Victory! Golden Lion's New Target! The Shichibukai and the Giants!

Boom!

The sky and the sea are boiling.

Thunder and flames, raging winds and lava, a continuous roar of various elements.

That isolated island, which served as the battlefield, has been completely sunk.

The two spectators had to retreat several nautical miles away to ensure they wouldn't be swallowed up by the raging natural disaster.

Even with such astonishing destructive power, Red, who continuously used Geppo to levitate and maintain his levitation, still offered this assessment.

"Its power is much weaker than when we fought the Five Elders."

The intensity and frequency back then were on a completely different level compared to now.

Kaido said nonchalantly, "Roa's fighting strength is greatly affected by the environment. Simply put, the more people there are, the stronger he becomes."

"Besides, isn't that enough already?"

That's certainly enough. In the distance, the fierce battle between Roa and the Golden Lion continues in the sky.

All sorts of natural disasters were unleashed by Roa upon the Golden Lion's head.

They didn't expect these attacks to cause any fatal damage to the Golden Lion. As long as they could slow down his movements, weaken his stamina, and inflict some injuries, that would be enough!

Just like when we fought Roger!

Very effective.

With the aid of these natural disasters, Roa wielded his twin swords, leaving wounds on the Golden Lion's body.

He was also slashed by the Golden Lion, bleeding profusely, but his injuries were healing rapidly, and he remained in a state of minor injury for most of the time.

So.

"Ho--Ho--Ho--"

The Golden Lion's panting sounded like a broken bellows, squeezing out muffled sounds from deep within its throat.

Blood was gushing from his body, and his face was as pale as paper. "He's... utterly shameless..."

The immortality of the Divine Knight can at least be temporarily suppressed by Conqueror's Haki.

Now, no matter what kind of attack or injury Roa, he is recovering rapidly, and nothing can stop him.

Unless one can defeat Roa in a very short time, or simply strike a vital point and kill him instantly, it's really hard for Golden Lion to imagine how he could possibly defeat Roa!

But even that mysterious Celestial Dragons woman probably doesn't possess that kind of power, right?

She does indeed possess power surpassing that of Roa, but she could never defeat Roa without any resistance.

As long as he can still resist, Roa can recover and stall for time.

"Uncle Shiki,"

Roa also bore injuries that hadn't fully healed; his clothes were tattered and he was covered in blood, but his condition was much better than Golden Lion's.

"Isn't it about time to end this?"

"Ha! Well then, let's welcome my lion 'Lion's Fang!!"

With his battered body, the Golden Lion launched a final charge, his surging Haki leaping into thick, Haki Inazuma as he swung his sword!

Then, a brilliant golden light surged forth, suddenly transforming into a gigantic lion's head that crushed the sky, its gaping maw revealing sharp fangs, and it lunged directly at Roa.

"That suits me perfectly!"

Roa's laughter thundered as he swung his twin swords, "Tiger Devour!"

A dark red current of energy spread out like a tidal wave, and then in the next instant, it transformed into an enormous, ferocious tiger!

The next moment, the two enormous creatures, one gold and one red, collided violently.

Boom!

The atmosphere trembled, and the powerful shockwave instantly turned the area where the two monsters clashed into a vacuum. Moreover, the residual force spreading down from the sky alone caused the sea to cave in, forming a huge basin on the surface.

"Ugh!"

Red, who was watching the battle, was blown away; the extremely turbulent airflow rendered his Geppo completely unusable.

He could only grab the cloud beneath Kaido's feet to avoid being blown away into the heavens.

"That's really outrageous!"

Kaido gazed at the lion and tiger locked in a fierce struggle and couldn't help but let out a cold snort.

Those two bastards are way too strong!

From this perspective, when Roa fought me last time, he was just toying with me!

"However, it seems it's finally over."

Red's face also showed amazement, "That's incredible, Roa is really going to win."

In the sky, the battle between the lion-headed lion and the ferocious tiger was drawing to a close.

The lion's head is ultimately just a head, merely a strangely shaped Flying Slash that goes straight and without much variation.

The dark red, ferocious tiger, though also slashing, now resembled a true beast, agile and fierce, grabbing the lion's head and tearing with its claws and biting with its fangs.

Finally, under such a ferocious attack, the Golden Lion shattered and dissipated into countless points of light.

The Golden Lion's blood-blurred eyes saw only a burst of golden light ahead, followed by a dark red shadow that suddenly crushed towards him.

His trembling hands instinctively tried to swing his sword to fight back.

However, the tiger had already opened its mouth wide and swallowed him whole.

"Roar!"

After swallowing the Golden Lion, the enormous, dark red creature roared triumphantly to the sky like a real tiger.

Roa beckoned to it, and the enormous creature leaped toward Roa like a kitten, its body disintegrating in the process.

In the end, only the Golden Lion, its body even more mangled, flew into Roa's hands.

The Crimson Tiger was essentially a special slash, infused with Blood Qi and various elements. Roa then injected his willpower into it and controlled it, bringing it to life in a true sense.

Because it was a slashing attack, the Golden Lion suffered even more deep wounds.

Although he hasn't lost consciousness yet, he is clearly no longer capable of fighting.

The Golden Lion strained to open its eyes, but Roa before it still appeared somewhat blurry.

We lost.

A complete and utter defeat.

This kid has grown to the point where he can truly look down on me!

This was actually expected, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

No wonder this kid never accepted any offers of recruitment from the start.

Because he knew from the very beginning that it wouldn't be long before he would rise above everyone else.

How lucky! That bastard Rocks picked up Roa when he was at his weakest and made him the only captain he ever recognized.

"What a thrilling battle, Uncle Shiki!"

Roa raised the corners of his mouth and spoke with a smile.

"Yes, it was you who won."

The Golden Lion was having some difficulty speaking, but a strange smile appeared on his blood-stained face.

"But, but Roa, it's not over yet. Who will ultimately seize, seize this world? We'll just have to wait and see..."

After a brief period of bewilderment due to failure, another strange emotion suddenly spread through the heart of the Golden Lion.

The kid who had been taught by him since childhood had surpassed him, and amidst his resentment, there was another subtle emotion.

This brat is my own disciple!

He did not disappoint his teachers!

This feeling of pride didn't last long, and was quickly replaced by another emotion.

Roger may be dead, but there's still Roa!

This guy has become even stronger Roger!

His subordinates also possessed qualifications surpassing those of the Roger Pirates!

That's wonderful, Roa! It's amazing that you've become so strong! Now I don't feel like I've lost my purpose!

"Seeing that you can still say something like that, Uncle Shiki, makes me feel relieved."

Roa raised the corners of his mouth. "But if we absolutely have to determine who's better, I suggest we wait until we've conquered the world."

"Heh... hahaha... hahaha..."

The Golden Lion just smiled.

Roa laughed along.

It seems that he has indeed completely replaced Roger as Uncle Shiki's goal.

However, their relationship does seem to have become closer.

"You've been beaten up like this and you still want to compete with Roa? Who are you trying to make laugh out of?"

Kaido arrived riding on clouds, his tone full of mocking laughter.

"I don't want to talk to an idiot who doesn't even have the right to compete."

Although the Golden Lion was weak, it did not lose any ground in its speech.

"What?"

Kaido flew into a rage, "You bastard, do you have a death wish?"

"Alright, Big Brother Kaido, Uncle Shiki is injured, don't worry about him,"

Roa smiled and smoothed things over, "Besides, we share the same goal, so there's no need for us to argue."

"Snort!"

Kaido then gave a soft snort, indicating that he would not pursue the matter further.

"But it's actually gotten this strong? Roa,"

Red's tone was full of amazement, "You even easily defeated Shiki. Among all the pirates in the world, there shouldn't be anyone stronger than you, right?"

"Just to correct you, Red,"

Roa said seriously, "Although we won, it wasn't easy at all. I got slashed all over by Uncle Shiki! Second, don't make me repeat myself, I stopped being a pirate nine years ago!"

Red just smiled.

Although the battle appeared to be evenly matched on the surface, the final outcome was a one-sided affair.

From the very beginning, Roa had no reason to fail.

Furthermore, although he always claims that he has long since stopped being a pirate, who on the high seas wouldn't consider Roa Adam a pirate?

As he thought this, Red looked at the Golden Lion, his eyes full of schadenfreude. "You really think you have the ability to compete with Roa? Shiki, what makes you think you can compete with Roa? If Roa hadn't shown mercy, you would be dead by now, or one of your insignificant underlings?"

Here we go again? Red, don't hate him too much.

Uncle Shiki only chased you around like a dog for a year, didn't he?

Can't you be a little more generous?

Roa coughed lightly, continuing to smooth things over, "Don't say that. Uncle Shiki's pirates are quite strong, for example, uh..."

Roa suddenly got stuck.

Who are Uncle Shiki's current key figures?

I can't remember at all!

"Hehehehe!"

Kaido laughed heartily, "Powerful officers don't just appear out of thin air!"

Even he could laugh at Golden Lion for this.

Compared to the obscure executives under the Golden Lion, his subordinates Hanafusa and Saine are at least genuinely strong!

Red smiled as well, "There aren't many truly powerful pirates to begin with. The unruly ones are all concentrated in the waters around Roa, running rampant. Those willing to join others have already chosen their targets. The rest are all in Impel Down. Shiki, stop daydreaming."

Um?

The Golden Lion, who was initially annoyed by Kaido and Red's words, suddenly paused.

Impel Down?

Hiss!

Yes, Impel Down!

Why didn't I think of that before!

Roa had no idea what Golden Lion was thinking. He said, "Alright, we've fought side by side so many times, stop with the sarcastic remarks. Let's take Uncle Shiki to get treatment first."

Almost simultaneously with the end of the battle here.

In Pangaea, Mary Geoise Pangea Castle, the Five Elders, having just finished their ordeal, hurried back to their offices.

All five were in a sorry state, their clothes completely soaked with sweat, but they didn't dare spend even a moment longer to change.

If Lord Imu gets angry again, then no one can save them.

"I didn't expect that even Lord Imu's personal intervention this time couldn't stop Roa and the others."

Ju Peter, with his blond hair, spoke with a hint of melancholy, "Those damned pirates are way too strong, especially that bastard Roa!"

Mentioning Roa, the other four Five Elders couldn't help but show expressions of lingering fear.

He single-handedly routed the five of them; if Lord Imu hadn't personally arrived, the situation would have definitely deteriorated beyond control.

The Knight of God is indeed unkillable, but with Roya free to join forces with the other pirates, taking down Cap Zephyr and the two rising stars of the Marines would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

In that case, the navy would be completely finished.

Thankfully, Lord Imu arrived, preventing the situation from escalating to that point.

But the price was that Lord Imu was humiliated.

Since that lord had been humiliated, his subordinates could only atone for their sins.

"Lord Imu said he wanted Roa dead, but given the power that bastard has displayed, conventional methods are absolutely impossible."

The swords had been taken away by Roa. The bald swordsman Nusjuro, said in a deep voice, "We need to stick to the original plan and get his men to cooperate with us!"

"The problem is that we can't even get in touch with anyone around Roa!"

The bald, mustachioed Warcury gritted his teeth, "That bastard is homeless, surrounded only by his core officers and androids. He's kept the giant legions and the Mink Tribe legions in various bases! Even Stussy can't get close to his inner circle!"

"The Shichibukai plan needs to be officially launched! Ochoku and the others are the closest people to Roa that we can contact!"

Satan said, "And coincidentally, Lord Imu said he wants to acquire more combat power."

I second that!

Mars, with his long beard, nodded slightly. "Roa and Golden Lion are getting Kaido close. Ochoku and the others have no reason not to be alarmed. Moreover, and most importantly, our people have discovered that Ochoku seems to have played some role in the battle a year ago when Golden Lion was defeated by Roger!"

"Then let's do it!"

Warcury made the final decision, "Let's have a proper talk with these scumbags. We can accept anything as long as it's not too outrageous, as long as they help us deal with Roa! And, incidentally, help us deal with the world that's about to go berserk!"

"Furthermore, speaking of combat strength,"

Ju Peter said, "Shouldn't we also try contacting Elbaf? Roa can help the Giant Kingdom establish connections with other countries, humph, do you think he can compare to us? Harald, that guy, he's always wanted Elbaf to join the World Government, hasn't he?"

Agreed!

"Then let's advance on two fronts!"