The Grand Line, a deserted island!
At that moment, a mushroom cloud towered into the sky. The entire island began to split apart as mountain ranges collapsed in clouds of dust. Somewhere beneath the wreckage, a figure lay buried, its fate unknown.
A figure flew in from the distant horizon, hovering in midair and coughing up blood.
It was Golden Lion!
He looked utterly wretched, and, more importantly, his breathing was ragged.
Beneath his tattered orange-yellow kimono, wounds of all sizes covered his body. Some were deep enough to reveal bone.
His eyes had lost their former sharpness and domineering force, now filled with exhaustion.
He glanced at the billowing dust as it gradually cleared. A figure emerged, leaning on a battered spiked club with one hand to keep upright. Without it, he might have fallen over.
"You don't stand a chance!"
Golden Lion's gaze was calm. From the very beginning, victory had been tilted in his favor.
For the past month, his opponent had done nothing but run like a dog.
Drip, drip, drip!!!
Thick, foul-smelling blood dripped to the ground. Chaos coughed, blood spilling from his mouth and nose. His left arm had been severed at the shoulder, the torn flesh, blood, and bone a gruesome sight.
A cross-shaped wound gaped across his chest, deep enough to expose bone!
Chaos had paid an unimaginable price over the past month.
"Golden Lion, I really should thank you!"
"Trading one arm for the awakening of a Devil Fruit was more than worth it!"
Chaos was not nearly as dispirited or weak as one might have expected. Instead, he seemed remarkably bright-eyed and exhilarated.
He raised his right foot and lightly stamped the ground. From beneath Chaos, the hills and earth began turning gold, the transformation spreading outward until it covered