But Shiki wasn't finished yet.
The legendary pirate, who had been supporting himself on the ground with both hands, suddenly floated into the air. Stretching both arms forward, he charged directly at Ash and Sali.
His objective was obvious.
If he could touch their clothes, even briefly, he could use the Float-Float Fruit's power to manipulate them and disrupt their movements at a critical moment.
Against most opponents, this combination of Conqueror's Haki, water interference, flying blades, and close-range Devil Fruit manipulation might have succeeded.
Unfortunately for Shiki, he was facing Ash, one of the strongest individuals in the world, and Sali, whose awakened Devil Fruit powers had already surpassed the level of an Emperor.
Faced with the sneak attack, both of them even had enough time to exchange a glance.
The next moment, Sali casually raised a hand.
The surging waves rushing toward them instantly froze solid.
Although Oto and Kogarashi weren't frozen within the ice, their momentum slowed ever so slightly.
That tiny delay was all Sali needed.
As the two famous blades reached her, she simply reached out and caught them.
It looked less like she had intercepted an attack and more like she had recalled her own weapons.
Yet as her fingers wrapped around the hilts, Ash's earlier comment about athlete's foot resurfaced in her mind.
A faint look of disgust appeared on her face.
Meanwhile, Ash had already made his move.
A layer of Space Barrier wrapped around his leg as he stepped forward and delivered a precise kick directly into Shiki's kidney.
Boom!
Before Shiki's fingertips could even touch either of them, his entire body shot backward at several times his original speed.
He smashed through a wall and disappeared into a cloud of rubble.
Ash stared at the collapsed structure.
Then his eyes widened.
"Holy crap!"
"My Supreme Grade Ship's Wheel!"
Sali's face darkened.
While pulling out her Den Den Mushi to contact Dicken, she glanced at Ash.
"Ash, I've noticed something."
"What?"
Ash asked casually while using his spatial ability to drag the unconscious Shiki back through the air.
Sali looked at the battered pirate, then at the island beneath them, which had already begun descending toward the sea.
Calling Dicken now was obviously unnecessary.
Pouting slightly, she put the Den Den Mushi away.
"You really enjoy kicking people in the kidneys."
"How many have you folded in half at this point?"
Ash laughed awkwardly.
"Do I?"
"Probably just coincidence."
Feeling the island slowly sinking beneath them, he simply floated in place and continued chatting.
"Putting that aside, Shiki actually tried using water against us."
"Did he forget your freezing abilities exist?"
"And speaking of that, how did you beat him before I arrived?"
"The fight ended surprisingly fast."
Sali watched him converse casually while simultaneously snapping Shiki's neck and reducing everything below it to ashes with a burst of flames.
The smoothness of the process made the corner of her mouth twitch.
Unlike Ash, she couldn't completely relax.
There were still numerous civilians living throughout Merveille.
Ignoring his question for the moment, Sali entered her awakened state and punched the ground beneath her feet.
Crack!
An enormous wave of frost erupted outward.
Moments later, Merveille's descent stopped completely.
The underside of the island rapidly became encased in a gigantic mass of ice connected directly to Sali herself.
Using her flight ability and immense strength, she effectively became the island's anchor.
Slowly guiding the island downward, she scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"You once mentioned how Kaido could use Flame Clouds to lift entire islands."
"I've studied the concept for a long time, but I still can't fully understand it."
"With enough power, lifting an island isn't difficult."
"But keeping one suspended indefinitely without physically supporting it should be tied directly to the Devil Fruit's nature, similar to Shiki's ability."
Ash considered it carefully.
"That makes sense."
"Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon naturally controls clouds."
"In myths, dragons ride the clouds."
"His Flame Clouds are probably similar to the Island Clouds found in Skypiea. They physically support the island while he controls their movement."
Sali nodded thoughtfully.
"In that case, Nami should experiment more with creating and controlling different cloud types."
Ash rubbed his chin.
"That's worth trying."
Then he waved dismissively.
"Anyway, you still haven't explained how you beat Shiki."
Sali shrugged.
"He was the first major opponent I've fought since awakening my Devil Fruit."
"So I wanted to test my current strength properly."
"At first the battle was fairly interesting."
"The Float-Float Fruit is versatile."
"He created giant lions made from wind, water, and earth to attack me."
"So naturally I activated my awakened state."
"Then something strange happened."
"He suddenly froze."
"He kept muttering things like, 'That cloud... that form...'"
"And while he was distracted, I punched him."
Ash blinked.
"That was enough?"
"Of course not."
"The old man flew backward, recovered immediately, then launched over a dozen flying slashes."
"While I avoided them, he manipulated a waterfall he'd cut apart and transformed it into countless floating spheres of water."
"He was trying to trap me."
Ash immediately recognized it.
"Oh, that move."
Sali rolled her eyes.
"The problem was that the water spheres floated ridiculously slowly."
"I wasn't interested in watching him perform."
"So I rushed him."
"I kicked his legs hard enough to knock Oto and Kogarashi away."
"Then I punched him in the face twice."
"He dropped to his knees."
Ash couldn't help laughing.
As they continued talking, the remaining floating islands gradually stabilized.
Across the sky, the recruits under Dicken's command had successfully completed their assignments as well.
With the crisis resolved, Ash stored Shiki's head inside his ring.
There was nothing left to do.
He was already thinking about returning to Gourmet Island and finishing his barbecue feast.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Oh right."
"Wasn't there a doctor and that gorilla-like companion following Shiki around?"
"Why didn't I see their bodies?"
Sali curled her lip.
"The doctor's footsteps sounded ridiculous."
"Dicken's Green Wind poison turned him into a puddle before he could accomplish anything."
"As for the other one, he got dragged down with him."
"After Shiki's floating water spheres crashed everywhere, the remaining traces were washed away."
"So naturally there's nothing left to find."
Ash nodded.
"Fair enough."
"I'm heading back."
As he spoke, Shusui appeared in his hand.
"One more thing."
"The animals on these islands were altered by Shiki's experiments."
"When the islands land, keep them away from populated areas."
"Understood."
"I'll arrange proper settlements for both the islanders and those oversized creatures."
Thus, following Gol D. Roger, Edward Newgate, and Kaido, another legend reached his end.
Golden Lion Shiki had fallen.
The age of legends continued to fade.
Main Mission Progress: Devil Fruit Collection
82 / 500
---
Back on Gourmet Island, the barbecue restaurant owner had fully embraced Ash's appetite.
During Ash's absence, mountains of food had accumulated across several tables.
The owner pointed proudly at the feast.
"Everything you ordered is ready."
"That barrel of fruit wine beside the table is complimentary."
"Enjoy yourself."
Ash immediately grinned.
"Thanks, Boss."
"That's incredibly generous."
As he devoured the food, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Whitebeard was dead.
Kaido was dead.
Now Shiki was gone as well.
Among the surviving remnants of the Rocks Pirates, only Charlotte Linlin, Wang Zhi, Miss Bakkin, Silver Axe, and Longbread remained.
Big Mom and Longbread were trapped within Totto Land.
There was no rush there.
Miss Bakkin and Edward Weevil had disappeared after failing to gain recognition through the Seven Warlords system and attracting unwanted Marine attention.
They had been hiding ever since.
Fortunately, Ash already had a rough idea where they might be.
Wang Zhi remained entrenched on Hachinosu after failing to establish dominance over the New World.
Only Silver Axe remained completely missing.
Still, there was no need to rush.
The Dawn would continue sailing.
One island after another.
One pirate after another.
Eventually they would all be dealt with.
After all, the mission sitting in front of him was nowhere near completion.
And judging by the numbers, it wouldn't be completed anytime soon.
===
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