Encountering the Roger Pirates!

Golden Lion Shiki, who had been watching from the sidelines, felt his body jolt violently. His pupils contracted, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

Even Whitebeard, who had been merely observing the spectacle, widened his eyes, his expression one of utter disbelief.

This was one of Golden Lion Shiki's proudest, trump-card techniques—the opening stance that fused the aerial force of the Float-Float Fruit with the berserk slashes of the Two-Sword Style!

How could Luo Tian possibly...

"Lion Threat: Slash Wave!"

Following Luo Tian's low, resonant shout, his two blades crossed and slashed out with fierce, calculated precision!

Screech—!!!

The air was brutally torn apart!

A massive, cross-shaped sword aura, its edges crackling with violent electricity, roared through the sky!

The next instant, before the stunned gazes of Shiki and Whitebeard, that X-shaped slash cut through the vast sea ahead as easily as a hot knife through butter!

A massive trench, dozens of meters wide and extending straight to the horizon, was carved into existence!

The seawater on both sides was pushed away, unable to close for a long time, revealing the dark seabed below!

The power, the momentum, the density of the sword aura, and the sheer speed of the strike!

Neither Shiki nor Whitebeard had expected that Luo Tian would not only perfectly mimic the opening stance but execute the technique to such a pinnacle level that it faintly surpassed the original!

This was no longer "imitation"; it was as if this were the peak strike of Shiki himself after decades of grueling practice!

No, perhaps in terms of detail control and explosive power efficiency, it was even a fraction more perfect than Shiki's usual execution!

But this—was not over yet!

Before the massive trench in the sea could even begin to close, Luo Tian's figure moved suddenly!

The space beneath his feet twisted slightly as he leaped into the air, instantly reaching the perfect height for his next strike!

He gripped his blades tightly, his arms blurring into phantoms as he slashed repeatedly in a crisscross pattern!

"Lion Threat: Thousand-Slice Valley!!!"

In an instant, countless waves of sword aura poured down like a torrential storm toward another section of the sea!

The power and speed of each individual strike were not far behind the "Slash Wave" from just a moment ago.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sea, which had not yet calmed from the "Slash Wave," began to boil and explode once more!

Countless pillars of water shot into the sky, only to be shredded into fine mist by the subsequent slashes.

The entire sea area looked as if it had been repeatedly plowed by countless invisible giant blades, left in a state of total devastation.

As the creator of this technique, having spent ten years refining it, Golden Lion Shiki was now so shocked he was rendered speechless!

He hung his mouth agape, his golden hair disheveled in the sea breeze.

Shiki snapped out of his extreme shock and abruptly activated his Float-Float Fruit ability to soar into the air.

He flew to the same height as Luo Tian, his face etched with disbelief, circling Luo Tian twice as if to confirm whether the person before him was an impostor.

Damn it! What the hell! Are you the Golden Lion, or am I?!

I barely managed to get your relatively simple "Sea-Severing" to look like the real thing.

And you, kid—you did it without a sound, not only learning my trump cards "Slash Wave" and "Thousand-Slice Valley" but executing them so flawlessly.

"Cough, cough!"

"Luo Tian, you brat! You... you better give me an honest answer!

How on earth did you manage to train my kill moves to such a... such an unfathomable level in just one month?!"

Luo Tian smiled. "It's simple..."

Shiki waited expectantly for the rest of the sentence.

"You just need hands. If you're trash, just practice more." Luo Tian shrugged.

Pfft~ Shiki was so angry he nearly fainted on the spot.

The lingering power of Luo Tian's "Slash Wave" and "Thousand-Slice Valley" continued to churn the nearby sea into chaos.

A dozen nautical miles away, a pirate ship with a unique skull-and-mustache emblem painted on its sails was cruising leisurely along the routes of the New World.

The master of the ship was the legend who would one day be crowned "Pirate King"—Gol D. Roger.

By now, the Roger Pirates were a top-tier force in the New World, a name that made even the Marine Headquarters feel a massive headache.

Their strength was enough to dominate the four seas, and aside from that behemoth of a crew gathered with countless monsters—the Rocks Pirates—almost no one could surpass them.

Captain Roger possessed unfathomable strength, overwhelming Haki, exquisite swordsmanship, and a formidable physique; he was in no way inferior to top powerhouses like Whitebeard or Golden Lion, and in some aspects, he was even superior.

First Mate "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh was both wise and brave, with god-like swordsmanship.

Core officer Scopper Gaban's strength was equally bottomless.

At this moment, the atmosphere on the Roger ship was relaxed.

The crew members were polishing their weapons and adjusting the sails, while Roger sat with Rayleigh and Gaban, laughing heartily as they joked around.

However—

A sudden change occurred!

A massive, golden cross-shaped Slash Wave suddenly tore through the air from the direction of a distant island!

Its speed was so swift and its momentum so fierce that it seemed intent on cleaving the sea and the ship in two!

The relaxed atmosphere on board froze instantly.

On the deck, Rayleigh, with his short blonde hair and spectacles, narrowed his eyes!

His right hand quickly moved to his sword hilt—he drew his blade, turned, and swung.

"Clang—!!!"

Amidst the crisp ring of steel, a crescent-shaped slash of condensed energy erupted, meeting the golden cross-slash with pinpoint precision.

"Boom—!!!!!"

A deafening roar exploded across the sea!

The two terrifying slashes collided violently, bursting with blinding light and turbulent sword qi that scattered in every direction!

A gale whipped up, the sails snapped loudly, and a massive depression was blasted into the surface of the sea.

In the end, the golden slash was shattered in mid-air by Rayleigh, dissolving into specks of light.

"Tsk..." Rayleigh landed steadily back on the deck and sheathed his sword with a flick of his wrist.

He adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed solemnly on the direction of the island: "The aura of this slash... is it Golden Lion Shiki?"

He had caught a trace of a familiar presence within the residual energy fluctuations of the attack.

By the ship's railing, Gaban, who was polishing his massive battle axe, didn't even look up as he confirmed:

"You aren't mistaken, Rayleigh. This is indeed the Slash Wave of Golden Lion Shiki."

He paused, a meaningful smile appearing on his face: "From this distance, the power has been greatly diminished.

Or perhaps... that guy didn't even put us in his eyes and was just testing his blade, missing the mark by chance?"

Roger, who had been standing at the bow the entire time, let out a bold laugh: "Hahahaha! What a coincidence!

To think we'd run into that arrogant Shiki in such a remote sea! Is this his new way of saying hello?"

As he laughed, Roger slowly closed his eyes, the smile on his face fading slightly.

His unique, top-tier Observation Haki, which bordered on the Voice of All Things, spread out silently.

"Interesting..." The corners of his mouth curled into an intrigued arc:

"Shiki is indeed on the island, and so is Newgate. But... the one who unleashed that Slash Wave and Thousand-Slice Valley just now was not Shiki himself."

As soon as these words were spoken, Rayleigh's expression shifted, and even Gaban stopped polishing his axe blade, looking on in surprise.