Chapter 5: The Wrath of the Golden Lion!

Somewhere in the New World.

With a thunderous boom, an island floating high in the sky shuddered.

Massive cracks appeared, and countless boulders came crashing down with a clatter.

They smashed into the sea, sending up pillar after pillar of enormous water spouts.

"Impossible!!"

A roar of extreme fury, like that of a lion king, swept across the clear sky accompanied by a dark red shockwave, instantly tearing apart and scattering the surrounding white clouds.

"B-Boss..."

Inside the banquet hall on the floating island.

Hundreds of pirates who had joined the Flying Pirate Crew less than three years ago stared in terror at the bottomless trench in the center of the hall—a slash that had nearly split the entire palace in two—while scrambling and crawling away to both sides in a frenzy.

On the dais, 'Golden Lion' Shiki gripped his famous blade, 'Oto', his heart consumed by extreme rage.

His fury was so intense that he panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot and crimson.

The ship's wheel embedded in the top of his head throbbed with a dull ache.

Just moments ago, he had sliced the newspaper on the coffee table into dust.

"Roger! Roger is a man I, myself, acknowledged!"

"How could he... how could he possibly be captured by that bunch of trash in the Navy? How is it possible—!"

Shiki roared again.

At the same time, an incredibly tyrannical Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.

Instantly, large swaths of people rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, only a handful of men remained standing, swaying on their feet.

But Shiki paid no mind to his subordinates; holding his two blades, he transformed into a golden blur and charged out of the hall.

He ignored the loud cries of his officers behind him, flying away from the floating island at breakneck speed.

About five minutes later, Shiki's figure vanished without a trace.

Just as those officers stood there at a loss, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake violently.

Their faces turned deathly pale.

Soon, the entire floating island began to fall like a massive meteorite.

Finally, with a deafening crash, it kicked up terrifying waves and sank into the depths of the sea.

From this moment on, the Flying Pirate Crew, which had rampaged across the seas for nearly fifteen years, was no more!

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

"What? 'Golden Lion' Shiki is coming to attack here!"

In the Fleet Admiral's office, Admiral Sengoku, who had only just sat down, stood up abruptly from the sofa after hearing the words of Fleet Admiral Kong.

Even Garp, who was sitting across from him eating a rice cracker, stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, this is information just received from the Five Elders, so we need to prepare as quickly as possible!"

Fleet Admiral Kong, with his 'mountain' of white hair, looked extremely grave.

"If that's the case, Shiki must have set off after reading today's newspaper. Calculating the distance and the speed of the floating island, he should arrive here by tomorrow morning, right?"

Sengoku voiced his thoughts.

But Fleet Admiral Kong shook his head: "No, the Five Elders said he is coming alone!"

"Alone?" Garp raised an eyebrow.

"How does he dare?" Sengoku was filled with surprise and confusion, then immediately pressed, "How did the Five Elders know this?"

"It's unclear; they didn't say. But one can guess if you think about it for a moment," Fleet Admiral Kong sighed.

"There is someone from CIPHER POL inside the Flying Pirate Crew!"

Sengoku immediately made the connection. "It must be that this spy saw Shiki leave alone and sent the intelligence, which is why it's so accurate."

"Yes." Fleet Admiral Kong nodded.

For a moment, the two fell silent, and the atmosphere in the office grew quiet.

The espionage capabilities of CIPHER POL were simply too terrifying, making them increasingly wary and vigilant.

Then, Garp spoke up with a serious expression.

"So, what do we do now?"

Even as carefree as he was, he knew the gravity of 'Golden Lion' Shiki's impending attack.

"If he's coming alone, he'll definitely be faster. Tonight—no, he could be here before tonight!" Sengoku said in a deep voice.

"Then we'll just wait. We'll catch him when he gets here!" Garp clenched his right fist.

"No."

Sengoku shook his head, locking eyes with Fleet Admiral Kong, and said, "We cannot make Marineford the battlefield; it would surely cause massive destruction and casualties. But we can't be too far away either, since Shiki's target is here."

Fleet Admiral Kong nodded in agreement as he pondered, then asked, "Do you have any ideas? Let's hear them."

Sengoku slowly sat back on the sofa, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

There were only three islands around Marineford: Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and the Sabaody Archipelago.

Clearly, none of these places could serve as a battlefield.

But if there were no islands, were he and Garp supposed to fight on the sea?

That would force an aerial battle.

That would give too much of an advantage to 'Golden Lion' Shiki, a user of the Float-Float Fruit.

"Should we clear out a few warships and group them together in the waters outside Marineford?"

Fleet Admiral Kong came up with a plan.

"That could work, but a few might not be enough. Even if Garp and I go together, taking down Shiki won't be easy. We'll need at least ten..."

Time slipped away, and the golden sun above the blue sky began to descend.

Before long, it turned into a sunset, bathing the horizon in a golden glow.

The sky gradually took on the traces of night.

Suddenly, from the direction of the 'New World' sea, five naval warships appeared, floating high in the sky.

The decks of every ship were littered with the corpses of marines.

Among them were several officers wearing coats of justice.

An incredibly thick scent of blood permeated the area around the five warships.

From time to time, cold, congealed blood dripped from the hulls into the waves.

Like demon ships from the abyss, they swept rapidly across the sea.

'Golden Lion' Shiki sat cross-legged on the crow's nest of one of the warships.

He glared at the island, a dark silhouette already visible in the distance.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford—he had arrived!

He slowly stood up, his grip tightening on his two blades.

But as the distance closed rapidly, Shiki's pupils suddenly constricted.

Although he couldn't see anything with his naked eye, his Observation Haki had already sensed two extremely powerful and incredibly familiar auras.

This filled Shiki's heart with doubt and surprise.

About twenty minutes later.

The two sides closed to a distance where they could look each other in the eye.

Shiki finally saw clearly two burly men wearing white coats of justice over black suits.

They seemed to be standing on the calm surface of the sea?

"Sengoku! Garp!"

The five floating warships slowly decelerated.

'Golden Lion' Shiki gritted his teeth as he spat out their names, the malice and killing intent in his eyes undisguised.

At the same time, he saw what was beneath their feet: ice.

A vast ice sheet that had frozen the entire sea around Marineford!

Clearly, the Navy had been prepared for a long time.

"You finally came. I've been waiting here for two hours just for you. I'm going to give you a good beating in a minute!"

Garp loosened his thick neck and strong arms, grinning and baring his teeth, looking up at Shiki with a fierce smile.

"Shiki, you'd better be prepared. Once you make a move today, don't even think about leaving."

Sengoku said with a grim face, his feet planted on the cold ice.

Shiki was enraged upon hearing this.

Since he dared to attack, he had long since made up his mind.

He demanded an explanation!

"Tell me!"

"How did you trashy marines manage to capture Roger!"

"Bring him to me! Even if he is to be killed, it must be by my own hand! He is a man I acknowledged!"

Sengoku and Garp did not respond.

How could that be possible?

They only felt that Shiki was living in a dream.

The two exchanged a glance, tacitly pulled off their coats of justice and tossed them aside, then stepped forward, walking slowly toward Shiki.

On the other side.

The five massive, blood-stained warships came crashing down like a landslide under the 'Golden Lion's' roar.

"Give Roger! Back to me!"

In the rear, at the edge of the Marineford plaza, Kuzan, dressed in a black shirt and purple trousers, sat slumped on the ground, panting, watching the battle that had erupted in the distance...

(End of chapter)