High above the skies, Shiki used his powers to control the ships and narrowly avoid Harald's slash.
At the same time, he finally got a clear look at Harald's current appearance—
His twisted, savage expression.
The black smoke pouring from his body.
And those demonic wings that should never have existed on his back.
In an instant, Shiki felt as though he had been dragged back several years into the past, returning to the events at God Valley in the West Blue.
That day, Rocks had suddenly transformed into the exact same state.
Afterward, he no longer recognized friend or foe, launching indiscriminate attacks against everyone around him before eventually dying there.
Although the truth behind it remained unknown, both Shiki and Newgate had privately believed afterward that Rocks had been controlled by someone.
And now, Harald's condition only confirmed Shiki's old suspicions even further.
"Harald! Dammit, you people are using these underhanded methods again..."
Murderous fury filled Shiki's eyes as he roared in rage.
He was an incredibly hypocritical man.
He never cared about using dirty methods himself, but the moment others used those same methods against him, he became furious about it.
Furthermore, although he had just called Rocks a "weakling," the truth was—as he had discussed while drinking with Newgate—Shiki held a deep, secret respect for the man Rocks once was.
Seeing Harald, who was as powerful as Rocks, trapped in the same predicament, how could he not be furious?
Once.
Twice.
And what about the future?
Would every great figure on this sea—including Shiki himself—eventually end up the same way?
Honestly speaking, a method like Imu's—stripping away a person's self-awareness and forcibly controlling them—would absolutely terrify every powerful figure in the world.
If given the chance, countless ambitious monsters across the seas would undoubtedly unite to destroy whoever possessed such power.
Because this directly threatened the interests of all strong people.
Even monsters like Rocks and Harald had suffered this fate.
So if someone else became too great a threat to the World Government someday...
Would they also become like this?
Neither human nor monster.
Stripped of all selfhood.
Reduced from proud conquerors into obedient puppets?
Who the hell could accept that?
Very quickly, a massive battle erupted between Shiki and Harald while the Flying Pirates began clashing against the Marines as well.
And that wasn't all.
From every direction, giant warriors came rushing toward the battlefield while roaring at the top of their lungs, clearly intending to aid their king against the enemy.
In an instant, full-scale war spread throughout the Sun World.
...
Back at the inn in West Village, Rayleigh looked toward everyone and asked:
"So? What's the plan?"
Anger flashed through Roger's eyes.
"What else is there to say?" he growled. "Harald's obviously being controlled. If we ignore him, he'll become a watchdog for the World Government, and Elbaf will turn into nothing more than a weapon of war for them to use!"
Gaban forced his exhausted, hunched body upright and declared firmly:
"I absolutely won't allow Ripley and the others to become tools for the World Government!"
"And we still haven't found the Road Poneglyph that might exist in Elbaf," Valthior added without hesitation. "So retreating isn't even an option."
The four core members of the Roger Pirates instantly reached a unanimous conclusion.
Fight.
"Seriously pisses me off," Roger cursed irritably. "That bastard Shiki came here specifically for us, and now we still have to work together with him."
Rayleigh laughed lightly.
"At God Valley, Garp came after us too, didn't he? Yet you two still ended up joining forces in the end. At this point, we don't really have a choice."
"How is that the same?" Roger immediately argued back. "Garp isn't a bastard like Shiki—"
Before he could finish, Valthior cut him off.
"Alright, alright, we get it. Stop making declarations of love for Garp already. Yes, yes, he's different, okay?"
Then his expression turned serious.
"Harald is obviously way stronger now than he was back at Whole Cake Island. Can't you see Shiki's already getting beaten like a dog? Hurry up and move!"
And it was true.
Shiki was under enormous pressure.
Harald had grown wings and was now freely flying through the skies, instantly robbing Shiki of the aerial superiority he usually relied on.
Not only that—
Harald had completely lost all sense of caution.
There wasn't even the slightest trace of defense in his fighting style anymore.
Every single attack was pure, overwhelming offense.
Shiki's brutal attacks struck Harald several times in a row, but Harald ignored every single one of them.
The savage wounds carved into his body regenerated almost instantly, healing so quickly that they barely affected him at all.
As a result, Shiki was being suppressed throughout the entire fight.
And it wasn't just him.
The Flying Pirates were in the same situation.
Silver Axe and Babel were certainly powerful fighters, but against two Marine Admirals like Sengoku and Zephyr, they were clearly at a disadvantage.
On top of that, more and more giant warriors kept flooding onto the battlefield.
Even Shiki's greatest advantage—his overwhelming military force—was collapsing in a one-sided rout.
It could honestly be said that not long after the battle started, Shiki's side was already struggling to withstand the pressure.
Just as Shiki smoothly dodged another slash from Harald and pulled back through the air to look for an opening—
His eyes suddenly lit up.
The gloomy expression on his face instantly transformed into excitement.
"Kamusari!" (Divine Departure!)
A terrifying slash suddenly flew toward Harald from behind.
Maybe Harald hadn't sensed it.
Or maybe his fighting style had simply become too reckless, relying completely on his immortal body without bothering to dodge.
Either way—
The Divine Departure strike landed directly on the demonic wings growing from Harald's back.
One of the massive wings was severed on the spot, falling from the sky while spewing black smoke.
At the same time, Harald lost his ability to fly.
His enormous body immediately lost balance and crashed downward from the sky.
Still, it was obvious to the naked eye that the wings were already regenerating at high speed. They would likely recover completely within moments.
But Shiki, as a top-tier monster, naturally wouldn't waste such an opportunity.
Both his arms swung violently as the famous blades in his hands erupted into countless dazzling sword flashes.
"Lion: Senkyoku!" (Thousand Sliced Valleys!)
Shiki's swordsmanship was clearly extraordinary, not inferior to Roger and the others at all.
His rapid combo exploded forward like a barrage cannon, unleashing countless dazzling yet terrifyingly sharp slashes in an instant.
Those dense waves of attacks caught up to the falling Harald and smashed into his body one after another, exploding into clouds of blood while forcing him violently toward the ground of Elbaf's Sun World.
BOOM!!!
Harald crashed into the earth, kicking up enormous clouds of dust and debris.
And at the exact moment the smoke erupted—
Shiki flipped through the air and suddenly raised one hand.
"Lion Prestige: Earth Burial!"
Although Elbaf was known as a nation built upon the World Tree, it still possessed vast layers of solid earth supporting the land itself.
And Shiki had clearly already affected the terrain long ago.
Under the influence of his power, the ground suddenly came alive.
The earth split open into a massive abyss, swallowing Harald whole before violently slamming shut again and flattening completely.
It looked exactly like Harald had been buried alive.
All of this happened in less than an instant.
After finishing that sequence of attacks, Shiki burst into loud laughter.
"Jihahahahaha! Roger! Never thought you'd actually help me!"
Roger, who had just leapt into the air moments earlier, immediately replied with complete disgust on his face:
"I'm helping Harald, not you! Don't flatter yourself, Shiki!"
Naturally, Shiki understood what Roger meant by "helping him by beating him."
He didn't bother continuing the argument and instead asked seriously:
"What exactly is happening here? Back in the West Blue, didn't you say Rocks turned into this same state and lost himself?"
The two had once encountered each other in the West Blue and shared drinks together, so Shiki already knew that it had been Roger and Garp joining forces to defeat the corrupted Rocks.
"That's right," Roger answered grimly. "It's a dark power hidden behind the World Government. We've spent these past years searching for a way to resist it. Harald has clearly fallen victim to the same thing..."
"Can he be brought back to his senses?" Shiki asked directly. "I still wanted him to join me in killing you."
Roger: ???
Are you even speaking a human language?
"For now? No," Roger answered seriously. "He already possesses immortality now, and those wings have grown out too. I don't have any good solutions left. We'll have to deal with this head-on."
"Like when you and Garp joined forces against Rocks back then?" Shiki asked while narrowing his eyes slightly.
"That's right..." Roger nodded. "But this situation might be even worse than back then."
Back then, Rocks had merely been forcibly corrupted and controlled.
But Harald had actually signed a contract.
Even Roger had no idea what kind of terrifying consequences that would bring.
Seeing this, Shiki spat out the cigar clenched between his teeth before speaking coldly:
"Then we've got no choice."
His eyes sharpened.
"Let's join forces and kill him!"
The moment those words left his mouth—
A gigantic arm suddenly burst through the earth like a corpse clawing its way out of a grave.
The ground exploded apart as Harald forcibly broke free from beneath the surface.
And at that exact instant—
A freezing storm swept across the battlefield.
Terrifying ice slammed into Harald's massive body before he could fully escape the ground's restraints, instantly freezing him into a gigantic ice sculpture.
Immediately afterward, Rayleigh flashed across the frozen surface while drawing his sword with a furious roar.
"Higanbana Saku: Meiso!" (Equinox Flower Blooms: Dark Burial!)
Just as Rayleigh's slash was about to split Harald cleanly in half—
A massive figure suddenly appeared in front of the attack with a burst of speed.
It was Zephyr.
His fist, wrapped in powerful Haki, smashed directly into the incoming slash.
BOOM!!!
The attack shattered instantly.
Zephyr stood firmly in front of Rayleigh and said calmly:
"It's been a long time, Rayleigh... your sword strikes are still as fierce as ever."
Rayleigh stopped in place after being blocked and replied with a solemn expression:
"And your fists are still just as hard, Zephyr."
...
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