"J-Just now, if I didn't see wrong..."
In her half-human, half-beast form, the nine-tailed fox Catarina Devon swallowed hard. Her trembling voice was full of disbelief.
"The one who got beheaded... was that Golden Lion?"
"Seems... so."
Shiryu gave a silent nod.
Then—
He sheathed his sword, turned around, and headed toward the shore.
"You're still standing here? Planning to wait around and die?"
Though Shiryu's words weren't loud, to the pirates' ears, they boomed like thunder.
The monstrous prisoners from Impel Down's Level Six bolted in panic, scrambling toward their ships to flee.
Even Bullet, Redfield, and the World Destroyer exchanged glances before turning to leave as well.
They didn't join the panicked mob.
They had followed Golden Lion only to see what this old man could still do.
Now that he was dead—
There was no reason to stay.
Stella and Crocodile stared at each other in silence.
Just moments ago, both had been ready to fight to the death.
Yet their enemies had simply scattered the moment Golden Lion died?
"They just ran away like that? Isn't that a bit... hasty?"
But as it turned out—it wasn't hasty at all.
Barely five minutes later, Garp arrived, leading the members of the SWORD Secret Special Force.
By then, Sanjuan Wolf had already taken his ship and fled for his life.
"You two sure took your time getting here, huh..."
Stella stood up and walked toward Garp and Zephyr, who led the group.
"Don't blame me for this one."
Zephyr pointed helplessly at Garp beside him.
"He tried to speed up the warship with his Fist Impact... but he overdid it, rammed us straight into a return current... we almost ended up in the Calm Belt."
"Ahem, ahem, well, it's not like anything too bad happened, right?"
Garp scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.
"But judging from how you all look, those pirates ran off on their own?"
"Yeah. After Michael killed Golden Lion at full strength, they all scattered."
"Uh... Stella, maybe I should remind you—Michael's with the Revolutionary Army now, not the Marines?"
"So what?"
Stella rolled her eyes at the two old men before her.
"From the very start, you've been wearing the same pants as Michael anyway, haven't you?"
"You don't have to put it that bluntly..."
Garp chuckled awkwardly, pretending not to hear it.
After all, he'd almost messed things up this time—he really had no ground to act self-righteous.
"So... where's Michael now?"
"He took Golden Lion's body and went that way."
Stella pointed toward the distance.
"That's the highest point on Egghead."
"Alright, Zephyr and I will go see him. You all handle the cleanup here."
With that, the two old men turned and left.
"Seriously? We didn't even get a taste of the soup, huh?"
Rosinante twitched his lips.
"Can't say that. At least we'll get to file a complaint to the Fleet Admiral about Garp's blunder," Shu said with a grin.
T Bone frowned, about to argue—but when he remembered Garp's mistake, he sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Enough! Don't say another word!"
"Yeah, yeah! The moment she heard Michael's name, she already went berserk!"
Sandersonia and Marigold were doing everything they could to restrain Hancock, who had transformed into something nearly indescribable.
"What are you even doing? Family sumo wrestling?"
Smoker looked at the three sisters in bewilderment.
"Hina finds this very strange. Have you really learned nothing over the years, secondhand smoke?"
"Who're you calling secondhand smoke?!"
...
Michael stood before Golden Lion's grave, not moving.
From the moment the battle ended, his Observation Haki had already picked up on Garp and the others' presence.
Now wasn't the right time to meet with the SWORD Secret Special Force—
At least, not so openly.
So he chose to stay where he was.
"Yo, Michael! Didn't think you had skills in the funeral business too!"
Garp's boisterous voice came from behind.
"This is... Golden Lion's grave?"
Zephyr's calm tone followed.
"Yeah. Golden Lion's grave."
Michael turned around to face the two old men.
"It's been a while, Zephyr-sensei... and you too, Garp."
"When are you gonna show me that kind of respect, huh?"
Garp crossed his arms and walked up to the grave.
"Even from afar, we could feel your and Golden Lion's Haki... Honestly, before today, I'd almost forgotten what the Golden Lion at his true peak used to be like."
"He tore out the ship's helm and staked his life for this final, greatest battle... he earned it."
"But his era... is completely gone."
"The great name of Golden Lion will fade from the seas."
"In the future, if someone visits Egghead and sees this gravestone... they'll probably ask, 'Who's Golden Lion? Never heard of him.'"
"And then, perhaps some old but learned soul will recall the turbulent age long past, retelling the tale of Golden Lion's crimes—to warn the generations to come."
Garp and Zephyr nodded slowly.
They weren't surprised by Michael's actions.
Michael had always been a fiery, straightforward man—only his revolutionary ideals kept his true nature in check.
And in that battle with Golden Lion... perhaps, he'd finally let that nature run free.
"So, Golden Lion!"
"No one can resist the current of an era!"
"But even the current of an era cannot wash away the marks left by those before us."
"Roger was like that..."
"And so are you!"
Michael lifted his head and smiled.
"Your name will be sung across the seas."
"I'll paint you as the most fearsome pirate in history—to remind the world!"
"Your infamy will live on forever!"
"Farewell, Golden Lion."
"When holidays come, I'll drop by to burn you a couple of incense sticks..."
"In the next life, try being a good man."
As his words fell, a gust of wind swept past his ears, lifting a swirl of leaves into the air.
They spun together, faintly taking the shape of a lion.
Riding the wind, the lion drifted forward—and gently collided with the gravestone.
The leaves scattered to the ground.
---
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