Chapter 206: Drifting-Drifting Fruit

Boom!

Boom!

Two nearly overlapping slashes of blade-light plummeted from the horizon, almost illuminating the night sky.

Even though they were dozens of nautical miles away, Miss Kalifa and the others, who had just broken out of the encirclement, saw this scene.

For a moment the deck fell utterly silent; even the crew's instinctive breathing halted at that instant.

Miss Kalifa bit her lips until they bled without even realizing it.

She stared at that blade-light falling from the distant sky, feeling a chill run through her entire body.

In the battle of Drum Kingdom, when Gao Wen had transformed into the Crimson Dragon and detonated that Blazing Star in the night sky, both the commotion and the scale were far more exaggerated than this slash from Jin Shizi.

Yet it utterly lacked this despairing sense of nearly annihilating everything!

And so the question Vivi had blurted out earlier resurfaced in everyone's hearts.

"Can the Captain... win?"

"I..."

A pirate reached up to touch his own forehead, feeling only a chill.

The first thing Jin Shizi's fierce, domineering slash cut down was not Gao Wen's flesh, but the arrogance swelling ever larger in their hearts.

We are still very far from this world's pinnacle!

But what about the Captain...

"I..."

Eyes wide, she stared into the distance, opening her mouth several times before finally squeezing out a suppressed voice:

"He probably can, right?"

"Impossible!"

Jabra slumped onto the deck, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

"That's Jin Shizi we're talking about!"

"Aside from Luo Jie, one of the pirates closest to the One Piece!"

"No matter how fierce Gao Wen is, there has to be a—!"

But in the next instant.

At the end of everyone's line of sight, in the port of Canola, a sudden change occurred.

Roar!

A deafening dragon's cry erupted once again.

The slash Jin Shizi had sent crashing down also shattered at that moment, breaking apart into scattered sword Qi that tore countless buildings to shreds.

Beneath the night sky.

Gao Wen slowly straightened up within the massive crater; two intersecting slash marks on his chest were deep enough to show bone, blood pouring out, yet within a few breaths they had completely healed.

This was naturally the ability of the Crimson Dragon Fruit.

Just now, Gao Wen had drawn the last wisp of the ley line energy underground into his body, barely withstanding that strike from Jin Shizi.

But Jin Shizi's Conqueror's Haki had already invaded Gao Wen's flesh and blood; even though the wounds had healed, the pain still lingered.

It felt like countless blades churning within his flesh, yet Gao Wen's eyes held nothing but an indescribable excitement.

"So this is a slash imbued with Conqueror's Haki?"

"What a power—strong enough to bewitch a man!"

"The Crimson Dragon Battle Armor, combined with the sturdy defense built up by my Armament Haki, was broken through in an instant against such power."

"If not for the residual ley line energy here, this slash might have been more than I could take."

"But this is exactly the might a supreme ruler should possess!"

Gao Wen could not help but let out a sigh of admiration, yet failed to notice the indescribable astonishment in the eyes of Jin Shizi, who hovered in the air.

"That was a slash imbued with Conqueror's Haki? And he actually withstood it with pure physical defense?"

"Interesting!"

"Far too interesting!"

"Twenty years have passed; the times have changed. Old men step down, and naturally new ones take the stage!"

If moments ago he had merely regarded Gao Wen as a somewhat capable newcomer, then at this instant, in Jin Shizi's eyes, Gao Wen had already earned the right to compete on the same stage as him.

The spirit to conquer everything and the resolve to start anew—this was precisely the greatest gap between Gao Wen and Crocodile.

"What is your name?"

"Gao Wen, Knight Gao Wen!"

"Good!"

The corners of Jin Shizi's mouth split open, and the fighting spirit in his eyes began to surge at that moment.

He felt a long-absent thrill; from his fingertips to his brain, every part of his body grew heated at that instant.

Twenty years had passed; this body was no longer at its peak, yet at this moment it still yearned for a thoroughly exhilarating battle.

The twin swords he had long ago strapped to his severed legs in place of feet also began to hum, resonating from afar with Guanshi Zhengzong trembling in Gao Wen's hand.

"In the era after Luo Jie, a man like you has actually appeared!"

"I acknowledge you!"

"Join me, become my right-hand man!"

"My... Lei Li!"

Jin Shizi could not help but try to recruit him once again, and, as expected, was refused by Gao Wen yet again. He shook his head with feigned vexation:

"Then that truly is a pity. Tonight marks the end of your journey."

"A pity?"

Gao Wen let out a snort of laughter:

"You and your blade are so excited you're about to go mad, aren't you?"

"Hahahahahaha—!"

Not a trace of being exposed showed on the Jin Shizi's face—only arrogant, wild laughter.

Until at some moment the restless air suddenly stilled, and Gao Wen's pupils contracted:

"Here it comes!"

"Lion's Might — Earth Roll!"

Accompanying the Jin Shizi's explosive roar, the earth of Canola Port cracked inch by inch, countless buildings crumbling apart, surging upward toward the Jin Shizi in the sky.

And within a few breaths they gathered together, forming massive lion heads that roared at Gao Wen, baring their savage beastliness.

Paramecia-class Devil Fruits are countless in number, and among them are abilities that can be called heaven-defying.

If one speaks of destructive power, the Paramecia class is led by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, which can trigger tsunamis at the slightest use.

Then in terms of versatility and practicality, the Float-Float Fruit takes first place.

The Float-Float Fruit's ability is extremely simple: it makes touched objects float and lets the user control them freely.

And once this ability is developed to its utmost, it produces the apocalyptic scene before Gao Wen's eyes.

The next instant, lion heads filled the sky and came biting toward Gao Wen!

"Hey, hey, hey…"

From Gao Wen's vantage, he could even see the jet-black Armament Haki coating them.

A Jin Shizi of this age can still wield Armament Haki of this magnitude?

Monster!

Gao Wen cursed inwardly, but his body had already moved ahead of his brain, taking responsive action.

He raised his hand and swung Guanshi Zhengzong, sending streaks of flying slashes flying out to cleave the incoming lion heads apart.

Yet those lion heads gathered once more in the next instant, again clawing and biting toward Gao Wen!

"Troublesome!"

Gao Wen's mouth twitched. Relying on the extreme defense of the Red Dragon Battle Armor, he simply gave up defending, and with a flash vanished from the encirclement.

Guanshi Zhengzong in hand, he went straight for the Jin Shizi's head!

"Come on!"

The Jin Shizi's eyes blazed like torches, and he too refused to retreat even a step.

Logically speaking, with the Float-Float Fruit's ability, the optimal choice at this moment would naturally be to use his own extreme agility to wage guerrilla warfare.

But such a method of fighting would undoubtedly be an admission of defeat for the Jin Shizi!

As a legend, as a hegemon who sought to conquer the world, how could he possibly admit that?

He did not hesitate for a single moment.

Twin swords wrapped in Conqueror's Haki slashed out fiercely, clashing head-on with Gao Wen's Guanshi Zhengzong!

Zzzt—!

Boom!

Crimson lightning snaked through, flickering across the night sky.

Gao Wen's offensive was shattered in an instant; his whole body was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the earth and leaving a crater dozens of meters across.

An attack enough to knock a normal person unconscious, landing on Gao Wen, only made him feel a slight ache in his muscles.

He raised his head to look at the Jin Shizi in the sky, gave his long blade a flick, and charged up once more!

Since escape was no concern, then fight to the limit!

Let's see just how much my Conqueror's Haki can grow!

Beneath the night sky.

A different kind of battle erupted at this moment.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Roars of thunder rang out from Canola Port.

The earth split, mountains crumbled.

The surrounding seawater, from the terrifying force poured into it, raised wave after wave of giant surges.

Surging and raging.

Relying on his own godlike speed, his Future Vision Observation Haki, and his extreme defense, Gao Wen withstood the Jin Shizi's Float-Float Fruit ability head-on and launched wave after wave of attacks.

Yet each was repelled outright by the Jin Shizi's domineering slashes; within just a few minutes, Gao Wen's body had already accumulated quite a few wounds.

Crocodile, who had retreated outside Canola Port, stared at this scene and froze on the spot:

"Madmen!"

"Out-and-out madmen!"

At this moment.

Whether it was him or Daz Bones beside him, both could tell that Gao Wen was no match for the Jin Shizi.

Yet that man, after being repelled countless times, stood up again.

Even as the wounds on his body grew more numerous and the healing grew slower, his movements did not slow in the slightest—in fact, within this battle they grew faster and faster!

Especially those eyes—eyes burning like blazing fire—at this moment they struck Crocodile as incomparably dazzling!

That's right!

Blinding!

"What meaning does a battle doomed to lose even have?!"

Crocodile let out a roar so fierce that even the Jin Shizi, locked in fierce combat in the distance, faltered for an instant.

Hiss!

The Guanshi Zhengzong in Gao Wen's hand grazed the Jin Shizi's cheek, leaving a trail of blood, yet in the very next instant, Gao Wen was sent flying back by the Jin Shizi.

This time.

Gao Wen did not act again, but instead relied on Soru, nimbly weaving through the attacks of the Float-Float Fruit, using the chance to recover his stamina.

"This is what makes you different from us!"

The Jin Shizi's voice was indifferent; even in the gaps between strikes, he turned his head to look at Crocodile in the distance.

The contempt in his eyes was barely concealed, laid bare for all to see:

"No matter how many times Knight Gao Wen is beaten down, he will not stop until he swallows his last breath, or achieves his goal."

"And you…"

"How could a man whose heart is full of fear ever ascend to the throne of the Pirate King?!"

Crocodile froze; the spine he had straightened upon sensing a kindred spirit in Gao Wen broke once more at this moment.

He could barely stand, so unsteady on his feet that in the end he could only just manage to steady himself with Daz Bones's support.

"Tch!"

Having said that.

The Jin Shizi paid Crocodile no more heed, turning his head to engage Gao Wen in yet another round of slaughter.

He was far from as relaxed as he appeared on the surface.

This body had not seen a proper battle in twenty years; no matter how unwilling he was to admit it, he had to face a cruel reality.

He had grown old.

If he were at his peak, that single sword strike just now would have been enough to cut Gao Wen down!

But now he could no longer do it.

Moreover.

As the battle grew more intense and the clash of Haki and will grew ever more violent, a piercing, drilling pain began to throb at the top of his head.

The wound where the ship's rudder was attached had even begun to seep fresh blood.

Was this body already unable to hold on, with only this much?

Watching Gao Wen below charge again and again like a tireless beast, the Jin Shizi felt nothing but unspeakable unwillingness in his heart.

If only I could be a few years younger…

If only I could take off this damned rudder…

How many in this era could be my match?!

"Damn it!"

Gao Wen's assault came once more; the Jin Shizi swung his legs, enduring the searing pain atop his head, drawing out the Conqueror's Haki within him, and at this moment unleashed the strongest strike of the night…

"Lion Majesty - Slash Wave!"

The overwhelmingly domineering slash landed on Gao Wen; in an instant it split open the Red Dragon Armor on his body, and then the bones of his chest, and even the flesh within his chest cavity.

This is bad!

Gao Wen's face went pale; before he could react, he was sent crashing down to the earth by the Jin Shizi's slash.

Boom!

A rumble came from the port; the earth caved in, cracks spreading all the way to the sea's surface, dust and smoke billowing out and obscuring everyone's line of sight.

A slash mark spread out from the port, stretching all the way to the distant sea surface.

The surroundings fell silent for a time.

Only the Jin Shizi, standing high in the air, continued to pant.

The searing pain atop his head was nearly driving him mad, so much so that his face kept trembling, yet what truly tormented him was the unwillingness in his heart.

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!"

"If I can't even endure this much, how am I supposed to clash with Whitebeard!"

In the midst of his words.

He recalled the diagnosis the ship's doctor had once given him.

This rudder had already sunk deep into his skull, even growing together with the flesh of his brain; if forcibly removed, his very life might not be preserved.

But at this very moment.

Witnessing his own decline, the Jin Shizi had already resolved to have it removed, even if the wager was his own life.

Though my luck at gambling has never been any good, this time…

You'll help me, won't you?

The Jin Shizi glanced up at the sky, then lowered his gaze to look below, only to discover that Gao Wen's presence had long since vanished.

"Did he flee?"

"However…"

The Jin Shizi raised a hand to touch the rudder atop his head, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up:

"Next time you won't have such luck!"

Having said that.

The Jin Shizi floated up gracefully, taking his fleet with him as they vanished into the clouds.

From start to finish, he never once glanced back at Xiang Keluo, who had been observing the entire battle from afar.

Originally, he had thought that witnessing this fight would bring some realization to Xiang Keluo, perhaps even shattering his shackles and allowing him to rediscover his conviction.

In that case, he might have been worth using, but now it was no longer necessary.

As Rapeseed Flower Port settled back into calm, the battle between Gao Wen and the Jin Shizi also drew to a close.

Half an hour later.

When everyone had already departed.

A figure leaped out of the seawater, landing steadily on the ground.

It was none other than Gao Wen, who had submerged himself in the water just moments before.

Struck squarely by the Jin Shizi's desperate slash earlier, he had suffered severe injuries; even after exhausting all the earth pulse energy within his body, he could barely manage to heal his internal organs and bones.

With no other choice.

He could only dive into the deep sea to evade this calamity.

"Tonight's battlefield was already unfavorable to me."

"Added to that, there is still a clear gap between my current Haki cultivation and the Jin Shizi's, so my defeat is not unjust."

Gao Wen looked at the wound on his chest, yet there was not a trace of fear in his eyes, only an indescribable excitement:

"But..."

"Just how much Conqueror's Haki experience did I gain?!"

It was now past midnight, and the System settled today's experience once again; a string of numbers Gao Wen couldn't understand appeared before his eyes:

"Conqueror's Haki Experience +6403!"

Gao Wen rubbed his eyes, and after confirming he hadn't misread it, only one thought remained in his mind:

"What a loss!"

"Where am I going to find such excellent leeks next time?"

(End of Chapter)