_________ POV Narration_________
Dragon sat at his desk, looking through the old reports he had received and catching up with all matters that required his attention.
The work of the leader of the Revolutionary Army was truly never-ending.
Garp was also sitting on a couch nearby, eating rice crackers with Enel, who was happily telling him some random story that the Revolutionary leader wasn't quite listening to.
Enel didn't seem to be including him much in the conversation either, likely aware that Dragon was busy currently.
To him, it just felt like he was in the room with two random old men that were telling each other old wives' tales constantly and laughing at whatever dumb exploits they may have had during their training/lives.
Enel was surprisingly wise for his age from what Dragon could tell. Alas, it wasn't like Enel was truly young in the first place, having around 38 years on his back.
It seemed he was even older than that, at least judging by what Gan Fall had told Dragon.
They didn't get into many details on the Emperor's backstory though, but Dragon did know that Enel had once been a tyrant for one reason or another, then essentially got possessed by the spirit of a dying archaeologist through the power of some strange fate-defying devil fruit.
Dragon didn't really buy it, but he didn't really care to ask the Emperor and verify it. He knew who Enel was currently, and he knew that he was technically their defacto leader at that point.
More people looked up to Enel than to Dragon, and he was basically the glue that held Akainu and the rest together with the Revolutionaries.
Garp was also a huge factor for the marines, but then again, Garp was only there because of Enel.
Although Dragon was the leader of the revolutionaries, to him it felt more like he was the leader of one of the groups currently working together with or under Enel.
The Emperor never gave them orders to do anything, but he did come up with a plan of action against the world government, and all of them did listen to him.
Gan Fall was still a bit reluctant to put the Sky People in danger by facing off against the world government directly.
But he knew that simply being related to Enel would warrant the destruction of the Sky Islands, so he was better off fully supporting the one-armed Emperor.
Enel was also an extremely 'hands-on' leader. He liked to do most things by himself. To Dragon, it felt as if he wasn't properly placing enough trust in the people around him...
At least it did so until he sent Francisco and Shiki alone to raid the Holy Land. A choice that he was still a bit sceptical about.
Alas, it wasn't his choice to make.
Still, that made Dragon argue that delegating tasks to everyone would be more beneficial for them in the end.
In the end, the Revolutionary decided to entrust the mission of contacting the Neo Marines to Kizaru, who was also more than capable enough to do it.
Enel was a bit reluctant to accept that, but in the end, he couldn't quite argue with the fact that doing everything by himself was not something a good leader would do.
There was also something else... Dragon really wanted Enel to continue with his training, and grow stronger.
Especially so after reading the reports from Larthy and Robin about their findings.
The 'Great Empire'
It was strange for Dragon to hear it. But it suddenly felt as if he could finally understand a few more things about the world now that he knew about it.
'Joyboy and Nika are one and the same, huh?'
Dragon had already heard of Joyboy before. At least he had heard tales from one of Gol D. Roger's old crewmates.
He obviously didn't know the full story, nor did he have any clue about the prophecy. But he did know that the members of Roger's crew were for some reason looking for said Joyboy.
Now it at least made sense...
As for the other two kings of the empire? The King of Hearth was really just a big question mark still, even with all of the information compiled.
It was rather clear who Raijin was at least... A man that could control lightning and thunder, and was also coincidentally from the Sky Islands.
It was rather obvious at the end of the day. Enel had a fruit related to the 'God of Thunder' Raijin.
That was why Dragon wanted Enel to focus on his training. He wanted that power to develop, as he realized how important it was going to be in their war against the world government.
He also finally managed to find out more about Uranus, the ancient weapons thanks to Robin and Larthy.
'The eyes of God... If my guess is right, then they should be held by the one that stands atop the throne of this world.'
It was a rather scary image, but at least they could now somewhat come to understand the threat they were facing even more.
But that made the decision to send only Francsico and Shiki to the Holy Land even more jarring to Dragon.
'I just hope he doesn't get involved in whatever plans Enel has with this two-man raid he just ordered...'
Back at the Holy Land, the fight was still raging on, Francisco and Kong both struggling to get an edge over the other during their battle.
Kong was extremely cautious in that fight, controlled and always protecting himself, while Francsico was swinging his chipped blade in a frenzy.
The Legendary Swordsman had managed to put quite a few cuts on the Commander in Chief, but he also received plenty of bruises and cold burns on his skin for the trouble.
Kong's fruit not only gave him overwhelming strength and endurance, but it also gave him an aura cold enough to even penetrate Francisco's armament, which was annoying, to say the least.
The two of them were bound to be stuck in a stalemate for a while, and Francisco just hoped that Shiki would stop fucking around and just complete his objective, that way they could just flee.
But when looking to the side of the Holy Land, it was clear that Shiki was planning on fully fighting the greenhorn Fleet Admiral.
'Of course... I bet that greenhorn just said something slightly annoying and Shiki decided to just fight him to the death... Still, the Marines and Kong are clearly dragging this fight out for some reason...'
Francisco was well and truly confused, unsure what Kong was even protecting in the Holy Land if the Celestial Dragons had been moved elsewhere.
But Shiki was having none of these thoughts, his mind simply concentrated on the Fleet Admiral below him, as his blades rushed and sliced at his wooden body at insane speeds.
Aramaki dodged as much as he could, but his body was already filled with scratches. And the situation was only getting worse for him, as the huge earth sphere moved to stand directly above him and Shiki.
The Golden Lion reached up and touched the earth sphere with one of his arms, as his floating blades kept the Fleet Admiral busy.
The second Shiki's palm came into contact with the Sphere, the size that was turned towards the ground turned completely black, gaining a metallic sheen.
Aramaki finally sighed as Shiki's blades finally gave him a second of rest, returning to the Golden Lion's belt, forcing the Fleet Admiral's eyes to wander upward...
His eyes then proceed to widen upon realising what was about to occur.
Shiki simply gave Aramaki a sadistic smile, as the earth shifted once more, turning into a gigantic Lion's Head.
"Shishi Odoshi: Kami no shūen" (Lion's Majesty: Divine Termination)
The Lion opened its maw, looking as if it was roaring with rage, and then from every corner of its mouth, hundreds upon hundreds of gigantic spikes rushed towards the ground below.
The earth trembled and cracked, shockwaves spread everywhere as the ground was pierced, and that entire part of the Red Line started breaking apart.
With one attack, Shiki reminded the world exactly why he was THE 'Golden Lion'.
Aramaki tried to dodge, but the spikes only grew more and more, separating and chasing him at will until the ground was covered completely, and the sphere above them was only left with half its initial size.
The Fleet Admiral received more and more cuts, as he was eventually overwhelmed and buried somewhere in the middle of the spikes, pierced in multiple places and grievously injured, but still alive.
Shiki scoffed as he felt that Aramaki had survived.
"Marines are always so annoyingly durable!" Shiki scoffed as he raised his hand once more, preparing the perfect burial for the Fleet Admiral.
It was exactly at that moment, that Shiki felt a red light wash over him, and he immediately felt as if he had lost control of himself.
In an instant, the fabled Golden Lion started falling out of the sky and completely lost control of the Gigantic lion head that he had been using to skewer the ground with.
The Lion Head remained suspended in the air, the spikes from before now acting as a support pillar.
"What the hell was that!?" Shiki landed on his feet, looking off to the side to see dozens of masked men and women wearing white suits.
'Shit... Government Agents, huh? I should've just ignored that stupid Greenhorn!'
They seemed to be holding a Transponder Snail and reporting on the situation live. Shiki also noticed that the Snail's eyes were looking quite strange...
It only clicked with him after a few seconds though, that they seemed to be the same as the eye that had hovered over Baltigo.
He had expected to see them, so he had tried to look into them as much as he could... Unfortunately, he couldn't find much.
The Golden Lion immediately realized that he was likely caught in whatever the Government had prepared for Enel in case of an attack.
At that moment, the pillar of spikes also started cracking, and a gigantic tree started growing out of it.
The tree was both holding the Lion Head suspended in the air, and allowing Aramaki to walk out, holding onto his bleeding torso with a grave expression.
Shiki's scowl deepened as he realized that the Fleet Admiral wasn't affected by whatever was making him unable to use his Devil Fruit.
"The Golden Lion, huh? Not much without your devil fruit though..." The agents all decided to come closer to the legendary pirate, all with their weapons already drawn and prepared to kill Shiki at a moment's notice.
The Agents were well and truly excited at the prospect of killing one of the legendary pirates that had lived in Roger's era, but they were more excited to finally see their leader's ability in action.
'The Eyes of God' Had many utilizations. And one of them was specifically made to counteract Devil Fruit users, specifically made to fight the users of a few specific fruits.
It, however, could affect all fruits! And Shiki was no exception to that.
Shiki was surprisingly silent, deciding to calm down and ignore the Agent's taunt.
'Whatever that was... It's not seastone, I don't feel weakened in any way, and my haki is also unaffected... But I am unable to use my Devil Fruit in any way, at least not right now.'
The Golden Lion immediately gripped his blades, looking at the enemies that surrounded him with an eerie calm.
He immediately blocked two claws coming from behind him without even turning towards them, his blade slashing through the agent in one swift motion.
Blood was spilt as the Agents were reminded that the Golden Lion was still highly dangerous even without a devil fruit.
Shiki's swordplay was akin to a dance, turning gracefully on his bladed feet. He even raised up one of his legs and blocked two bullets with the blackened blades that he used as crutches.
"Tsk... Make sure to put a bullet in him!" One of the agents said, as Shiki also realised that they were trying to shoot him with a seastone bullet.
Although he was dodging and blocking many hits, while also slashing and injuring many of the people that came close to him, the Golden Lion still received a few slashes, especially a deep one across his chest.
'It's been a while since I've been pressed like this...' The Golden Lion pondered as his body turned slightly.
Aramaki also seemed to still be in fighting condition, despite bleeding from various places and looking a lot worse for wear than before. So Shiki was severely disadvantaged.
Bullets, wooden spears and tendrils, and flying slashes surrounded him completely, coming from all sides as the Golden Lion gained a strange moment of clarity.
With a loud exhale, his blade slashed forward all around him, a gigantic flying slash cleaving through all of the attacks that were coming his way and giving him a moment to breathe.
The Golden Lion could only smile as his senile mind gained an unnatural clarity.
A spark appeared in his eyes as they narrowed dangerously, giving all of the people present chills as a golden aura seemed to expand everywhere from the Legendary Pirate.
The Golden Lion felt as if he had returned to his youth when he used to struggle and constantly fight against enemies stronger than him. When he refused to bow his head to anyone...
'I'll show these puppets how bright the Golden Era of Piracy used to shine...'
Shiki turned and blocked a clawed hand with one of his blades, sparks rising as an awakened Zoan user approached him in a frenzy.
The Golden Lion was able to easily predict and dodge his moves, eventually ending the agent with an upward kick, which sliced him in half.
Shiki immediately turned around and eyed the one enemy that had made no moves to attack him.
The one that held the snail. And the Golden Lion also noticed something else... The Snail had never broken line of sight with him...
'I see... This may be a long shot, but it's certainly worth a try!'
Shiki immediately directed his blade for the ground, releasing a slash that raised up enough dust to cover the entire battlefield. It was far too fast for any of the agents to stop Shiki.
"SHIT! BLOW THE DUST AWAY!" The agents immediately panicked, and one of them immediately blew the dust away with a flying slash of his own... But the Golden Lion was no longer there.
All of the people present immediately froze, and the one holding the snail immediately directed it upwards... But there was no one in their line of sight.
The Gigantic Lion head now started moving again, alerting them as it visibly shifted and rocks started falling towards them. This immediately helped the Agents come to a conclusion...
"He's hiding behind it!" One of them immediately said as they all started slashing their swords at the gigantic piece of rock, hoping to cut it apart and destroy any cover that the Golden Lion might use.
"NICE TRY YOU LITTLE SHITS!" A boisterous voice interrupted all of them though, and they all turned around to see the one that had been holding the snail be skewered by a earthen spike coming from the ground, and the snail itself smashed at Shiki's feet.
The next few moments of the fight happened far too quickly for the agents to even register their fear.
Immediately, the ground around them started moving, and everyone finally understood what had happened...
Shiki had used the fact that he had segmented the ground to his advantage, the second line of sight was broken he touched one of the nearby spikes and took control of the Golden Lion's head again.
And then he touched as much of the ground as he could, and hid in it, suppressing his aura and rearing his head only to get rid of the most annoying obstacle in the fight.
The agents were shocked at having been outsmarted by a senile old man...
But their shock didn't mean they were getting any break. They were all instantly smashed by a tornado of flying debris, and all of them started being flung everywhere and gathered in one ball of earth.
Shiki smiled once more, as he looked up at the Sphere, the heads and limbs of agents sticking out of it.
"Shishi Odoshi: Chimaki" (Lion Majesty: Earth Coiling)
The Large Earthen Lion immediately turned its head to the new sphere and opened its maw, swallowing it in one bite and crushing the agents even further as the Golden Lion simply laughed out loud.
That was the power of his devil fruit, the power he had trained and fostered.
It gave him complete control over the battlefield, and it was the reason why both Sengoku and Garp were needed to bring him down when he attacked Marineford in the past.
Shiki smiled as he realised that the only enemy still standing was the Fleet Admiral from earlier.
And standing was a rather large word, as Aramaki was currently struggling to get up from the ground.
"Tsk... You're not even worth killing." Shiki didn't waste any more time on the Fleet Admiral though, immediately heading for the slaves instead.
'We're in the home stretch now!'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter! I had an exam yesterday, and it didn't go very well
Sufficient to say, I didn't feel like writing much after it ;((
This chap is almost 3k words tho, so it should make up for it
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster(Vegan Cult) on Patre_on, you'd also get 10 chapters in advance (or 5 depending on tier)
_________ POV Narration_________
Dragon sat at his desk, looking through the old reports he had received and catching up with all matters that required his attention.
The work of the leader of the Revolutionary Army was truly never-ending.
Garp was also sitting on a couch nearby, eating rice crackers with Enel, who was happily telling him some random story that the Revolutionary leader wasn't quite listening to.
Enel didn't seem to be including him much in the conversation either, likely aware that Dragon was busy currently.
To him, it just felt like he was in the room with two random old men that were telling each other old wives' tales constantly and laughing at whatever dumb exploits they may have had during their training/lives.
Enel was surprisingly wise for his age from what Dragon could tell. Alas, it wasn't like Enel was truly young in the first place, having around 38 years on his back.
It seemed he was even older than that, at least judging by what Gan Fall had told Dragon.
They didn't get into many details on the Emperor's backstory though, but Dragon did know that Enel had once been a tyrant for one reason or another, then essentially got possessed by the spirit of a dying archaeologist through the power of some strange fate-defying devil fruit.
Dragon didn't really buy it, but he didn't really care to ask the Emperor and verify it. He knew who Enel was currently, and he knew that he was technically their defacto leader at that point.
More people looked up to Enel than to Dragon, and he was basically the glue that held Akainu and the rest together with the Revolutionaries.
Garp was also a huge factor for the marines, but then again, Garp was only there because of Enel.
Although Dragon was the leader of the revolutionaries, to him it felt more like he was the leader of one of the groups currently working together with or under Enel.
The Emperor never gave them orders to do anything, but he did come up with a plan of action against the world government, and all of them did listen to him.
Gan Fall was still a bit reluctant to put the Sky People in danger by facing off against the world government directly.
But he knew that simply being related to Enel would warrant the destruction of the Sky Islands, so he was better off fully supporting the one-armed Emperor.
Enel was also an extremely 'hands-on' leader. He liked to do most things by himself. To Dragon, it felt as if he wasn't properly placing enough trust in the people around him...
At least it did so until he sent Francisco and Shiki alone to raid the Holy Land. A choice that he was still a bit sceptical about.
Alas, it wasn't his choice to make.
Still, that made Dragon argue that delegating tasks to everyone would be more beneficial for them in the end.
In the end, the Revolutionary decided to entrust the mission of contacting the Neo Marines to Kizaru, who was also more than capable enough to do it.
Enel was a bit reluctant to accept that, but in the end, he couldn't quite argue with the fact that doing everything by himself was not something a good leader would do.
There was also something else... Dragon really wanted Enel to continue with his training, and grow stronger.
Especially so after reading the reports from Larthy and Robin about their findings.
The 'Great Empire'
It was strange for Dragon to hear it. But it suddenly felt as if he could finally understand a few more things about the world now that he knew about it.
'Joyboy and Nika are one and the same, huh?'
Dragon had already heard of Joyboy before. At least he had heard tales from one of Gol D. Roger's old crewmates.
He obviously didn't know the full story, nor did he have any clue about the prophecy. But he did know that the members of Roger's crew were for some reason looking for said Joyboy.
Now it at least made sense...
As for the other two kings of the empire? The King of Hearth was really just a big question mark still, even with all of the information compiled.
It was rather clear who Raijin was at least... A man that could control lightning and thunder, and was also coincidentally from the Sky Islands.
It was rather obvious at the end of the day. Enel had a fruit related to the 'God of Thunder' Raijin.
That was why Dragon wanted Enel to focus on his training. He wanted that power to develop, as he realized how important it was going to be in their war against the world government.
He also finally managed to find out more about Uranus, the ancient weapons thanks to Robin and Larthy.
'The eyes of God... If my guess is right, then they should be held by the one that stands atop the throne of this world.'
It was a rather scary image, but at least they could now somewhat come to understand the threat they were facing even more.
But that made the decision to send only Francsico and Shiki to the Holy Land even more jarring to Dragon.
'I just hope he doesn't get involved in whatever plans Enel has with this two-man raid he just ordered...'
Back at the Holy Land, the fight was still raging on, Francisco and Kong both struggling to get an edge over the other during their battle.
Kong was extremely cautious in that fight, controlled and always protecting himself, while Francsico was swinging his chipped blade in a frenzy.
The Legendary Swordsman had managed to put quite a few cuts on the Commander in Chief, but he also received plenty of bruises and cold burns on his skin for the trouble.
Kong's fruit not only gave him overwhelming strength and endurance, but it also gave him an aura cold enough to even penetrate Francisco's armament, which was annoying, to say the least.
The two of them were bound to be stuck in a stalemate for a while, and Francisco just hoped that Shiki would stop fucking around and just complete his objective, that way they could just flee.
But when looking to the side of the Holy Land, it was clear that Shiki was planning on fully fighting the greenhorn Fleet Admiral.
'Of course... I bet that greenhorn just said something slightly annoying and Shiki decided to just fight him to the death... Still, the Marines and Kong are clearly dragging this fight out for some reason...'
Francisco was well and truly confused, unsure what Kong was even protecting in the Holy Land if the Celestial Dragons had been moved elsewhere.
But Shiki was having none of these thoughts, his mind simply concentrated on the Fleet Admiral below him, as his blades rushed and sliced at his wooden body at insane speeds.
Aramaki dodged as much as he could, but his body was already filled with scratches. And the situation was only getting worse for him, as the huge earth sphere moved to stand directly above him and Shiki.
The Golden Lion reached up and touched the earth sphere with one of his arms, as his floating blades kept the Fleet Admiral busy.
The second Shiki's palm came into contact with the Sphere, the size that was turned towards the ground turned completely black, gaining a metallic sheen.
Aramaki finally sighed as Shiki's blades finally gave him a second of rest, returning to the Golden Lion's belt, forcing the Fleet Admiral's eyes to wander upward...
His eyes then proceed to widen upon realising what was about to occur.
Shiki simply gave Aramaki a sadistic smile, as the earth shifted once more, turning into a gigantic Lion's Head.
"Shishi Odoshi: Kami no shūen" (Lion's Majesty: Divine Termination)
The Lion opened its maw, looking as if it was roaring with rage, and then from every corner of its mouth, hundreds upon hundreds of gigantic spikes rushed towards the ground below.
The earth trembled and cracked, shockwaves spread everywhere as the ground was pierced, and that entire part of the Red Line started breaking apart.
With one attack, Shiki reminded the world exactly why he was THE 'Golden Lion'.
Aramaki tried to dodge, but the spikes only grew more and more, separating and chasing him at will until the ground was covered completely, and the sphere above them was only left with half its initial size.
The Fleet Admiral received more and more cuts, as he was eventually overwhelmed and buried somewhere in the middle of the spikes, pierced in multiple places and grievously injured, but still alive.
Shiki scoffed as he felt that Aramaki had survived.
"Marines are always so annoyingly durable!" Shiki scoffed as he raised his hand once more, preparing the perfect burial for the Fleet Admiral.
It was exactly at that moment, that Shiki felt a red light wash over him, and he immediately felt as if he had lost control of himself.
In an instant, the fabled Golden Lion started falling out of the sky and completely lost control of the Gigantic lion head that he had been using to skewer the ground with.
The Lion Head remained suspended in the air, the spikes from before now acting as a support pillar.
"What the hell was that!?" Shiki landed on his feet, looking off to the side to see dozens of masked men and women wearing white suits.
'Shit... Government Agents, huh? I should've just ignored that stupid Greenhorn!'
They seemed to be holding a Transponder Snail and reporting on the situation live. Shiki also noticed that the Snail's eyes were looking quite strange...
It only clicked with him after a few seconds though, that they seemed to be the same as the eye that had hovered over Baltigo.
He had expected to see them, so he had tried to look into them as much as he could... Unfortunately, he couldn't find much.
The Golden Lion immediately realized that he was likely caught in whatever the Government had prepared for Enel in case of an attack.
At that moment, the pillar of spikes also started cracking, and a gigantic tree started growing out of it.
The tree was both holding the Lion Head suspended in the air, and allowing Aramaki to walk out, holding onto his bleeding torso with a grave expression.
Shiki's scowl deepened as he realized that the Fleet Admiral wasn't affected by whatever was making him unable to use his Devil Fruit.
"The Golden Lion, huh? Not much without your devil fruit though..." The agents all decided to come closer to the legendary pirate, all with their weapons already drawn and prepared to kill Shiki at a moment's notice.
The Agents were well and truly excited at the prospect of killing one of the legendary pirates that had lived in Roger's era, but they were more excited to finally see their leader's ability in action.
'The Eyes of God' Had many utilizations. And one of them was specifically made to counteract Devil Fruit users, specifically made to fight the users of a few specific fruits.
It, however, could affect all fruits! And Shiki was no exception to that.
Shiki was surprisingly silent, deciding to calm down and ignore the Agent's taunt.
'Whatever that was... It's not seastone, I don't feel weakened in any way, and my haki is also unaffected... But I am unable to use my Devil Fruit in any way, at least not right now.'
The Golden Lion immediately gripped his blades, looking at the enemies that surrounded him with an eerie calm.
He immediately blocked two claws coming from behind him without even turning towards them, his blade slashing through the agent in one swift motion.
Blood was spilt as the Agents were reminded that the Golden Lion was still highly dangerous even without a devil fruit.
Shiki's swordplay was akin to a dance, turning gracefully on his bladed feet. He even raised up one of his legs and blocked two bullets with the blackened blades that he used as crutches.
"Tsk... Make sure to put a bullet in him!" One of the agents said, as Shiki also realised that they were trying to shoot him with a seastone bullet.
Although he was dodging and blocking many hits, while also slashing and injuring many of the people that came close to him, the Golden Lion still received a few slashes, especially a deep one across his chest.
'It's been a while since I've been pressed like this...' The Golden Lion pondered as his body turned slightly.
Aramaki also seemed to still be in fighting condition, despite bleeding from various places and looking a lot worse for wear than before. So Shiki was severely disadvantaged.
Bullets, wooden spears and tendrils, and flying slashes surrounded him completely, coming from all sides as the Golden Lion gained a strange moment of clarity.
With a loud exhale, his blade slashed forward all around him, a gigantic flying slash cleaving through all of the attacks that were coming his way and giving him a moment to breathe.
The Golden Lion could only smile as his senile mind gained an unnatural clarity.
A spark appeared in his eyes as they narrowed dangerously, giving all of the people present chills as a golden aura seemed to expand everywhere from the Legendary Pirate.
The Golden Lion felt as if he had returned to his youth when he used to struggle and constantly fight against enemies stronger than him. When he refused to bow his head to anyone...
'I'll show these puppets how bright the Golden Era of Piracy used to shine...'
Shiki turned and blocked a clawed hand with one of his blades, sparks rising as an awakened Zoan user approached him in a frenzy.
The Golden Lion was able to easily predict and dodge his moves, eventually ending the agent with an upward kick, which sliced him in half.
Shiki immediately turned around and eyed the one enemy that had made no moves to attack him.
The one that held the snail. And the Golden Lion also noticed something else... The Snail had never broken line of sight with him...
'I see... This may be a long shot, but it's certainly worth a try!'
Shiki immediately directed his blade for the ground, releasing a slash that raised up enough dust to cover the entire battlefield. It was far too fast for any of the agents to stop Shiki.
"SHIT! BLOW THE DUST AWAY!" The agents immediately panicked, and one of them immediately blew the dust away with a flying slash of his own... But the Golden Lion was no longer there.
All of the people present immediately froze, and the one holding the snail immediately directed it upwards... But there was no one in their line of sight.
The Gigantic Lion head now started moving again, alerting them as it visibly shifted and rocks started falling towards them. This immediately helped the Agents come to a conclusion...
"He's hiding behind it!" One of them immediately said as they all started slashing their swords at the gigantic piece of rock, hoping to cut it apart and destroy any cover that the Golden Lion might use.
"NICE TRY YOU LITTLE SHITS!" A boisterous voice interrupted all of them though, and they all turned around to see the one that had been holding the snail be skewered by a earthen spike coming from the ground, and the snail itself smashed at Shiki's feet.
The next few moments of the fight happened far too quickly for the agents to even register their fear.
Immediately, the ground around them started moving, and everyone finally understood what had happened...
Shiki had used the fact that he had segmented the ground to his advantage, the second line of sight was broken he touched one of the nearby spikes and took control of the Golden Lion's head again.
And then he touched as much of the ground as he could, and hid in it, suppressing his aura and rearing his head only to get rid of the most annoying obstacle in the fight.
The agents were shocked at having been outsmarted by a senile old man...
But their shock didn't mean they were getting any break. They were all instantly smashed by a tornado of flying debris, and all of them started being flung everywhere and gathered in one ball of earth.
Shiki smiled once more, as he looked up at the Sphere, the heads and limbs of agents sticking out of it.
"Shishi Odoshi: Chimaki" (Lion Majesty: Earth Coiling)
The Large Earthen Lion immediately turned its head to the new sphere and opened its maw, swallowing it in one bite and crushing the agents even further as the Golden Lion simply laughed out loud.
That was the power of his devil fruit, the power he had trained and fostered.
It gave him complete control over the battlefield, and it was the reason why both Sengoku and Garp were needed to bring him down when he attacked Marineford in the past.
Shiki smiled as he realised that the only enemy still standing was the Fleet Admiral from earlier.
And standing was a rather large word, as Aramaki was currently struggling to get up from the ground.
"Tsk... You're not even worth killing." Shiki didn't waste any more time on the Fleet Admiral though, immediately heading for the slaves instead.
'We're in the home stretch now!'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter! I had an exam yesterday, and it didn't go very well
Sufficient to say, I didn't feel like writing much after it ;((
This chap is almost 3k words tho, so it should make up for it
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster(Vegan Cult) on Patre_on, you'd also get 10 chapters in advance (or 5 depending on tier)
