Did Golden Lion Win? Was Luffy Defeated?
East Blue, floating restaurant, Baratie.
"Hahaha, I knew Sanji would easily take down that Masira! See, I was right!"
"Tch! As if you're the only one who thinks that way. We all think the same way!"
"Exactly! But then again, Sanji is really pitiful; he didn't even get a chance to hug the beauty in the end, hahaha."
"Who says otherwise! Besides, since this guy is still thinking about all those ladies from the East Blue, which one of them is actually his? He's just dreaming!"
"..."
"..."
Hearing the employees downstairs teasing Sanji, Red-Leg Zeff couldn't help but smile, muttering with a hint of anticipation, "I wonder when Sanji will bring me a daughter-in-law?!"
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.
"Bellemere, I told you to trust the Straw Hat Luffy Pirates! Look, now only that guy called Golden Lion is left!" Nojiko exclaimed excitedly.
"What do you mean 'only that guy named Golden Lion is left'?!" Bellemere sneered, saying, "He almost wiped out the Straw Hat Luffy Pirates before, do you really think that guy named Luffy can stop him?!"
However, although she said that, her tone was much softer than before.
"Just you wait and see! That Straw Hat Luffy is really strong; he'll definitely be able to defeat that Golden Lion," Nojiko confidently stated.
The Grand Line, Alabasta Kingdom, inside the Royal Palace.
"Great! Now only that Golden Lion is left! Luffy, go for it!" Vivi jumped up and down with joy, saying...
The Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago, and the Shakky's Rip-off Bar of Shakky.
"Golden Lion is probably going to suffer a huge loss this time!" Rayleigh said while drinking his wine.
"Huh? You didn't think this way when you faced that choice with the God from Beyond the Domain! You voted for the Golden Lion without hesitation!" Shakky rolled her eyes at him and said, "How come you suddenly have this opinion now?!"
"The past is the past, and the present is the present. If you keep treating the past as the present, then there will never be a new era," Rayleigh explained.
"Ha! You've said all the nice things! But I still quite like what you said, after all, I'm a fan of Luffy!" Shakky said, resting her chin on her hand. "Luffy, Luffy!"
The New World, Red Force.
"Great! Now only that wretched Golden Lion is left! Luffy, you'll definitely be able to take him down."
"Of course! That's Luffy! Let's cheer for Luffy!"
"Luffy, Luffy! Beat that Golden Lion Shiki to a pulp!"
"Luffy, Luffy!"
"..."
"..."
"Luffy, Luffy!" Shanks said, sipping his drink and echoing the cheers of his crew.
In the video footage, Luffy and Golden Lion's battle raged from the main island above all the way down to the secondary island below, with neither gaining the upper hand for a time.
Suddenly, the video paused, and the system text appeared. "Multiple choice question: Who will be the final victor in this battle?!"
"I. The Flying Pirates, Captain: Golden Lion Shiki."
"II. The Straw Hat Pirates, Captain – Monkey D. Luffy."
Please choose one of the two options above as your answer to this question. I will randomly select one person from among those who choose correctly and give them a mystery gift.
"This multiple-choice question has a time limit of one minute."
"Next, I will be opening a free comment period for one minute. You can send your options to the screen."
"Now, select 'Begin'."
The screen was immediately flooded with a large number of numbers {one}, but soon, the number {two} followed suit.
For a moment, the numbers {one} and {two} were evenly matched, just like the battle between Golden Lion and Luffy in the video.
Most people who chose the number {one} believed that since Golden Lion was able to defeat most of the Straw Hat Pirates by himself, dealing with Luffy alone this time would be a piece of cake.
Those who chose the number two believed that Luffy hadn't used his full strength last time, and this time, with Gear Second, he would definitely have a chance to defeat Golden Lion.
Of course, there are also some people who are simply blindly supporting Luffy.
Most of these people came from the East Blue, as well as from the Straw Hat Pirates' friends and family.
The one-minute free comment period passed quickly.
The video feed returned to normal, with Golden Lion floating on the edge of the main island, looking down at Bili Luffy he caught up, and saying, "It's about time to settle this, kid."
"Cutting Waves!"
The next second, he swung the knife on his foot and cleaved through a section of seawater floating on the edge of the main island.
The seawater immediately shattered into countless clumps in the air, blocking Luffy and Bili's path as they flew up, surrounding them.
Immediately afterwards, Golden Lion activated his power, bringing the countless clumps of water back together, enveloping Luffy and Bili, along with the bird, inside.
As a Luffy instantly lost his fighting ability, and Bili was in no better shape. Unable to withstand the intense pressure difference, Billy's eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
Golden Lion then controlled the large mass of water that had been joined together, causing it to split apart again, leaving only the central area where Luffy and Bili had already fainted, were left alone with a bird.
He immediately floated down, looking smugly at the person and bird in the water, and said, "Hehehe, kid, the battle is over!"
As soon as Golden Lion finished speaking, his Den Den Den Mushi rang. The caller was his navigator squad.
The Den Den Mushi told him in a very anxious tone that a storm was coming and that he should move the island eastward.
The Golden Lion immediately looked up at the pitch-black sky. Without the slightest hesitation, he obeyed his navigator squad's orders and steered the islands eastward.