Golden Lion Shiki.
This battle-hardened overlord of a bygone era keenly seized the opening when Lin Xuan's previous exertion had ended and his next had yet to begin.
Using the extreme speed granted by the Float-Float Fruit, he instantly closed to within half a meter of Lin Xuan.
There was not even time to blink.
The famed swords Oto and Kogarashi traced two deadly crosses through the air, aimed straight at Lin Xuan's throat.
"This is the cruelty of the battlefield, brat! Take your regrets to hell..."
A cruel, vicious grin curled Golden Lion's lips.
He could almost see this gifted youth's blood gushing out. At this distance, he would utterly shatter this rookie's nerve.
However.
The instant his gaze pierced the dust and caught sight of Lin Xuan's face, Golden Lion's murderous pupils shrank to pinpoints.
There was none of the panic he had expected.
Nor was there any fear of impending death.
On that young face was a wild grin fiercer than a pirate's, more hideous than an evil spirit's.
What burned in those eyes was not a desire to survive, but the joy of an extreme thirst for blood and battle.
As though having two famed swords pointed at his throat was not a crisis, but a feast worth celebrating.
Even to Golden Lion's Observation Haki, what stood before him was no longer a human youth, but an ancient beast that had broken its chains and was baring its fangs at its prey.
A chill shot up Golden Lion's spine to the crown of his head.
This brat... is smiling?
In that brief moment of distraction, the situation changed again.
Golden Lion was a legendary powerhouse, after all. His shock lasted only a thousandth of a second.
The murderous intent in his eyes intensified. Holding nothing back,