A single slash from the Golden Lion was already enough to cleave open hundreds of kilometers of sea.
With his two swords, Oto and Kogarashi, the Golden Lion unleashed dozens of massive sword waves that blanketed the entire sky.
Even taken individually, each strike was far more powerful than his ordinary slashes.
And their color—once a dazzling gold—was now coated in a thick layer of deep violet-black.
Its power… was even greater than one that Michael had witnessed years ago, when the Golden Lion fought Garp and Sengoku before Marine Headquarters.
After removing the ship's rudder from his head, every move the Golden Lion made was burning through his very life force.
And yet, this Golden Lion—who cared nothing for his own death—had somehow reached a level even higher than his former peak.
Even Michael could feel it now…
A danger great enough to threaten his own life.
But… that danger only made Michael's blood boil hotter.
Liquid Holy Light fused with the three flames of the angels, forming an entirely new set of angelic armor.
Then, swinging his Myōjō, he charged head-on into the surging "Lion's Thousand Slashes Valley."
Each violent collision left a deep scar across the floating island beneath them.
Michael's movements were so fast that only faint afterimages remained, like a mass of pulsing white light.
But the Golden Lion knew…
Every strike of his had been perfectly met by Michael.
Michael swung his Myōjō once more, flicking the final wave of slashes into the sky before leveling his weapon toward the Golden Lion.
"Ha ha ha! Golden Lion, as you wished—you've truly reclaimed your peak! No… you've surpassed it! Even if it'll only last for a short while, that's more than enough for you to boast about!"
Michael brushed his hair back and smirked.
"But tell me, those hands of yours—are they still used to it? It's been a long time since you've used your hands to face a real opponent, hasn't it?"
"You brat!" The Golden Lion's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Even if I were ten—no, twenty years older! I'd never forget what it feels like to hold a blade and kill with my own hands! If that day ever comes… I wouldn't deserve to be called the Golden Lion anymore!"
Michael locked eyes with him.
And then both men grinned wildly, laughter thick with madness.
"So everyone was fooled, huh? You're no righteous man at all, kid! You're a battle maniac—one of those who crave the taste of blood on their blade!"
"So what if I am? So what if I'm not?" Michael shook his head. "For the cause I serve, I can wear any mask I need… of course, the Celestial Dragons are an exception."
Hearing that, the Golden Lion's grin widened into something beastly and terrifying.
"Is that so? You really are… a strange one."
"I'd rather not hear that from a man with a ship's rudder stuck in his skull," Michael muttered, arching a brow. "You've already made your move… now let's see if you can handle mine."
Michael swung Myōjō. The Holy Light merged with the three divine flames—the Flame of Judgment, the Flame of Wrath, and the angelic fire—spinning around him in a swirl of radiant brilliance.
A heartbeat later, that starlight condensed into countless sharp blades, each wrapped in divine fire, sweeping toward the Golden Lion.
The Golden Lion's eyes narrowed. His battle instincts screamed—this attack could not be blocked head-on.
Without hesitation, he released his grip on Oto and Kogarashi, letting them hover in the air once more.
Then—
The Float-Float Fruit, activate!
Through the power of the Float-Float Fruit, the Golden Lion tore the very earth from beneath them.
Everything in sight—stone, soil, and debris—rose with it, coalescing into a colossal lion's head with physical form.
The lion's gaping maw was pitch-black, devouring all of Michael's blazing blades in one bite.
That darkness within its mouth was pure Armament Haki—dense, unyielding, and all-consuming.
But before the Golden Lion could speak, the lion's head suddenly exploded.
Its fragments scattered across every corner of the floating island.
Michael lifted his gaze toward him.
"I can say this with confidence—right now, you could stand on even ground with Whitebeard at his peak… no, you might even edge him out."
"Is that so?" The Golden Lion's grin flared with mad pride. "So I can only surpass Whitebeard by giving up my life?"
"At least before you die," Michael said softly, "I'll call you the world's strongest man."
"Click click… quite the arrogance! And what about you, then? Who are you supposed to be? Someone who surpasses the world's strongest?"
"No, no…" Michael shook his head with a faint smile. "I'm just a brick in the revolution—placed wherever I'm needed. But it's a shame, such a shame… you've got less than twenty minutes left."
"What? Getting sentimental toward your enemy already?"
"No. I'm just regretting that I won't get to fight an opponent like you again. You make battle… exhilarating."
"Is that so?" The Golden Lion nodded. "Then let me make it even more exciting for you."
The moment he finished speaking—
Oto and Kogarashi, those two famed Great Grade swords, began to circle him like living beings.
If one ignored the Golden Lion's appearance, the sight alone could easily be mistaken for that of a sword immortal descending from legend.
But…
It wasn't just Oto and Kogarashi that floated.
Everything around him rose into the air under the Float-Float Fruit's power.
Even Michael, standing some distance away, felt the liquid Holy Light on his body tremble—just for a second—as if it might slip from his control.
He almost lost command of it to the fruit's influence.
But Michael steadied his mind, let his Armament Haki surge forth, and it formed dark violet lines across his angelic armor, regaining control.
That single act made him truly realize the terror of an awakened Devil Fruit.
Especially one like the Float-Float Fruit—a Paramecia that symbolized natural calamity itself.
Originally, it could only make objects float through direct contact.
Now, anything touched by the Golden Lion's Observation Haki fell under its dominion.
Including living beings.
Just now, even Michael's liquid Holy Light had almost been pulled away by it.
Had it been anyone else—had their Haki been even a moment slower—they would've instantly become helpless prey in the Golden Lion's hands.
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