Chapter 275: Dawn

Clack!

Gao Wen grabbed the Guanshi Zhengzong beside him with one hand.

This blade, already extremely bloodthirsty, became even more excited; its edge even faintly glowed with red light, as if the soul of the Guanshi Zhengzong itself was burning at this moment.

Since its birth, it had longed for a battle like this, facing the strongest opponent alongside the strongest partner.

And the Jin Shizi hovering high in the sky possessed such qualifications!

Vroom—!

The blade hummed.

In the next instant, it tore through the air, burning away everything as it slashed toward the Lion King passing high above!

Haki, swordsmanship, physical constitution...

From his rise on a desolate island in the East Blue until now, all of Gao Wen's growth, all his realizations, and every life-or-death duel he had experienced were about to be put to the test at this very moment.

Crush the Jin Shizi, and then become the new...

King!

"Gao Wen!"

High in the sky, the supreme hegemon's beard and hair stood on end.

His face was covered in wrinkles, and many age spots had already appeared.

This body, constructed of flesh and blood, had grown old.

The aging of the flesh is an irreversible gradual process, while the aging of the soul, rooted in will and belief, happens in an instant, yet it can also be reborn in another instant.

At this moment, the Jin Shizi's heart ignited once more!

The corners of his mouth split into a grin, his eyes turned completely crimson from excessive blood congestion, and even the blood surging from his heart seemed ready to boil.

He was very familiar with this feeling and had experienced it before, but that should have been twenty years ago, when this body was still young and possessed infinite vitality, not now.

The Jin Shizi did not know why Gao Wen's Conqueror's Haki had undergone such a tremendous change in the blink of an eye, but he knew that at this very moment, he truly felt as though he had returned to those days.

An indomitable will, being knocked down time and again only to rise again until every opponent within sight was torn apart...

So alike!

Truly so alike!

"You are not Luo Jie... no, you are simply you!"

Gao Wen was born in the East Blue, possessed outstanding talent, and at a young age already had the strength to challenge the strongest.

Originally, in the Jin Shizi's heart, Gao Wen served as a substitute for Luo Jie, a shadow to make up for the regret of his past defeat.

But the Gao Wen seen in the Jin Shizi's eyes at this moment was no longer anyone's shadow; he was simply Gao Wen himself.

"You are not Luo Jie's shadow, but the Knight Gao Wen!"

"You should have been born in our era, living as my opponent, rather than in this boring age, playing house with these boring fellows!"

"You are a born pirate; I cannot be mistaken!"

"Hahahahaha—!"

The mad laughter stirred up turbulent currents high in the sky, pressing down upon the ground like a gale, causing several IQ beasts that failed to escape in time to drop to their knees on the spot.

Yet for them, this was merely the beginning.

"Noisy!"

After a indifferent voice sounded, Gao Wen, holding the blade in one hand, rushed upward toward the Jin Shizi from below.

Like a spike breaking through a barrier, he tore a rift in the Haki erupted by the Jin Shizi.

The next instant.

Clang—!

Blade and sword clashed across the void; crimson lightning flickered under the night sky, bloody and ferocious, yet completely captivating the gaze of everyone watching.

All because at this very moment.

Whether it was Law standing aside, wagering his life to witness the battle of the strongest, or Aokiji directly facing Big Mom nearby, or even Akainu far out on the sea, watching everything expressionlessly while the ship beneath his feet slowly rocked, they all understood.

The final moment of this battle between top-tier powerhouses had arrived.

Whether a new king would step onto the bones of the legends of the old era to ascend among the strongest, or whether the Jin Shizi would once again roar at this era, would all be revealed in the coming fight!

After their initial probing, what followed was an all-out slaughter, with no holding back, no mindset of play, and no futile sympathy...

To slash off the opponent's head with one strike, or to pierce the opponent's heart with one thrust, was the best form of Good Respect toward him!

"Brilliant Moon - Full Overflow!"

"Lion's Might - Thousand Bone Slices - Sea Wither!"

After another collision where both exerted their full strength, the two flew backward, only to charge at each other again in the next instant.

Previously suppressed by the Jin Shizi and beaten unilaterally, Gao Wen, even in terms of the battlefield situation, was now evenly matched with this man.

On the deck of the warship.

The white-faced CP0 agent stared blankly at the two figures high in the sky; as the sea breeze swept past, he felt only a chill running down his neck.

At this moment, even his loyalty to the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders wavered slightly.

Against such monsters, even a god would not be a match, right?!

"What exactly happened? Wasn't Knight Gao Wen only able to rely on his abilities to forcibly maintain an unbeaten stance at the start?! Why was the battle situation reversed in just an instant?!"

"Is it a hidden power of Knight Gao Wen, or..."

"No!"

Akainu raised his head, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"He must have suddenly realized something."

"Haki born from belief, the most difficult thing in this world to explain clearly; merely a moment of enlightenment can bring forth the power to turn the tide of heaven and earth."

"The more one believes, the more one is obsessed, the stronger one becomes."

"What exactly does Water Seven possess that is worth a pirate going to such lengths?!"

Accompanied by several murmurs, Akainu already had the answer in his heart.

Simply because on the distant shore, specks of bright light slowly appeared, as several ragged, sallow, and emaciated refugees gathered toward the beach.

And the bright lights in the distance continued to multiply as time passed.

Akainu knew what this meant.

He reached up and pressed his military cap, the brim lowered to shield his eyes, yet it could not block the constant twitching of the masseter muscles in his cheeks.

The center of the battlefield.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Continuous impacts almost completely flattened everything within Law's line of sight.

The two people fighting in the center of the battlefield were like some kind of colossal beasts, or humanoid gods, recklessly releasing the power within their bodies, scraping a layer of skin off the earth.

"Will he win?!"

"Will he win?"

"If even a monster nearly invincible like Shiki the Jin Shizi can be defeated, then what is there that man cannot win against?!"

Law's body was already covered in wounds; some were cuts from flying gravel, while others were injuries caused merely by the air currents disturbed when Gao Wen and Shiki the Jin Shizi clashed.

Every second spent remaining nearby could mean death, but Law could no longer care about such things.

He now only wished to witness the final result of this duel to the death between the two.

To witness Shiki the Jin Shizi's defeat, or Gao Wen's ascent to the peak!

"It must happen, right?!"

"Knight Gao Wen, what kind of person are you exactly? To possess the strength to challenge Shiki the Jin Shizi at such an age?!"

Boom!

A loud explosion interrupted the rhythm of Law's thoughts.

He raised his eyes to look.

There he saw a figure with wings growing from its back, suspended high in the sky, holding a long blade in one hand, domineering and unmatched, with eyes revealing absolute confidence.

"Knight Gao Wen... then the one who fell..."

Law suddenly turned his head to look, only to see Shiki the Jin Shizi using one hand to press down the rock trapping him, entirely lacking the overwhelming pressure of controlling everything that he had displayed moments before.

At this moment, the situation of offense and defense had reversed!

"Hahahaha!"

"Interesting!"

"Truly too interesting!"

Although his appearance was disheveled, not a trace of despair could be seen on Shiki the Jin Shizi's face; there was only the calmness of a legend.

Battles like this, scenes like this, even crushing defeats—he had experienced them countless times; to him, they were nothing more than dust on his clothes.

But apart from the Battle of Edd War more than twenty years ago, there had never been a moment when he wanted to win as much as he did now!

Even if he had to gamble his life, he had to win!

Swong—!

As the earth beneath his feet shattered, Shiki the Jin Shizi's figure was already charging toward Gao Wen high in the sky.

Accompanying him, large sections of building ruins and gravel beneath his feet also floated up at this moment; in merely an instant, they gathered and entangled with each other, forming numerous ferocious lion heads that bit toward Gao Wen!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Continuous collisions occurred as countless remnants gathered and scattered, coming alive under Shiki the Jin Shizi's control to bite toward Gao Wen in the center.

Such power, such an offensive, was no different from that of a god!

But Shiki the Jin Shizi knew that attacks of this level held no meaning for that man.

As expected, in the next instant, a figure shot out from amidst the sky-filling gravel, slashing a blade toward Shiki the Jin Shizi.

Clang!

Blade met blade, and vast Haki dispersed.

In terms of Haki alone, Gao Wen at this moment was already comparable to Shiki the Jin Shizi, but his body was younger, his physique stronger, and his Zoan ability was also more adept at close-quarters combat.

Not to mention Shiki the Jin Shizi now; even facing the Lion King in his prime twenty years ago, Gao Wen would not have felt a shred of fear!

"Shiki!"

"You have lost!"

Boom—!

Shiki the Jin Shizi fell once again, like a meteor, crashing directly into the ground.

Crack-crack-crack—!

Cracks spread outward all the way to the outskirts of Water Seven, crisscrossing and causing countless seawater to rush in, nearly completely altering the terrain.

"I will not lose!"

Shiki the Jin Shizi's figure shot out from underground, his eyes burning like torches.

If this were a normal battle, continuing to fight at this level would have lost all meaning.

After all, the most important thing had already been secured; the Jin Shizi gradually noticed the warships gathering around Water Seven, and the Navy's appearance at this moment carried malice so intense it was almost palpable.

But in this moment, the only thing the Jin Shizi wanted was one thing... to crush the opponent before him, even if it meant paying with his life!

He gasped for air; clearly, this aged body, even with old wounds healed, ultimately lacked the stamina it had in his youth when he fought Luo Jie and Whitebeard for days and nights.

Just a few hours of battle had already left him struggling.

"Again!"

After a roar, the Jin Shizi leaped up, flying toward Gao Wen, but after another bout of entanglement, he fell back to the earth once more.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The exact same scene repeated in the center of the battlefield; only this time, the suppressed side was no longer Gao Wen, but the Jin Shizi, the legend who had once roamed the seas.

The crowd watched the battle numbly, having even forgotten to speak.

Mary Geoise.

In the familiar office.

The Five Elders, having returned here, once again watched the images transmitted through the Den Den Mushi projector, their faces exceedingly gloomy.

At this very moment, Gao Wen, who possessed the power to suppress the Jin Shizi head-on, was enough to make them take him seriously.

No, this could already be called dread.

That was the Red Dragon!

As long as the battlefield was chosen appropriately, with the power Gao Wen had currently displayed, unless they directly deployed an Ancient Weapon to erase Gao Wen along with the ground beneath his feet, it would be almost impossible to eliminate him.

A pirate who could not be eliminated... a threat no less than Rocks of back then!

"The will of that my lord is absolute; once the Buster Call is launched, it absolutely cannot be altered!"

Saint Mazu repeated the order he had just received, his gaze falling on Gao Wen in the center of the battlefield, his eyes growing ever more ruthless:

"Shall we step in and completely erase that fellow, or?!"

Click—!

Saint Natsu Shourou closed the long sword in his hand and rubbed his brow with his fingers:

"Although seeing that sword every time is particularly irritating, even if we step in, if that fellow is determined to flee, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him."

The voice fell silent.

Silence descended on the office for a moment, for they all knew that what Saint Natsu Shourou said was the truth.

In terms of threat level, the ability of the Red Dragon Fruit already ranked among the top of the known Zoan Mythical Species; in the hands of Gao Wen, whose Haki could rival the Jin Shizi's, it was like a tiger gaining wings.

Things had even reached a point where they were in a predicament, like riding a tiger.

The five silently watched the images in the Den Den Mushi projector, feeling only that events were developing toward loss of control.

This feeling was not common in their long memories; the most recent time was twenty years ago, when Luo Jie spoke those words on the execution platform.

Time flowed second by second, and the battle in Water Seven grew ever more intense.

The Jin Shizi's wounds multiplied, and his body grew ever weaker.

He had already foreseen his defeat.

Gao Wen was far younger than him and possessed a hand-to-hand combat ability that was nearly unsolvable; the outcome of this battle was already destined, but unexpectedly, the Jin Shizi did not feel the slightest bit of resentment.

Even at the moment Gao Wen's blade pierced his heart and the sharp pain struck, the only feeling in his heart was an indescribable sense of relief.

"Defeated again by a man from the East Blue, am I?!"

The Jin Shizi murmured, his gaze passing over Gao Wen to look at the distant sea.

The sun rose; its crimson light shone upon the sea surface and also upon the Jin Shizi's face.

"You didn't originally have to die."

Gao Wen looked down; before his eyes was the Jin Shizi's chest, marred by a gruesome through-and-through wound.

Splash—!

Blood gushed from the wound, splashing all over the ground.

The Jin Shizi's heart had been completely pierced; with every beat, the wound was torn wider.

With such an injury, unless Luo Jie intervened, or certain special Devil Fruits took effect, the only outcome awaiting the Jin Shizi was death.

But now, neither of these conditions was met.

"Why?!"

Gao Wen asked, puzzled:

"With your abilities, retreating would be a matter of ease."

"Who knows?!"

The Jin Shizi raised his head, a smile curving his lips:

"Perhaps I didn't want to be defeated again by a man from the East Blue, or perhaps I saw a certain man in you... No!"

"This body can no longer support even this level of battle; I truly wished to fight you at my peak..."

"I have grown old too."

"No!"

Gao Wen shook his head:

"Compared to Whitebeard, who was plagued by a grave illness, you are not old yet; at the very least, your heart is young."

"Hahahaha—!"

The Jin Shizi paused, then burst into laughter so loud that tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

For a long while.

The Jin Shizi's laughter gradually subsided; he raised his gaze to look at Gao Wen, a blazing light flickering in his eyes:

"What do you think of the title 'Lion'?!"

"What do you mean?!"

Just as Gao Wen was about to press further, the Jin Shizi before him had already drawn his last breath.

(End of this chapter)