Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 157 Shiki's Heroic Demeanor!

At this moment, Shiki truly felt that fate was beginning to favor him again.

Back then, he wanted to join forces with Roger for two reasons: firstly, he genuinely admired Roger, and secondly, he wanted to use Roger's power to obtain the ancient weapon capable of destroying the world.

If this cooperation could have been achieved back then, with his and Roger's strength, plus his large fleet and ancient weapons, they could indeed have confronted the World Government head-on, and even defeated it!

But that damned bastard Roger rejected him outright.

The Battle of Adwall became a lifelong source of pain for Shiki.

His ambition seemed to have been shattered at that moment.

However, it must be said that Shiki did indeed have the bearing of a hero. He was depressed for a while, but perhaps it was because he went to Impel Down and during his imprisonment that he had an epiphany!

After much agonizing thought, he amputated both his legs, shattering Impelton's reputation as an impregnable prison, and successfully escaped.

In his final moments, he met with Newgate and told him that he had a big plan to implement and therefore needed to disappear for a while.

And this disappearance lasted for nearly twenty years!

Shiki's plan was indeed very impressive. He had learned some information about the ancient weapons, specifically about Poseidon.

Legend has it that Poseidon's power can command the sea kings of the ocean.

A single sea king poses no threat whatsoever to skilled individuals; it's practically just a snack to enjoy with drinks.

However, sea kings are also divided into levels. The sea kings in the deep sea are extremely large, some of which can even crush behemoths like Zunesha. Moreover, their numbers are so numerous that they are incalculable. If such a huge force were to come together and obey someone's command, it could indeed overturn the entire world.

Shiki, however, could not forget this power.

He initially sought a partnership with Roger, but failed. However, as an ambitious and ruthless man, he didn't give up. Fine, if I can't handle Aquaman, I'll just build one myself!

Thus began Shiki's nearly twenty-year-long "Monster Project," which he has now succeeded in.

Currently, in Melvyu, Shiki has created a massive monster army using a magical herb called "IQ". It can be said that the monsters on the surrounding floating islands are all extremely powerful, each one no less than a Sea King. Not to mention comparing them to Sea Kings would be an underestimation of these monsters.

It should be said that these monsters generally possess the strength of pacifists, or even greater.

Even if it were released into just one country in the world, it could cause a devastating disaster!

Just yesterday, this technology became fully mature. With this technology matured, Shiki can now mass-produce such monsters in an endless stream, demonstrating the terrifying nature of his plan.

However, in the original story, Shiki hadn't even really shown his skills before he was defeated by the Straw Hat, making his nearly twenty years of perseverance seem somewhat comical.

But upon closer reflection, one can sense that the 'weapon' Shiki currently wields, even if it cannot destroy the world, is certainly enough to shake the situation at sea!

The only thing that Shiki regrets is that his personal strength has declined to the extreme in the past twenty years. The ship's wheel on his head has had too much of an impact on him. Today, he is even powerless to unleash the power of Haki.

This is also what Shiki believes is the most likely flaw in his plan.

Therefore, he almost never appears on the sea, precisely to avoid revealing his weakness.

But not long ago, a solution to this problem came to us on its own!

Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death, was someone Shiki had only recently heard of. He was a rookie pirate with nothing particularly special about him, except that he was actually a user of the legendary Op-Op Fruit!

Over the years, besides studying his own plan, Shiki has been searching for a way to get rid of the rudder stuck in his head.

Therefore, he knew very well that the Op-Op Fruit was indeed an effective way to safely and without any hidden dangers to resolve his injuries. He had secretly searched for the Op-Op Fruit, but to no avail. It made sense, considering that the World Government had been searching for it for decades without success. How could Shiki, in a state of infiltration, possibly achieve this?

But now, the user of the Op-Op Fruit has contacted him and is actively seeking to join him, serve him, and become a high-ranking officer.

Shiki didn't see anything wrong with this kind of voluntary defection. Pirates on the high seas are all like this. This is why these big shots have to maintain their reputation and prestige. As long as they have a good reputation and strong prestige, they can continuously recruit fresh blood and cannon fodder to achieve their own ambitions!

In particular, not long ago, Shiki publicly announced that he would rebuild his flying fleet. During this period, it wasn't just Trafalgar Law who was actively contacting him; many pirates in the New World also wanted to join his ranks.

Therefore, when Trafalgar Law offered himself up, Shiki didn't really suspect anything.

Now, he has prepared weapons capable of overturning the world and is about to rebuild his massive fleet. If he can restore his once invincible strength to its peak in one go, his ambition to dominate the world will no longer seem so far away!

Doesn't this prove that fate is beginning to favor him again?

The New World, on the deck of a warship.

Bane is currently on the phone with Trafalgar Law.

"Wow, your little submarine is fast! It's already all the way to Flying Star Island?" Bane said to the Den Den Mushi with a surprised expression.

He wasn't delayed for too long, was he? At most, he was only a week later than Trafalgar Law because of his appointment as a lieutenant general. But he hadn't even arrived in Egherd yet, while Trafalgar Law had already arrived at Flying Star Island!

Flying Star Island was their original destination for a fishing operation targeting Shiki. It wasn't far from Egherd, about a three-day voyage. Bane had originally thought that Trafalgar Law would run for a few days first, and he would be able to catch up with him by virtue of the superior performance of his warship.

Now it seems we really underestimated this kid's efficiency.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Mainly because Shiki kept pressing me after we made contact, basically contacting me every day to ask about my journey and route. I was afraid that if I wasted too much time or stopped too often, he would become suspicious. So as soon as I entered the New World, I left all my crew in the Gateway Sea, filled the empty space with supplies, and bought a permanent Log Pose for Star Island from the black market. We didn't stop at all along the way, so of course our speed was fast," Trafalgar Law explained.

Then, before Bane could speak, he continued, "I just made an appointment with Skeeter. He said he had something very important to do, which just finished yesterday, so he has time now and will come to pick me up soon, probably in about two weeks."

"This is making me a little short on time." Bane rubbed his temples, but quickly added, "Fine, since that's the case, I'll change my plans a bit and go to your place first to take care of Shiki."

After all, this matter can't really be blamed on Trafalgar Law; it's all because that old guy Skee was too impatient.

Bane's original plan was to take Yixiao with him and go deal with Shiki.

After all, Shiki can fly. But then I thought about it, and Shiki must have noticed Issho after the Marineford War. With his cunning mind, he might even have started closely monitoring Issho's intelligence. After all, Issho greatly restrains his abilities and can completely eliminate his proud mobility.

If I were to smile, Shiki might actually notice.

So at the Marine Headquarters, after several discussions, Bane decided not to bring Issho. He even specifically instructed Issho to make a high-profile appearance in the first half of the Grand Line to dispel Shiki's concerns and vigilance.

As for Shiki's ability to fly, it's not a big problem for Bane. As long as Shiki dares to show his face, he won't be able to escape from Bane's abilities. Whether he can fly or not, he can only fight him to the death. After all, no Devil Fruit user can resist the attraction of Bane's Dark-Dark Fruit!

The only thing to consider is Shiki's strength. Bane doesn't think Shiki is stronger than him in his current state, but he is a cautious person, so his original plan was to take Zephyr to Eghardt, get Zephyr to his peak condition, and then hunt Shiki with Zephyr.

A top-tier naval admiral, along with Bane, would definitely be able to handle an old lion.

However, it seems there isn't enough time right now, so some changes need to be made, but the impact won't be significant.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi with Trafalgar Law, Bane turned to Zephyr, who was enjoying the sea breeze under the mast, and chuckled, "Father, interested in going hunting?"

(End of this chapter)