Today was no different from any other. The Silver Pirates sailed across a tranquil sea, the brilliant sunlight striking the water and reflecting a dazzling shimmer.
The crew went about their duties conscientiously. Over these three months, Shirakawa had seen firsthand that Lisa truly lived up to her reputation as the Divine Doctor. Whether it was an external wound or an internal ailment, she could always devise a perfect solution.
In these three months of near-constant combat, although the opponents hadn't been particularly strong, the crew's strength had clearly improved.
Shirakawa, however, was almost exactly the same as two months ago. His growth could be called negligible at best—because there hadn't been a single opponent who could push him to go all out.
Daily training alone could hardly satisfy the need to grow stronger anymore.
"Kid, I'll be taking that sword of yours."
Just then, a voice suddenly boomed across the sea, reaching every member of the Silver Pirates, though no figure appeared in sight.
It was a case of hearing the voice before seeing the man.
The calm sea was calm no longer after that single bellow, waves rippling all around the Silver Pirates' ship.
Hearing that voice, Shirakawa smiled. A real powerhouse had finally arrived. That voice was all too familiar to him—it had left a deep impression in his memory.
"Captain, who is it? So arrogant?" Seeing Shirakawa's expression, the crew could tell he knew the speaker.
"Someone from the New World. I never expected he'd be in the South Blue right now."
As soon as Shirakawa finished speaking, a man with flowing golden hair, a cigar clenched between his teeth, and a ship's helm embedded in his head appeared in the sky above the Silver Pirates.
That's right—the visitor was none other than Golden Lion Shiki.
"G-Golden Lion?" The other members hadn't seen Shiki before, but they certainly knew of him. He was a world-renowned great pirate.
Though they were no slouches themselves now, compared to the Golden Lion Pirates, they were still a notch below.
"What's this, Golden Lion? You came alone? Where's your pirate fleet?"
Shirakawa addressed him. Half the fleet had been wiped out by a tsunami—that was probably the Golden Lion's lifelong sore spot.
"Hmph. To deal with a little brat like you, I'm more than enough on my own."
Shiki declared confidently, arms crossed, not even bothering to look directly at Shirakawa.
"I remember you were on Roger's ship, right? So, branching out on your own now? How about joining me? All you have to do is hand over that sword of yours."
Shiki shot Shirakawa a sidelong glance.
"Shiki, aren't you a little too full of yourself?"
This time, Shirakawa didn't use the epithet "Golden Lion" but called him directly by name.
"Right now, you're like a rooster, you know that?"
"What?! You're calling me a rooster?"
Upon hearing that, Shiki immediately bristled and made to drop onto Shirakawa's ship to argue the point.
But Shirakawa simply drew his sword and swung, sending a flying slash that stopped Shiki in his tracks.
"What's the idea? You want to start the fight right now?" Shiki drew a blade of his own and knocked the slash aside.
"I don't want you touching my ship. That would be a lot of trouble for me."
What Shirakawa needed to watch out for was Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ability. If Shiki sent his ship soaring into the sky, it would be a huge headache—even though Shirakawa could manipulate gravity.
Immediately after, Shirakawa flew up into the sky as well. A battlefield with the Golden Lion was naturally better suited to the heavens.
"Take the ship and get out of here. The farther the better—otherwise you'll get caught up in this."
Shirakawa said to his crew.
"Got it."
They planned to watch this heart-stopping battle from a safe distance. After all, a clash between two great swordsmen wasn't something you saw every day.
Jora in particular could barely contain himself—his eyes were practically popping out of his head. The Golden Lion, like him, was a practitioner of dual-sword style. Watching this fight would surely yield tremendous insights, possibly even deepening his understanding of the way of the sword.
"So, brat, you intend to test blades with me?"
Shiki said with a hint of disdain. True, Shirakawa was also a great swordsman, but even among great swordsmen there were different levels, and Shiki belonged firmly among the strongest.
"What else? I can't exactly play house with you, big rooster."
"You dare call me a rooster again!"
Now genuinely irritated, Shiki drew both his swords and launched a cross-shaped flying slash straight at Shirakawa.
Shirakawa responded with a slash of his own, precisely striking the intersection of Shiki's two blades of pressure.
With a boom, Shiki's slashes scattered.
"Not bad, brat." That exchange made Shiki start taking Shirakawa a bit more seriously.
"Naturally. My swordsmanship was learned from Rayleigh and Kozuki Oden, after all. I've fully grasped some of the weaknesses of dual-sword style."
"No wonder. Tell me your name. I acknowledge you now. From here on, I'm coming at you with everything I've got."
"Adolf K. Shirakawa. That's my name. And don't expect me to hold back either."
As soon as Shirakawa finished speaking, his Silver Sword of Damocles materialized high in the air not far from the two of them.
"So this is your ability?"
As someone seeing the Sword of Damocles for the first time, Shiki was naturally stunned, but he quickly regained his composure.
He could feel that since Shirakawa had revealed the sword, his presence had surged immensely.
"I never thought anyone besides Whitebeard and Roger could give me such a surprise. It'd be a real shame to destroy you now. So, how about it? Won't you reconsider joining my crew?"
Shiki extended the invitation once again. Right now, his crew was lacking high-level fighters exactly like Shirakawa.
"Golden Lion, you're talking too much."
Well, hearing that, Shiki naturally understood exactly what Shirakawa meant.
"Fine. Then don't blame me for what happens next."
With that, a ferocious wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Shiki. This was the first time Shirakawa had ever felt such a violent Conqueror's Haki—completely different from the Haki that emanated from Roger.
"So this is the Golden Lion's Conqueror's Haki? Incredible."
The Silver Pirates, already a long way off, naturally sensed that burst of Haki.
"But the captain's Conqueror's Haki isn't weak either."
Just as the words were spoken, Shirakawa's Conqueror's Haki exploded forth as well.
It showed every sign of standing toe-to-toe with Shiki's, and gradually, it even began to suppress the Golden Lion's Haki.
This sudden eruption of Conqueror's Haki spelled disaster for the pirates and merchant vessels in the surrounding waters—they all inexplicably passed out.
Because under the crushing pressure of Shirakawa and Shiki's combined Conqueror's Haki, there were likely very few in all the South Blue who could remain conscious. At the very least, in this stretch of sea around them, there were none.
/-\
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