Looking at the fident Golden Lion Shiki h in the sky, Sengoku felt utterly exasperated. Damn it, did I fet to check the almanac before heading out this time?

  First, they nearly wiped out the Celestial Dragons on illo Isnd with a Buster Call. Then, if not for Cudius's timely remihe mission to eliminate Captain John would have likely failed. And just when Sengoku thought things had finally settled down, they bumped into Golden Lion Shiki on their way babsp;

  Of all the people on the sea, the ones Sengoku most dreaded fighting were Shiki and Whitebeard.

  It wasn't that they were necessarily strohan other pirates like Roger or Kaido, but fighting them at sea was an absolute nightmare. Shiki ruled the skies with his floating powers, while Whitebeard could summon tsunamis with a single puneither fight was one you wao have on the open o.

  In trast, Sengoku wouldn't be nearly as worried about running inter, Kaid Mom. But here, in the open waters, fag someone like Shiki, Sengoku knew he was in for a tough battle.

  And to make matters worse, they had a Celestial Dragon on board. If Cudius got killed during the fight, even if Sengoku mao defeat Shiki, it wouldn't matter there would be hell to pay whe back to headquarters. That thought alone filled Sengoku with frustration.

  Though he felt the weight of the situation, Sengoku Admiral didn't let it show. He met Shiki's arrogance head-on, shouting, "You think yoing to kill me here, Shiki? You really believe your own hype too much. You shouldn't have e. This time, you're not leaving. I've already reserved a nice, fy cell for you in Impel Down!"

  "Jihahahaha! Sengoku, your bark's gotten louder since we st met!" Shiki cackled, uhing his famous twin sabers, Kogarashi and Oto, the ons that had apanied him through tless battles.

  Without any more chatter, Shiki swung his bdes downward, slig the air itself. The violent ssh tore through the sky, a sharp force bearing down on Sengoku and his warship, as if Shiki inteo cleave both in two.

  But Sengoku wasn't oo panic. If Shiki were easy to handle, he wouldn't be ruling the skies. Just as the ssh was about to strike, Sengoku's body swelled up, his form transf into a t golden Buddha over five meters tall.

  With a powerful growl, Sengoku raised his hand, releasing a shockwave that met Shiki's ssh in midair. The energy from the shockwave and the ssh collided, dispersing in a bst of power. But Sengoku didn't stop there his shockwave tinued, shooting upward toward Shiki.

  Shiki didn't flinch. With a sneer, he covered his free hand in Armament Haki, pung the air aralizing Sengoku's shockwave.

  "Jihahahaha! Not bad, Sengoku!" Shiki ughed, his voice carrying through the wind.

  Meanwhile, in the below deck, Cudius watched the battle i was his first time seeing such a high-level csh, and the sheer iy was overwhelming. This was nothing like reading about it in mangas ba his old life this was raw, terrifying power, and it was exhirating to witness.

  "So that's the power of the Mythical Zoan, huh? Admiral-level strength is really something else. And Shiki's Armament Haki it's the third stage, the external release. I used to think Shiki's Haki wasn't anything special, but it looks like the steering wheel stu his head really does start to affect him ter on…"

  Cudius's thoughts were rag as he analyzed the fight.

  Ba the sky, Shiki snorted as he waved his hand, and from out of nowhere, a massive sailing ship came crashing down toward Sengoku's warship. Shiki, using his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, had lifted the ship into the sky earlier, and now he hurled it as a on.

  "These are the ships from the pirates I've killed. You love catg pirates so much, Sengoku? Well, here, have some!" Shiki taunted, sending the ship plummeting down.

  On a nearby warship, anure couldn't stay silent any loall, strong, and filled with fiery rage, this Marine was her than Vice Admiral Sakazuki, known as the "Marine Mad Dog."

  "Great Eruption!" Sakazuki roared, thrusting his fist upward. A massive bst of magma shot into the sky, obliterating the falling ship in an instant, turning it into a rain of sm debris.

  But Sakazuki wasn't finished. His magma fist tis ast, now barreling toward Shiki, who was still ughing in midair.

  "Bring it on!" Shiki yelled, uhing his sed saber and sending a powerful ssh toward the magma fist. The ssh cleaved Sakazuki's atta two, redireg the molten magma away from him.

  However, the two halves of the magma attack didn't just vanish they ged trajectory and hurtled toward another warship.

  Sakazuki's face twisted in shock. "Awakening! He's awakened his Devil Fruit powers!"

  "Surprised? I'm the Golden Lion!" Shiki grinned, brimming with fidence.

  Before the magma could destroy the ship, a cold bst of freezing energy shot through the air. Two enormous ice pilrs rose from the sea, catg the magma in mid-flight and freezing it solid before the magma could hit the warship. The frozen ks of magma fell harmlessly into the o below.

  Shiki's smile faded slightly as he reized the new pyer. "That little brat Kuzan is here too? This could be troublesome."

  With Kuzan otlefield, the sea was no luaranteed advantage for Shiki. The Marine admiral could freeze the o, making it harder for Shiki to exploit the terrain. Shiki had e here with the goal of sinking the Marine fleet, but now that seemed far less likely.

  Just as Shiki pondered his move, a blinding golden light streaked through the sky, hurtling straight toward him. Shiki moved to dodge, but the light transformed into the form of a man her than Borsalino, the future Marine Admiral Kizaru.

  "Ever felt what it's like to be kicked at the speed of light?" Borsalino quipped as his foot shot toward Shiki.

  Shiki, with his wealth of battle experience, didn't fall for Borsalino's theatrics. He caught Borsalino's ankle mid-air, smirking as he said, "A bit too soon to try kig me, kid."

  As Shiki raised his bde to sever Borsalino's leg, Sengoku's voied from below. "Now! Everyotack!"

  Sengoku, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino all surged forward, using Geppo to unch themselves into the air. They closed in on Shiki, attempting to surround him.

  Borsalino, managing to pull his leg free, drew his Sky Cloud Sword and sshed at Shiki. But Shiki still wore a smile on his face, unbothered by the Marine's bined assault.

  With a slight movement of his fingers, Shiki summoned iron pilrs from one of the floating ships. The iron beams shot toward the Marines with incredible speed, imbued with his own Haki, cutting through the air like missiles.

  "Fighting me in the air, Sengoku? You've got some nerve!" Shiki ughed.

  Sakazuki charged in first, his body transf into magma. But even with his quick reflexes, several of the iron pilrs struck him, f him to shift into his elemental form just in time. If not for his quick thinking, the Haki-infused iron would have severely injured him.

  "Iron Lion!" Shiki roared, and the iron pilrs merged into a massive iro, enveloping Sakazuki. The iron lion then plummeted toward the sea, with Sakazuki trapped inside.

  Sakazuki, being a Devil Fruit user, was in serious danger of being drowned. Kuzan, reizing the threat, immediately halted his atta Shiki. He fired a wave of freezing energy toward the o, creating a massive ice sheet just as the iron lion hit the frozen surface.

  The impact caused the iron lion to melt into a pool of molten iron, but Sakazuki re-emerged, standing tall on the ice.

  Still, even on solid ground, Sakazuki knew he couldn't keep up with a sky battle. Gritting his teeth, he stayed back, ready to apply pressure from below.

  Meanwhile, Cudius watched the aerial battle from the warship's , feeling a mix of awe aement. "Incredible. One man is holding off an Admiral and three Vice Admirals, all without breaking a sweat. No wonder Shiki's one of the stro pirates out there. He's as powerful as Whitebeard in his prime."

  Nia nervously urged, "Yhness, we should escape while the Marines are holding him off. This pce is too dangerous!"

  Cudius, however, wasn't ied in running. "Escape? Where to? Kuzan's already frozen the sea there's no moving the ship now. And besides, how often do you get to see a fight like this up close? I'm not about to run away with my tail between my legs!" Cudius said with a grin, his eyes locked on the chaotic battlefield in the sky.

  Nia, still on edge, tried again. "But Yhness—"

  Cudius waved her off, his excitement undiminished. "Rex. This is a rare opportunity. How often do you get to withe Golden Lion take on an Admiral and three Vice Admirals? And besides, I doubt there's a safer p this frozehan right here."

  Nia bit her lip, realizing that Cudius had made up his mind. Still, she couldn't shake the ay gnawing at her.

  At that moment, anure ehe room. It was Stussy, looking equally ed but more posed. "Yhness, I've already tacted Naval Headquarters and CP-0. They're mobilizing to send reinforts as quickly as possible. Help is on the way."

  Cudius chuckled, waving dismissively. "Help? At this rate, by the time they get here, it'll be too te. We'll either have won or—well, we'll be fish food. There's no point in pinning our hopes on anyone ing to the rescue."