In the sky, Shiki realized his slashes couldn't overpower Sora. He pressed his feet together, rising slightly.
The famed swords strapped to his legs, Sakura Ten and Kogarashi, aligned their tips, thrusting swiftly toward Sora.
Sora's eyes flashed red with Observation Haki. Gripping Zankuu with both hands, he slashed fiercely at the oncoming blades.
Clang!
A massive shockwave erupted from the clash, rippling outward in all directions.
"Not bad speed, but your Haki's too weak," Shiki taunted, laughing arrogantly. "Jihahahaha! Is this all you've got, kid?"
Sora felt his Haki crumbling at the point of impact, forcing him to pour more into his blade to protect Zankuu from damage.
"Old man, we're just warming up. Eager to see my limits? I'm afraid you can't handle it," Sora shot back, his face brimming with audacity. When it came to pride and bravado, no one in this world could outmatch him.
He'd never shown this side before—because no one had been worthy.
With a surge of strength, Sora pushed Shiki's blades back slightly, then slid his sword along them, slashing toward Shiki's chest.
Sparks flew as Zankuu grazed Shiki's swords. But Shiki's battle-honed instincts were razor-sharp. Twenty years of wielding blades with his feet had made them as deft as hands.
He kicked Zankuu aside with one sword, while the other stabbed unrelentingly toward Sora's head.
Sora dodged with a quick tilt, closing the distance. Flipping his blade, he aimed a heavy slash at Shiki's amputated legs.
Shiki laughed. "Think you can hit me, kid? You're nowhere close!"
"Jihahahaha!"
He drifted back, crossing his swords to effortlessly block Sora's strike.
Clang!
Shiki grinned at the collision. "Jihahahaha! With Haki this pathetic, how do you expect to fight me?"
"If this is your best, I'm disappointed."
He swung a swift kick at Sora.
Sora spun, parrying the slash.
Clang!
Their blades clashed and parted, only to collide again at blinding speed.
Clang! Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks erupted as Shiki's legs blurred into afterimages, his swords dancing. Sora's hands moved so fast they were nearly invisible.
Shockwaves from their clashes surged outward, forming a hurricane that shredded the thick clouds above, revealing a dozen floating islands.
With each exchange, Sora felt his Haki solidify. Unhurried, he used Shiki to refine his mastery.
Gradually, Shiki sensed something amiss.
This silver-haired brat's training his Haki off me.
With a powerful swing, he knocked Sora back, using the force to drift away.
"Kid, I'll give you this—your talent's among the best I've ever seen," Shiki admitted.
With a flick of his foot, he unleashed a massive golden slash.
Sora stood still, sidestepping only as the slash neared, dodging effortlessly.
Then, kicking the air with Geppo, he charged Shiki.
He had no interest in trading flying slashes—pointless posturing.
Shiki's face twisted into a feral grin as Sora closed in. His feet whipped into a frenzy, unleashing a barrage of golden crescent slashes.
"Lion: Thousand-Cut Valley!"
"Don't forget, kid, I'm a dual-sword great swordsman!"
These slashes were dozens of times stronger than his earlier ones.
Sora's eyes gleamed with starlight, tracking the golden storm.
He halted, sheathing Zankuu. A commanding aura surged from him, radiating supremacy.
"Conqueror's Haki?" Shiki gaped, stunned.
He knew that presence intimately. Before the rudder pierced his skull, he'd exuded this Haki constantly. Now, aged and mentally scarred, he could no longer summon it.
Sora gripped Zankuu's hilt with his right hand, leaning forward, left leg bent. A faint purple-black aura of Conqueror's Haki coiled around his arm, spreading like tendrils.
The aura writhed, reaching outward, but Sora's will compressed it into Zankuu's blade.
Unleashing his full power—purple lightning crackled around him.
He locked eyes with the golden slashes.
In an instant, he struck.
"God Slash!"
A colossal golden slash surged forth, cleaving toward the golden storm.
The collision was deafening, echoing across the heavens.
A blinding light pierced the sky, visible to all horizons.
As the light faded, the God Slash shredded the golden slashes, its momentum carrying it toward Shiki.
Staring at the massive golden slash, Shiki saw echoes of his old rival, Roger.
He'd once wielded such slashes himself—Conqueror's Haki infusion, achievable only by mastering it to its peak.
How Sora had mastered it, Shiki didn't know. But one thing was clear: Sora was now among the sea's elite.
Only Roger, Whitebeard, and Shiki in his prime had reached this level. Twenty years ago, neither Big Mom nor Kaido could.
Shaking his head, Shiki grinned savagely. "Impressive, kid, pulling off a slash like that."
"But you think that's enough to beat me?"
He roared with laughter. "Jihahahaha! Who do you think I am? I'm Golden Lion Shiki!"
He wouldn't yield. He couldn't.
Facing the oncoming slash, he tore his swords from his legs, gripping them in his hands.
"Kid, witness the true pinnacle of this world's slashes."
His hands blurred, unleashing two massive golden slashes to meet the golden one.
"Lion's Slash!"
His hand-wielded strikes were clearly a cut above.
Clang!
The golden and golden slashes clashed, deadlocked briefly, before soaring skyward.
With a boom, they sliced a small floating island in half, their force vanishing into the heavens.
Beasts roared as they plummeted from the severed island.
Ignoring them, Sora charged Shiki.
Clang!
Shiki casually raised a sword, blocking Sora's ferocious strike.
Face-to-face, Shiki's eyes blazed with menace. "Now, kid, feel the true gap between us."
Sora smirked. "Old man, I can fight like this for days. How long can you last?"
Veins bulged on Shiki's forehead. "Don't get cocky, brat! You think you know who I am?"
He shoved Sora back with a slash, drifting to the front of the falling island halves.
Reattaching his swords to his legs, he glared down at Sora.
Raising his right hand, he seized control of the bisected island, hurling it downward.
"Feel the power that'll conquer the seas!"
"Lion's Might: Earth Coil!"
The island halves morphed into two colossal lion heads, roaring thunderously.
With a gesture, they barreled toward Sora.
Sora swung two slashes, slicing the lion heads apart.
"Hm?"
He moved to charge Shiki again, but the lion heads reformed instantly, surging toward him undeterred.
(End of Chapter)