One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 140 Do you have a preferred way to exit? Shiki!
Just as mentioned before.

The pirates gathered on this floating island were a group that Golden Lion had secretly assembled for his own ambitions after escaping from Impel Down and discovering this 'Vermeer'.

However, to avoid his plans being discovered by the Navy or the World Government in advance, he recruited few well-known and famous pirates.

Many of them were just hanging around in the first half of the Grand Line, and some didn't even have the ambition to go to the 'New World'.

so.
They, of course, never had the qualifications or the opportunity to witness the true 'powerful beings of the sea'.

"That's it"

"Hey, you're kidding, right?!"

Therefore, their astonished reaction at this moment is not surprising.

"call!"

The howling wind swept over their bodies, and snowflakes from the blizzard fell upon the palace.

Yes—snowflakes fell into the palace, which should have been warm.

Because at this moment
The upper part of the 'Lion King's Palace' that ruled Vermeer has completely disappeared.

The pirates, of course, knew the reason.

because
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Amidst the swirling snow, a deafening roar, several times stronger than the previous explosions, resounded incessantly.

They could feel the entire remaining foundation of the palace trembling, and even their hearts were trembling.

Their gaze, however, was fixed on the sky.

There, a battle is taking place.

Or to be more precise—calling it a battle wouldn't even be accurate.

Above the highest point of the sky in Navelmee, a huge golden light forming a fist imprint was surging.

That was the source of the upper half of the royal palace disappearing into thin air.

However, the pirates did not panic.

Compared to the entire Vermeeru at this moment, the fact that only the upper half of the palace has disappeared can be considered 'good luck'.

At this moment
The mountains on the island have been blasted to pieces.

The snow on the island has been pushed down.

The clouds in the distance to the island kept breaking apart.

But even so.
The figure draped in a navy cloak with black wrists—still kept moving and throwing punches.

And within his constantly swinging fists.

That legendary sea creature of yesteryear, known as the 'Golden Lion,' is being blown away like a balloon.

His body was enveloped in jet-black Armament Haki, but blood still inevitably flowed from his mouth and body.

"Lion's Might - Rockfall!"

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to resist.

For example, at this moment, the instant he was struck by a wave of energy, he slightly curled his fingers—and the countless shattered rocks transformed into a giant lion's head that lunged at Roy.

But
"Buzz!"

Roy didn't even need to defend himself; the intense shockwave alone was enough to keep the massive lion's head at bay.

【King of Freedom Buddha - Protective Light】

Then, he raised his hand and threw another punch.

The golden lion decisively stirred up the surrounding wind and snow, and the icy snow instantly transformed into a huge lion body that surrounded him to block the harm.

But
[Strength Fruit - 50x Muscle Enhancement]

[Multiplier Fruit - 30x Speed]

【Magma Berry LV4】

"Super Hadouken: Great Heavenly Volcano!"

The energy in Roy's hand instantly turned into scorching flames, melting the pure white snow.

The next moment, the extremely fast punch left the Golden Lion with almost no way to dodge.

That's the reality that this battle revealed, a situation that even the pirates below could clearly see.

"It's not an opponent at all."

"That legendary golden lion was completely suppressed!"

"How terrifying, is this... is this the 'Black Xie'?"

"The future legend of the Navy—is it really this powerful?"

Yes.

The battle was not evenly matched—the Golden Lion was clearly at a disadvantage, as anyone could see.

Their cries of alarm could not travel through the wind and snow to the distant high sky.

But
"This little devil"

Shiki himself was undoubtedly the one who knew this best.

"How can he be so strong!?"

Although he has always stayed in Vermeer.

However, he had heard some information about the 'Black Xie'.

Known as a future admiral candidate and a disciple of Zephyr, he created a special fist technique called 'Hadouken' through his talent.

But for Shiki, it was nothing more than 'that'.

He never took Roy seriously.

After all, he is the 'Golden Lion'.

He was a man who once single-handedly stormed the Marine Headquarters and once suppressed Roger and Whitebeard.

His opponents should be Garp, Sengoku, the entire Marine Headquarters, and even the World Government—a mere young brat might have some strength, but how could he be worthy of his attention?
But now, the facts are right in front of him.

"boom!"

Being hit by Roy's punch again brought immense pain and immense humiliation.

"You brat, how dare you!"

How could we allow him to lose face in front of his subordinates?
How could we dare to let the 'Golden Lion' bleed?

"Lion·Senkiriya!"

He managed to steady himself and kicked out with both feet.

The famous swords 'Kumo' and 'Sakura Jū' that served as his feet suddenly unleashed a series of golden and sharp flying slashes.

"laugh!"

The slash and Roy's Hadouken collided, tilting at each other—the slash cleaved a huge rock in two, while the Hadouken turned a small mountain into dust.

In that instant, the golden lion's figure suddenly appeared behind Roy as a blur.

"Slicing Waves - Lion's Claws!"

He kicked Roy's neck with both legs at the same time, but the next moment...
"clang!"

He then saw that the hand wrapped in 'black mane' had already blocked his foot and sword.

"Click!" "Click!"

A powerful aura burst forth, but the Golden Lion gritted his teeth only to be horrified to discover that his sword could not advance even an inch further!

And in the midst of clenching his teeth, through the reflection of the blade.

What the golden lion saw was Roy's eyes.

Those eyes remained cold because of what happened to his subordinates.

But hidden within that coldness is an overwhelming confidence.

"Buzz!" *2
A powerful surge erupted once again.

"what!"

The golden lion's body was swept by the wave, and he spat out blood again.

But this was still not enough to defeat him—Golden Lion waved his hands, about to unleash his Devil Fruit power to throw down the two surrounding islands.

He himself was already prepared to fly away from Roy's side immediately and look for the next opportunity to strike.

But
"!!!"

At that moment, the Golden Lion was horrified to discover...

“My ability.”

His body, and even the two small islands he wanted to move.

At this moment, they were clearly not obeying orders.

The reason for this is quite simple.

"call!"

Because at that moment, the surrounding area was filled with howling winds.

The surging winds had somehow formed a massive 'hurricane'.

The hurricane whipped up the clouds, swirling up sand and gravel, completely engulfing the Golden Lion and Roy—the gale-force winds rendered the Golden Lion completely immobile. The Golden Lion, however, could see the golden ripples flowing within the hurricane.

"Wind Wave Fist: Divine Sandstorm".

Then, the golden lion's eyes widened instantly: "Wind!"

"Impossible—your Hadouken isn't..."

As far as he knew, Roy's Hadouken did not include this type.

But the next moment...
Your message is outdated.

It was at this moment that he heard Roy's voice.

"It's just using my fists to create a gust of wind; of course I can do that."

"you're old."

He said calmly, "It's time to leave."

As Roy spoke, some of his words were true and some were false.

The problem lies in the fact that his so-called Wind Wave Fist is essentially still the power of the 'Sukukuk Fruit'.

In fact, after realizing that he would most likely face off against the Golden Lion this time, he almost never took off the fruit.

the reason is simple.

He knew that Shiki was a user of the 'Float-Float Fruit'.

His ability allows him to float and control any inanimate object except himself—whether it be a warship, an object, or an island.

He used this to create his own 'flying fleet', which in the past had effectively suppressed the Pirate King Roger.

This ability is undoubtedly a top-tier Devil Fruit ability, but it has a fatal weakness.

That is 'wind'.

Floating in the air without gravity means it is extremely susceptible to the influence of wind—the stronger the wind, the greater the restriction it imposes.

In the original story, Shiki attempted to kidnap Nami, a genius navigator, precisely because he wanted her to help him predict and avoid hurricanes.

The truth in Roy's words lies in...
He genuinely felt that the Golden Lion was getting old.

So far, he has fought against many of the top experts of the first or second generation on the sea, or fought against them through his identity as one of the Twelve Constellations.

Garp and Akainu are both undoubtedly very strong.

But the Golden Lion is different.

His strength was immense, his domineering aura was powerful, his vitality was strong, his abilities were remarkable, and his combat skills and level were superb.
But Roy always felt that the Golden Lion gave him a strange feeling.

He did not give Roy the sense of threat that only a top-tier powerhouse in the ocean could provide.

He was certain that the pirate named Shiki he was seeing now was not entirely equivalent to the 'Golden Lion' from back then.

But for Roy, this was clearly unimportant.

At this moment, they faced the 'Golden Lion', which was unable to move due to the raging hurricane.

Roy had raised his fist again.

"Super Hadouken: Elbaf Spear - Slash the Nation!"

Without hesitation, the ancient martial arts techniques from the giant race and the Hadouken burst forth.

And this blow struck the Golden Lion squarely in the face once again.

This legendary pirate was once again sent flying backward at an unprecedentedly exaggerated speed.

This time, he smashed through the island and plummeted towards the floating island below.

"."

At this moment, even the Golden Lion felt as if he was about to faint.

"hateful."

The piercing sound of wind breaking and the rushing air flowed past his ears, and his eyes were already about to close.

But it was at this moment that he saw the seawater below.

That was the seawater near the island that he had pulled up with his power.

The water was so clear that it reflected his image.

Shiki saw him in his current state—covered in blood and looking quite disheveled.

He was surprised to find that his skin had become dark and wrinkled at some point.

'I hadn't noticed that at all before.'

In this near-death moment, his thoughts seemed to become somewhat scattered and chaotic.

Instinctively, some things began to resurface in his mind.

Those are his actions over the years.

After successfully escaping from prison by cutting off his own legs, he stumbled upon this 'Island of Rare Beasts' and saw it as the key to his ambitions.

Hidden on this floating archipelago, he waits every day for his subordinates to conduct experiments, dreaming of conquering the world one day.

Until today, they were defeated by Roy in such a crushing manner.

legend?

"How ridiculous."

Then, he suddenly felt that he was somewhat ridiculous and a stranger to himself.

Why would he think that he could conquer this sea full of heroes with just a bunch of wild beasts?
Why would he think that group of trashy pirates were qualified to be his subordinates?

The Golden Lion quickly came up with the answer.

'I really am getting old.'

Yes, he has indeed gotten old.

I don’t know when it started.

That conqueror who once challenged the Pirate King to the 'Battle of Edd Wall' for supremacy.

That hero who stormed the Navy Headquarters alone, just to find an answer.

That golden lion that once roared across the sea and reigned supreme over the world.

He became a coward, hiding on the island, afraid to reveal his whereabouts.

He became a stubborn old man who clung to the glory of the past, considered himself a legend, and looked down on everyone.

And now, everything has told him.
He was completely wrong.

The young guys are growing up, and they're growing up much faster than he imagined.

The sea is no longer the same as it used to be, while he remains in that coffin called 'the past,' unknowingly rotting away.

"I'm such an idiot."

At that moment, a smile actually appeared on the golden lion's lips.

Even more distant memories began to surface in his mind.

He began to reminisce about Roger, Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom, and the past.

He almost closed his eyes.

But it is precisely at this moment
"Hey, Shiki."

Somewhere in my memory.

The voice of a drunk man seemed to echo in his ears: "This vast ocean has produced remarkable figures in every era!"

That was a long time ago, when he was just a member of a pirate crew.

"Of course I'm one of them, and so are you, Roger, but in the future, there will definitely be countless more amazing people!"

"If I succeed, there will be even more of those guys!"

The sound of that guy's laughter still grates on Shiki's ears to this day.

"It must be very interesting to see the world then."

"So, how do you plan to leave then?"

He also remembers how taken aback he was when he first heard the question.

"Huh? Exit? Why should I even consider something like that?"

He countered with a question.

"Hahahaha—that's just how it is; no one can stay young forever."

"Roger was right about something. Everyone has their time to step in, but I think how you leave is also very important."

next moment.
"boom!"

Shiki's figure plummeted heavily onto the island below.

but--

"woo"

The howling wind gradually began to blow at this moment.

Like the roar of a lion.

(End of this chapter)