Above the sky, several islands were slowly floating, drifting aimlessly in one direction, and there were many huge wild beasts on them.
"Heh, these are the ferocious and rare beasts that Golden Lion Shiki wanted to study. There are quite a few, but they're nothing special."
Standing atop the Flame Clouds, Lin Yuan had a panoramic view of the entire floating Sky Island. In his perception, the strength of these ferocious beasts and rare creatures was at most that of a naval Rear Admiral, indicating that there were even more powerful ones.
This immediately made him lose interest. He wondered if these ferocious beasts could be tamed into mounts, which would be a benefit for everyone.
"An island floating in the sky, this really is Golden Lion Shiki, but why has that guy's aura become so weak?"
Redfield sensed it and quickly detected the presence of Golden Lion Shiki.
"Hmph, old geezers, I didn't expect you guys to have escaped too. What are you doing here?"
Just then, a somewhat arrogant voice rang out, and then the group saw a man with flowing blond hair and a ship's wheel-shaped head appear.
Although he looked quite elegant, the fact that only two short swords supported his missing legs made something seem a bit off.
"Heh, Shiki, it's been so many years. I never expected you to have changed so much, your strength has regressed to such a state."
Redfield sighed, not intentionally looking down on the other person, but simply expressing his heartfelt admiration.
"Hahaha, old man, are you here to pity me? Want to fight? Even if my strength has declined, I'm not someone you can easily bully. When my army of ferocious beasts grows up, this world will have to submit to me."
Golden Lion Shiki burst into maniacal laughter, though his eyes held a mixture of wariness and despair.
If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but facing Redfield, he could only force himself to maintain his pride, refusing to lose his imposing manner even though his strength had declined.
Redfield gave Golden Lion Shiki a deep look, sighed inwardly, and then fell silent.
But Shiki seemed to have been insulted and said somewhat irritably.
"Hey, old man, are you pitying me? Come on, let's fight!"
"Hey old lion, stop bragging. This old bat's strength is far beyond what you can handle right now."
Bullet couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
Golden Lion Shiki turned his gaze to Bullet, and seeing the other's severe injuries, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, who do we have here? Bullet, how did you get so badly injured? Escaping Impel Down has left you in such a sorry state."
"Pah! You have the nerve to talk about others? Who cut off their own legs?!"
The two seemed to be natural enemies, and they started hurling insults at each other right away.
"Alright, let's get down to business. If you want to argue, you'll have plenty of opportunities later."
Upon hearing this, Bullet fell silent. As for Golden Lion Shiki, he was taken aback, not expecting Bullet to be so obedient. He carefully examined Lin Yuan.
"Who are you?"
Lin Yuan was surprised that Golden Lion Shiki no longer recognized him; it seemed that the other party's memory wasn't very good either.
" Shiki, it's been so many years! You've forgotten me? Do you still remember that sword strike in the sky years ago?"
Lin Yuan said with a smile.
Seemingly jolted awake by Lin Yuan's words, Shiki's pupils contracted as he thought of the young man in front of him, whose sword strike had forced him to retreat.
"It's you! I couldn't sense your presence at all. Are you injured too? Wait, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Golden Lion Shiki looking at him warily, Lin Yuan didn't intend to delay any longer and directly stated his purpose.
" Shiki, since we've run into each other, I'd like to recruit you to join us. I'll have someone treat you, so you can stop dreaming of ruling the world."
"Hahaha, you think you can stop me? Do you even know that my beast army is about to succeed? Who can stop me then!"
Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that the old man was really quite ill. Didn't he realize the strength of these ferocious beasts and rare animals?
Years of hiding had robbed him of even the simplest ability to discern, leaving him only able to hide away and lick his wounds alone.
"Boom..."
Lin Yuan stopped wasting words and unleashed a terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki, instantly enveloping the entire island.
Caught off guard, Golden Lion Shiki was instantly thrown back dozens of meters, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and he became much more sober.
However, the ferocious beasts on the floating Sky Island were in a much worse situation. Logically, given their strength, they shouldn't have been stunned, but at this moment, they were without a leader.
Under the terrifying onslaught of Conqueror's Haki, they all rolled their eyes and fainted. Many ferocious beasts and rare creatures were so frightened that they defecated and urinated, and died of fright.
With just one Conqueror's Haki, Golden Lion Shiki's painstakingly crafted plan, which had taken twenty years to complete, was utterly ruined.
"Damn it, you actually destroyed my beast!"
" Zanpa..."
Golden Lion Shiki felt his heart bleed, and without thinking, he unleashed two slashing attacks.
However, in Lin Yuan's view, his attack was far too weak, at least much weaker than when they first met.
"After all these years, your strength has deteriorated to such an extent. No wonder Luffy was able to take you down so easily!"
Lin Yuan spread his large hands and met the two slashes head-on. With a strong grip, he actually crushed the two attacks.
Golden Lion Shiki's pupils contracted, and he was even more horrified.
"How is that possible? Your strength is incredible!"
"Clang..."
Just as Golden Lion Shiki was shocked, an even more terrifying slash swept past him in an instant, splitting the floating Sky Island behind him in two.
Many ferocious beasts were instantly cleaved in two by this attack, and then pulverized by the aftershocks. If it weren't for Golden Lion Shiki's power, the entire floating Sky Island would probably have shattered long ago.
"Hmph, now we can talk properly! I don't have time for nonsense."
As the golden hair fell before him, Golden Lion Shiki froze. He couldn't have dodged that attack; if the other had wanted to, he would have been dead.
At this moment, Golden Lion Shiki was clearly in despair, realizing that he had actually become this weak.
" Golden Lion Shiki, do you want to become the pirate fleet admiral you once were? Do you want to regain your peak strength? Do you want to join me in overthrowing the entire world and annihilating all the Celestial Dragons?"
Lin Yuan's words struck Golden Lion Shiki's mind like a hammer blow, making him even more clear-headed.
Why should I help you? I can do things myself!
Hearing Shiki say this, Lin Yuan smiled. It seemed there was room for negotiation, and helping Golden Lion Shiki recover was much easier than training a general-level expert.
"Hmm, if you agree, I can help you heal the injury to your head and reshape your broken legs. There's also a plan to create Devil Fruit weapon that I can arrange for you."
"Furthermore, our goal is to completely overthrow the Celestial Dragons ' rule. Some of your old friends are here, so you can fight to your heart's content. Whether you live or die is up to you."
Lin Yuan didn't preach any grand principles; instead, he promised to provide tangible benefits. He would provide everything except for the Pure Gold, which he would temporarily conceal.
Golden Lion Shiki looked at Lin Yuan in disbelief and said excitedly.
"You can really help me get this thing off my head! No, you can really provide me with so much."
"Of course, if you don't believe me, you can ask them. Compared to the others, your injury should be the easiest to treat."
A flicker of excitement crossed Golden Lion Shiki's eyes, then he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, since that's the case, then I'll agree. Anyway, I can feel that my life is coming to an end soon, so I'll go completely crazy with you."
Lin Yuan welcomed Shiki with a smile, then landed on the floating Sky Island to observe the ferocious beasts and rare animals.
Redfield smiled and looked at Golden Lion Shiki, and couldn't help but ask.
"You don't seem like the type to give in so easily! Knowing your past personality, you probably would rather die than submit to someone!"
Golden Lion Shiki glared fiercely at Redfield, then smiled and said...
"Hmph, you old codger, aren't you the same? If I hadn't agreed just now, I would have been killed with a single sword stroke. And this guy gave me way too much!"