The sound of metal clashing rang out, and Xia Chen's expression instantly turned ugly.
At that moment, a knife was placed beneath his staff, preventing him from killing Blackbeard.
Xia Chen stared intently at the figure beside him, and asked in a low voice, " Golden Lion Shiki, what do you want?"
"Huh?" The man was clearly taken aback by Xia Chen's words, then laughed loudly, "Hahaha... I didn't expect that after all these years my name would still be so famous! Even a brat who hasn't even grown up yet knows about me!"
Xia Chen's gaze slowly left Blackbeard and landed on the Golden Lion standing to the side.
He had a ship's wheel on his golden hair, a cigar in his mouth, and two knives on his legs. These distinctive features were why Xia Chen recognized him at a glance.
Golden Lion, a legendary pirate, a man who once rivaled Roger for the title of Pirate King!
Xia Chen felt that he didn't know how to describe his luck. He had just met Aokiji not long ago, and now he had met Golden Lion.
He has recently encountered one top-tier combatant after another.
"So... why did you stop me from killing Blackbeard?" Xia Chen asked again.
To everyone's surprise, the Golden Lion burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"Hahaha..."
He stopped after a long silence, then looked at Xia Chen with hostility and said, "I'm the Golden Lion! Do I need to answer your questions?"
"What right do you, little brat, have to question me? When I was sailing the seas, you weren't even a cell in the ocean yet!"
"Is that so?" Xia Chen muttered casually.
"In that case, there's nothing more to say!"
"I wonder how much more strength an aged lion retains compared to its youthful strength?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Chen appeared beside the Golden Lion and swung his staff at him.
The Golden Lion's body floated up, and the blade beneath its feet slashed towards Xia Chen.
"Clang!"
As the two continued their struggle, a smile suddenly appeared on the Golden Lion's lips.
"Not bad, kid! You've got some skill!"
" Flying Slash!"
The other sword on the Golden Lion's leg swung rapidly towards Xia Chen. Xia Chen slightly bent his knees and bent backward, barely dodging the slash. Then he quickly created space.
Xia Chen's expression turned slightly grim after he stepped back. He had been at a disadvantage in the exchange.
Golden Lion's Three Types of Haki has reached a top-tier level, and his mastery of the Float-Float Fruit is unparalleled. His swordsmanship is also top-notch.
Therefore, even though the ship's wheel on his head greatly limited his strength, coupled with his old age and broken leg, the strength he displayed was still extremely strong.
According to Xia Chen's estimation, they should be among the top tier below the Admiral.
But... so what!
Currently, his Armament Haki and Observation Haki are not far behind his opponent's, only his Conqueror's Haki is much weaker, but he has a Demonized Form.
This battle is not without a chance of victory!
Xia Chen made a quick decision and immediately summoned a Clone.
Without hesitation, the two charged toward the Golden Lion simultaneously.
" Thunder Bagua!"
Two voices came at the same time, and two sticks appeared in front of the Golden Lion.
Golden Lion's eyes narrowed, and Oto and the Kogarashi tree instantly became shrouded in Armament Haki as he clashed head-on with Xia Chen.
In the instant the four weapons clashed, an incredibly powerful shockwave emanated from it, shattering the surrounding houses and trees into pieces.
" Thunder Bagua? Kid? You know Kaido?" Golden Lion asked curiously.
"I guess so! I stole a few of his moves! I'm going to use them to kill you, what do you say?"
"Hahaha..."
"Are you kidding me? Even Kaido wouldn't dare say that here! Who do you think I am?"
"A remnant of the old era? A cripple? A leading artist?"
One thing after another that the Golden Lion didn't want to hear came out of Xia Chen's mouth, and the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger as he looked at Xia Chen.
"Kid, today I'll teach you how to respect your elders!"
Having said that, the Golden Lion used the force of the attack to take a step back, creating space as it floated into the sky. Then it said calmly:
"Lion's Might - Earth Strike!"
The moment the Golden Lion finished speaking, the ground in front of Xia Chen was lifted up and transformed into countless lion heads, which then crushed towards Xia Chen.
Seeing these lion heads, Xia Chen's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he mocked the Golden Lion:
"Are they really getting old? Even the lions they create have no imposing presence!"
Xia Chen held the stick upright, gathering strength in his hand, then his eyes narrowed. He swung the stick down hard from above.
" Earth Splitter!"
The moment the stick hit the ground, the land in front of it was instantly shattered into dust by an inexplicable force, and this force continued unabated towards the oncoming lion.
"Boom!"
The lion's head shattered rapidly under Xia Chen's attack, then turned into fine dust and dissipated into the air.
Without hesitation, Xia Chen's Clone pushed off with both legs and sped towards the Golden Lion in the sky.
" Sea Overturner!"
The club swept heavily upwards towards the Golden Lion Golden Lion, who quickly held up two Famous Sword in front of him.
The Golden Lion's expression changed the instant they made contact.
"This power!"
He was sent flying in less than a second, feeling a tightness in his chest.
However, at this moment, Xia Chen's true form had already appeared in front of his backward flight trajectory, raising his stick high.
Upon seeing this, the Golden Lion's face immediately turned extremely ugly. He hurriedly used his Devil Fruit ability to try to stop himself, but the power of Xia Chen's Clone's strike was too great.
Even if he uses the Float-Float Fruit, it only slightly slows him down; it doesn't change his flight trajectory.
Realizing this, the Golden Lion's eyes hardened, and he flipped his legs over, thrusting the tip of his knife at Xia Chen.
However, Xia Chen's actions and expression did not change at all, and he remained focused on the approaching Golden Lion.
As the Golden Lion approached him, it uttered two words softly.
" Heaven-Pillar!"
A dark shadow flashed by, and the Golden Lion's body vanished. Immediately afterwards, a deafening sound was heard.
The ground beneath Xia Chen was cracking and crumbling, with countless fragments of rock flying everywhere. The commotion gradually subsided after a long while.
Xia Chen watched the scene below silently from the air. Even the Golden Lion wouldn't fare too well after taking those two newly created moves.
But we definitely can't defeat him, otherwise the legendary pirate title would be too unreliable, even though his strength has declined significantly now.
As Xia Chen had predicted, not long afterward, the stones on the ground began to shake and then all floated into the air.
The Golden Lion slowly floated in the air, its eyes no longer showing contempt as it looked at Xia Chen.
"Kid, I acknowledge you. You're qualified to fight me!"
"If we can't even handle an old, aging lion, wouldn't that be too shameful?" Xia Chen replied calmly.
Although in the end, a battle is decided by strength, he will never lose when it comes to trash talk!
"Then give it a try, kid!"
A sinister smile crept across the Golden Lion's lips, and then, in the next instant, the two charged at each other simultaneously...