The Island Floating in the Sky, the Flying Pirate's Arrival

For the doubts in Kyros and the others' minds, Minos gave them no answer—after all, wasn't it fine now that the leg had healed? Why ask so many questions?

However, Kyros himself was incredibly excited. For a warrior, the use of a leg far outweighed that of a hand. When Crocodile lost a hand and fitted a hook, his combat power recovered by seventy or eighty percent, with basically no major impact.

Kyros was different. Losing a leg, especially including the knee and part of the thigh, left him with no point of leverage in battle. At the same time, his mobility was severely restricted, and his combat power was cut by more than half.

With his full recovery, Kyros, purely in terms of combat ability, was no worse than Minos in his normal state—at most, he fell slightly short in Observation Haki. If Minos didn't transform into the Evil Eye King, he might not necessarily be able to defeat him.

This was the only method Minos had thought of to boost combat strength. The backlash from the World Consciousness was bound to come sooner or later, but Minos already felt a vague sense of crisis, knowing it couldn't be delayed much longer.

Since he couldn't increase his own power, he would boost his subordinates' instead. An extra combatant meant an extra sliver of hope.

The other benefit was earning the gratitude of Kyros and Violet. Originally, the two of them under Minos had only a standard superior-subordinate relationship.

Violet and Kyros certainly had no good impression of the Big Mom Pirates. They had joined only for shelter, and while their moral standards were high enough to guarantee loyalty, asking them to go all out and risk their lives was out of the question.

Now, things were different. Kyros felt deeply indebted, and though he didn't dare say outright that he was selling his hundred-odd pounds of flesh to Minos, it was close enough to that meaning.

Minos didn't feel any sense of unearned guilt about this. In truth, the Holy Grail had not only healed Kyros's severed leg but also mended his old hidden injuries, restored the vitality lost in battle and training, and even brought him back to the most vigorous age of his life.

To some extent, the current Kyros was absolutely more than a cut above his pre-amputation self. It's just that these effects weren't so easy to see. (Tianlai Novel Network)

After Kyros's injuries healed, Minos didn't lead the group away from Sleepy Town—it was safer near the island. If they took a ship, who knew where the World Consciousness would toss them?

But by the second night, driven by an intense sense of crisis, Minos knew danger was likely coming again.

From the dim night sky, a strange ship drifted down, accompanied by a sound of "Jihahahahaha!" The entire Sleepy Town, and even the whole island, began to tremble.

"What's going on, Captain Minos?" Kyros looked up at the sky and asked in surprise.

At that moment, Violet, Baby5, and Talon were all asleep. Though they were now awake, they hadn't fully reacted yet and were still in their rooms.

Only Kyros, thanks to the Holy Grail's effects, was brimming with energy and stamina. Having gone so long without training after losing his leg, he had been practicing his swordsmanship on the deck.

"Ah... we've run into trouble again." Minos sighed and spoke.

A ship flying in the sky, a "jihaha" laugh, and the ship and island now trembling and even rising—Minos knew exactly who was coming.

It was another character from the movies, a Great Pirate of the previous generation: Golden Lion Shiki!

Speaking of Luffy's movies, these previous-generation Great Pirates had almost all been beaten down—Count Red, Golden Lion, the Demon Heir, the World Destroyer, and the like.

But theoretically, these guys' strength wasn't much weaker than the Four Emperors. They were probably like a group of old, weak, and crippled Four Emperors.

All you could say was that movie-version Luffy had cheats. As for Minos, he definitely couldn't beat Golden Lion.

Come to think of it, Minos had originally hoped the World's backlash might show some basic decency, only spawning opponents slightly stronger than their current combat power. But no—every time, it sent top-tier fighters!

Golden Lion was just unlucky, missing the version update and thus lacking Haki. But in the real world, whether Golden Lion actually had Haki or not, Minos couldn't say for sure.

Even if the rudder stuck in his head had cost him his Haki, with just his swordsmanship and Devil Fruit ability, beating Minos would still be like an adult fighting a child.

By then, the others in the pirate ship had come out. The entire ship had already started rising into the air, and Minos had no intention of struggling—struggle for what? Jumping into the sea was probably more dangerous than being dragged up by Golden Lion.

"If my guess is right, we're now facing the legendary Great Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!" Minos said directly.

It wasn't yet ten years later, when Luffy would set sail. Less than ten years had passed since Golden Lion was defeated by Garp and Sengoku, so the others still knew who he was.

"You mean the one who nearly pushed Pirate King Roger to the brink?" Baby5 gasped, trembling all over, almost bursting into tears. "Then aren't we dead for sure this time?"

"Who knows? We'll see when the time comes."

Minos said a word. By now, the ship was flying faster and faster, already over a thousand meters above the sea—too late to jump.

"By the way, Baby5. Can you transform into the Bat Fighter now?" Minos glanced at Baby5 and asked.

"Ah!?" Baby5 was slightly stunned. "Probably. I think I've pretty much mastered the design."

"Good!" Minos nodded slightly, then looked at Violet. "Once we're on Golden Lion's turf, please follow my orders. Don't reveal your abilities first."

Violet and Kyros both nodded. Talon scratched his head stupidly. "Minos, are you planning for us to ambush him?"

Minos curled his lip and shook his head. "You're overthinking it! Golden Lion is a Great Pirate on the same level as our captain, Charlotte Linlin. Do you think you could ambush our captain?"

Uh... Talon recalled Charlotte Linlin's terrifying appearance. Ambush? Was he going to give her a light massage?

Going in hard was definitely useless. Even if Minos had originally chosen the River of Death ability and absorbed the life force of the several hundred or thousand people in Sleepy Town, he still wouldn't be Golden Lion's match now.

Immortality? Golden Lion's ability was the perfect counter to immortality! A single Lion's Roar would bury you underground, and you'd be dying and reviving down there forever.

Let alone the current Minos. Though his strength was about the same as Straw Hat Luffy's when he fought Golden Lion in the original story, what was Straw Hat Luffy? He was the protagonist!

If Minos didn't know his own limits and tried to duel Golden Lion one-on-one, he'd probably end up cold and dead from a single Wave Slash or Lion's Roar.