Chapter 155: The Sunny Takes Flight – Garp's Pursuit & Kaido's Unexpected Appearance
"Everyone, pay attention—it's coming!" Sol shouted sharply. His voice remained clearly audible even amid the violent energy turbulence. Everyone looked up and saw that the sword-energy lion in the sky had fully formed. Every single strand of its mane was woven from countless fine slashes, emitting a chilling, heart-palpitating glow.
This giant beast, entirely condensed from sword energy, roared toward the sky. The entire sky trembled from the roar, and then it charged downward with unstoppable momentum. Wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, leaving visible vacuum trails.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art – Radiant Break – Sky Piercer!"
Sol didn't dare hold back even a little. He pushed his magic power to the limit. The violent gale compressed and spun at extreme speed between his hands, eventually forming a spiral wind pillar over ten meters in diameter.
This wind pillar showed a mix of cyan and white colors. Inside it contained terrifying power capable of tearing the sky apart, rushing upward with a piercing sonic boom.
Almost at the same moment, Kuzan pushed both palms forward. Extreme freezing air poured out like a waterfall: "Absolute Zero Gas!" This was the ultimate low temperature that could freeze even atomic motion. Wherever it passed, even light seemed to be frozen solid.
What was astonishing was that the two techniques fused perfectly in the air. The extreme freezing air wrapped around the spiral wind pillar, forming an ice-frost tornado that connected heaven and earth.
The outer layer of the tornado was filled with violent wind blades that could tear everything apart, while the core was absolute zero capable of freezing all things. This unprecedented composite magic collided head-on with the sword-energy lion, erupting in a deafening explosion.
"ROAR!"
The sword lion let out an unwilling roar. Frost visibly spread across its entire body at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although it struggled madly, tearing apart layer after layer of ice shells, Kuzan's freezing air was endless. Finally, it was completely frozen in midair.
"Now!" Kaido keenly seized this fleeting opportunity. His muscles swelled all over his body, and the power in his hybrid form reached its peak. Black-red lightning wrapped around Hachijū, emitting a deafening buzz. "Dai Itoku – Thunder Bagua!" This strike, carrying the force to crush mountains, slammed heavily onto the frozen sword lion.
Rumble rumble!
The frozen sword lion completely disintegrated under this destructive blow, turning into countless ice crystal fragments that fell like stars across the sky, refracting brilliant light under the sunlight.
However, the battle was far from over. Even while releasing the sword lion, Shiki had already prepared his follow-up killing move. Enduring the severe pain from the wound on his head, he pushed the Float-Float Fruit's ability to its limit!
"Lion Majesty – Imperial Palace Earth Roll!"
The entire sea area below suddenly churned violently. Several giant water-lion heads, each the size of a small island, rose from the sea. These water lions looked lifelike, with every mane strand made of turbulent vortices and their open mouths filled with bottomless darkness. They charged toward the ability users with overwhelming momentum, determined to swallow them completely in this vast ocean.
"And me!"
At this critical moment, Garp's powerful voice exploded like thunder. At some point, the Navy Hero had adjusted his stance. The Armament Haki condensed on his fists was so dense it felt almost solid. He lowered his stance, poured all his strength into his right fist, and then punched forward with full force—
"Fist Bone – Impact!"
This punch looked plain and unremarkable, yet it contained the pinnacle of martial arts that Garp had honed over decades. Wherever the fist power passed, space itself showed slight distortions. The massive shockwave accurately struck the head of the largest water lion, and the resulting chain reaction caused all the water lions to collapse at the same time.
Boom!
The sky full of seawater exploded into a torrential downpour, crashing back into the sea. Sunlight pierced through the water curtain, creating several brilliant rainbows that added a touch of illusory beauty to the battlefield that had just experienced a fierce battle.
Just as everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, Shiki in the sky suddenly staggered. Large mouthfuls of fresh blood spurted from his mouth. The wound on his head had completely split open from the continuous use of his ability, and blood had already dyed most of his body red.
The figure of this legendary pirate swayed unsteadily in the air, yet he still stubbornly refused to fall.
"Looks like… this is the end…" Shiki looked at the four people below who were on full alert, and a reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his blood-stained mouth.
Just as the battlefield below fell into a brief silence, the massive stone sphere in the sky suddenly shook violently. Cracks spread across its surface like a spider web, emitting scorching red light from within. "Gear Third! Oooooh—!"
Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, a giant red fist wrapped in steam forcefully broke through the stone sphere! The previously sealed Luffy had actually broken free using his own power.
He had forcibly activated Gear Third while in Gear Second. The excessive strain caused blood to seep from his skin, but his eyes burned with unyielding flames.
"Luffy, get ready—it's time!"
Nami, who had been charging up high in the sky, immediately let out a clear shout when she saw this. The wings of her thunderbird form had completely turned into brilliant gold. The lightning in the dark clouds she had created earlier gathered toward the tip of her beak at astonishing speed, condensing into a thunderball over five meters in diameter. The terrifying energy compressed within it caused the surrounding space to begin distorting.
"You bastard, take my move—Thunder Light Cannon!"
Nami aimed at the tottering Shiki below and released this long-charged ultimate move without hesitation. A blue-white thunder pillar three meters in diameter, like a divine punishment spear, descended from the sky. It pierced through the air at a speed beyond visual perception and accurately struck Shiki's chest!
"Ugh—ah!"
After the lightning passed, Shiki stood frozen in midair, his body charred black, and a wisp of black smoke came from his mouth.
Although he had barely managed to activate Armament Haki for defense at the last moment, he was still forced to take this heavy blow head-on. However, this strike also brought an unexpected effect. The extreme high temperature instantly cauterized the wounds on his head and body, forcibly stopping the bleeding that had been nonstop.
"Nami!" Luffy heard the shout and looked up at the churning thunderclouds. A spark of inspiration suddenly flashed in his eyes. He quickly transferred the inflated gas from his arm to his right leg. The entire leg instantly enlarged, becoming like a towering pillar. Then, he forcefully raised the giant foot toward the sky and thrust it straight into the thunderclouds—
"Now!" Nami understood perfectly. With a flap of her wings, she guided all the remaining lightning energy in the thunderclouds. Thousands of lightning bolts converged like rivers returning to the sea, wrapping around Luffy's giant right leg and emitting a deafening buzz.
"Gear Shift – Rubber Giant Thunder Axe!"
Recalling his grandpa's earlier guidance, Luffy frantically gathered all his Armament Haki to the heel of his foot. The pitch-black Haki intertwined with the brilliant lightning, forming a destructive energy vortex.
With a furious roar from the boy, this giant leg carrying the power of heavenly thunder descended toward Shiki below like a world-splitting battle axe!
"Slash Wave!"
At this moment, Shiki was already a candle in the wind. His pineapple-shaped body had reached its limit. But he still gathered the last of his strength and unleashed the final two slashes of his life.
The slashes tore through the sky and forcefully broke through Luffy's Armament Haki defense, leaving deep, bone-revealing wounds on his giant heel.
"It hurts!" Luffy let out a cry of pain, but he gritted his teeth. Not only did he not retreat, he pressed down on the strike with even more determination.
"Ooooooh!!!"
In the boy's hoarse, desperate roar, the thunder giant axe descended with unstoppable force.
In the final moments of his life, Shiki looked up at the sky he had once roamed freely. A trace of relieved smile appeared on his blood-stained lips.
With the last of his strength, he shouted toward the blue expanse with complex emotions: "Roger!!!"
This shout intertwined with unwillingness, relief, and a final farewell to that long-gone era.
BOOM!!!
Accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion, the thunder giant axe completely engulfed Shiki's figure, smashing him from the sky into the deep sea. Towering waves surged into the sky, then turned into a torrential downpour the next moment, as if playing the final elegy for this legendary pirate's ending.
--------------------------
Support us on P@tre0n and gain access to 100 chapters in advance!
[email protected]/inkshield