SWNOVELXO Chapter 324: Chapter 324
Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"Who is that man flying in the sky?"
Across the world, people watching the live broadcast asked the same question, their voices filled with confusion. They couldn't understand why any sane person would willingly fly into the heart of Marineford at a time like this.
A younger man posed the question to the elder beside him.
"That," the old man said, his voice grave, "is a living legend. One of the three great pirates of the old era, alongside Roger and Whitebeard. The only man to ever escape Impel Down on his own... 'Golden Lion' Shiki."
"Ara, ara... the party just keeps getting more interesting," Admiral Aokiji murmured, his lazy gaze drifting upward to the new arrival.
In that brief moment of distraction, two attacks converged on him instantly.
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Great Thousand Worlds!!"
"Diable Jambe: Tête d'Armée Shoot!"
Aokiji was forced to throw up a wall of ice to defend himself. The impact sent a shockwave blasting outward. When the dust settled, he faced two determined figures.
"You let your guard down, Admiral," Zoro said, tightening the black bandana on his head, a feral grin spreading across his face. The demonic aura of his swords intensified his thirst for battle. "Another slip like that, and you're dead."
"Next time, I'll kick that lazy look right off your face," Sanji added coolly, lighting a cigarette.
-----
From the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face was a mask of thunderous fury. He stared up at the floating pirate, his voice a roar that shook the plaza. "Golden Lion! You dare show your face at Navy Headquarters again? Have you come back to be imprisoned?"
He couldn't believe it. Of all the pirates in the world, this madman was the last one he expected to see.
"Hahahaha! You ask why I'm here, Sengoku?!" Shiki laughed, using his Float-Float Fruit powers to descend until he was level with the platform. He stared directly at the Fleet Admiral, a mocking sneer plastered on his face. "Why, I've come to announce to the entire world what liars you Marines truly are! Hahahaha!"
Veins pulsed on Sengoku's temple. "You decrepit monster! What right do you have to accuse the Navy of anything?!"
Unlike the Straw Hat Pirates, who were rookies with a relatively clean record, Shiki was a butcher. A relic from a bygone era who had left a trail of death and destruction across the seas. The sheer audacity of such a villain claiming the moral high ground made Sengoku want to crush him where he floated.
"Right?! Hahahahaha!" Shiki's laughter boomed. "I don't need any right! For I am the Golden Lion!"
A crushing wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him. The old tyrant, a ship's rudder embedded in his head and the legendary swords Oto and Kogarashi replacing his legs, radiated an aura of absolute dominance.
Then, his voice dropped, carrying across all of Marineford and through every Den Den Mushi to the watching world.
"That man you parade as your greatest capture... Gol D. Roger... turned himself in!"
An instant, stunned silence fell over the battlefield, which was then broken by a rising tide of whispers among the Marines.
"Roger? The Pirate King?"
"He wasn't captured? He surrendered?"
The same shockwave of doubt rippled across the globe.
"Did you hear that? The Pirate King turned himself in!"
"But why? He had just conquered the Grand Line!"
"Could it be... he wanted to start the Great Pirate Era with his last words?"
"It all makes sense! The World Government is terrified of something... something about One Piece! That's why they're trying so desperately to stop anyone from finding it!"
"To use his own death like that... Roger wasn't just a pirate. He was a madman."
"And that's why they're so desperate to execute Ace! They're afraid Roger's son will finish what he started!"
Thanks to the seeds of doubt planted by Bai Ye's earlier broadcast, the public's trust in the World Government was already fragile. Shiki's single sentence had just shattered it.
"You fool!" Sengoku roared, launching a punch of pure golden energy toward the pirate. "Did you come here only to slander the Navy's honor?!"
"Hahahaha! You know better than anyone if it's slander or not, Sengoku!" Shiki cackled, effortlessly avoiding the blast. "I simply had a chat with an old friend of ours and heard the most interesting news."
-----
On the Sunshine Merry, Rayleigh grimaced, a deep annoyance on his face. The "old friend" Shiki mentioned was him. Not long after the war began, Shiki had appeared out of nowhere, demanding to know why Rayleigh had interfered to help the Straw Hat boy. When Rayleigh feigned ignorance, Shiki had threatened to drop the island he was floating above Sabaody directly on his head. The man's insanity was absolute. To make the lunatic leave, Rayleigh had reluctantly given him a piece of the truth.
-----
"I always knew it!" Shiki's expression twisted from manic laughter into something utterly unhinged. "There's no way that weakling Navy of yours could ever capture a man like Roger!"
He raised his hand, his eyes burning with a possessive fire.
"He was my rival!" he screamed. "And since he is gone, all of you can be buried in his place!"
"Hahahahaha!"
With a final, insane laugh, Shiki swung his arm down. High above Marineford, the massive island he held aloft with his power shuddered, its levitation failing as it began to plummet toward the naval base.
"Do not be absurd, Shiki!" Sengoku bellowed. "I will not allow you to do as you please!"
This time, the Fleet Admiral took action himself.
"Daibutsu: Impact!"
A blinding golden light enveloped Sengoku's body. In an instant, he transformed into a colossal golden Buddha, radiating divine and terrible power. This was the might of his Devil Fruit: the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu.
As the island fell, Sengoku drew back his fist and punched upward. He unleashed a golden shockwave, different from Whitebeard's shattering quakes but just as devastating, that shot into the sky and struck the falling landmass. Horrific cracks spiderwebbed across the island before it exploded into a rain of rubble.
In that exact moment, Luffy moved.
He stomped the ground so hard it cratered, using the force to launch himself like a cannonball toward the execution platform. He arrived in an instant, facing the still-transformed Sengoku without a shred of fear. He pumped his arm, compressing the Haki-infused rubber to its absolute limit.
"Gomu Gomu no... Kong Organ!"
This was a move from his Gear Fourth arsenal, but it wasn't the end.
"PRIEST!" Luffy roared from mid-air.
Bai Ye was already moving, appearing near Luffy's trajectory. He was preparing to activate his Qimen technique to amplify Luffy's attack—a combination technique they had practiced to perfection, powerful enough to send even Garp flying.
But just as Bai Ye began to gather his energy, the battlefield turned against him.
A blur of blood-red sword energy materialized behind him, moving too fast to dodge. As Bai Ye tried to summon his Golden Light Curse for defense, the very ground beneath him came alive, erupting into a massive stone hand that clamped around his legs, pinning him in place.
It wasn't over.
A figure burst from the earth beside him, slapping a hand onto Bai Ye's shoulder. In that single touch, Bai Ye felt his connection to his powers sever. He was sealed.
The crimson sword strike was now inches away.
Then, from the front, a pillar of fire erupted as another crimson figure hurled a devastating attack toward him.
"Dai Funka!" (Great Eruption)