The Lion Pride and the Sea of Cherry Blossoms

"Wave Slash!"

The next moment, a golden Flying Slash soared into the sky, shattering a massive amount of cherry blossoms.

However, against the hundreds of millions of cherry blossoms currently present, this level of attack was merely a minor irritation. It caused the onslaught of blossoms to falter for only a brief second before they continued to wash over Golden Lion Shiki like a cascading waterfall.

Yet, this brief moment was enough. Under the power of his Float-Float Fruit, Shiki's figure shot upward, narrowly dodging the massive barrage of cherry blossoms raining down.

Unfortunately...

As Yaen shifted his focus, the countless cherry blossoms turned once again, swarming toward Shiki from all directions with almost no blind spots.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

For a time, caught in the pursuit of the endless cherry blossoms, Shiki—already in a severely wounded state—became increasingly disheveled as he fled and dodged.

Through the gaps in the cherry blossoms, Shiki caught a glimpse of Yaen in the distance, walking on air and standing perfectly still. He looked as if he were watching the clumsy performance of a circus animal, his expression devoid of any real emotion, showing no intention of intervening personally.

This instantly ignited the fury of the legendary Great Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki, who roared, "Brat, don't you get too cocky with me!"

?

Yaen.

For Yaen, he was truly in the midst of a serious battle; he had no intention of underestimating or looking down on Shiki.

However, Yaen was well aware of his own shortcomings, so he naturally would not easily approach the extremely dangerous Shiki.

Immediately, while working hard to manipulate the vast, ocean-like sea of cherry blossoms to engulf Shiki, Yaen calmly explained, "Rest assured, I am not being cocky, nor am I looking down on you. I am fighting you very seriously."

However, Yaen's indifferent attitude and stationary posture only added fuel to the raging fire of Shiki's anger.

Suddenly, Shiki, wielding his dual blades, erupted with a massive amount of Flying Slashes, carving out a bit of space for himself within the sea of cherry blossoms.

"Lion Threat: Earth-Shaker!"

As Shiki unleashed the power of his Float-Float Fruit, an air lion several times larger than a warship instantly coalesced beside him.

"Roar!"

In the intangible realm, Yaen even felt as though he could hear that air lion roaring.

The next moment, under Shiki's control, the massive air lion charged toward the endless sea of cherry blossoms with a violent, overwhelming force.

"Boom!"

Under the mutual strangulation of the cherry blossoms and the air lion, the air lion suddenly exploded like a massive bomb, the tremendous blast wave forcibly carving out a large void within the sea of cherry blossoms.

The figure of Golden Lion Shiki streaked through that void like a golden meteor, heading straight for Yaen's true body.

"Wave Slash!"

Another terrifying flying slash roared toward Yaen.

However... there was no need to dodge!

To dodge might be exactly what Golden Lion Shiki wanted.

Yaen was well aware that in terms of combat experience, compared to Golden Lion Shiki—a legendary Great Pirate who had dominated the seas for decades and fought his way to the top—he didn't even amount to a fraction of the man's prowess.

Therefore, he had to maximize the advantages of Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and remain unmoved to counter all changes.

As Yaen's thought settled, countless cherry blossoms blocked the path of the flying slash, strangling it layer by layer and whittling it down inch by inch.

Soon, that flying slash, capable of splitting mountains and parting seas, dissipated amidst the countless cherry blossoms.

However, Yaen's approach—treating the flying slash as if it were nothing, not even lifting a hand—infuriated Golden Lion Shiki to the extreme.

"When have I ever..."

"When has this old man ever been looked down upon like this! Bastard!"

Accompanied by a roar from Golden Lion Shiki, the power of the Float-Float Fruit was pushed to its absolute limit.

"Lion's Might: Imperial Palace Air Scroll!"

One, two, five, ten...

A vast number of air lions appeared in formation behind Golden Lion Shiki, all roaring in unison as if obeying the command of the Lion King to launch the most violent charge.

"BOOM!!!"

The swarm of air lions and the sea of cherry blossoms engaged in an unprecedented collision high in the sky. Air lions were constantly strangled and shattered by the countless cherry blossoms, and as the air waves rippled, they blasted hole after hole into the sea of cherry blossoms.

Yet, supported by Yaen's inexhaustible Reiatsu, the sea of cherry blossoms seemed infinite. After countless dreamlike petals were shattered, they slowly regenerated and gathered once more under the sunlight.

And behind Golden Lion Shiki, under the continuous use of the Float-Float Fruit ability, air lions were also condensing one after another, throwing themselves into the fray.

A war of attrition!

Just as Yaen had anticipated in the best-case scenario, the battle had entered a stage of attrition.

Yaen had never underestimated this legendary Great Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki, understanding that the man was truly one of the top powerhouses on the sea.

Yaen knew that if Golden Lion Shiki were in his prime, with his current abilities, let alone killing such a powerhouse in an instant, even winning against him would be nearly impossible.

It was just a pity that several years ago, during the Battle of Edd War, Golden Lion Shiki had accidentally taken a ship's helm to the head, leaving him unable to use his Haki.

Two years ago, he had stormed Marine Headquarters, Marineford, all by himself, only to be beaten to the brink of death by the combined efforts of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp before being locked away in Impel Down.

Just moments ago, as Yaen watched Golden Lion Shiki tending to the wounds he sustained while breaking out of Impel Down, he could even see that the old injuries from two years ago had yet to fully heal.

Not to mention the wounds from when Golden Lion Shiki had severed his own legs in a desperate bid for escape; they were still bleeding incessantly.

Therefore, Yaen was well aware that the Golden Lion he was facing now was already riddled with injuries. As long as he could drag this out into a war of attrition, victory was certain!

Clearly, what Yaen understood, the battle-hardened Golden Lion Shiki understood just as well. He was painfully aware that his current condition was only growing worse.

Yet... as a proud lion who had once dominated the seas, how could Golden Lion Shiki tolerate Yaen's attitude of contempt and dismissal?

"The sea is not yet an era where you brats get to call the shots!"

Golden Lion Shiki roared, and the speed at which the air-condensed lions behind him formed accelerated by another thirty percent, carrying the momentum to tear the sea of cherry blossoms before him to shreds.