"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Orion abruptly looked up before he could finish speaking.
At almost the sa mont, Imu flashed out of the pavilion, gazing towards the sky thousands of ters above.
High above the Holy Land, a black dot hovered motionless against the sunlight, its back turned to the ground.
If not deliberately observed, no one would have noticed this black speck in the sky.
Even for powerhouses like Orion and Imu, only a vague outline was visible.
Suspended thousands of ters above the Holy Land was none other than Golden Lion Shiki, who had just passed over the G-5 branch in the New World.
Thanks to his Float-Float Fruit abilities, Shiki floated effortlessly at this altitude, looking down at the towering Red Line with a fanatical glint in his eyes.
To rule the world, this continent was his final objective.
Yet, whether during his pri or now as a lone wolf, he could only gaze at this land from afar, never daring to approach recklessly.
Though only a blurry silhouette was visible, Orion didn't need to guess—it had to be Shiki.
In the entire Grand Line, no one else besides the Float-Float Fruit user could hover at such heights.
"Bold move."
Tilting his head towards the sky and confirming the black dot was indeed Shiki, Orion blinked in surprise.
He then devoured his grilled at without hesitation and imdiately coated a bamboo skewer with Armant Haki, transforming it into a pitch-black 'steel needle' brimming with terrifying energy.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Orion infuse the skewer with Armant Haki, Imu—who had also stepped out of the pavilion—blinked in confusion.
"Can you really… hit him with a skewer?"
"Want to learn?"
Orion tilted his head toward Imu.
"I can teach you."
Imu's lips twitched beneath her veil, but she ultimately remained silent.
Orion didn't stop there.
While hardening the skewer with Armant Haki, he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki without warning, startling Gunko—who was closest to him—into jumping back like a frightened rabbit.
Imu face turn paled too.
"Orion, you—"
"Relax, it won't harm you!"
Orion forcibly compressed his Conqueror's Haki and channeled it into the skewer before standing up abruptly and hurling it to the sky.
Whoosh—
The bamboo skewer flashed by, appearing instantly a kiloter away in the sky.
*****
At the sa ti.
Several kiloters above, Shiki who had rely been passing by the Holy Land and thought to take a quick glance at the Red Line from this height before leaving, suddenly felt his pupils contract violently.
In that brief mont of shock, a sonic boom erupted from the sky below him.
Imdiately after, a dazzling streak of light shot upward at an astonishing speed, heading straight for his position in the sky.
Though still two or three kiloters away, the terrifying, invisible pressure had already arrived first.
"Dammit!"
"I've been spotted!"
After a brief mont of shock, Shiki exclaid in horror.
"How is this possible? I'm several kiloters up in the sky!"
Without wasting another thought, Shiki imdiately activated his Devil Fruit ability, propelling himself higher into the sky.
However, his speed was still too slow.
Just as he ascended another kiloter, the Conqueror's Haki stored within the bamboo skewer suddenly erupted, enveloping him like a reverse-flowing galaxy.
"Gah—"
Under the overwhelming pressure of this supre Conqueror's Haki, even soone as powerful as Shiki stood no chance.
With a piercing scream, the bamboo skewer suddenly accelerated, plunging into Shiki's body with a sickening thud.
The terrifying impact carried Shiki even higher into the sky, ascending over a thousand ters before the skewer shot out of his body, trailing a mist of blood as it disappeared into the clouds above ten thousand ters.
Before Shiki could react, the bamboo skewer—unable to contain Orion's supre Conqueror's Haki—exploded violently upon entering the clouds.
In an instant, the overwhelming Haki scattered the rolling clouds, creating what looked like a massive hole in the sky from afar.
As the clouds dispersed, a faintly visible gate to the heavens, hidden within the sea of clouds at an even higher altitude, appeared.
"What is that—?"
Though the skewer had nearly knocked him unconscious, Shiki still caught sight of the heavenly gate.
After a brief mont of stunned silence, Shiki ignored the blood gushing from his wound and, leveraging the power of his Float-Float Fruit, accelerated towards the sky, charging straight for the elusive heavenly gate.
*****
Down in the Holy Land, Orion and the others were too far away to notice the gate hidden in the clouds above.
Seeing Shiki struck, Gunko, Sengoku, Zephyr and Imu all turned to Orion with looks of disbelief, looking at him as if he were a monster.
Orion rely shrugged, a hint of regret in his voice.
"A slight miscalculation. Shiki probably isn't dead. But no matter—consider it a little warning."
"You call that a little warning?" Sengoku's face twitched as he pointed at the massive hole in the sky ten thousand ters above.
"If that black dot up there had been , I'd have died of fright!"
Orion casually picked up a skewer of grilled at and said calmly.
"It really was a slight miscalculation."
Before anyone could react, he turned to Gunko and Sharlia.
"Why are you all standing around? Eat the at! Oh, and Imu, since you've already left the pavilion, co try so. It's really good."
Surprisingly, Imu actually walked over and sat right beside Orion.
Seeing this, Gunko and Sharlia who had just taken their seats, quickly stood up.
"You two..."
Not expecting Gunko and Sharlia to be so intimidated by Imu, Orion couldn't be bothered with further words and simply commanded.
"Sit down! Eat to your heart's content—that's an order."
*****
anwhile.
Seven to eight thousand ters above the Grand Line, in the White Sea ford by 'Sea Clouds' within the dense clouds, Shiki, dragging his severely injured body, montarily forgot his wounds as he gazed fervently at a Gate of Heaven not far ahead.
"This is... the sky island that Roger and his crew once reached!"
"Jihahaha, just when all seems lost, a new path appears!"
Amidst his laughter, Shiki didn't want to waste a single mont and decisively sped towards the Gate of Skypiea ahead.
After passing through the gate, Shiki didn't stop.
Instead, he endured the increasing suffocation from the thinning air and continued ascending another two thousand ters.
Soon, he arrived at the White-White Sea.
"BOOM—"
Just as he reached the White-White Sea, a thunderous roar erupted.
The sky flickered between light and darkness amidst flashes of lightning, the dazzling electric arcs making Shiki feel montarily breathless.
Following the sound, he saw a massive ball of lightning hovering above an island ahead.
Standing atop the lightning ball was a towering figure.
"Fear is the true definition of a god."
"Gan Fall, your reign ends now!"
"From this mont forth, I am the one and only god of Angel Island."
"Yahahaha..."
Reviews
All reviews (0)