Nearby, Bullet raised one of his mountain-sized hands and slapped Jozu heavily on the back.
The impact rang out with a sharp crystalline sound, almost as though two enormous diamonds had collided.
Bullet grinned broadly.
"As long as you didn't die, how could anything have happened to the rest of us?"
His magma-covered body shook violently with laughter, resembling a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Remembering the breathtaking battle from the day before, excitement lit up his eyes.
"Just thinking about you reflecting Uranus's attack yesterday still gets my blood pumping!"
The incredible scene remained vivid in his mind, every detail stirring his fighting spirit all over again.
Not long afterward, Shiki descended lightly to the ground like a feather drifting on the wind.
He planted both swords firmly into the earth, sending up a small cloud of dust.
Then he threw back his head and laughed.
"Jihahahaha! I heard you bastards pulled off something ridiculous yesterday. You even sent Uranus running?"
His sharp gaze swept across everyone like a hawk's, filled with curiosity and expectation.
"Come on, tell me! Which bastard stole the show?"
Bullet immediately threw an arm around Jozu's neck and proudly introduced him.
"Who else? This diamond brat! You should've seen him. He took Uranus's world-ending beam head-on, and every diamond on his body was about to shatter into dust. But then…"
He deliberately stretched out the final words, clearly enjoying the suspense. His eyes were filled with admiration for Jozu.
Jozu awkwardly raised a hand and scratched his head, looking both embarrassed and slightly uncomfortable.
"Honestly, I was only a little bit away from… well, things going really badly."
Bullet had no patience for his hesitant modesty and cut him off in his usual rough voice.
"Quit trying to downplay it! You should've seen what happened!
"At the last possible second, this bastard awakened his ability right in the middle of the fight!
"Golden light suddenly exploded from his whole body, so bright it was almost impossible to keep your eyes open. Then Uranus fired those massive beams at him, and he swallowed them like they were snacks!
"And that wasn't even the best part. He turned around and fired everything straight back with enough force to blast Uranus into a miserable retreat. That thing fled with its tail between its legs and none of its old arrogance left!"
The relaxed smile on Shiki's face instantly froze.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"W-wait. Did you just say awakened? I heard that right?"
He suddenly leaned closer to Jozu, his eyes opening as wide as bells. Shock and confusion filled his face, and even his voice began trembling slightly.
"The Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit awakened?!
"No one has managed that in eight hundred years! You're telling me this brat actually…"
Marco smiled and calmly added,
"It wasn't merely an ordinary awakening. Jozu's ability has undergone a complete transformation.
"He can now reflect any kind of light-based attack, no matter how powerful it is. Any beam that reaches him will be sent right back.
"And even more remarkably, he can convert the properties of any energy he comes into contact with."
...
"Take my regenerative flames, for example," Marco continued. "I thought their unique healing properties might give me an advantage, but Jozu converted them into offensive energy and reflected them straight back at me. Even I wasn't expecting that."
Bullet lowered his normally booming voice, his expression unusually serious.
"And that's not all. This brat's body has become unbelievably tough. He's practically as hard as a Poneglyph now, like every inch of him has been filled with endless durability.
"I hit him with everything I had, and it felt like the bones in my hand were about to crack. But look at him—not even the faintest mark. My punch might as well have landed on a pillow!"
Shiki narrowed his eyes and stared directly at Jozu.
His initial surprise gradually transformed into uncontrollable delight. For a moment, he simply stood there gazing at Jozu as though time itself had stopped.
Then he threw back his head and erupted into deafening laughter.
"Jihahahaha! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"
The laughter rolled through every corner of the Divine Kingdom like surging waves.
He repeated the word three times, each one filled with deep admiration and satisfaction.
Shiki strode forward and slapped Jozu's solid shoulder with enough force to send visible ripples through the surrounding air.
"Back when I fought Whitebeard, I kept wondering whether that diamond ability of yours could ever awaken. I never imagined I'd actually live to see it happen—and you're the brat who pulled it off!"
His booming voice overflowed with excitement, as though he were recounting the birth of a new legend.
Then his expression abruptly changed.
The wild grin vanished, replaced by absolute seriousness.
Shiki straightened his back and looked Jozu directly in the eyes.
"From now on, you're under my personal protection! If anyone thinks they can lay a finger on you, they'll have to survive my Lion's Majesty: Earth Coiling first!"
Every word landed with undeniable force.
Caught off guard by such overwhelming praise, Jozu had no idea how to respond. Even his diamond face seemed to take on a faint, embarrassed blush.
He lowered his head modestly.
"Honestly, it was only because everyone—"
"Shut up!"
Shiki and Bullet roared at the same time, their voices colliding like thunder.
"A strong man should act like one!"
The booming laughter of two legends from different generations echoed over the Divine Kingdom for a long time.
It carried their pursuit of strength, their hunger for glory, and their excitement for what the future held.
Jozu stood quietly between them, shining like an everlasting diamond.
Then Shiki's gaze happened to drift toward the Divine Kingdom's bustling harbor.
His wild smile instantly froze.
His eyes widened, shock and confusion flashing through his pupils.
The two renowned swords in his hands—Kogarashi and Oto—slipped from his grasp and struck the deck with a sharp clang.
The legendary pirate who had sailed across every sea and witnessed countless incredible sights now stood completely rigid, as though struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
His lips parted, but his voice caught in his throat.
"Th-that's…"
Each trembling syllable seemed to require all the strength in his body.
His eyes opened as wide as bells, his pupils contracting and expanding as he stared ahead without blinking.
Then the words finally burst from his twisted expression.
"Pluton?!"
His legs began moving almost without his permission, carrying him mechanically toward the harbor.
Every step was slow and heavy, yet strangely unsteady, as though he were walking across clouds rather than solid ground.
His body swayed faintly, his entire mind lost in disbelief.
Halfway there, the sight still seemed far too unreal, so he hurriedly raised both hands and rubbed his eyes as hard as he could.
It was the frantic gesture of a man trying to prove that he was not dreaming.
When he looked toward the harbor again, the shock struck him even harder.
The colossal warship anchored there was far more imposing than any description he had ever read in the newspapers.
Its streamlined black hull resembled an ancient beast that had slept for thousands of years, resting silently upon the water.
The surface was smooth as a mirror, yet radiated a mysterious, freezing presence, as though countless secrets were hidden within its depths.
Sunlight reflected from the hull in a dim, chilling glow, making the vessel appear even more sinister.
Rows of massive cannon barrels covered its deck.
They stood in perfect formation like a forest of death, their dark muzzles resembling the mouths of an abyss waiting to devour any enemy foolish enough to approach.
At the bow, a viciously pointed ram curved upward.
Its edge looked sharp enough to tear open the sky itself and crush anything that stood in the ship's path.
The entire vessel seemed like a messenger from hell, carrying the presence of death and destruction as it rested silently in the harbor.
"Jihahaha… You've got to be kidding me…"
Shiki's laughter came out sharp and almost deranged.
His eyes remained wide, filled with disbelief and overwhelming shock, as though he had just witnessed the most absurd sight in the entire world.