093 The Radical Golden Lion

Outside, in Marineford, chaos reigned. Countless residents were terrified, wailing and raging, their cries filling the sky.

Lightning split the darkness as black clouds churned like a storm, plunging all of Marineford into peril.

"Voom... voom..."

A dreadful roar tore through the air, and a colossal shadow came hurtling down from above with unmatched force, like a falling meteor.

Whoosh.

A figure appeared, raising his head to stare at the mountain hurtling toward him. Garp clenched both fists so tightly the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Golden Lion!" Sengoku’s voice rang out as he stepped through the air, fury exploding from him. Along the way, he saw the shattered earth and the streets littered with blood, broken bones, and carnage, and his face darkened with murderous intent.

"Vice Admiral Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" As though they had found their pillar of support, countless Navy soldiers halted and looked toward them with hope.

"Pass the order down. All Navy officers of rear admiral rank and above are to smash every falling fragment to pieces. Protect the civilians at all costs!" Sengoku said with a grim face, his whole body radiating an aura that warned others to stay away.

"Yes, sir!"

"Garp, I suppose after Roger died, I’ll have to execute another great pirate." Standing beside Garp, Sengoku tore off his Navy coat, revealing the bulging muscles beneath.

"It’s been a long time since I last fought. Time to stretch my bones." Garp’s face was dark as he threw off his own coat as well, revealing that ferocious body.

"Voom... voom..."

A rain of meteors fell with crushing pressure.

The winds shifted, thunder howled, and the whole world seemed to have plunged into open revolt.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures shot upward from the ground like twin columns of smoke, reaching the sky in an instant.

"Break for me!"

With explosive power and an unstoppable aura, Garp’s right fist swelled as he met the falling meteor head-on.

At the same time, Sengoku’s entire body blazed with gold, and a majestic giant Buddha appeared, radiating the fury of adamant flame.

"Shock Wave!"

Boom! Rumble!

The two attacks collided, and a storm erupted outward. The massive meteor shattered at once, then rained down like a shower of falling stars.

"Carry out Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s orders! Destroy the obstacles and protect Marineford!" Countless figures rose into the air, all Navy officers of rear admiral rank and above, stepping through the sky with Moon Step and unleashing the legends of their own making.

Brilliant attacks and dazzling power darkened the whole of Marineford, making it seem like a tiny boat adrift among dead leaves.

"Hahaha... Garp, Sengoku, long time no see!"

At the rear of the island, a figure stood high in the air, looking down upon all of Marineford like a sovereign.

Golden hair like a lion’s mane, a ship’s wheel embedded in his head, and two long swords at his waist. His savage, kingly aura crushed the heart of anyone who met it. He was a beast king, the king of all beasts.

"Golden Lion!" Sengoku’s eyes blazed with righteous fury, his entire body shining with golden light like a giant living Buddha, yet at this moment his anger burned sky-high.

"Don’t be so petty. I heard you became Fleet Admiral, so I came especially to congratulate you!"

Laughing wildly and arrogantly, Golden Lion looked down on everyone in Marineford as though he were a god, utterly dismissive of their fear and hostility.

"Golden Lion, you vanished for so long. Why have you come to Marineford today?" Sengoku’s face was severe, his eyes bloodshot.

He was furious. He was helpless. He wanted nothing more than to kill Golden Lion.

"Tell me. Who captured Roger?" Golden Lion’s voice was cold as ice, and his hair seemed to stand on end with rage as he roared.

"Of course he was captured by us Navy men!" Sengoku said through clenched fists.

"I don’t believe it. My rival could never be captured so easily by the likes of you. You must have used some vile scheme. Otherwise Roger would never have been taken by trash like you!"

Golden Lion was incensed. He refused to believe it. He refused to believe that his one and only rival had been captured like that, and not only captured, but dead—dead for years already.

Years earlier, because of the injuries he suffered during the Battle of Edd War, Golden Lion had remained within his floating island to recover, and he had heard little news from the outside world.

But a few days ago, a newspaper had been found abandoned on the island. After reading the report, he could not believe it, and his humiliation turned instantly to fury.

"Pirate King Gol D. Roger has been captured by the Navy and will soon be executed."

That single piece of news set Golden Lion ablaze with rage. Who was Roger? He was his only rival. On this vast sea, he acknowledged only one man. And yet that very rival had been captured by the Navy?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Only he, Golden Lion, could capture Roger. No one else had that ability.

But everything was already too late. After descending from the floating island, he discovered that Roger had in fact been dead for years. That revelation drove Golden Lion completely insane.

It was humiliation. Utter humiliation. So Golden Lion abandoned all restraint and came to invade Marineford, intent on forcing the truth from them: had Roger really been captured by the Navy?

It was extreme, even absurd. And yet this very man was one of the great pirates whose name stood beside the Pirate King himself.

"Unforgivable. That is absolutely impossible. With your abilities, you could never have captured him! A man acknowledged by me, Golden Lion, could never be so weak!" His furious voice sounded like heaven’s wrath, casting all of Marineford into gloom.

"Only I can capture Roger. None of you are qualified!" Golden Lion glared at Sengoku and Garp, his entire body exuding savage, lion-like brutality.

"This is the truth. Whether you believe it or not is beside the point, you narrow-minded bastard!" Sengoku ground his teeth. He could hardly imagine that Golden Lion had come to invade Marineford for such a ridiculous reason.

"I don’t believe it."

He plunged downward, drawing the two long swords at his waist. In an instant, two brilliant white slashes descended from the sky like dazzling beams of light.

"Golden Lion, you’re too arrogant. This is Marineford, and today you will die here!" Sengoku’s whole body shone like a pillar of gold as he shot straight into the heavens like a cannonball.

"Haha, Golden Lion, let me see whether your strength has slipped in these past years!" Garp, too, erupted upward, his body turning pitch black and giving off a metallic sheen.

Such profound Haki made Golden Lion deeply wary.

"Iron Fist!"

Clenching his fist, Haki wrapped around it like molten iron being poured, releasing power enough to shatter heaven and earth.

"Shock Wave."

Likewise, a golden surge of force made the air tremble as it streaked across the sky.

Boom! Rumble!

The heavens exploded. A storm swept through, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the darkened sky was torn open, brilliant beyond measure.

At the same time, on Judiciary Island, a communication came through to Grado Island.

"Hello? This is Kalifa!" Kalifa’s voice was clear and pleasant as she held the transponder snail, a little puzzled.

"Kalifa, put the Vice Admiral on the line. We’ve got news of Golden Lion," said Spandam from the other end, keeping his voice low.

"Yes, right away!" Kalifa hurried off at once, running toward the center of the island.

"Vice Admiral, Chief Spandam says there’s news of Golden Lion!" She rushed over with Moon Step, shouting before she even arrived.

"What?" Flames flickered as a surge of breath nearly sent Kalifa stumbling into him.

"T-there’s news of Golden Lion!" Kalifa was a little afraid, because the aura Xuan Ye was releasing at that moment was far too ferocious.

He snatched the transponder snail from Kalifa’s hands. Xuan Ye was so excited he could hardly contain himself. "Spandam, you’d better not be lying to me. Otherwise I’ll slaughter the entire Judiciary Island. Speak—where is Golden Lion?"

"V-vice Admiral, Golden Lion is very likely on Marineford!" Sweat poured down Spandam’s face on the other end.

"Marineford?" Xuan Ye’s excitement surged, and then his tone turned ice-cold. "You’d better not be lying to me."

With that, before Spandam could say another word, Xuan Ye ended the call.

"Monkey, I’m leaving those two to you!" Unable to wait even a moment longer, Xuan Ye shot into the sky. Then he transformed into a golden crow, his whole body bathed in flame, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Squeak... I... bastard..." Monkey was just about to protest when he looked up and saw that only a long ribbon of fire remained in the sky.

At the same time, Zephyr, Akainu, Aokiji, and the others who were out on assignment were all rushing toward Marineford at full speed.