I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

At this point, the golden lion's smile turned mocking:

"I've heard that you now possess the strength of a near-general?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

Aokiji remained calm, but ice spikes condensed in the air in front of him and then flew towards the golden lion.

Golden Lion swiftly deflected all the incoming ice spikes with a series of sword strikes. He then drew both swords simultaneously, slashing from one in front of the other. After several clashes, the sharp sword light this time directly cut several cracks into the ice sword in Aokiji's hand.

The two clashed swords, and the situation was deadlocked for a moment. However, Aokiji's arm trembled slightly, indicating that he was at a disadvantage.

During the battle, the Golden Lion seemed to sense something and suddenly raised his head, looking towards the direction of the sky island.

"So that's how it is. Is this what they call near-general level strength? I'm not playing with you anymore."

The Golden Lion laughed heartily, turned his body, and an ice sword slashed upwards from his feet, instantly causing a burst of bloody light to erupt at Aokiji's waist.

After unleashing this sword strike, Golden Lion did not hesitate at all. Before the navy could surround him, his body suddenly soared into the sky, breaking free from the navy's encirclement.

From a high vantage point, the scene appeared as if Shiki had single-handedly fought his way in and out of the navy seven times without being at a disadvantage.

The battle, which had already reached a fever pitch, came to an abrupt end with the sudden ascent of the Golden Lion.

But instead of feeling relieved, the Warring States period became even more anxious.

"Can you just leave whenever you want? How are we, the Navy, supposed to deal with Golden Lion now?"

A faint, bitter smile appeared on Zhan Guo's face.

The fact that Shiki has only just obtained the Angel Fruit reminds Sengoku of Shiki's prime more than a decade ago when he was active on the Grand Line.

"The legends of the seas were gradually aging, but the Golden Lion suddenly appeared, his strength in no way diminished from its former glory..."

For the Navy, Shiki was, in some ways, even more troublesome than Whitebeard.

Although Whitebeard was strong, his attention was focused on his family. After establishing a foothold in the New World and gaining widespread fame, he rarely made any major moves. His weakness was obvious.

Unlike Shiki, who was ambitious and a legend in his prime, standing shoulder to shoulder with Whitebeard and Roger, his strength was by no means weak.

If it weren't for Golden Lion Head Iron's solo charge into Marine Headquarters, walking right into their trap, the Navy probably wouldn't have been able to capture him at all...

Now that the Golden Lion has regained his legs and is no longer dormant, coupled with his two troublesome abilities... Sengoku was filled with dread upon closer examination.

"We must keep the Golden Lion, but what can we use to do so?"

"Wait, Shiki discovered Zephyr?"

The Warring States period raised its head.

High in the sky, he could vaguely see the golden lion's gaze fixed on the sky island, seemingly confronting someone on it.

In fact, the golden lion also took a slight breath after soaring into the sky.

After a fierce battle, his wounds were reopened, bleeding profusely, and his head began to ache again.

Golden Lion's condition wasn't actually at its best. During yesterday's battle, he was surrounded and attacked by elite naval officers while he was in a frenzy, and suffered serious injuries.

Afterwards, despite his injuries and headache, he had a drink with Sieg at 10,000 meters altitude and discussed their grand plans.

The Rewind-Rewind Fruit's power restored Shiki's physical condition to its prime, but that doesn't mean it could heal his injuries.

Although his injuries were not fatal, they were still a burden after a long and intense battle.

now.

The golden lion floated in mid-air, facing Zephyr and Sieg, who were about to leave the edge of the sky island.

Ze took the initiative to step forward and, as before, shielded Sieg behind him.

"Zeffa, you've already lost to me once, are you still planning to stop me?"

"This isn't some childish game of naval play; people will die," Golden Lion said coldly.

He was indeed speaking to Zefa, but his gaze inadvertently drifted towards Sieg.

He and Sieg did have a rough script, but it seems to have gone a little wrong, though it's not irreversible.

Then, just as written in the script, Sieg stepped out from behind Zephyr.

"General Zephyr, let me do it."

Sieg said with a serious and righteous expression.

Before Zephyr and Shiki could react, Sieg reached to his chest and quietly turned on the megaphone again—it seemed to have malfunctioned because it had been soaked in water, but after Sieg patted it twice, the megaphone was fixed.

The familiar melody, amplified by the loudspeaker, resonated throughout the high sky.

The Lost River.

The moment the song began, Zefa immediately got goosebumps all over his body.

He was standing right next to Sieg, and a sense of unease immediately welled up inside him.

The Golden Lion's reaction was even more intense. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and he clutched his head with both hands, letting out a painful cry, as if he were going mad.

Chapter 408 Saving Private Higuma

The rolling sound waves spread through the sky.

The golden lion's eyes showed pain, and it held its head in its hands as if it were going mad.

His abilities seemed to be spiraling out of control again, and the ground of the sky island began to shake and tremble once more.

This abrupt change left Sengoku and his navy on the Sabaody Archipelago below completely bewildered.

By the time the rolling sound waves reached the ground, the volume had gradually decreased, and they only instinctively felt a sense of discomfort.

Zephyr reacted even faster; upon seeing the Golden Lion's miserable state, he immediately whispered a command:

"Higuma, keep singing."

As he spoke, the short purple hair on his forehead grew rapidly at a visible speed, forming the shape of an earplug and covering both ears.

This is a physical skill mastered by the navy, called Life Return, which allows them to infuse their consciousness into a part of their body, thereby gaining complete control over their body, internal organs, and hair.

After doing all this, Zephyr hoisted Sig onto his shoulder and leaped down from the edge of the sky island using Moonwalk.

Zephyr has no intention of protecting Sieg and fighting against the Golden Lion in the high-altitude battlefield.

Once Sig and Zephyr had gone far away, the volume decreased considerably. Only then did the Golden Lion, panting, land back on his sky island and gradually calm down.

He touched the ship's wheel on his head with lingering fear.

Sig’s singing once again brought chaos and a tearing pain to his mind.

The situation wasn't as bad as yesterday, but this time he really wasn't faking it; he was almost on the verge of losing his composure again.

"An indescribable song of the abyss... Even now, I can't stop that discomfort that seeps into my bones?"

"No...it must be because of the head injury!"

The golden lion's expression shifted between light and dark.

Sieg and he do have a script.

However, the Golden Lion, now back in his prime and with greatly increased strength, suddenly became confident that he could withstand Sieg's singing, but almost failed again.

"The rudder..."

The golden lion touched the ship's rudder above his head, a dull, throbbing pain, like being cut by a blunt knife, still lingering in his head.

His most serious injuries were not from fighting Sengoku or Zephyr, nor were they from being surrounded by naval commanders yesterday.

Rather, it was an injury he sustained when he was manipulated by Sieg's bizarre abilities and forced the rudder.

Golden Lion stood on the sky island, looking down at the dark mass of marines below and Sig among the crowd, his eyes cold.

It's one thing for Golden Lion to cooperate with Sigurd and help Sigurd conceal his identity.

But having a weakness that Sieg could manipulate, potentially causing one to lose their mind, go insane, or even die... no one could bear that.

He's worn that ship's wheel on his head for over a decade, and it's become a symbol of the golden lion.

Just like the hook-shaped prosthetic arm, the skull and crossbones flag, and the single-eyed black eyepatch of pirates, it has become a synonym for terror and might.

But after encountering Sieg, all the terror and awe vanished.

He walked back and controlled the sky islands to take off again.

"Indigo, have the ship's medical team prepare for surgery. I need to remove the rudder."

Upon returning to the base building on the sky island, Golden Lion immediately gave the order.

“Boss Shiki, although you are now a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, this ship's wheel has been inside your skull for more than ten years. Removing it rashly would still be quite risky.”

“Being elementalized doesn’t mean you won’t get hurt. You’ve lost a piece of your skull, and part of your brain tissue has been damaged. Coupled with your recent injuries… the situation is not optimistic,” Indigo advised.

The golden lion's expression shifted slightly.

He had clearly gained even greater power and was fully capable of realizing his original ambitions, or even going further... but unfortunately, he had a weakness that Sieg controlled.

"No... there might be an easier way than pulling out the rudder."

Shiki suddenly felt an urge to turn the charade into reality, and a murderous intent surged within him.

Having such a shameful weakness in someone else's hands... is indeed unbearable for a Leo.

While maneuvering the floating islands into the air, he simultaneously swooped down at high speed.

Their target was Sieg, who was among the crowd!

.......

On the Sabaody Archipelago.

Sengoku glanced at Sengoku and Sig, who had fallen back to the ground, and was about to ask about the incident.

"The Warring States general, Golden Lion, is here again!"

"careful!"

Zefa looked up and saw the golden lion swooping down once again, leaving a long trail of white clouds behind it.

"Sengoku, there's no time to explain. Higuma is the key; protect him!"

Zefa shouted, and at the same time quickly said to Sieg: