One Piece: Invincible from the Start

Arrogant—Utterly Arrogant

"Jahahahaha!!"

Golden Lion Shiki burst out laughing, then stopped abruptly and grinned viciously at Kuta. "Brat, you'd better fight seriously from here on out. If you don't and you die, don't blame me!"

With that, he charged at Kuta.

A red glint flashed in Kuta's eyes. He narrowed the range of his Observation Haki, keeping it within the area of their fight as best he could.

Sure enough, it felt completely different from letting it spread freely. His blade moved more naturally now.

Without guidance from a top-tier fighter, applications of Haki like this were hard to discover.

Observation Haki spread outward almost instinctively, making it difficult to control. Most people could only release it or draw it back.

Who would have thought it could be controlled with such precision?

Clang—!

Kuta blocked the strike and quickly drew back his sword, just as Golden Lion Shiki's second blade came slashing in.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!!!

Their positions had reversed. Now Kuta was the one forced onto the defensive.

But he could sense that the old man was deliberately guiding his swordsmanship and refining his Haki.

He glanced at Golden Lion Shiki, his feelings mixed.

Sensing Kuta's gaze, Golden Lion Shiki laughed. "Jahahahaha! Don't tell me you feel sorry for me, brat!"

Then a savage aura erupted from him. "Who do you think I am!"

"I'm the captain of the Flying Pirates, admiral of the Golden Lion Pirate Fleet—the Flying Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!"

Faced with Golden Lion Shiki's sudden onslaught, Kuta focused on defending.

The clash of blades rang ceaselessly across the island.

Now and then, a Slash shot skyward and split the clouds.

They fought for a full day and two nights.

Only when the sun rose on the third day did the sounds of battle gradually fade.

The island, once covered in towering mountains, had been flattened almost entirely.

At its center, in a vast crater that sank deeper toward the middle, Golden Lion Shiki and Kuta faced each other, both breathing hard.

Kuta's breathing was still fairly steady. Golden Lion Shiki's came in ragged bursts.

He was exhausted.

The flame of his life was about to go out.

Only his astonishing willpower had kept him fighting Kuta this long.

Kuta looked at Golden Lion Shiki with mixed emotions. He had to admit that, in the end, the old man really had become his teacher.

They might not have called themselves master and student,

but that was what they had become.

What was it with the sea's strongest fighters? Why did they all like teaching other people?

It wasn't as if he was King Luffy!

Could Golden Lion Shiki have realized he was the protagonist?

"Jahahahaha!!"

The sudden laughter broke Kuta's train of thought. He stared at the laughing Golden Lion Shiki, then laughed along with him.

Fine, he was my teacher!

If the man dared to teach him everything, why wouldn't Kuta dare to learn?

Golden Lion Shiki watched Kuta with satisfaction. He was pleased with the student he had met at the end of his life.

In just a day and two nights, Kuta had learned nearly everything he could about Golden Lion Shiki's swordsmanship and use of Haki.

He stopped laughing and smiled at Kuta. "Brat, I'll teach you one last thing. Your use of Conqueror's Haki is too crude."

"I don't know how you managed to use Conqueror's Haki Coating."

"But your coating still falls short of the real thing."

An overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him. He dropped the sword in his left hand and gripped the other with both hands.

Dense, dark-purple Haki poured from his body and spread in every direction.

Countless flashes of red-purple lightning sprang into being around him.

Veins bulged on Golden Lion Shiki's forehead as he poured every ounce of strength he had into coating his blade with Haki.

In his current state, this final blow was almost beyond him.

Kuta watched quietly without interrupting.

His own Conqueror's Haki Coating came from using Space Domain and the mental power that let him do almost anything within it to force the Haki onto his blade.

It was stronger than Armament Haki, but only by so much. It could not become a decisive, fight-ending blow.

Golden Lion Shiki raised his head and fixed his eyes on Kuta.

"Conqueror's Haki is, at its core, a person's force of will. Training alone can't make it grow. Only by clashing with someone whose Conqueror's Haki is truly top-tier can you strengthen yours and learn to control it."

"Once you can control your Conqueror's Haki as completely as you control Armament Haki, coating a weapon with it will come naturally."

With that, he put all his strength into the final sword stroke of his life and slashed at Kuta.

A massive, crescent-shaped dark-purple Slash crossed the distance between them in an instant. It looked as though

it had truly cut through space. Spiderweb cracks spread around the Slash,

reaching across the entire island.

"Brat, if you can't take this, then die with me!"

"Because the sea has no need for the weak."

"Jahahahaha..."

Kuta stood his ground, staring gravely at the enormous Slash rushing toward him. His silver hair streamed back as starlight raced through his eyes. Several times he moved to draw his sword, only to stop.

He could sense that no matter what he did, he could not catch Golden Lion Shiki's life-burning final Slash with a blade.

Its edge was so fierce that Kuta doubted even the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawk Eyes, could produce a Slash like it.

Not unless Hawk Eyes could also use Conqueror's Haki and coat his blade with it.

With the Slash almost upon him, there was no other way.

Reluctantly, Kuta realized that only his domain could truly stop it.

He raised his head and looked calmly at Golden Lion Shiki. "Old man! I'll show you my greatest power before the end, so you'll know what beat you!"

Golden Lion Shiki heard him and stopped laughing. He forced his eyes wide open, trying to clear the visions clouding them.

He had already burned through everything he had. Without his stubborn will holding him up, he would have collapsed on the spot.

He looked up and saw his Slash reach Kuta. With a bang, it struck what seemed to be an invisible wall. The space around Kuta shattered like a mirror.

Golden Lion Shiki thought the Slash would keep cutting forward.

But the broken space around Kuta suddenly mended itself, as if the mirror had become whole again.

After a brief stalemate, the Slash snapped in two. Its upper half continued toward the horizon, while the lower half stopped in front of Kuta.

As the moments passed, the lower half rapidly shrank until it vanished before him.

"Is that the same power that swallowed the island earlier?"

"That really is something!"

"Jahahahaha!!!..."

He grinned and laughed aloud, as though he could see his old rival Roger once more.

"Someone from the East Blue again... Someone from the East Blue stopped me from reaching the top of the world again!"

"Roger..."

Golden Lion Shiki let out one last roar, then fell silent forever.

Your Golden Lion Shiki Teacher Has Come Online!

Just then, Kuta felt a sudden weightlessness. The island beneath his feet plunged toward the sea.

He knew Golden Lion Shiki was truly dead.

Incredible. He actually shattered my domain.

If Kuta had not realized what was happening and added more layers of space, Golden Lion Shiki's final strike really would have cut through his Space Domain.

It would not have mattered much if it had, but after making such a grand claim, Kuta had to keep up the image of an invincible power, didn't he?

He looked at Golden Lion Shiki, who remained standing even in death. Respect mingled with the complicated feelings in his eyes.

Even as an enemy, Kuta could not help admiring the man's spirit.

Golden Lion Shiki might have been a complete villain, but he was the kind of formidable villain even his opponents had to respect.

Kuta paid no attention to the falling Giant Island.

He drew Zankū and carved a deep pit into the ground beside Golden Lion Shiki.

He opened Space Domain around Golden Lion Shiki and moved him into the pit with his power, along with both of his swords.

The earth around the pit gradually closed over him.

Kuta did not fill it completely. He intended to let the Marines find it.

If they could not find Golden Lion Shiki, they might dig up the whole area and discover him eventually anyway.

Better to leave them a clue. Surely the Marines would not dig up an old man's grave once they knew he was dead.

Kuta stopped in midair and let the island fall.

He was not too worried about the villagers on the other island. It was large enough, and a layer of seawater surrounded it, so it would not sink beneath the waves.

He left the ferocious beasts and pirates there alone, too. Dealing with them was the Marines' job.

He took out his wine gourd and drank as he gazed absently at the sunrise on the horizon.

He had gained an enormous amount from this fight. If he had relied on challenging strong opponents to build up experience on his own,

it might have taken him years to grasp these advanced combat techniques in a flash of insight.

He shook his head and set the thought aside.

Then he looked toward the distant horizon.

Two days had passed. The strongest fighters from Marine Headquarters should be arriving soon.

Should I stay and fight one of them?

He rubbed his chin and considered it.

Better not. The fastest of the Three Admirals to reach this place would probably be

that yellow-clad monkey, Kizaru.

Most of the time, Kizaru fought with his Devil Fruit power.

Besides, a fight with a Marine was unlikely to become a battle to the death.

Kuta would have no way to force a man who always kept his true strength hidden to bring out his Haki and trade blows with him.

Staying to fight Kizaru would gain him nothing and only wear him out.

He would be more comfortable lying in the sun.

"Hmm! I'd better check Golden Lion Shiki's palace for treasure and Devil Fruits before the Marines arrive!"