After their heated dispute, Shakky stepped in to mediate while Stussy offered expnations to crify the situation. Only then did Rayleigh finally figure out the truth, he had pletely misuood.

  Realizing his error, Rayleigh came to an unfortable clusion. Not only had Cudius not insulted Captain Roger's memory, but he had even been his captain's gift in a strange sense of fate.

  "You old fool," Cudius muttered irritably. "One drink, and you 't even keep your head on straight? Ready to challenge a Celestial Dragon and punch your ticket to heaven?"

  Rayleigh scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, stammering out apologies. At his age, dignity was more of an option than a y.

  Seeing hoard the old man looked, Cudius frowned but let it slide. "Ohe people from Amazon Lily arrive, tact me. There's a signal lio the Den Den Mushi; Shakky has it."

  With that, Cudius stood, dusted himself off, aured to his ente. Without wasting any more time, they all departed from Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

  After the group had left, Shakky turo Rayleigh with an amused look. "Feeling a bit impulsive, were we?"

  Rayleigh let out a sheepish ugh. "How was I supposed to know it was like that?"

  He fell silent for a moment, his expression softening. "Twenty months nancy t Ato the world… Rouge really was…" His voice trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

  For a moment, a heavy se settled between them. But Rayleigh wasn't oo dwell too long on such emotions. Crag his neck, he broke the silence. "Still, I'll admit, that Cudius surprised me."

  Shakky g him while ing up the gsses left behind by Cudius and his group. "What do you mean?"

  Rayleigh's tourhoughtful. "That guy is really strong."

  "Obviously," Shakky said casually. "How else do you think he's mao capture so many of the world's top pirates?"

  Rayleigh shook his head. "No, it's more than that. Even though I'd had a bit to drink, my reflexes are still sharp. When I attacked him earlier, my speed and timing were perfect, pletely ued. A, he mao block me without missing a beat."

  Shakky smirked as she poured herself a drink. "Or maybe you're just getting old. At ye, you should stop swinging swords around like you're still in your prime."

  Rayleigh burst into ughter. "Hahaha, you're probably right."

  ---

  It would take several days floriosa and her group to arrive at the Sabaody Archipego from Amazon Lily. In the meantime, Cudius decided to stay put. He wasn't in a rush, there wasn't much pressing on his schedule anyway.

  Over the past few days, the Sabaody Archipego had started to ge. Bold merfolk and fish-men had begun to appear on the isnd, mingling with the human popution.

  Iioweewo races were still tentative, but the initial fear and mistrust were slowly dissolving. Meanwhile, the sve traders on the isnd had bee eerily quiet.

  This shift was rgely due to Cudius's earlier as. His ruthless crackdown on the isnd's underground trade had struck fear into the hearts of those who thrived on oppression.

  "No one in their right mind would dare touyone from Fish-Man Isnd now," Cudius mused to himself as he wahrough the archipego. "Uhey have a death wish."

  ---

  While Cudius was leisurely strolling through the area, his Den Den Mushi suddenly rang. Reizing the tone, he picked it up, smirking slightly. "Sengoku, you're calling again? Don't tell me you're so impatient that you 't wait a few more days for the Calm Belt operation."

  The voi the other end was calm but firm. "Yhness, this isn't about the Calm Belt," Sengoku said gravely.

  Cudius's expression shifted, his tone being serious. "Oh? Then what is it?"

  "I thought you'd want to be informed. After all, this matter directly involves you… or rather, something you were involved in," Sengoku replied cryptically.

  "Just spit it out," Cudius said, now curious.

  Sengoku's words were measured. "Golden Lion Shiki woke up this m."

  For a moment, Cudius was stunned. Shiki? He hadn't thought about that name in years. The memory of their st enter was distant, almost buried beh the chaos of more ret events.

  It had been during Cudius's dest from Sky Isnd that he'd actally stumbled into the Battle of Edd War. In a twist of fate, he had crossed paths with Shiki, a csh that ended with the infamous pirate being captured and rendered atose.

  Sihen, Shiki had been held at Marineford, cared for urict watch. Out of humanitarian duty or perhaps just for observation he had received top-notch medical care, even though many thought he would remain a vegetable for the rest of his life.

  And now he was awake?

  "Well, that's ued," Cudius murmured, stroking his thoughtfully.

  "Exactly my rea," Sengoku said. "When I got the his m, I was stunned. Holy, I'd almost fotten he was still alive."

  Cudius chuckled lightly. "Same here. What's the pn now? What's Marine going to do with him?"

  Sengoku's tone grew somber. "Shiki is in a weakeate. While he's scious, years of lying atose have left him frail. His injuries, particurly the brain damage, have also takeoll. The rudder embedded in his head… that's not going anywhere.

  "Acc to the medical staff who've been taking care of him, he's uain his former strength. He 't even use Haki anymore. In short, he's no lohe man he once was."

  Cudius sighed, leaning back slightly. "Talk about tragic. Shiki really is the poster child for wasted ambition. Ohe terror of the seas, now he's just…"

  "A shadow of himself," Sengoku finished. "Exactly. Once he's had a few days to recover, we'll due final evaluations. After that, he'll be sent to Impel Dowernal Hell."

  Cudius nodded, unsurprised. "Exactly what I expected."

  Still, he couldn't help but pity the man. Shiki's life had been one of highs and lows, but this seemed like a cruel end. Waking up after years of oblivion, only to be thrown into the darkest depths of Impel Down?

  I wonder, Cudius mused, will he try to escape again? Break his legs a sed time for the sake of freedom?

  But the odds weren't in Shiki's favor this time. With his Haki gone, his ces of esg Impel Down were slim to none. Breaking his legs now would likely mean his death.

  ---

  In a quiet cell at Marineford, Shiki stared at the ceiling, his face expressionless. He'd been awake for only a short time, but it was enough to grasp the bleak reality of his situation.

  He muttered softly to himself, his voice heavy with resignation. "How many years…? How many years was I out? The world's ged, hasn't it? Roger is gone. I've been fotten. And the sea… it belongs to Whitebeard now…"

  His words trailed off, repced by silehe weight of his circumstances pressed down on him like an anchor, and for the first time in his life, Shiki felt the sharp sting of irrelevance.

  "Maybe it would've beeer… if I'd never woken up," Shiki whispered.

  His tone carried the sorrow of a once-great figure who had bee behind by time itself. Slowly, he closed his eyes, retreating into his thoughts.

  ---

  The news of Shiki's awakening was kept strictly fidential. For years, the Wover and Marine had worked to erase the Golden Lion's presence from public memory. His exploits, once legendary, were now little more than whispers in old pirate tales.

  Even now, as Shiki prepared to be sent to Eternal Hell, the Marine's strategy remaihe same: erase his existence.

  Perhaps in another decade, no one among the new geion of pirates would even remember his name.

  ***

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