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

Chapter 160 The legendary pirate, Shiki the Golden Lion, fell here!

After shooting nearly a thousand meters, Shiki felt the gravitational pull that had been pulling him dissipate, indicating that he had left the area covered by the "Earth-Exploding Star".

At the same time, he immediately stopped running away and suddenly made a graceful turn in mid-air, kicking out two knives in succession.

"Lion Valley!"

The fierce slashes, in that instant, were like a raging storm, rushing towards Bane's pursuing figure.

The attacks were so dense that there was absolutely no room to dodge.

Bane, however, chose not to dodge at all. While his feet continuously used Moon Step, his arms were wrapped with the power of Haki as he swung them back and forth, smashing the incoming slashes into dust one by one!

"As expected, he can't use the power of Haki right now," Bane thought to himself, feeling the force of the slash.

Clearly, the strike was sharp, but lacked 'hardness,' so it was ineffective against Bane's attacks.

Shiki seemed to understand this situation and quickly made a tactical change. His figure, which was originally swirling in the sky, pulled up a gust of air and rushed down towards the sea.

This sudden turn caught Bane off guard, causing him to miss and fail to catch Shiki.

He wasn't in a hurry to use the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit. As long as Shiki didn't run away, he was willing to give this legendary pirate a dignified end.

At the same time, fighting against a seasoned pirate like Shiki is also a form of improvement. After all, teachers like Zephyr and Kaido have given guidance to Bane, saying that he lacks practical experience, especially in fighting top-tier opponents.

In this situation, engaging in a prolonged fight with Shiki would be very beneficial for Bane.

With a stomp that shattered the air, Bane stopped in his tracks, then reversed his attack, chasing Shiki from above once more.

On the other side, Shiki moved with incredible speed, skimming across the sea like a missile. At the same time, he reached out and touched the azure water with his palm, imbuing it with his power.

"Since you're an ability user, then I'll just use seawater to bury you," Shiki thought to himself.

He didn't take advantage of the situation to take off again, but instead flew rapidly close to the sea surface, kicking back and forth with his feet and unleashing slashes to attract Bane's attention.

When Bane began to walk on the sea again, his speed was clearly a level higher than when he was in the air.

He was about to catch up with Shiki ahead, but Shiki was also waiting for such an opportunity!

"Lion's Might - Roaring Lion Across the Four Seas!"

Shiki activated his Float-Float Fruit ability, and in an instant, the sea began to rage.

The speed was so fast that it was as if a ferocious lion was lurking beneath the surface of the sea, its jaws wide open at Bane's feet!

The lion, formed from the seawater, swallowed Bane whole!

At that moment, Shiki also stopped himself, gracefully turning in mid-air, and grinned maliciously: "Hehehehehe, brat, are you feeling the pain? Just drown in the sea like this!!!"

On the clock tower of Flying Star Island, Trafalgar Law's expression suddenly stiffened, and a look of worry appeared in his eyes.

Of course, he didn't know Bane's background, so when he saw Bane being swallowed by the sea, his heart sank. After all, in his understanding, ability users couldn't resist the power of seawater!

"Damn megalomaniac! You have the ability to forcefully pull Shiki to your side, so why do you play this stupid cat-and-mouse game!" Trafalgar Law cursed in exasperation.

Now look what's happened! He's offended Shiki, and his plan to kill Doflamingo has failed!

At this moment, the people on the island seem to have figured out the current situation.

"It's a golden lion!"

"Oh no, why is the Golden Lion here?"

"Was that Vice Admiral Bane just now? The one who shone brightly in the Marineford War!"

"We're doomed, the vice admiral has been taken down!"

"Run!"

But before the emotions of the people could settle down, the lion formed from the enormous seawater that had swallowed Bane's figure suddenly exploded, blasting the endless seawater into a rainstorm.

"How is this possible!?" Trafalgar Law's expression once again showed extreme surprise!

He didn't think there was anything wrong with Bane defeating Shiki, but how could Bane actually destroy the seawater surrounding him?

Is this reasonable?

Aren't you an ability user?!

Is the Dark-Dark Fruit really that overpowered?!

They're not afraid of seawater anymore!?

This situation was truly unexpected, and even Shiki was momentarily stunned!

After all, this situation is completely contrary to what people expect!

This brief moment of confusion also caused Shiki to reveal an instinctive weakness. At this moment, Bane was extremely close to him, and in the instant the seawater burst open, Bane's figure had already arrived in front of Shiki.

"What are you surprised about?" Bane asked with a cruel smile.

At the same time, his fist was already imbued with domineering power and strength. The two forces intertwined and, together with the billowing black smoke, seemed to be tearing and deforming the surrounding space.

At that moment, there was no time to dodge. Shiki immediately braced himself and crossed his arms in front of him, attempting to block and weaken Bane's punch.

Then, in the next instant, Bane's heavy punch landed on Shiki's arm.

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

"Exploding Steel and Shattering Rock!"

Without the protection of a powerful aura, and since Shiki wasn't some kind of physical monster (otherwise he wouldn't have ended up with a ship's rudder stuck in his head), he was completely unable to withstand this attack.

Visibly, Skena's arms, which he had been holding in front of his chest, were slammed into his chest by Bane's fist. Then, the clothes on his arms ripped apart, and with a snap, his arms were instantly broken off. The grotesque broken bone spurs pierced through his flesh and skin, exposed to the air, a gruesome sight.

The force of the punch was not over yet. It shattered Shiki's ribs again, pressing against his arms, causing a clear fist mark to appear on his chest. The surging energy invaded Shiki's body, compressing his internal organs and causing him unbearable pain. He couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of foul blood, which was mixed with some fragments of internal organs.

There seemed to be a momentary pause, but it was just an illusion. The force burst through the clothes behind Shiki, carving a trench hundreds of meters long into the sea. Then, Shiki could no longer withstand the force and was swept away by the energy, spinning and tumbling as he flew out.

With just this one direct blow, Bane was basically certain that Shiki had no power to resist.

Therefore, there's no need to play any more cat-and-mouse games with him.

Black smoke billowed from the punch, quickly transforming into an invisible force that attracted power users, forcefully holding Shiki, who had been sent flying hundreds of meters, still in mid-air. This time, it truly paused for a moment. Then, the powerful force pulled the heavily injured Shiki back towards Bane at an extremely fast speed.

On Bane's fist, which stood opposite Shiki, black threads seemed to pull like those of a marionette. He showed no mercy, taking a step back and gathering his fist's power once more.

"My ambition." In these final moments, as Shiki looked at the approaching fist and Bane's figure, his eyes flashed with resentment and his heart was filled with unwillingness!

Why?!

Why am I always missing that final step?!

destiny!!!

Why won't you show me any favor, even just once?!

"It's over, Shiki!!!" Bane roared.

As Shiki flew over, he threw a punch!

The powerful punch pierced through Shiki's chest in an instant, causing Bane's arm to pierce through Shiki's body like a spear, hanging him on his arm!

Clinging to his last breath, Shiki looked at Bane with resentment and murmured intermittently, "The last... the last step... damn it."

"I'll say it again, Shiki, you are all remnants of the old era. There is no ship in the new era to carry you, so go down in peace. After that, I will send all your old friends to reunite with you one by one," Bane said softly.

"You new-age idiots don't understand what a real pirate is," Shiki said, still unwilling to give up.

But it was too late. The last glimmer of light in his eyes faded away as his life force waned.

Legendary pirate Shiki the Golden Lion has fallen here today!

Bane looked at Shiki's corpse, sighed softly, and shook his head, saying, "I really don't understand. After all, I'm not a pirate, am I?"

As soon as he finished speaking, darkness surged like a tide, engulfing and submerging Shiki's body.

(End of this chapter)