Magus
patreon
Chapter 31: The Golden-Maned Loser!
🕑 Added 2025-08-23 06:19:37 +0000 UTCAfter the "friendly sparring" with Garp and the "polite greetings" with Newgate, the Oro Jackson finally enjoyed a few days of genuine peaceful sailing.
The aftershocks of the battle with Whitebeard continued to ripple through the Oro Jackson for several days. The crew members, especially newcomers like Erio, still had their eyes gleaming with shock and awe whenever they talked about that heart-pounding duel.
Kyle, meanwhile, was in his room carefully polishing the black-gold naginata that had been his companion for years, his mind constantly replaying every detail of his clash with Newgate.
Pure Haki and strength—that was a kind of power completely different from Devil Fruit abilities, a raw, honest kind of might.
"Still not enough..." Kyle gently stroked the cold blade, talking to himself.
On this particular day, with clear skies and calm seas stretching endlessly in all directions, it was one of those rare perfect weather days on the Grand Line.
"Ship fleet spotted ahead! Five vessels! Approaching us at high speed!" Doringo called out urgently from the crow's nest.
"Five ships?" Gaban put down his dumbbell and walked to the rail, squinting his eyes. "Who's making such a grand entrance?"
Rayleigh walked to the bow and raised his telescope. After a moment, his expression became somewhat amused. "Ah, so it's him."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked toward the five black dots appearing on the horizon. As the distance closed, the fleet's appearance became increasingly clear.
Five massive pirate ships approached in an encircling formation, their sails bearing a prominent flag with a glaring, wide-eyed lion's head.
Standing at the bow of the lead ship was a figure who, even from this distance, radiated an unmistakable aura of arrogance and ambition.
He had an outrageous mane of golden hair that cascaded wildly like a lion's mane, held two famous blades—"Oto" and "Kogarashi"—in his hands, and wore a grin that oozed pure aggression.
Golden Lion Shiki.
Another maritime overlord of this era, a legend on par with Roger and Whitebeard.
Kyle crossed his arms, mentally rolling his eyes like crazy.
Here we go, here we go—One Piece's most famous number-one fanboy, the golden-maned loser! Right now, he's all threats and bluster, but in a few years, he'll be crying and begging Roger to join him in ruling the world. After Roger gets executed, he'll even charge into Marine Headquarters alone, demanding answers—it's heartbreaking and tear-jerking, what a tragically beautiful bromance... Tsundere characters never go out of style!
Shiki, you're putting on this whole "I'm gonna murder your entire family" act now, but compared to your future "my beloved is gone" image, the contrast is way too much! If this were made into a movie, it'd totally be the year's best tragic romance... ahem!
"Oh? More guests?" Roger wandered out of the cabin, still holding a half-empty bottle of liquor. Seeing the approaching fleet, his smile only grew brighter. "Quite the impressive display!"
Before Roger's words had fully faded, Golden Lion Shiki's roar was already rolling toward them like thunder.
"Gu ha ha ha... Roger! Finally found you!"
Shiki's voice was wild and unrestrained, filled with absolute arrogance. "Stop playing your boring adventure games! Your crew, your treasure—they'll all become the foundation of my world domination! Stepping over your corpse, I'll become the sole ruler of these seas!"
"Gu ha ha ha! What's wrong, Roger? Are you so terrified by my fleet that you've gone speechless?" Seeing no response from the other side, Shiki's laughter grew even more maniacal.
Roger took a big swig of his drink, casually tossed the bottle into the ocean, and drew his sword "Ace" from his waist.
"What a noisy guy, Lion Head." He grinned, his hearty laughter matching his opponent's intensity. "Want to be king? Then let's see if you've got what it takes!"
"All hands, prepare for battle!" Rayleigh drew his sword and gave the order in a stern voice.
The Roger Pirates crew members all drew their weapons, their fighting spirit blazing.
Even facing enemies five times their number, the word "retreat" simply didn't exist in the Roger Pirates' vocabulary.
"Perfect!" Shiki laughed wildly, stabbed his twin swords into the deck, and pressed both hands down hard. "Lion's Might: Earth Scroll!"
In an instant, an invisible force spread outward from Shiki as the center, and the surrounding seawater began churning violently, as if being stirred by some unseen giant hand.
The next second, the seawater around Shiki's fleet was literally torn apart and whirled upward, forming five enormous lions made of seawater that roared as they charged toward the Oro Jackson!
"That's... a Devil Fruit power!" Erio cried out in shock.
"Are you kidding me?! He can even control the ocean?!"
"Don't panic!" Kyle shouted, stepping forward and spreading both hands toward the five roaring water lions. "Tidal Resonance!"
Invisible ripples spread outward, meeting the five water lions head-on.
There was no earth-shattering explosion—only eerie ripples spreading across the sea's surface.
Then, the five fierce water lions seemed to have their bones removed, collapsing in mid-air and turning back into massive amounts of seawater that crashed back into the ocean with a tremendous splash, stirring up towering waves.
Nice try, little lion. If you're weak, practice more!
"Oh?" Shiki's smile faltered for a moment as he looked with interest at the black-haired young man who had so easily neutralized his attack. "Interesting. But the game has just begun!"
He pressed both hands to the deck again, and this time the entire space seemed to shudder.
"Gu ha ha ha! Let me show you what real dominance looks like! Float!"
To everyone's disbelief, Golden Lion's five massive ships, along with several small islands affected by his power, slowly began lifting off the sea surface and floating into the air!
Five aerial battleships blotted out the sun, and the oppressive feeling of their descent from above was a hundred times more terrifying than facing them on the ocean surface.
"Roger! Do you see?!" Shiki stood at the bow of his flagship flying at the front, looking down at the tiny Oro Jackson below, spreading his arms wide like a god embracing the sky.
"Even this sky will be my domain!"
The floating fleet and its overwhelming shadow completely engulfed the small Oro Jackson below.
"The... the ships are flying..." Erio's voice was trembling.
The newcomers on deck all looked grave—such an unreasonable ability was simply unheard of.
"Ku ha ha ha! This guy still loves playing these flashy tricks!" Roger looked up and laughed heartily, showing not a trace of fear—instead, his eyes burned with even more intense flames.
"What a pain. It's hard to fight when they're up in the sky," Gaban said, flexing his wrists as he shouldered his massive twin axes, his brow furrowed.
"Then we'll go up too." A calm voice spoke up.
Kyle stepped forward to the very front of the bow, facing the five battleships floating in the air like mountains.
He closed his eyes, his golden pupils disappearing, replaced by a much deeper perception. Ripples extended downward, reaching deep into the boundless blue beneath their feet.
The ocean was responding to him.
Rayleigh's eyes flashed with understanding as he immediately grasped Kyle's intention, shouting sternly: "All hands! Grab the rails and rigging!"
Seeing this, Shiki assumed they had given up resistance, and his smile grew even more arrogant. "What? Ready to surrender, Roger? Get on your knees now, and I might let you—"
His words cut off abruptly.
Because the sea surface beneath his feet was beginning to rise in a completely unnatural way!
Not waves, not tides.
But the entire sea area, as if lifted by some invisible giant hand from the ocean floor, was forming a slanted, continuously rising blue mountain wall!
"Tidal Resonance: Heaven's Tilt!"
Kyle suddenly opened his eyes and thrust both hands forward.
BOOM——RUMBLE——!!!
Accompanied by deafening noise, that raised sea wall transformed into an unprecedented towering tsunami! This massive wave's height even exceeded the altitude of Shiki's fleet, its crest sharp as a blade wielded by the gods themselves.
And the Oro Jackson, riding atop this tsunami, was diving toward the aerial fleet in a world-destroying posture!
"What the—?!" Shiki's wild laughter froze.
He never would have imagined that his opponents could attack airborne enemies in such a way! Using the ocean to attack the sky!
"Damn!" Shiki roared, pushing his Float-Float Fruit ability to its absolute limit.
The five floating ships immediately began emergency ascent, trying to avoid this heaven-defying tsunami.
However, the "Heaven's Tilt Wave" that Kyle had raised was simply too fierce, too massive. The two ships at the rear of the formation were ultimately too slow.
"CRASH——!!!!"
The wave's crest slammed hard into the bottoms of these two ships, instantly engulfing them in raging torrents.
Countless Golden Lion Pirates members screamed in terror as they were washed into the whirlpool below like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.
The hulls groaned under the tsunami's impact, masts snapped, sails tore—though they didn't immediately crash, they were severely damaged and barely staying afloat.
Shiki's fleet formation was instantly torn open with a huge gap.
Meanwhile, the Oro Jackson had already reached the wave's peak, its hull nearly level with Shiki's remaining three ships!
"Now's our chance!" Roger's laughter echoed through the clouds.
He crouched slightly, then launched himself skyward. His sword Ace was already unsheathed, wrapped in pitch-black Haki with black-red lightning crackling around it.
"Divine Departure!"
An incomparable black-red slash swept out, aimed directly at Shiki's flagship!
"Not so fast!" Shiki roared, drawing his twin blades Oto and Kogarashi, crossing them before his chest and wrapping them in Armament Haki to meet that world-destroying slash.
"CLANG——!!!!"
Two Conqueror's Haki clashes exploded in the air, seemingly tearing the sky itself.
At the same time, the Roger Pirates' counterattack was just beginning.
"Our turn!"
Rayleigh's figure was swift and agile. With just a light tap of his toe on the ship's rail, he crossed dozens of meters and landed precisely on one enemy ship's deck.
Sword light flashed, moving too fast to follow. Wherever it passed, enemies fell, not even seeing how they'd been defeated.
"Ora ora ora!" Gaban hurled his copper axe like a boomerang. The massive axe howled through the air, carving a path of destruction across another enemy ship's deck, sweeping away cannons and pirates alike.
Bankuro somehow had several black spheres in his hands. With an exaggerated throwing motion, he hurled them at an enemy ship. The spheres exploded in mid-air, releasing pungent smoke that instantly left the pirates within staggering and collapsing, losing all fighting ability.
"Sound Slash: Exploding Phoenix Cry!" Kyle wasn't idle either. He drew the black-gold naginata from his back and swung it forcefully at an enemy ship.
A phoenix-shaped sonic blast shot out, the air along its path exploding in layers. The ship's side was blasted open with a massive hole, and countless pirates were sent flying by the shockwave.
The Roger Pirates, who followed the elite path, displayed their terrifying individual combat power at this moment.
In contrast, although the Golden Lion Pirates had superior numbers, they were completely overwhelmed when facing such monster-level opponents. Their numerical advantage was meaningless. Their proud fleet had become a cage trapping themselves, being divided and devoured.
"Damn it... DAMN IT!" Shiki fought off Roger's relentless attacks while watching his fleet get slaughtered, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
He had intended to launch a crushing siege from a god's perspective, announcing his dominance to the world.
But in the blink of an eye, his proud "air force" had been ambushed from the sea and beaten to pieces—this was an absolute humiliation!
"Roger! Die! Lion's Might: Thousand Slice Valley!" Shiki, consumed by rage, swung his twin blades and unleashed countless flying slashes like lion fangs, temporarily forcing Roger back.
He glanced at the chaotic battlefield and at the black-haired young man standing at the Oro Jackson's bow with his naginata, his anger and humiliation reaching their peak.
Today's battle—he had lost. Lost in intelligence, lost in underestimating his enemy, and most of all, lost to that incomprehensible Devil Fruit ability.
"Roger!" Shiki's voice was filled with unwillingness and venom. "Don't think this is over! Next time we meet, I'll bury you along with this entire ocean!"
After leaving his parting threat, Shiki stopped fighting and decisively activated his ability.
The remaining three floating battleships, including the two heavily damaged ones, began rapidly ascending at extreme speed, becoming black dots on the horizon before fleeing in defeat.
Only debris from destroyed ships remained on the sea surface, along with hundreds of Golden Lion Pirates members struggling and calling for help in the water.
The Oro Jackson smoothly settled back onto the sea, the surrounding waters gradually returning to calm, as if the earth-shaking sea-sky battle had never occurred.
The deck was silent.
Erio and the other newcomers stood with their mouths agape, staring at everything in a daze, their minds completely blank.
That was... it? It was over?
That was the South Sea's feared Golden Lion Shiki, leading a massive fleet!
Roger landed on the deck, sheathed his sword, looked toward where Shiki had fled, and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "How boring. He ran off faster than a seagull."
He looked around at the "spoils of war" splashing in the water and suddenly broke into a grin.
"Alright!" He clapped his hands and shouted with full vigor, "Boys, don't just stand there! Fish all these guys out of the water—keep the valuable ones, tie up the worthless ones, and dump them at the nearest Marine base! And then... let's party!"
"OHHHHHH!"
