The Golden Lion Who Incited Ares to Drink

So this kid doesn't know Armament Haki yet...

Shiki the Golden Lion's eyes darted around, glancing left and right, his cigar clamped between his teeth as the corners of his mouth curled. "You, come on in first."

Once Ares entered the room, he immediately shut the door behind him.

"Take a seat, kid. I'll grab something."

When the Golden Lion reappeared, he had several bottles of Rum in hand.

He sat down across from Ares with a commanding presence, crossing his legs, and let out a booming laugh. "Shishishi... Ares, want some booze?"

"This is my finest stash—even that bastard Whitebeard couldn't buy a sip from me if he tried!"

With that, he flicked his finger. Thunk—the cork on the bottle shot off.

But the Golden Lion used his ability to suspend the cork midair, sending it zipping straight onto the table with a sharp whoosh.

"I don't drink," Ares replied flatly, then pressed on. "What exactly is Armament Haki?"

His mind was consumed by nothing but hunger and curiosity for Armament Haki.

Because Armament Haki could let the body defend against a named blade!

It could make his physique even stronger!

Ares's heart burned with intensity, his fierce, beast-like eyes blazing with a piercing light.

"Heh heh."

The Golden Lion chuckled, one hand holding his cigar, the other lifting a bottle to his mouth and gulping it down like water. In an instant, half the bottle was gone.

A look of pure pleasure spread across his face as he laughed. "Hahaha... How can you call yourself a pirate if you don't drink?"

"A pirate can go without food, without weapons—but never without booze!"

"Ares, give it a try. You'll fall in love with this stuff. Finish this bottle, and I'll tell you what Armament Haki is!"

With that, he opened another bottle of Rum and set it directly in front of Ares.

The Golden Lion wore a playful, intrigued grin as he took a deep drag of his cigar, his whole body relaxing as if floating on clouds.

He wanted to see how this teetotaler Ares would react to tasting such liquor.

Ares furrowed his brow slightly, pinching the bottle between two fingers—a bottle that would take an ordinary man a whole hand to grip.

In his grasp, it felt no bigger than a lighter.

Bringing the bottle's mouth to his lips, Ares paused for a moment. He had never drunk alcohol before.

His hesitation drew a laugh from the Golden Lion. "Go on, drink up. Then I'll tell you what Armament Haki is."

"And how to train it."

No sooner had he spoken than Ares tilted the bottle, and the liquor gushed into his mouth in a steady stream.

A sharp, spicy taste and sensation hit him at once, stinging his throat as the liquid slid down his esophagus with a pronounced burn.

The blood in his body began to race and surge.

Or rather, his blood pressure was spiking!

"Cough! Cough!!!" Ares sputtered, his first taste of alcohol ending with half a bottle downed in one go. The scorching heat triggered a physical discomfort.

A searing warmth bloomed in his stomach and gut.

The fiery sensation left a cozy, glowing heat in his belly!

Seeing Ares's awkward first-drink reaction, the Golden Lion burst into laughter. "Shishishi... A pirate's life without booze is incomplete!!"

"Liquor is both a material and spiritual necessity for a pirate!!"

"You'll learn soon enough how joyful drinking can be!!"

He raised his own bottle, tilting his head back and pouring it down his throat with abandon. The gulp gulp sound matched the bobbing of his Adam's apple as the liquor flowed straight into his stomach.

Shiki felt utterly exhilarated.

As for Ares, the strong liquor hit his system. At first, the taste felt harsh and unappealing.

But a second later, a light, floating sensation washed over him. His mind suddenly grew foggy and dazed, dizziness creeping in fast.

"So this is what drinking feels like?"

"It's like my body's gotten lighter..."

His face felt hot—flushed red, though he didn't know it. He only sensed a rising warmth.

Ares tipped the bottle back, draining the rest of the liquor into his mouth. In his tipsy haze, the drink no longer tasted as foul as it had at the start.

A thrilling rush of stimulation surged through his nerves. He muttered to himself, "This booze... burp~"

"This booze is good..."

"My body's heating up."

His usually sharp, fierce gaze grew hazy. Spotting the bottle on the table, he reached for it almost unconsciously.

Mimicking the Golden Lion's earlier move, he flicked his finger—thunk—and sent the cork flying.

The cork shot into the wall like a bullet with a bang.

Ares lifted the bottle with two fingers and poured it into his mouth, gulping it down. For an ordinary person, a bottle of wine was a fair amount, but for Ares, whose frame stood four meters tall, it was quite small.

A bottle emptied into his stomach in two or three seconds.

Then he immediately started on the next one.

Seeing this, Golden Lion's expression shifted, and he called out urgently, "Hey hey, you little drunkard, you can't drink any more! These are fine wines I've aged for years."

"You can't just finish them all in one go!!"

But Ares, already lost in his haze, couldn't hear Golden Lion's words at all. He kept gulping down bottle after bottle.

Golden Lion immediately spread his arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks, shielding the bottles in front of him. He bit down on his cigar and said, "Ares, you're not really drunk, are you?!"

"You can't drink any more of this!!"

His heart ached a little—these were fine wines he couldn't bear to drink himself, and this kid had already downed three bottles in one go!

He only had a little over ten bottles in total.

That was a full fifth of his stock gone!

"Huh?!"

Ares's head wobbled unsteadily, tilting left and right. When he saw Golden Lion shielding the wine, he reached out and shoved him aside.

But how immense was his strength?

Drunk as he was, Ares couldn't gauge his own power at all.

Golden Lion, caught completely off guard, was sent flying in an instant. With a bang, he smashed straight through the glass window beside him!

He flew right out of Skull Castle and crashed heavily onto the street outside with a boom.

Kicking up a massive cloud of dust!

Stone fragments scattered everywhere.

Instantly throwing the pedestrians on the street into chaos!

"Did you see what just fell?!!"

"How did something suddenly drop from the sky?!!"

"It looks like it flew out of Skull Castle!!! What the hell is going on?!!"

"Did anyone see what happened?!!"

"·········"

A large crowd quickly gathered around, all staring at the center of the dust cloud.

The next second.

Golden Lion's disheveled figure floated out of the dust, covered in dirt, shocking everyone nearby.

"Golden Lion—Shiki?!!"