Golden Lion Shiki...
A Devil Fruit User with the Float-Float Fruit ability, a legendary Pirate once on par with Roger and Whitebeard, and the first escapee in the history of Impel Down.
After the era of the Rocks Pirates came the era of the three great overlords.
Roger's dream was to reach the final island, Whitebeard's hobby was collecting sons, and only Golden Lion Shiki inherited Rocks' will, aiming to conquer the world.
In terms of individual combat power, the three were evenly matched at the time.
But when it came to influence, the Flying Pirates, which gathered countless powerful Pirates, could have crushed Whitebeard's "kindergarten" eighteen times over and nearly wiped out Roger's crew.
...
The reason Golden Lion Shiki's grand ambition was cut short was that he didn't check the weather forecast before setting out.
Hence, after his prison break, aside from his goal of destroying the East Blue, he also wanted to find a reliable navigator.
...
——
"Was Golden Lion Shiki originally from Kano Country?"
Griffin raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by this.
Chin Jao thought back for a moment and said slowly, "It's hard to say... When I first heard of him, he had already stolen a Famous Sword and set out to sea."
"Later, I heard he entered the New World with Marlon, the boss of a West Blue mafia, and joined under a certain powerful Pirate."
"At that time, I hadn't gone to the New World yet, so I didn't know what happened. The next time I heard his name..."
"He was already a great Pirate on par with Roger and Newgate!"
...
"What a pity... Why did a man like that disappear without a trace after his prison break?"
...
Griffin knew that Shiki's epithet during the Rocks Pirates era was 'Kyokutō'.
Kyokutō roughly meant the underworld.
Among the four seas, the underground society of the West Blue was the most chaotic, filled with countless mafiosi, gangsters, and underworld figures.
It remains the same even now.
Many Pirates from the West Blue were from the underworld; it seemed that unifying the underground society of a region before setting out to sea was a tradition for successive bosses.
The original Capone was like that, and so was Chin Jao many years ago.
It could be considered a unique custom of the West Blue.
...
Chin Jao's words reminded Griffin of something.
The news of Golden Lion Shiki's prison break was public, and at the time, many Pirates in the New World were waiting for their former boss to lead them again.
But Golden Lion Shiki didn't dare to seek them out.
Having lost both legs, with a ship's rudder stuck in his head, and his strength greatly diminished, if Golden Lion Shiki dared to approach those people...
They were not his comrades.
They were just a temporary alliance with shared goals, much like the former Rocks Pirates.
Far from helping Golden Lion Shiki make a comeback, those guys would consider it a sign of conscience if they even apologized while cutting him down.
In the world of Pirates, not everyone possesses loyalty or righteousness.
...
Griffin pondered carefully.
After his prison break, Golden Lion Shiki sought out Whitebeard. During that conversation, Shiki acknowledged that it was already Whitebeard's era.
Simply put, Golden Lion Shiki knew he had no chance of achieving his goal of world conquest. With Roger dead, Whitebeard was the only man who could possibly accomplish it.
If Whitebeard desired it, Golden Lion Shiki was willing to cooperate with him—to put it bluntly, he was willing to serve as a subordinate.
Whitebeard naturally wouldn't agree to Shiki's proposal. He wasn't even interested in the secret treasure of the final island, let alone something as tedious as world domination.
...
Shiki would reappear roughly ten years later, when certain research bore fruit. Eager to wreak havoc on the East Blue and demonstrate his vengeful power to the World Government.
At this point in time, he should still be floating on his island in the sky, researching some substance with his subordinate.
...
While Griffin was searching for famous swords, he had learned much information about renowned blades.
The famous swords "Sakura Ten" and "Kogarashi" wielded by Shiki didn't belong to the Supreme Grade category. Although he was a Great Swordsman at his peak, he failed to temper them into "Black Blades."
Even after Shiki disappeared from the world, these two swords fell in ranking - from the Great Grade Sharp Blades of Twenty-One Craftsmen down to the Good Grade Swords of Fifty-Two Craftsmen.
Weapon rankings were undoubtedly closely tied to their wielders.
The most peculiar record about Sakura Ten and Kogarashi was...
These two famous swords were an identical pair.
——
——
On the Warship
After bidding farewell to Chin Jao, Griffin's thoughts remained on their previous conversation.
Recalling now...
During his childhood, Griffin had heard a legend from Kano Country.
It was said that countless years ago, a great catastrophe befell Kano Country.
To confront this disaster, the king exhausted all his resources to commission a great master craftsman, who forged two powerful famous swords.
A Great Swordsman from Kano Country used these twin swords to hold back the catastrophe.
Since then, half of Kano Country became frozen wasteland after the disaster, while the other half remained flower fields with eternal spring.
This story served as a mythological explanation for Kano Country's unique geography.
Given that Shiki's famous swords originated from the royal collection, they were likely the very two swords from the legend.
Wait...
Sakura Ten... Kogarashi...
Could this story be true? Did people back then name these two swords after the scenes on either side of the disaster's boundary?
Then what was that great catastrophe? Did it occur during the Void Century?
Was it referring to that great war?!
...
Griffin knew that many legends were created as means to transmit information when history couldn't be recorded.
Just like the legend of Nika...
The method to defeat the King of the World was hidden within legendary tales.
...
Griffin somewhat understood the obsession of Ohara scholars now. This feeling of connecting clues that might unravel mysteries was truly marvelous!
But Griffin was more patient than them.
Seeking truth without sufficient capability was meaningless suicide.
At least one thing was certain...
Those two swords were absolutely extraordinary!
If I could find Shiki...
No!
Griffin immediately stopped this dangerous thought.
...
He had briefly considered what conditions would be necessary for his current strength to defeat Teacher Zephyr.
First, he would need to catch Teacher Zephyr during an asthma attack.
Second, he would have to threaten someone Zephyr cared about to disturb his focus.
Only when Zephyr was at his physical and mental lowest, and Griffin performed at 200% of his capacity, would there be even a slight possibility of defeating a powerhouse of that level.
...
Zephyr had personally told Griffin that he was far inferior to his contemporary Garp, and weaker in both strength and wisdom than Sengoku.
When Sengoku was pursuing Whitebeard and Garp was hunting Roger, it could only be him, the Headquarters Admiral, who dealt with Shiki's rampage.
...
He had to lead a large fleet of Marine warships to contend with Shiki's Flying Pirates.
In their several encounters, it was always Shiki who withdrew.
It wasn't that Zephyr defeated Shiki, but rather that Shiki chose to retreat instead of fighting to the death against the relentless Zephyr.
Zephyr once admitted helplessly that only by risking his life could he force Shiki to retreat, but he couldn't achieve actual victory.
...
Monkey D. Luffy's performance in that special domain doesn't count - even Imu would get slapped a couple of times facing that thing.
If we encountered Shiki now, we'd stand absolutely no chance of winning!
It seems...
Griffin dialed a certain number.
Buru buru buru—
The Den Den Mushi's eyes transformed into curved red lines, with its pink flamingo coloration and the snail's dramatic imitation making it almost indistinguishable from a video call.
Pinching his throat, Griffin used Kari's voice, cold and detached.
"How's that matter progressing?"
The Den Den Mushi grinned wickedly: "The hunting ground is ready, waiting for you..."
"This is... truly fascinating!!!"
...
Click—
Hanging up the call, Griffin gazed into the distance with a faint smile.
Who will it be this time, my dear...
prey!
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