"Jie hahahahaha! Kid, you've really made a name for yourself this time!"
A figure descended from the sky.
It was none other than the Golden Lion, Shiki!
Leno grinned when he saw him.
"Shiki, you showed up at just the right time!"
After speaking, he glanced around and asked, "By the way, where's that old man Redfield? Didn't he come with you?"
At the mention of the Red Count, Shiki sighed and shook his head.
"That guy? He's off searching for the Zoan-type Mythical Beast Fruit — the Bat-Bat Fruit, Vampire Model — the one he's always dreamed of."
"He said that if he can't find it, life's just too boring."
He paused, then pointed at the little creature perched on Domino's shoulder.
"Patton is temporarily entrusted to you. He wants you to look after her."
Leno froze for a moment, then understood.
No wonder. Shiki and Patton weren't exactly the same kind of people.
"Oh, right!" Shiki suddenly remembered something and grinned. "That old guy prepared a gift for you. Of course I, the Golden Lion, wouldn't forget!"
As he spoke, he pulled out an ancient-looking chest from who knows where and handed it to Leno.
Leno stared at the box, genuinely surprised.
"This… isn't that a bit much?" he said.
"Jie hahahaha!" Shiki roared with laughter. "Kid, are you getting shy? I'm telling you — this is good stuff!"
Without waiting for Leno to react, Shiki used the power of the Float-Float Fruit to lift both of them into the air.
Out of sight from those below, he lowered his voice.
With a trace of pride, he said, "Brat, this Devil Fruit — I busted my ass to get it during the battle at God Valley."
"I never found the right person for it. Today, you're the lucky one."
He looked at Leno with complicated emotions in his eyes.
It wasn't that he didn't want to eat it.
He simply couldn't.
And Shiki had no proper heirs, nor many subordinates with outstanding talent…
That was how this fruit ultimately ended up in Leno's hands.
Leno stared at the ancient chest Shiki was offering him, his eyes filled with shock.
A fruit from God Valley!
Among the nine Devil Fruits that were awarded at God Valley, not a single one was weak.
Anyone who consumed one of them would at the very least reach the level of a Yonko commander.
Of course, still not comparable to a single strand of Shakky's hair.
After all, the greatest prize there was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Ahem. Getting sidetracked.
Back in his previous life, netizens had speculated endlessly about which fruit it was and who obtained it.
But very few ever guessed that Shiki himself held one.
Who would've thought he not only had it — but had kept it all this time?
This was an enormous gift.
And one Leno simply could not refuse.
There were many Devil Fruits in the world — but truly powerful ones were only a handful.
As for the saying "There are no weak Devil Fruits, only weak users"…
That was something you just said to sound nice.
In the world of pirates, the fastest way to gain strength was absolutely by eating a Devil Fruit.
Right now, Leno's crew was painfully underpowered.
"This gift is a little too heavy…" Leno sighed inwardly.
Then he made a decision.
At the very least, for this alone, he would find a way to preserve Shiki's life in the future.
He took a deep breath and nodded seriously. "Shiki, this gift… I truly need it. I'll accept it."
He was about to say more in thanks, but Shiki cut him off.
"Jie hahahaha! That's more like it!"
Shiki slapped Leno's shoulder hard, making loud thudding sounds.
"A man shouldn't hem and haw. If you want something, take it! If you don't have it, steal it! What's with all that hesitation?!"
Leno smiled helplessly and swallowed his words.
Fine, fine. I'll remember this favor.
Looking at Shiki — with both legs intact and in high spirits — Leno felt that this was what a true great pirate should look like.
That crazed Flying Pirate with a ship's rudder stuck in his head? What kind of great pirate was that?
"Shiki, your legs… and your condition — what happened?" Leno asked directly.
Shiki's expression turned reflective.
"That's thanks to Patton."
"She seems to have once seen a user of the Op-Op Fruit somewhere before. So she created an illusion and used it to fix me up."
He stomped his foot. "These legs aren't the originals, but they work just fine — no different from my own!"
"I see." Leno nodded in realization.
A brief silence fell between them.
Then Shiki asked again, "Kid, what are you planning to do next?"
Leno didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Shiki, if you use the Float-Float Fruit to carry islands or people high into the sky, would top Observation Haki users below be able to detect it?"
Though puzzled, Shiki answered proudly, "If it's low and close, sure, they'll notice."
"But if we fly high enough, under normal circumstances, those guys won't keep their Observation Haki trained on the sky for no reason."
"Why?" he asked, looking at Leno curiously.
A smile curved Leno's lips.
"In that case… let's go back to Marineford."
"Go back?" Shiki blinked.
"That's right." Leno's eyes sharpened. "There's still one scene left unfinished. And… there's something I forgot to take."
Shiki paused — then burst into even louder laughter.
"Jie hahahahaha! Good boy! You run right after the fight, and now you're going back for a surprise counterattack! Bold! I like it!"
He was about to activate his ability when—
"Wait a moment." Leno raised a hand. "Let me give them some instructions first. And I'll bring along a 'tool' while I'm at it."
Shiki waved him off. "Fine. Battles between top-tier powerhouses don't end that quickly anyway. No rush."
Leno descended and walked over to his crew.
"Domino, I need to leave with Shiki for a bit. You stay here for now," he instructed.
Then he turned to the sharply dressed Kalifa.
"Kalifa, notify Blueno. Tell him to come here."
Kalifa pushed up her glasses and expressionlessly took out a Den Den Mushi.
That's right — the former members of CP9 had already been captured by Leno.
Using Kalifa as bait, he had successfully seized Rob Lucci and Kaku and tied them up.
As for Blueno, the user of the Door-Door Fruit, he had no choice but to obey Leno after his companions were taken hostage.
Extremely useful.
Otherwise, why would Leno have waited so long on an island near Marine Headquarters?
Before long—
An air door opened, and the tall Blueno stepped out silently.
He hadn't been much of a talker to begin with. Being forced to work for Leno made him even quieter.
Leno turned to Marco and the others.
"Marco, until I return, I'll leave them in your care."
Though full of questions about why Leno was heading back after just leaving, Marco still nodded.
"Don't worry. We've got this."
It wasn't that Leno trusted them unconditionally.
With little Patton around, the safety level was actually quite high.
If she conjured an illusion of Whitebeard, those division commanders combined wouldn't even be enough to withstand him.
After everything was arranged, Leno signaled to Shiki and Blueno.
"Let's go!"
Under the confused gazes of everyone present, the three of them slowly rose into the sky and drifted toward Marineford.
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