Most of the Golden Lion's strength lay in his swordsmanship. The Float-Float Fruit mainly served to support it.
After losing his legs and spending so long imprisoned, the Golden Lion's strength had taken a severe hit. He could only bring out three to five tenths of his original power at most.
Even so, the Golden Lion was still invincible in Impel Down.
The man fighting him now wasn't weak. He was Shiryu of the Rain, future captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' Second Ship.
At this point, Shiryu was still Impel Down's Warden. His cruel, bloodthirsty nature hadn't yet come to light, and he was a capable assistant to Hannibal and Magellan.
Shiryu was undoubtedly powerful. The fact that Blackbeard would later take notice of him and make him captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' Second Ship was proof enough.
But before the Golden Lion, who could only bring out three to five tenths of his strength, Shiryu was like a toy.
The Golden Lion held an ordinary standard-issue Marine sword. He paid no mind to Shiryu's attacks, casually deflecting every one of them with a single strike.
Cold sweat had already broken out on Shiryu's forehead as he fought the Golden Lion. He knew the Golden Lion was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong.
He had no legs, and with nothing but a standard-issue Marine sword, he could effortlessly deflect every attack Shiryu threw at him. It was terrifying.
And as time passed, Shiryu found that the Golden Lion's swordsmanship was only getting stronger. He couldn't even find an opening to attack.
Only then did Shiryu realize why the Golden Lion had never followed up after deflecting his attacks. He'd been using Shiryu as a whetstone, getting used to the feeling of fighting.
Shiryu felt deeply humiliated.