One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

"Shiki the Golden Lion, a user of the Float-Float Fruit, was a legendary pirate who was on par with Roger and Whitebeard more than twenty years ago."

"You cut off your own legs to escape Impel Down, hibernated in the sky for twenty years, secretly accumulating power and raising an 'IQ' beast, wanting to take revenge on the world."

"Your ambition has never died out, it has just burned in a different way."

The golden lion's breathing faltered slightly.

How could the other side know so much about this information?

The IQ Project, the training of ferocious beasts, the obsession with revenge... these are all secrets he hides deep within the sky!

V seemed to read his mind and continued:

"Don't be surprised. I know more than you think."

“I know why you lost to Roger back then—not because of your strength, but because of a sudden storm.”

“I know where the ship's wheel on your forehead came from—it’s from when a piece of the ship's wheel pierced your skull during the raid on Roger’s crew.”

"I also know..."

V paused, his gaze becoming deep:

"You've been waiting for an opportunity."

"Waiting for an opportunity that will allow you to reign supreme over the sea once more and prove to the world that 'the golden lion has never grown old'."

"And now... the opportunity has arrived!"

Chapter 186 Treasure

"Chance?"

The golden lion's voice was hoarse and raspy, carrying a heavy sense of mockery:

"Heh heh heh... What opportunity are you talking about? The opportunity to be defeated by a bunch of brats and then wag your tail and beg for mercy like a stray dog?"

V did not answer immediately, but slowly stood up and looked down at this former legend.

“Look around, Shiki.”

V reached out and pointed in various directions across the archipelago.

"Your island group did not crash, and the vast majority of life on the islands is safe and sound."

“We could have let the island fall, let everything under your command turn to dust, but we didn’t.”

"why?"

The golden lion sneered, but a barely perceptible wavering flickered deep in his eyes.

"Because you want to incorporate my power? You want to obtain the research results and experimental data I have accumulated over the past twenty years?"

"Partially correct."

V readily admits that the prosthetic eye behind the lens gleams with the luster of data.

“Your IQ program, your beast training, your achievements over the past twenty years… those are certainly valuable. But for me, none of those are the most important things.”

He paused, his voice becoming low:

"The most important thing is yourself."

The golden lion's pupils constricted slightly.

"I?"

"That's right. Shiki the Golden Lion, the user of the Float-Float Fruit."

V crouched down again, closing the distance between them once more.

Do you know what your abilities mean in this world?

He didn't wait for the Golden Lion's reply, but continued:

"It means mobile natural disasters, it means absolute air superiority, it means... the possibility of changing the world order."

"But what have you done in the past twenty years?"

V's voice carried undisguised regret:

"You confine yourself to the sky, feed your ambition with hatred, and let time wear down your spirit."

"You breed ferocious beasts, research IQ, and want to use biological weapons to take revenge on the world—is this really what you want?"

The golden lion's breathing quickened.

revenge……

These two words defined his entire life after his prison break.

The shame of losing everything, the resentment of being defeated by Roger, the anger of being abandoned by the times... all of these turned into a raging fire of revenge.

But now, after his defeat, it seems that he has no other way out but death.

"Kid, what do you know?!"

The golden lion struggled to sit up, but the severe injuries to his body left him only able to look up at V in vain.

Those eyes, which once looked down upon the sea, now surged with humiliation, anger, and a trace of bewilderment that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

V gazed at him calmly, as if she could see through all the turmoil in his heart.

"I know more than you think."

V's voice remained steady, yet possessed an undeniable penetrating power.

“I know you are not just driven by revenge.”

"What you want is to reaffirm the weight of the name 'Golden Lion' and make the sea tremble once again because of you."

"...and to prove to the world that the times...have not completely abandoned you."

"You raise an IQ monster not so much for destruction, but rather... to find a new 'power' that can carry your will and break the existing pattern."

The golden lion remained silent, staring intently at V.

On the one hand, he didn't want to acknowledge the golden lion V mentioned, but on the other hand, he couldn't immediately find any favorable points to refute it.

"Your direction is not wrong, but your method is wrong, and your vision is too narrow."

V stood up and looked at the islands on the distant sea.

"What could a little brat like you possibly know?!" Shiki still refused to admit that his idea was wrong.

However, the more he resisted, the more excited V became.

"Oh, I don't know anything?" V grinned. "If that's what you think, then let me show you... the power I possess!"

Crack!

Without any buildup or warning, pure lightning erupted from V's palm!

The plasma beam sliced ​​through the air with a piercing shriek, distorting even the light in its path.

The golden lion's pupils suddenly contracted.

He tried to dodge, but his badly injured body couldn't react in time.

They could only watch helplessly as the silvery-white light of death rapidly magnified in their vision—

boom!!!

The plasma beam struck the golden lion precisely in the chest.

"Ughh ...

The golden lion let out a shrill scream, its body convulsed violently, its long golden hair stood on end, and spiderweb-like electric marks appeared on its skin.

He felt himself falling into boundless darkness, with only the buzzing of electricity and V's eerily calm voice in his ears.

"Go to sleep, Shiki."

"When you wake up... you will see a whole new world."

……

……

Everything has settled down.

The Merry was moored in the waterway at the edge of the main island.

On the deck, the Straw Hat crew were busy resting and celebrating.

Luffy, meanwhile, devoured the meat.

Nutritional supplements only provide nutrition, while delicious food provides happiness.

But just then...

Buzzing, buzzing—

A series of comical yet hurried footsteps, accompanied by the peculiar creaking of shoe soles, came from the direction of the base deep within the island.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of figures emerged from the forest and behind the rocks, the leader of whom was Dr. Indigo, who was wearing a blue and white striped research coat.

Behind him followed a group of remnants of the Flying Pirates, all dressed in matching dark blue uniforms and looking terrified.

"Straw Hat Pirates!"

Indigo, wearing his exaggeratedly large shoes, stopped a few dozen meters in front of the Merry, his comical tone revealing a suppressed shock and anger:

"What...what have you done to Lord Shiki!?"

His gaze was fixed on the group of people in straw hats on the deck.

"Hmm? You are...Indigo?"

Upon seeing Indigo's appearance, V's eyes lit up.

He had originally planned to wait until the Straw Hat crew had rested a bit before going on a treasure hunt and adventure to these floating islands together.

After all, the Sky Kingdom, which the Golden Lion has run for twenty years, must have a lot of good stuff hidden in its laboratories, warehouses, and databases.

But I didn't expect...