Drunk State, Fury Hammers the Golden Lion

"What?!! That's the Golden Lion—how did he fly out of Skull Castle, and..."

"No way? Could the Golden Lion and that guy Whitebeard be fighting?!"

"..."

The clamor of surrounding voices fell into Shiki the Golden Lion's ears. Remembering how that brat Ares had tossed him out into the open without any regard for discretion, his expression turned somewhat stiff. He looked up at Skull Castle and couldn't help cursing: "Bastard!"

"I drank the wine, and he still threw me out—that damn little..."

Before he could finish, a roar like heavenly thunder crashed down.

"I—WANT—TO—DRINK!!!"

The terrifying sound waves rattled everyone's eardrums, and the windowpanes in Skull Castle began cracking one after another, finally exploding with a bang.

That voice shocked countless people. Many turned pale from the thunderous howl, and quite a few immediately clamped their hands over their ears, faces twisted in extreme discomfort.

"Whose voice is that?!!"

"This voice is terrifying!!! It even shattered the glass!!"

"Drink?!! What the hell is going on?!!"

"This is the headquarters of the Rocks Pirates—no pirate would dare cause trouble here, right?!!"

"Just that voice alone shattered so much glass—what kind of monster is this?!"

"..."

Voices of confusion and fear rose and fell along the streets. No one knew what was happening.

Only Shiki the Golden Lion knew.

His face lost color as he muttered in surprise: "Could it be... that guy got drunk and is throwing a drunken tantrum?!!"

"I have to stop that bastard!"

With a whoosh, his figure shot through the air, speeding toward the window of his own room.

The next second.

Boom!!!

The entire wall, window and all, exploded into rubble. As the wall was destroyed, Ares's immensely strong, muscular body was revealed.

With dazed, intoxicated eyes, Ares spotted several Golden Lions flying toward him and immediately shouted at Shiki: "Golden Lion, I want to drink!!!"

The sound erupting from his mouth was practically a sonic attack, kicking up a gale thick with the smell of alcohol that instantly engulfed Shiki.

"This guy really is drunk."

Shiki the Golden Lion's mouth twitched. He'd only meant to let Ares try drinking, to taste the flavor of wine.

He never expected the guy to get hooked on the taste—and actually get drunk!!!

His face grew irritated: "This is probably going to get me scolded by Captain Rocks. First, I need to get this brat Ares to calm down."

"If he keeps throwing a drunken fit and destroys Skull Castle, the problem gets even worse."

Shiki the Golden Lion didn't draw the longsword at his waist. Instead, using the power of the Float-Float Fruit, he appeared before Ares in a flash.

He raised his arm, fingers curling into a fist.

Clang!

His entire forearm instantly hardened with Armament Haki, gleaming black.

Shiki grinned: "Kid, didn't you want to know what Armament Haki is?"

"Today, I'll let you truly feel the power of Armament Haki!!"

It could be called teaching by example. He punched toward Ares's head, the fist whistling through the air.

Boom!!!

With a thunderous crash, Ares's massive body flew backward at an angle!

Furniture and floorboards in Shiki's room were shattered as Ares plowed through them, finally slamming into a wall and collapsing it.

He was buried under rubble.

Shiki exhaled a thick plume of smoke, biting his cigar as he grinned: "Kid, that's Armament Haki!"

"A punch like that can even make that bastard Kaido bleed!!"

He flew toward Ares, buried under the debris.

Suddenly.

Bang! Gravel flew everywhere as Ares's figure rose from the rubble.

"Huh, you're not..." Shiki was slightly surprised.

But as he continued flying forward, his expression suddenly changed drastically—because Ares's massive fist was whistling straight toward his face.

This punch carried immense weight.

BAM!!!

It slammed hard into Shiki the Golden Lion's face, instantly distorting his features and sending the cigarette in his mouth flying.

Like a cannonball fired from a breach, he shot back out through the broken wall.

BOOM!!!

A second entry into the palace!

He crashed onto the street again, the impact several times louder than before.

This time, the surrounding onlookers were utterly stunned into silence.

Shiki the Golden Lion, a cadre of the Rocks Pirates, had been hit!!!

One thought filled everyone's minds—who the hell was that guy?!!

To actually send a Rocks Pirates cadre like Shiki flying twice.

"You bastard!!!!"

Shiki flew out of the crater, his expression turning utterly foul. That punch from Ares carried what could only be called "Monstrous Strength"!

The blow left his head heavy and sluggish, and...

A massive, swollen lump had risen at the corner of his eye, purple-red with traces of blood, ruining the imposing image Shiki the Golden Lion usually projected.

Even his cigar was gone.

He'd planned to teach that brat a lesson with Armament Haki, and settle the score for drinking his precious stash of fine liquor.

Instead, he'd taken a heavy punch himself?!

He'd been humiliated in public, and this incident was bound to spread across Hachinosu Island!

Shiki seethed with pent-up fury. He cast a cold glare at the pedestrians lining the street and barked, "Shut up!!!"

A fierce wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, sweeping through the entire street like a hurricane.

People collapsed one after another, losing consciousness with dull thuds.

In an instant.

Everyone on the street fell silent, trembling in fear!

Not a single person dared to make a sound. Those still awake felt a bone-deep chill, cold sweat pouring uncontrollably from every pore.

Shiki's current state was like a cat puffing up its fur.

The thick golden mane on his back had fluffed up far more than usual.

Suddenly.

Everyone felt the ground darken and looked up.

A massive figure blotted out the sun, and all anyone could see was a giant black shadow.

A deafening roar came from its mouth: "Damn it!!!"

"How dare you ambush me!!!"

Ares's mind was in chaos. Shiki's Armament Haki punch had left its mark, and combined with his drunkenness and scrambled thoughts, his brain was a mess!

He suspected someone was trying to take his first blood?

Strange?

What the hell was first blood?

The next second, his thoughts shifted to something else.

Ares's expression turned wild, and he roared in mad fury:

"Golden Lion!!"

"Your life is mine!!"