at close range.
Yemu, Shishimaru, and Tengoku versus Shiki, Oto, and Kogarashi.
A violent roar once again shook the whole of Sabah Island.
...
Time passed slowly.
The sun that had risen in the morning had begun sinking toward the sea. The golden afterglow of sunset spilled over the calm ocean, revealing a scene of breathtaking beauty.
And near the place where the golden sun was setting, the island-like pirate ship of the Flying Pirates was anchored.
This place was a hundred kilometers from Sabah Island.
On the deck, Dr. Indigo held a telescope, his attention never once leaving the distant battlefield.
By now, twelve hours had passed since the decisive battle between Boss Shiki and Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates, had begun.
At first, every slash from the two had shaken heaven and earth. Now, as their stamina was gradually consumed, they had begun competing in pure swordsmanship, yet the battle still showed no sign of stopping. And as the fight went on, the shock on Dr. Indigo's face never faded.
Because in his field of vision, the young man fighting Boss Shiki was improving at a truly unbelievable speed.
Dr. Indigo was not a fighter, nor was he a great swordsman. If not for his identity as the ship's doctor, he would not have ranked anywhere in the original Flying Pirates in terms of pure strength.
Even so, he could still tell.
Boss Shiki's opponent was growing stronger and stronger in this battle.
At the beginning, he could only be chased and cut down by Boss Shiki. But now, he could actually exchange blows with Boss Shiki back and forth.
And because of that, Dr. Indigo was deeply puzzled.
Throughout the day's battle, Boss Shiki had not used his Devil Fruit power at all. Nor had he used any techniques outside of swordsmanship. It felt as if Boss Shiki was using his own sword skills to feed moves to Yemu, almost like training him.
"Boss Shiki, what exactly are you doing? If this keeps dragging on, your body…"
And the people of the Flying Pirates were not the only ones with that question.
In the sky from another direction, Lillilu, already transformed into a giant nekomata, was also filled with confusion.
"What exactly did those two talk about on the island? For Shiki to change this much…"
As a former crewmate from the Rocks Pirates, Lillilu understood Shiki's personality very well.
In a certain sense, Shiki was the person in the entire Rocks Pirates who resembled Rocks the most.
They never believed in anyone but themselves. They were ambitious, refused to yield to any power, and were born conquerors who would use any means necessary to achieve their goals.
Especially before a challenger like Yemu, Shiki should not have shown the slightest mercy. He should have used every method he had.
But at this moment, what Lillilu sensed from Shiki was something completely different.
It felt as if Shiki were an elder who valued a young man, patiently guiding Yemu through earnest instruction.
"Is it just my imagination?"
Of course not.
Far away, at the center of the battlefield, Yemu had felt that same strange sensation throughout the day's battle.
That did not mean Shiki was holding back.
Although he was only using a swordsman's power, every one of Shiki's slashes had been delivered with the intention of killing Yemu. But strangely, that was where it stopped.
Shiki seemed to be restraining himself from using his other abilities. Clearly, using his Devil Fruit power and his swordsmanship did not conflict, yet Shiki continued using only sword techniques to pressure Yemu. It felt as if he wanted to see how Yemu would respond and how he would grow.
Still, although Yemu did not know why Shiki was doing this, he would not refuse such an opportunity.
Over the course of that day's battle, his only shortcoming, swordsmanship, began improving rapidly. Likewise, his internal destruction technique in Armament Haki had gone from clumsy at first to gradually becoming more refined.
Just like that, the sun finally set completely, and the moon rose.
At that moment, Shiki suddenly swung Oto in his hand and sent Yemu flying. The two once again retreated to opposite sides.
But this time, Shiki did not advance again. Instead, he lowered his twin blades, slipped them back into the sheaths at his waist, took a cigar from his chest, and greedily drew in a puff.
Seeing this, Yemu stopped the movement he had been about to make.
Against the great moon rising over the sea, the figures of Yemu and Shiki floated in the air. Under the golden moonlight, there was a different kind of beauty to the scene.
The two looked at each other, yet neither moved. After a full day of battle, both were somewhat tired.
"Haa…"
A few minutes later, once the cigar had burned out, Shiki let out a long breath. Looking at Yemu, he spoke with a trace of nostalgia.
"I don't even know how long it's been. Ever since I joined the Rocks Pirates and gained the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, I've rarely enjoyed a pure battle between swordsmen like this."
Shiki's words left Yemu somewhat stunned. He spoke his thoughts without hiding them.
"You're actually reminiscing about the past. That doesn't seem like something a legendary great man like you would do."
"Shihahaha!"
Hearing this, Shiki laughed wildly.
"You're right. Only old men reminisce about the past. Things that are already over mean nothing to the living. Brat, let me ask you. In the future you saw, how does the world judge Roger?"
Yemu thought for a moment.
"The man revered by the whole world as the Pirate King. A pirate who possessed wealth, fame, and power. The captain of the Roger Pirates, the first and only crew in history to complete the Grand Line. The owner of the legendary great treasure, ONE PIECE. A great hero of the sea in every sense, and the man all pirates chase as their dream."
"Oh, is that so? That's quite the exaggerated title. Then what about Newgate?"
"The man who stood at the peak of the Great Pirate Era. A world-shaking figure who lived in the same age as the Pirate King and stood at the top of the Great Pirate Era. An Oyaji with a vast heart, who loved his subordinates and affiliated pirates as sons. After Roger, he was the trailblazer who opened a new era with his own life."
"Oh?"
Shiki keenly picked up something in Yemu's words.
"Looks like Newgate didn't do too badly. Then, brat, what about me? How do people in the future refer to me?"
"That…"
Yemu thought for a moment, then continued.
"A legendary great pirate renowned alongside Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard, Edward Newgate."
After saying that, Yemu stopped.
It was not that he did not want to add more titles for Shiki at this moment. He simply had nothing more to say.
Whether it was attacking Marine Headquarters, escaping Impel Down, or the plan to destroy the East Blue, none of those achievements could really be spoken of compared to Roger and Whitebeard's accomplishments.
This instead made Shiki freeze. It was as if he had not understood, and he asked, "And then?"
"Unfortunately, there is no then. Shiki-san, there isn't much about you known in the future."
As soon as those words fell, Shiki's expression visibly darkened. The veins on his forehead throbbed.
Yemu's words were an enormous blow to Shiki.
They were clearly great pirates of equal fame. Yet Roger and Newgate were crowned with all kinds of glorious titles, while he, Shiki, had nothing.
This was an utter humiliation.
"Then one last question, brat. Tell me, the future where I lose to that Child of Destiny. Just how humiliating was it?"
This was the question Shiki cared about most.
Yemu thought for a moment, then gave a brief answer.
"How should I put it? It was to a straw hat brat who hadn't even mastered Haki yet…"
"???"
Shiki froze instantly.
"Are you joking, brat? Or are you lying to me? How could I possibly lose to a brat who hasn't even mastered Haki?"
"No need to get so worked up, Shiki-san. This isn't something impossible to accept. I told you, anyone who stands in the Child of Destiny's way, no matter how strong they are or how unreasonable it seems, will be defeated by him. You're not the only one who suffered that kind of defeat. Your old acquaintances Zephyr, Bullet, and the Red Count were the same. Of course, that also had something to do with all of you getting old by then."
Shiki froze for a moment, then exploded with rage and roared.
"You've got to be kidding me! That kind of fate… That ridiculous fate, is it trying to insult me? If this so-called fate is like that, then I will never accept it!"
"Unfortunately, Shiki-san, that is the truth. In the future, there will be plenty of people who lose to the Child of Destiny in ways even more humiliating than yours. Of course, now that I've appeared in this world, perhaps some destinies have already begun to be rewritten, so you don't need to take it too hard."
After hearing Yemu's words, Shiki suddenly quieted down. Even so, a dark aura still radiated from his whole body.
"If the future world is really as you say, then even if it costs me everything, I will destroy this world. I will never acknowledge that kind of future."
Yemu glanced at Shiki.
"Your dream is quite impressive, Shiki-san. But don't forget, only one of us will leave this place alive today."
"Shihahaha! Of course I haven't forgotten. So, brat, I'm planning to add another stake to our original bet."
"???"
"The stake is simple. Right now, the only thing standing between you and the peak of this world's power is Conqueror's Haki coating. I can teach you that ability now. In exchange, no matter who wins or loses this decisive battle, I want you to destroy that disgusting fate of this world. Well? Do you accept?"
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