Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

It seems you'll be staying here today, Golden Lion.

A gust of wind blew by, and the tall and imposing Raleigh appeared before the Golden Lion, holding the famous sword Mikazuki Munechika in his hand.

"Kluckluck, Shiki, this is the latest supernova in the Navy."

"At a young age, he rose to the rank of Vice Admiral at headquarters thanks to his achievements in killing Bondiwald and suppressing the North Blue pirates and the Mafia - Christine Rory."

Dr. Indigo was not nervous when faced with the sudden appearance of Raleigh. Even though he was a supernova, he was only a vice admiral now. Not all vice admirals were as monstrous as Garp.

The Golden Lion stared at Raleigh's young face, sizing him up before suddenly speaking:

"Kid, you're even more talented than that ice-cold brat. Why don't you join the Flying Pirates? I'll be your first mate."

Kuzan was displeased when he heard that the Golden Lion's offer to Rory was significantly better than his own, and he shot a blast of cold air at the Golden Lion's face.

Golden Lion casually cleaved through the cold air with his famous sword, saying;

"Ice Cube brat, I'm not looking down on you, I'm just stating the facts. This kid is younger than you, and stronger."

Kid, if you don't have a Devil Fruit, I do have a few that I've been collecting for a long time that I can give you.

The Golden Lion's body slowly floated up from the deck, the blade of the famous sword in his hand had turned pitch black, and his expression became very serious.

"Although I just had a fight with God, I'm not someone that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can mess with. If you want to kill me, you need to have the strength and the courage to face death."

A bloodthirsty killing intent suddenly emanated from Shiki's body. This killing intent had nothing to do with Conqueror's Haki; it was something that Shiki had naturally developed from killing people as a pirate over the years.

Ordinary people can only tremble in fear under such an aura, at the mercy of others.

Keep those little tricks to yourself, Golden Lion.

After performing a beautiful sword flourish with Mikazuki Munechika in his hand, Raleigh flashed to the front of Golden Lion.

Ding!

Raleigh's Mikazuki Munechika slashed at Shiki's Sakura Jutsu, and sparks flew as the two swords crossed.

"Hey, old man, you still have so much stamina stored up?"

Raleigh felt somewhat incredulous. As the planner of this project, Raleigh had calculated many things, the most important of which was the Golden Lion's stamina. Theoretically, the Golden Lion would definitely lose a lot of stamina in the fight against the storm, which would explain why he had a ship's rudder stuck in his head. But now it seemed that the situation was different from his calculations. Although the Golden Lion's stamina was still insufficient, it seemed that he still had the strength to fight.

The golden lion casually plunged the deadwood straight into Raleigh's stomach from bottom to top, seemingly intending to rip Raleigh's belly open.

Raleigh touched the ground with his right leg, and with a clever push, he flew backward and landed on the deck on Kuzan's body.

The Golden Lion stared at Raleigh, whom he had forced out, and smiled with satisfaction.

"Kuzan, this ship's rudder has a significant influence on Shiki. When I approached him just now, he only used Armament Haki and Observation Haki."

However, he didn't reveal his usual Conqueror's Haki, leaving one wondering if he was holding back or if he simply couldn't use it anymore.

When Golden Lion listened to Raleigh's evaluation of him, it was as if he had been stripped naked and was being studied as an experimental subject.

With a loud shout, the logs on the deck began to roll and come together, quickly forming a lifelike lion.

After being attacked by Kuzan, at least in this battle, he will no longer use seawater to create lions to attack Raleigh or Kuzan.

"Lion's Might Wood Scroll!"

The giant lion behind the golden lion leaped over the golden lion's body and pounced on Raleigh.

Raleigh didn't seem to have much to offer, as if he didn't take Shiki's move seriously and thought it wasn't worth defending against.

子！

On the sea, the lion that had just been frozen suddenly roared to the sky.

The ice lion, its body gleaming with dazzling light, leaped from the sea and pounced on the wooden lion.

When two lions made of different materials collided in mid-air, pieces of wood and ice crystals flew everywhere.

Amidst the flying debris, a series of rapid slashes followed the Golden Lion's movements, lunging towards Raleigh and Kuzan with the title "Lion's Thousand Cut Valley."

Golden Lion, as expected of a great pirate who has experienced countless battles, has a perfect grasp of timing.

By taking advantage of the moment when the enemy's line of sight is blocked, they can conceal all their attacks behind them. When the enemy discovers them, they will only be able to face the sharp attacks of the Golden Lion.

Raleigh's gaze darkened. The Golden Lion's attacks were already quite impenetrable. It seemed that he had no choice but to confront the Golden Lion head-on.

A cold glint flashed across Mikazuki Munechika's sword. Just as Raleigh was about to rush forward to fight Shiki, Kuzan's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"Leave it to me, Raleigh."

"The Wall of Ice and Snow!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the air in front of Raleigh began to condense rapidly, forming a thick wall of ice in less than a breath, and it continued to thicken at an accelerating rate. *Ding ding ding!*

The golden lion's dense slashes all landed on the newly formed ice and snow wall, scattering layer upon layer of ice crystals everywhere.

The raging fire deep within the Golden Lion shattered the wall of ice and snow before him, but Raleigh had long since vanished from his sight.

Clang!

The sound of clashing swords rang out, and amidst the surging air currents, the figure of the golden lion was revealed.

The Golden Lion's left hand is holding the legendary sword, Drywood, which is currently holding an extremely sharp ice spear. Judging from its gaze, it is undoubtedly directed at Kuzan.

Ice cubes "Two Thorns".

Kuzan remained in the attack stance, emanating an incredibly chilling aura.

"Hurrah, you old bastard, take this!"

Raleigh's figure suddenly appeared behind the Golden Lion, and Mikazuki Munechika appeared incredibly sharp in his hands.

"One-Sword Style: Cherry Blossom Slash."

boom!

Raleigh's all-out attack struck the Golden Lion's hastily raised Sakura Ten-Sword.

The power flowed through Shiki's body and into the pirate ship beneath his feet, causing the terrifying gravity to make the pirate ship groan under its strain once again.

At the same time, the pirate ship's draft suddenly dropped downwards, and a violent gust of air swept the shattered ice shards into the sky.

As the pirate ship creaked and groaned, Golden Lion thrust his other famous sword, Drywood, backward.

At the same time, Kuzan's ice hockey puck also struck the Golden Lion's body.

A series of attacks caused the Golden Lion to bleed again, and the intense pain caused its ferocious nature to erupt.

His arms began to swell, and the hand gripping the famous sword stabbed toward Raleigh's abdomen with even greater speed!

Raleigh was unwilling to trade blows with the Golden Lion, and his figure returned to the skies above the warship.

The golden lion, with a crazed and cruel smile on his face, licked his lips and said:

"Kids, if this is all you're capable of, then I'll just kill you both and run away."

After hearing what Shiki said, Raleigh and Kuzan's expressions became somewhat unnatural.

To be honest, Raleigh and Kuzan's understanding of top-tier powerhouses is still quite insufficient.

I originally thought that after experiencing such a terrible natural disaster, Shiki would be in an unprecedented period of weakness, and that we would be able to capture him. But now it seems that it will be very difficult to keep Shiki occupied until Garp returns.

However, Raleigh had already considered these issues.

He and Aokiji exchanged glances, and Raleigh took a step back while Aokiji took a step forward.

"The ice cubes are like pheasant beaks."

A phoenix-like bird rapidly took shape in Kuzan's hands, radiating a terrifying chill, and flapped its wings as it flew towards the golden lion.

"A mere trick, cutting through the waves!"

When Shiki saw Kuzan's Spectral Claw, he was unimpressed, thinking that it was just like his own lion and not a particularly powerful move.

Kama!

The Golden Lion's eyes narrowed, and he quickly found the pheasant's weakness. Then, a sword beam pierced through the pheasant's weak point.

boom!

The pheasant's beak exploded into glittering fragments in the air, scattering everywhere.

"Shiki, Garp has stopped caring about Roger and the others. I think he'll be near us soon."

Dr. Indigo said somewhat anxiously.

He was still quite afraid of Garp; in the Navy, there were very few who could consistently outmatch Garp in terms of strength.

If a pirate is targeted by Garp, unless he is named Roger, the rest will be thrown into Impel Down.

Lion's Might Ice Roll!

Golden Lion used his Devil Fruit power to control all the ice crystals he had shattered, and smaller lions appeared before everyone.

Once all the lion cubs had formed, they charged straight at Raleigh and Kuzan's warships.

This guy wants to sink our warship!

Seeing this scene, Raleigh felt a chill run down his spine.

In such a situation, the fact that the Golden Lion can still find a way to break the deadlock is truly terrifying.

Mikazuki Munechika's cold light flashed through the air.

"One-cut style dry-cut wind."

A figure wielding a famous sword flashed rapidly through the air, and Raleigh single-handedly slashed down all the small lions that had already formed.

Perhaps the Golden Lion's goal wasn't there, but there's no doubt that Raleigh and Kuzan achieved their objective.

Garp's military aircraft were less than five nautical miles away; they could practically sense them.

Let's finish this quickly, kids. I don't have time to play house with you anymore.

The golden lion's expression turned incredibly ruthless, the color drained from his face rapidly, and he looked extremely haggard.

Be careful, Kuzan. That Golden Lion has gone a bit mad. It looks like he's taken some kind of secret potion that can enhance his strength.

The world of One Piece isn't without secret medicines, but most of them are prepared to enhance the strength of a particular character.

The reason the Golden Lion took the secret medicine was to see what kind of ruling ability he possessed in his youth.

If they wanted to lift their ships into the sky, they wouldn't have to worry about Garp wiping them out.

However, the attacks launched by Shiki were all dealt with by Raleigh or Kuzan, and Shiki did not gain any advantage in the fight.

"When were the ships frozen over?"

When Shiki tried to lift the ship, he suddenly discovered that his pirate ship had been secretly subjected to so many things.

I don't know when it started, but Kuzan's abilities have been targeting Shiki's pirate ship.

The Golden Lion's ship is now firmly frozen to the sea, and given the Golden Lion's current physical strength and power, it is simply impossible for him to bring the ship back intact.

"That wretched ice-cold brat, he actually attacked my ship!"

The golden lion was somewhat angry.

It was impossible to tell whether the expression on that distorted face was anger or mockery.

"Trying to keep me here through such means is wishful thinking."

Golden Lion Shiki, being a legendary pirate, decisively reached out and transformed Dr. Indigo's clothes into an object controlled by the power of the Float-Float Fruit after realizing that he could not take the ship with him.

The two quickly flew into the sky, while simultaneously unleashing a barrage of sword energy, just like the torrential rain from before, slashing down at Rory and Kuzan who were chasing them down using Moonwalk.

"Kuzan, hold the line for me, I'm going to cut him down."

Raleigh roared.

Having persuaded Garp and Kuzan, and after expending so much effort, we finally saw a glimmer of hope in keeping Shiki, and now that old bastard wants to run away? It's not going to be that easy.

Raleigh no longer concealed his Devil Fruit ability, and his body transformed into a whirlwind, sweeping towards the Golden Lion.

"Golden Lion, stay here with me!"

Raleigh's voice echoed through the heavens and earth. The Golden Lion, his eyes cold, raised his renowned sword high and brought it crashing down.

"Die, you ignorant brat!"

With a single slash, the colors of the world instantly faded to black and white.

In this painting, a thin line appears on Raleigh's body, and then he is split in two by a golden lion from above.

Furthermore, besides Raleigh's body, the sword beam that passed through Raleigh's body shot straight towards the warship below.

A horrifying scene unfolded.

If Kuzan hadn't altered the warships' movement patterns with the icicles, what would be cut open now wouldn't be the ocean.

Instead, they are naval warships.

Kuzan's pupils widened suddenly, and he couldn't help but gasp.

Even though he had already given the Golden Lion a high assessment of his strength, he was still terrified by the scene before him.

"As expected of a pirate who roamed the New World long ago."

Kuzan remarked with emotion.

However, the Golden Lion is much older than both Raleigh and him.

Kuzan believes that his strength still has a very high ceiling and can never be at his current level.

Besides, the plan devised by Raleigh wasn't for him and Raleigh to capture or kill the Golden Lion together.

Instead, they waited for Garp to arrive, ensuring that Shiki had absolutely no hope of turning the tide with "Great Wind Pressure!"

Raleigh appeared above Shiki's head, spreading his arms wide and unleashing his Devil Fruit power at Shiki below.