I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Aizen: "It seems like I've been exposed as the boss?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka: "Shocking! The one who killed Goetia was actually a doctor?"

Ace: "Blackbeard betrayed Pops? And even handed me over to the Marines? And even killed Pops?"

Madara Uchiha: "Wait a minute! What are we going to do if the whole world suddenly wants to dance?"

Chapter 1237 High Martial Arts Plan 4k

Sky Islands, Vermeer.

This is the secret aerial realm ruled by the Golden Lion.

Ordinary floating islands are located in the white sea at an altitude of 10,000 meters, relying on the buoyancy of island clouds and sea clouds.

Vermeer, on the other hand, relies on the Golden Lion's own abilities, so his altitude is not fixed and he can freely switch between the ground and high altitude.

Ain's injuries were mainly due to excessive blood loss; as long as the bleeding is stopped, it shouldn't be a big problem.

At this moment, dozens of pirate ships flying various flags have returned, and the great pirates are chatting and laughing.

Zephyr suffered more severe injuries and was taken to a sky island by Lion King using Planet Explosion, where he is now receiving treatment from his medical team.

“The Golden Lion,” Hale spoke first.

"Zeffa has been saved, so now you should tell us the secret to regaining your youth, right?"

The other great pirates nodded in agreement.

They've reached a similar age, and will soon begin to age, something these powerful figures of the old era find hard to accept.

"It's actually quite simple. That young female navy girl is a user of the Rewind-Rewind Fruit..."

Golden Lion gave a brief introduction and then instructed his subordinates to bring out the widely circulated "Top Ten Devil Fruit Ranking" from back then, which included a brief introduction to the Rewind Fruit.

"So it's the Rewind Fruit..." Hale suddenly realized, but then his brows furrowed again:

"But the effects of the Rewind-Rewind Fruit are only temporary, right? Once the user dies or falls into a coma, or even if the power reverts to its original state, then our false youth will just disappear again, won't it?"

The other great pirates also frowned; this was not what they had imagined.

For these unruly pirates, being controlled by others is extremely unbearable.

"There is a way to stay young forever," the Golden Lion said slowly.

"any solution?"

"Golden Lion, say something! Stop keeping me in suspense!"

"That's the Op-Op Fruit, the ultimate Devil Fruit power," Shiki poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

The power of the Op-Op Fruit is no secret among this group of well-informed pirates.

Legend has it that if the Op-Op Fruit is trained to its peak, at the highest level of the fruit, it can perform the so-called Immortality Surgery, thus granting immortality to others. However, the price is the life of the Op-Op Fruit user.

Doflamingo initially hoped that his younger brother Corazon would eat the Op-Op Fruit and die for him, so that Doflamingo could gain eternal life and thus obtain the Celestial Dragons' national treasure.

However, Corazon secretly ate the Silence-Silence Fruit without telling him, and since he was also a Marine spy, he had no choice but to betray Law, making him the user of the Op-Op Fruit.

At present, Law has clearly not developed the Op-Op Fruit to its fullest potential.

Even if it's developed to its highest level, it's still useless.

Given Luo's character, even if he threatened with all his crew members, he would never risk his own life to perform the immortality surgery on someone else.

Therefore, the path to immortality through the fruit of surgery is essentially blocked.

"The effect of the immortality surgery is permanent; even after the ability user dies, the immortal will continue to live," the Golden Lion said coldly.

"The highest level of the so-called 'Op-Op Fruit' should probably refer to the awakening of the Devil Fruit."

"You can try to find someone with the awakened Op-Op Fruit ability in your lifetime, and who is also willing to perform surgery on you."

Everyone was speechless.

Most of the effects of Devil Fruit abilities are temporary.

If Shiki dies, the Sky Island will fall; if Doflamingo is defeated, the Birdcage will collapse; if Sugar is defeated, the toys will return to their original state.

The same applies to fruits that have regressed.

The permanent immortality surgery is an exception, which may be related to the awakening of Devil Fruits.

The awakening of a Devil Fruit is extremely rare. It not only requires the fruit's ability to be trained to an extremely high level, but also depends on luck—only a few Devil Fruits have the potential to awaken.

"Everyone desires eternal life, but pursuing it is far too difficult." Seeing that the crowd had calmed down somewhat, the Golden Lion continued:

"Since we cannot obtain eternal life, let's settle for second best."

"The power of the Rewind Fruit will not grant you eternal life; it will only make your bodies younger."

"This is a false, temporary youth."

"In other words, when our lifespan comes to an end, we will still die of old age."

"But we can remain in our prime until we die of old age!" the Golden Lion said seductively.

The Op-Op Fruit grants immortality, but the price is the death of the awakened user; the conditions are extremely harsh.

The fruit of regression cannot grant immortality, but it can grant eternal youth.

The fact that she doesn't age is enough to make these elderly people in their twilight years' hearts flutter.

As time passed, they aged and their strength declined, but they also gained a wealth of combat experience.

Their swordsmanship, eyesight, domineering aura, and combat skills are all improving day by day, which can make up for the loss of physical strength. As one thing increases while the other decreases, their actual combat strength does not decline too much.

So, what would happen if these great pirates returned to their prime?

Take Hyogoro from Wano Country as an example.

In his old age, this gangster's body shrank to a tiny blob. Although he possessed profound mastery of Armament Haki, his power had declined too much. He had the skill, but could hardly unleash its full destructive potential.

When these elderly people regain the vitality of their prime years, carrying the experience, skills, and wisdom accumulated throughout their lives, they will be even stronger than in their prime, and it will be an unprecedentedly brilliant time.

After figuring this out, the pirates' eyes widened in disbelief.

Although it wasn't quite what they had expected, they were indeed tempted.

Only Hale felt a jolt of unease.

"But that young naval girl, Ain, she is..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Golden Lion raising his voice:

"Indeed, being controlled by others is a big problem. I certainly don't want to be controlled by others either."

"Therefore, Zephyr is an important hostage."

The golden lion's gaze turned slightly cold.

..............................................

A few hours later.

Golden Lion arrived at Ain's hospital room.

Ain's injuries weren't serious; she was just weakened by excessive blood loss and was quickly subdued by the Golden Lion.

Now, after basic hemostasis and treatment, Ain is able to move around normally, except for being a little pale.

Upon seeing the Golden Lion enter, Ain immediately became wary, but did not attack as fiercely as last time.

The disparity in strength between the two sides makes it difficult for them to engage in equal dialogue.

Of course, if the two really fall out, she can also use the power of the Rewind Fruit to fight the Golden Lion Fish to the death.

"I have rescued Zefa, and he is currently receiving treatment."

"Although that old guy is a naval officer, he is a veteran of many battles. This level of injury is not a fatal threat to him. It's only a matter of time before he recovers."

“Now, we can talk.” The Golden Lion smiled.

He saved Zephyr, not because of Ain's threat.

Rather, it was because he wanted to use Zephyr as a hostage to threaten Ain in return, thereby exploiting her Regression Fruit for his own purposes.

Thanks to the World Government's actions, Ain lost the protection of Zephyr and Fujitora and was captured by Shiki.

Meanwhile, Zephyr was captured by Shiki while severely injured, allowing Zephyr to reap the benefits.

And now, it is time to launch the Advanced Martial Arts Project.

“Although Zephyr is out of danger, this is my territory.” Golden Lion showed Ain a video of Zephyr receiving treatment via Den Den Mushi, then grinned.

"His life is entirely in my hands, you know what I mean?"

Ain remained silent for a long time.

A moment later, she stretched out her palm, and two or three faint purple flames lit up in her palm.

"What you want is the power of the Rewind Fruit, isn't it?" Ain asked in a low voice.

"clever."

The Golden Lion's lips curled up. The fact that Ain did not resist saved him a lot of trouble. Satisfied, he stretched out his palm and gently touched the flames.

A faint purple light enveloped his entire body, and in just a few breaths, the golden lion's physique rapidly changed; his skin became firm, and his figure became tall and imposing.

The greatest pirate Shiki the Golden Lion's peak in history was probably decades ago when he was vying for supremacy with Roger. At that time, he already had the reputation of being the strongest in the world and was enough to compete with Roger for the throne. He was in full bloom and wanted Roger to submit so that the two could conquer the world together.

At that time, he was about the same age as Roger, around fifty years old, which was the golden age of the old era that the Golden Lion could never forget.

At this point, he had regressed to his prime, his most vigorous and middle-aged years.

During the ten years from his escape from Impel Down to his consumption of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit and the subsequent loss of his leg, he used his sword as a foot, honing his swordsmanship to a level comparable to wielding a sword with his arms—a testament to the accumulation of skill and combat techniques.

The twelve years since he ate the Cloud-Cloud Fruit have been a period of further training in both Devil Fruit abilities and the Four-Sword Style. This represents a further development of his powers.

And now.

The golden lion stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror, at his own youthful, dashing self.

He clenched his fist secretly, sensing the vibrant young body, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He's back... His power is back!