I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Zefa moved swiftly through the beast horde, each punch knocking a giant beast to the ground. He dealt with these wild animals with remarkable ease.

This made Shiki, who had been leisurely watching the battle from above, frown.

He didn't expect these beasts to be able to deal with a naval admiral.

“These beasts are no match for Zefa... Continue to observe and record their combat performance.”

Shiki gave an instruction to the other researchers on the pirate ship.

Then, he swooped down like an eagle, raised his foot and slashed at Zefa with his sword, and the two became locked in combat.

Shiki the Golden Lion held off Admiral Zephyr, while the rest of the Marines were overwhelmed by the beast tide, and another chaotic battle broke out on the newly airborne Red Tree Island.

Chapter 381 The River's Water Flows from Heaven

High in the sky, Mangrove Island once again became a battlefield, and the battle reached a stalemate.

hiss--

A giant, red-scaled python with long horns, as big as a small mountain, slithered swiftly towards them, its tongue flicking. Given its size, it didn't even need to pounce or bite; its mere crawl was enough to completely crush the navy.

Its scales also seemed quite hard; when naval swords struck the scales, they made a clanging sound like metal clashing, and the scales could not be broken at all.

Although the giant python was huge, it moved with lightning speed. With a few lightning-fast bites, the navy suffered heavy casualties.

"Too dangerous..."

Watching this scene, Sieg felt a chill creep into his heart.

When he was on land, he followed the Marines in attacking the Beasts Pirates. At that time, it was a favorable situation for him, so he didn't feel much.

But now, the remaining navy has to deal with these beasts. Without Zephyr's help, the situation is deadlocked, with casualties on both sides.

This made Sieg's heart beat faster and faster without him having to.

Sig held his breath, watching the giant python in front of him get closer and closer, when a thought suddenly surged into his mind.

This giant python has no hands!

Thinking of this, Sieg breathed a sigh of relief.

He opened his palm, and a short sword sprang out from his sleeve. The short sword was so well concealed that it would be difficult to spot unless one looked closely.

This is the improved hidden blade that Sigour bought on the Isle of All Things, crafted by artisans from Wano Country.

After Sig reunited with the remnants of the bandit gang, Sig brought all the trinkets he had bought with him.

A hidden blade is also a sword!

Sig took a deep breath and charged towards the giant python in front of him, while secretly extending his left hand to slash through the python with the thrusting hidden blade.

Hiss--

This sword strike didn't have any dazzling, sky-piercing light; it was just an ordinary, flat strike. Yet, it completely tore the giant python's body apart, cleaving it in two, and splattering foul-smelling blood all over the ground.

And this was the consequence of Sieg holding back.

After all, he is now Navy Lieutenant Higuma, not the Sieg he once was.

Suddenly displaying exceptional swordsmanship is tantamount to asking for trouble.

After severing the giant python, Sieg secretly looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his extraordinary sword strike.

The result was a relief to Sieg. The battlefield was in such chaos that no one except him noticed what had happened.

"These beasts are all strangely shaped, without hands, and they're not just snakes..."

With one hand carrying the cannon barrel and the other hand extending a hidden blade, Sieg did not rush to attack, but silently observed the entire battlefield.

The beasts that Shiki bred were mostly eccentric and bizarre in appearance.

What Sieg needs to do is to find some beasts among these massive numbers of ferocious animals that have no hands or cannot put their hands together in prayer position.

In this battlefield ravaged by monsters, Sieg ran around, and whenever he saw a beast without hands or with short arms, he would thrust out his hidden blade and pierce it completely.

Thanks to his efforts, the balance of power in the war gradually shifted towards the navy's side.

Just as Sieg was feeling somewhat smug, a dazzling golden sword light grazed his body and left a wide trench at his feet.

Sieg's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up at the sky.

In the air, it is the battlefield between Shiki the Golden Lion and Admiral Zephyr.

The sword light that almost hit Sieg just now wasn't intentional on Shiki's part; it was just the aftershock of the battle.

However, upon seeing this, Sieg's initial secret joy sank again.

The battle between Zephyr and Shiki will be the decisive one.

The battle between the navy and the beasts below did not affect the overall situation in the slightest.

Even Sieg could tell that the situation between the two was not optimistic.

Zephyr is not a Devil Fruit user, so he can only rely on Moonwalk to fight Shiki, who is floating in the air.

Shiki, on the other hand, relied on the power of the Float-Float Fruit to completely ignore gravity, displaying incredible agility.

In the air, it's Shiki the Golden Lion's home turf.

Zephyr, who was using Moonwalk to clash with the Golden Lion in the air, was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

"Zeffa! It's been so many years, and you really disappoint me now!"

The golden lion's gaze turned cold;

"Lion·Senkiriya!"

Suddenly, he unleashed a series of brilliant golden sword lights, like dazzling crescent moons, each one sharp and piercing, cleaving through the fierce winds in the sky and striking Zefa like a torrential downpour.

The Golden Lion moved swiftly, his kicks never ceasing, and the surging golden sword light formed a vast ocean that engulfed Zephyr in an instant.

boom!

Zephyr's arms were held horizontally in front of him, his entire body already covered in jet-black Armament Haki. However, his body was cleaved from the sky to the ground by the surging, sea-like sword energy. The earth suddenly cracked and collapsed, creating a deep crater.

When the sword light finally subsided, Zefa stood in the deep pit, panting slightly. Several cuts had been torn open on his body, and he was covered in blood.

He pressed his hand to his chest, to the spot where the white-bearded man had left him, and couldn't help but vomit blood.

"Hehehehehe..."

Seeing Zephyr's performance, Shiki's laughter stopped abruptly when he saw the battle below, and his face darkened.

Although he gained the upper hand in the battle against Zephyr, most of the beasts he had raised for many years were killed by the Navy.

"These ferocious beasts now can't even handle the navy from headquarters?"

The golden lion looked rather grim.

He has been raising these beasts for a full ten years since he escaped from Impel Down!

According to his plan, it would take a full twenty years, and these beasts were not yet at their full size as expected...

Even so, he was still disappointed by the performance of these beasts.

If these ferocious beasts fail to become the calamity he foresaw, enough to destroy the East Sea... then his ten years would have been wasted!

This made the Golden Lion feel both furious and bored.

"This is a world of the strong."

The golden lion floated in the air, expressionless as it looked down at the howling beasts and panting sailors below.

"The weak have no value in living."

The golden lion pointed a finger.

On another island in the distance, all the seawater floats up, converging into a rushing river that weaves through the air.

The waters of the great river come from the sky!

Finally, all the seawater converged above Mangrove Island, forming an ocean almost half the size of the island, casting a shadow that enveloped the entire island.

The sky darkened once again.

"Since you are all weak, let's perish together." The golden lion pressed down with his palm.

The ocean in the sky crashed down.

Chapter 382 The general's reputation is great, but when it comes to actual combat, we'll have to see who's the real deal.

Above Mangrove Island, the vast ocean, which almost covered the sky, crashed down with tremendous force.

With each flip of the golden lion's palm, the island ascends to the heavens and the ocean descends to the earth.

This terrifying power deeply shocked everyone on Red Tree Island.

Finally, their gazes settled on Zephyr.

"Is Shiki really that strong? The power of the Float-Float Fruit is truly terrifying..."

"How is Admiral Zephyr's injury?"

"He should be able to handle it..."

If there is anyone on this island who can stop the Golden Lion, it is naturally Admiral Zephyr.

Amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zephyr gritted his teeth, clenched his fists again, and with a stomp of his feet, he soared into the sky once more, meeting the sea that was descending from the heavens.

Before he could even reach the ocean, his face turned pale, his figure swayed, and before he could even throw that punch, his body was swallowed up by the sea.

At that moment, everyone's expression changed drastically!

Zephyr messed up!

The Navy's strongest force had fallen to the Golden Lion? This was simply unacceptable to the Navy personnel.

"General Zephyr!"

"Even our general has been defeated? How can we possibly fight back?"

"Damn it... what do we do now?"

The naval officers tried their best to resist the towering seawater, but the seawater was too much and too heavy, and their attacks had limited effect.