"Dual-Sword Style: Lion Thousand-Cut Valley!"
Buzz!
The speed of the Golden Lion's slashes was incredibly fast. In the instant the words were spoken, dozens of golden slashes intertwined into a net, illuminating the entire night sky as if it were day!
"Now this is more like it."
Shano finally showed some interest, reaching with his right hand for the Tachi Masamune strapped to his back.
Swordsmanship?
If it's swordsmanship...
Then I'll meet it with swordsmanship as well.
His gaze was icy as the numerous golden slashes closed in on him. In that instant, the slender blade was suddenly drawn from its sheath!
"Kamusari!"
Clang!
A simple horizontal slash cut through the night sky.
The seemingly slow blade light erupted with terrifying power the moment it touched the slash net. Black-red lightning exploded, shattering all the golden slashes like fragile glass!
How is this possible?
The Golden Lion's mouth gaped open, his eyes widened in shock.
Not just because of the power, but because of the sword technique...
This technique...
He had seen it before!
"Roger!" he instinctively shouted, "You've even inherited his will? You brat, is there anything you can't do?!"
As he spoke, the terrifying remnants of Kamusari that hadn't dissipated cleanly slammed into his body.
Spurt!
Blood splattered.
Even though the Golden Lion did his best to activate his Armament defense, a deep bone-revealing wound was still slashed open below his neck at the shoulder and clavicle.
"Ugh!"
He groaned, staggering back several steps, his face turning pale.
The gap... is too wide!
At this point, no matter how stubborn or unwilling he was, he had to admit that in terms of Body Techniques, Haki, and Swordsmanship...
This young man before him was far superior!
In his current state, there was no chance of victory!
"It's about time to end this, don't you think?"
Shano stepped forward slowly, his blade's tip pointing at the Golden Lion's throat:
"All that talk about revenge on the world, dominating the world, is useless! You can fool others, but you can't fool your own will, your own heart!"
"The Shiki of old, the one full of vigor, truly capable of rivaling Roger, would not come out to scavenge for fame when Kaido and I were exhausted from battle. Would he pin all his hopes, all his time, on some ridiculous IQ drug?!"
"..."
The Golden Lion stood there, speechless.
His gaze gradually lost focus, as if he had fallen into some sort of reverie.
Shano's words were like a sharp knife, stabbing deeply into his heart.
Indeed.
When did he become so despicable?
Was it after the defeat at the Aite War?
Was it after severing his own legs in Impel Down?
Or over these past twenty years hiding in the shadows, numbing himself daily with those ridiculous experiments?
"Roger... Whitebeard..."
The Golden Lion murmured, a fleeting look of realization in his eyes.
"One has long died, the other is gravely ill yet still living with all his might."
Shano said coldly, "But whether alive or dead, they never abandoned their will, while you have long been lost in your hesitations."
Lost... is it?
"Don't look down on me!!!"
The Golden Lion suddenly roared, lifting his bloodied right hand to seize the wooden ship's rudder embedded in his head, a frenzy of determination in his eyes.
"I am... the Golden Lion!!!"
Rip——!
With the sound of tearing flesh, the rudder that had been lodged in his skull for decades since the Aite War was forcibly pulled out!
A torrent of blood gushed out, dyeing half his face red.
The Golden Lion's body swayed, nearly falling to the ground, but his aura surged exponentially!
"Master Shiki!"
Indigo, who had been trembling behind a large rock, widened his eyes in terror:
"You can't pull that out! Your wounds will..."
"Shut up!!"
The Golden Lion wiped the blood from his face with a wicked grin, his previously unfocused eyes now sharp and bright:
"I know full well that pulling this out means I won't live much longer! But, but! Rather than being beaten and scolded by young rookies like a dog... I'd rather go out with a bang like this!"
Keep pulling!
This time, what he pulled were swords!
The two blades that accompanied his rise from obscurity to dominate the seas!
"Oto! Kogarashi!"
The Golden Lion roared, drawing his two famed swords from his stump, blood gushing like a spring.
His body trembled violently as if he might collapse at any moment.
But he didn't fall.
It all came back to him!
"This is... the real me!"
Without the support of legs, the Golden Lion floated in mid-air, wielding his swords with the power of the Float-Float Fruit.
He was covered in blood, and the Supreme King Haki, which had long been suppressed, erupted completely. Countless massive, terrifying black-red lightning bolts crackled around him.
"Come on, brat!"
The Golden Lion laughed maniacally, crossing his swords before his chest and then flinging them wide with force:
"I won't listen to lectures from youngsters, so this is where it ends! Now you'll witness what true Lion's Might is!"
Buzz!
Accompanying his motion, an almost distortion-like terrifying force spread in all directions!