The Cruel Lion, Gather the Crew
Damn it!
From Roman sensing the formidable enemy to unleashing his full power and instantly killing the samurai 'True Striker' with a single sword strike, and then returning to the flagship on 'Razor,' only a few seconds passed! However:
"Let her go! Golden Lion— "
Facing the guy who descended from the sky, effortlessly knocking away numerous marines on the deck and then taking Nami hostage: This guy had a cloak of blond hair, a ship's wheel stuck in his bald head, and swords at his feet...
Roman recognized the other person's identity immediately from this appearance.
"Momo - 20x Speed Vibration Sword!"
Roman's longsword suddenly transformed into a hazy white light, enveloping his opponent! He wasn't prepared to engage in verbal sparring—even if he wanted to use words to buy time, he would at least wait until Nami was safe.
"Not bad swordsmanship,"
Faced with Roman's amazing swordsmanship, which had just instantly killed one of his subordinates who had defected from Kaido in Wano Country, Golden Lion merely raised his eyelids, sneered, and suddenly lifted his right foot!
The Golden Lion was once a renowned swordsman. Wielding his two famous swords, "Sakura Ten" and "Kareki," he held his own against Roger, Whitebeard, and others. Even after severing his own legs during his prison break and using his two famous swords as prosthetics, he remained invincible!
"Lion - Sharp Slash!"
A massive sword aura suddenly cleaved out! Fearlessly clashing with Roman's white sword light.
Click!
Roman, fighting with all his might, and Golden Lion, seemingly effortless, clashed, and the massive warship suddenly sank! The deck was sliced into a jumbled mess of geometric shapes! The surrounding sea roared and towering waves surged forth!
Even around the clashing weapons, streaks of dark 'light' exploded in the air, radiating outwards in all directions! That was none other than:
"Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki?"
Feeling the impact coming from his feet, the Golden Lion grinned, his expression cruel and arrogant.
"A mere Marine Major General possesses the qualifications of a 'king'? Isn't that just too ridiculous?"
"You old geezer!"
Although the initial exchange appeared evenly matched, Roman had already lost. —Because under Roman's enraged attack, his opponent stood on one leg to receive the blow! Simultaneously, his grip on Nami's arm remained firm, clearly demonstrating the difference in skill. Furthermore:
"Is this little girl very important to you?"
As Golden Lion slightly pushed Nami, who was being held by one arm, forward, Roman had to stop to avoid injuring Nami from the aftershocks of their clash! Facing Golden Lion's leg-blade thrust forward, Roman was still forced back.
"Golden Lion!"
Roman looked at the Great Pirates in front of him, who was said to have been silent for nearly twenty years, and couldn't understand why the other party had set his sights on him... no, he should say Nami.
If Roman remembers correctly, in the original story, it was Luffy's "luring monster" trait that attracted the opponent. Right now, the Straw Hat crew is all diligently leveling up and developing their characters, so how come this guy is still...?
"You were once a legendary Great Pirates who was on par with Roger and Whitebeard."
Since we can't beat them, let's try some verbal sparring:
"Instead of causing trouble for Sengoku and Garp, you're making things difficult for us juniors." Roman said, winking at Nami. "Don't you feel ashamed?"
'Use the Door-Door Page!'
'No, it won't work...'
?
"Hehehehehe!!!"
Faced with Roman's provocation, the Golden Lion simply threw his head back and laughed.
"I am a pirate!"
"Who cares about your sanctimonious reputation? Besides—"
The Golden Lion, holding Nami by one arm, raised its chin and looked arrogantly at Roman was now floating in mid-air with his wings spread.
"Don't expect this little girl to escape on her own. You've probably heard of Armament Haki being unleashed. — That's right, it's not only useful for attacking, but also for restraining Devil Fruit users!"
!?
Damn it, weren't you supposed to be suffering from dementia, your head stuck in a ship's rudder, half-dead after being double-teamed by Garp and Sengoku, and your strength greatly diminished after breaking your own legs? How come you're still...?
Tsk, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.
Even though Golden Lion is now riddled with hidden injuries and is old and weak, only slightly better off than Whitebeard, he's still not Roman could single-handedly defeat! Or rather:
"It is impolite not to reciprocate, and besides—"
With a flash, the towering figure of the Golden Lion, who had been immobilizing Nami with his Haki, appeared above Roman!
"I don't like looking up at people, get off the plane!"
"Lion - Slash!"
This strike, a blend of kicking and swordsmanship, descended! Spanning the sky with unparalleled power, it was like etching an insurmountable dividing line thousands of meters long into the ocean, for even nature itself momentarily succumbed to its might.
What's even more terrifying is that this sword strike is utterly devoid of any mercy; it exudes Haki and murderous intent! It possesses the Waver of a sword that can sweep away thousands of troops and devour the world like a lion.
"Air Door— "
Click click click!!
This sword strike could split the sea and shatter the sky! Yet Roman still managed to withstand it, the 'air' beneath his feet shattering like glass. That was the foothold he created using his ability, 'The Door-Door Page,' otherwise he would have been cleaved into the sea by the Golden Lion's sword long ago!
"Oh? You have quite a variety of Devil Fruit ability."
The Golden Lion's Haki pupils turned downwards, looking down at Roman.
"Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Ability, World's Momo ability..."
These were all powerful figures from the same era as the Golden Lion; he couldn't possibly not recognize their abilities. However:
"It's far inferior to the 'original' version."
Nonsense!
Roman, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth, curled his lip in resentment. "You old bastards! Wait two more years to develop... Never mind, expecting the enemy to wait for me to get stronger isn't realistic. What's important now is..."
Roman is determined to leave, and few in this world can stop him. But now Nami is being held hostage, and that...
"Hehehehe~~"
Noticing Roman's gaze, the Golden Lion's lips curled up into a smile.
"Emotions and hometown are just burdens."
Brush,
With a sudden slash, the 'Sakuragi' on his foot came crashing down. In the instant Roman raised his sword to block, the Golden Lion flipped over and pressed down, while Nami, whom he was holding hostage, simultaneously moved at high speed toward Roman's longsword!
?!
"Mean--"
Unfortunately Golden Lion is a cruel and ruthless pirate through and through! He doesn't mind using any means to achieve his goal.
In an instant, Roman instinctively withdrew his sword and retreated to avoid accidentally injuring Nami. But Golden Lion gave a cruel smile!
"See?"
"Lion - Sever Body!"
The longsword, imbued with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, slammed down fiercely.
Boom!!
A tremendous force came crashing down from above, and even when he tried to block it with his longsword, Roman was still overwhelmed by waves of excruciating pain! He held on with all his might.
At the same time, the clouds in the sky were torn apart, and the sea was split in two! A bottomless chasm was revealed, and Roman, unable to adjust his position, plummeted downwards. Amidst spurting blood, the Golden Lion suddenly flew down, landing with one hand on the water beside him.
"General."
!?
"Float - Viper!"
Boom--
The surrounding seawater instantly rushed into the ravine, causing a violent whirlpool and tsunami. Then, under the power of the Golden Lion, it subsided instantly, transforming into a surging current that pressed Roman firmly towards the seabed!
Roman, who was already severely injured by a sword, didn't even have time to react before his body was submerged by the overwhelming seawater! The last thing he saw was the arrogant Golden Lion carrying Nami and soaring into the sky.
Darkness descends!
··············
"Cough, cough!!"
As the seawater in his lungs was expelled, Roman gradually regained a sense of 'being alive,' and various noises began to ring in his ears.
"The boss is awake!"
"Get out of the way, don't crowd here—"
"Ship's doctor, quickly treat the captain..."
"I·····"
?!
Roman, who had just sat up from the deck, glanced around. His pale face looked even worse, which made Borgin and the others lower their heads in shame.
"Boss... we couldn't stop them from taking Colonel An away..."
"It's not your fault."
Coming to his senses, Roman waved his hand. While Borgin and Isca could be considered 'experts,' they were nothing more than easy targets, easily dispatched by the Golden Lion. Even Roman himself, caught off guard, hadn't realized...
No!
Roman shook his head, banishing that cowardly thought.
Even without Nami's influence, Golden Lion's strength was still beyond Roman could handle alone; in the end, it was just a matter of struggling a few more moves.
Did you fish me out of the water?
Looking at the listless group, it was already quite an achievement that Borgin and the others were able to rescue Roman had been pushed into the seabed, in the first place, after Roman and the Golden Lion clashed head-on with their unrestrained Conqueror's Haki's Haki.
Thanks.
"Boss! We..."
Facing the ashamed faces of the crowd, Roman slowly stood up.
"I told you, it's not your fault."
"I will handle Colonel Na... An's matter!"
As Roman awakens, the blood vial begins to replenish his life force. The Life Return starts mobilizing his body's muscles and internal organs to realign bones, expel blood stasis, and regenerate cells...
?!
"You guys handle the rest, I'm going to rest for a bit."
Faced with Roman, pale-faced and walking alone towards the cabin, both Borgin and Isca silently made way for him. —In their eyes, Roman, a young Marine Major General with top-tier strength and intellect, must be filled with uncontrollable anger and sorrow after being attacked by Great Pirates and having his girlfriend kidnapped right before his eyes...
"It's all our fault for being too weak!"
Borgin gritted his teeth and spoke with bitter resentment. If he didn't strive to become stronger, he wouldn't be able to protect anything when facing even stronger enemies...
"What are you all standing there for?!"
"Pack everything up and return to Marine Headquarters!"
In the cabin, Roman was not as dejected and sad as they had imagined, because:
"It's me, Roman."
"Roman!! Is something wrong with Nami?!"
Luffy's anxious voice suddenly came from the Den Den Mushi Paper.
?!
"What are you doing—"
"Don't ask us how we know, what's the situation on your end?"
Sanji's voice broke in.
"What happened? Why wasn't it properly protected...?"
"Cook, shut up!"
Zoro's calm voice interrupted Sanji's questioning.
"Do you know what you're saying? Roman is the most anxious person right now!"
"·····sorry,"
After Sanji apologized, Robin's intelligent voice came through the Den Den Mushi Paper.
"It's unbelievable that Mr. Roman would actually... We just received Nami's coded message, which translated to 'Roman is in danger, requesting rescue.' That's why we..."
"Hey, Roman!"
Usopp's voice joined in.
"Tell us who the enemy is! — Or do you think we'll be a hindrance?"
"Mr. Roman..."
"Waaaaah, Roman ~~~"
"Roman, this is not the time to remain silent..."
"Ha, no."
Sitting in the cabin, Roman, rubbing his forehead, had recovered from the blow of defeat because:
"I'm just calculating the best route to get you all together."
"··········"
"Hahaha, this is the perfect opportunity for you to see my new weapon—"
"Hmph, my knife is itching for a fight."
"Ahhh, I'll run straight there! Burn, gentlemanly spirit!"
"Mr. Roman is as reliable as ever~~"
"We'll wait for your plan."
"Mr. Roman, I'd go through fire and water for my comrades! Even if I'm just a skeleton now, ho ho ho~~"
"Hehehe, then what are we waiting for?"
Luffy's voice provided the final summary:
"Come pick me up, Roman!!"
······
"Okay, wait for me."
Friends, Nami, and—
Golden Lion!
P. S.: Golden Lion definitely Three Types of Haki; that goes without saying. I can only weaken him by addressing his hidden injuries, broken leg, and dementia...