"Hmph, Golden Lion. Looks like Impel Down has ground all the guts out of you!"
Whitebeard gave a scornful chuckle.
To a man like him, only power that belonged to oneself counted as true strength.
He had nothing but contempt for the crooked path Golden Lion now wanted to take, relying on outside forces.
"You! Aaaaargh!"
Golden Lion was so furious that his face twisted, but all he could do was rage helplessly and unleash his Conqueror's Haki at random.
He no longer dared to actually attack.
Golden Lion was arrogant, not stupid. That single exchange had already made the gap in their strength clear to him.
He had once been Whitebeard's equal, but he had suffered terribly in Impel Down and cut off both legs to escape.
With Golden Lion's Devil Fruit ability, losing his legs barely affected his mobility. But the human body was a single whole. With two enormous wounds and two great chunks of flesh missing, his life energy had diminished drastically.
That had also severely weakened Golden Lion's Haki.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard had remained outside, and his strength had reached its peak.
With one weakening while the other grew stronger, he stood no chance against Whitebeard.
Seeing Golden Lion's reaction, Whitebeard sighed inwardly.
Sure enough, Golden Lion was no longer the fearless lion he had once been.
With his old temperament, Golden Lion would never have tolerated such mockery.
Even knowing he was outmatched, he would have torn a chunk of flesh from Whitebeard, even if it cost him his life.
Now, Golden Lion was more like a dog whose legs had been broken.
At that thought, Whitebeard lost all desire to speak to Golden Lion.
"Get lost! Stop getting in the way of my drinking!" Whitebeard casually struck the empty air again, sending a terrifying