One Piece: Starting with Breathing Techniques

Chapter 180 The Golden Lion's Intentions

The weather in the New World is notoriously unpredictable.

The sea was calm and still, reflecting the dazzling midday sun, with flying fish and seagulls occasionally skimming across the surface.

White clouds drifted slowly across the clear sky above, complementing the calm and peaceful sea below, creating a scene of tranquility and serenity.

However, just moments later, dark clouds drifted in from afar, quickly replacing all the white clouds and shrouding the clear sea in gloom.

The sea below also began to churn, with countless undercurrents surging and giant waves rising and falling, the snow-white spray disappearing instantly on the pitch-black surface.

Below, in the surging undercurrents and endless, pitch-black sea, several crimson pupils occasionally flashed by, as if terrifying sea beasts, ready to devour their prey, were lurking within.

If an ordinary person who has never been to sea were to come here, they would probably perish in this chaotic and turbulent sea in no time.

Above these oppressive, dark clouds, a robust and upright figure casually tossed aside the deep red bandages wrapped around his body, exuding a calm and powerful aura.

Kiro moved his fully healed arm and let out a long sigh of relief.

Since his battle with Kaido, he has been following the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates and that floating island from afar.

According to the information in Kiro's memory, it was a rather special island inhabited by a large number of strange and ferocious animals. After being spotted by Shiki the Golden Lion, he used the power of the Float-Float Fruit to keep it by his side and maintain its presence.

Long ago, Shiki the Golden Lion fought a protracted battle with Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, known as the Battle of Edward.

In the naval battle at that time, Shiki's side was caught off guard by a sudden storm, and Roger's pirate crew seized the opportunity to launch a major attack, resulting in their defeat.

After learning from its painful experience, the Golden Lion decided to rebuild its base at an altitude of 10,000 meters, unaffected by sea weather, in order to avoid repeating the same mistake. This floating island is a good example of that.

As for those strange and ferocious animals mentioned above, they were injected with a special drug by Dr. Indigo, the Golden Lion's second-in-command, which made them exceptionally ferocious.

In Kiro's memory, the Golden Lion, in order to take revenge on the World Government and the East Blue, planned to release these berserk animals into the East Blue and use them to cause indiscriminate destruction, thus using them as his army to avenge his death against the World Government, and to completely destroy the East Blue, which he believed had "tainted Roger's death".

In order to accurately deploy these biological weapons to the East China Sea, he will later capture top navigators like Nami who can predict the weather at sea.

but----

"That's too low-level."

Kiro shook his head, somewhat disappointed by the choice of this legendary pirate and swordsman.

In his view, the Golden Lion's methods were far too low-level, even comical.

Putting aside the connection between the East Blue and Roger's death, the other side actually wants to use a group of rampaging animals to influence the World Government??

Leaving aside the World Government, Kiro himself was confident he could wipe out all the so-called "berserk animals" on that island in an instant, let alone the World Government, a behemoth that has ruled the world for hundreds of years.

Kiro felt somewhat ashamed, both of Golden Lion's motives and methods.

Although their goal was to overthrow the world government, the other side's actions clearly went completely astray.

However, right now, all Kilo wants to do is have a good fight, defeat his opponent, gain points, and become stronger!

After carefully assessing his own condition and confirming that he had returned to his peak state, Kiro no longer concealed his presence. *Whoosh!*

As he unleashed his powerful aura, a sharp and domineering force suddenly spread outwards, startling countless birds soaring in the surrounding clouds.

At the same time, all the pirates in the flying pirate crews immediately changed their expressions and turned around in surprise to look in Kiro's direction.

Shiki, the golden lion seated atop a colossal throne within one of the island's buildings, suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze instantly sharpening. "Who is it?!"

Someone actually caught up with his flying pirate crew!?

Keep in mind, we're currently thousands of meters in the air!

"Could it be... Kaido?!"

Shiki's expression darkened, and he snorted coldly. His figure seemed to defy the constraints of gravity, gradually floating in the air. In a flash, he appeared behind the Flying Pirates.

As he drew closer to that sharp aura, a familiar figure appeared before him.

"You are... Kiro!?"

After confirming the visitor's identity, Shiki narrowed his eyes, his gaze dangerous and complex. "What are you doing here?"

"—How did you find me?"

He had naturally heard of this infamous swordsman, whose strength was said to even surpass that of a general, making him the most prominent newcomer on this vast sea.

But why did they contact me?

Seeing Shiki's puzzled question, Kiro smiled and said, "Does it matter?"

He slowly drew the Dragon Slayer sword from his waist, its sharp blade gleaming with a chilling light. "Let's have a fight!"

"Don't worry, I won't kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Shiki frowned. "Why do we need to fight?"

"We have no grudge against each other, and I shouldn't have offended you, should I?"

He himself was a swordsman, so he naturally knew what the title of "Great Swordsman of Kiro" represented.

He really didn't want to fight Kiro if he wasn't forced to.

Faced with Shiki's clear refusal, Kiro smiled and said, "You want to take revenge on the World Government?"

Ignoring Shiki's suddenly darkened expression, he continued, "If I'm not mistaken, you still want revenge on the East Blue, don't you?"

"It's just a pity, with the ferocious animals on that island behind you, they probably have no chance at all—"

Before he could finish speaking, Kiro paused, then dodged a swift sword strike.

Not far away, the Golden Lion's face had darkened completely at some point. He slightly bent his left leg and used the longsword on his leg to unleash the same sword energy as before.

"That's enough!"

"You really think I'm afraid of you? You're asking for it!"

Seeing that Shiki had clearly been hit where it hurt, Kiro sighed. "I understand how you feel, and I know you hate the World Government."

"—But what if I told you there's a better way to get revenge on the World Government?"

Upon hearing this, Shiki was taken aback. After a moment's thought, his expression became uncertain. "—What?"

Seeing that Shiki's curiosity had been clearly piqued, Kiro's lips curled into a smile. Knowing his plan had succeeded, he immediately said, "Fight me, and I'll tell you afterward!"

After hearing Kiro's words, Shiki remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a long sigh, his aura becoming imposing.