Black smoke billowed, and embers danced in the air.
Through the wavering flames and smoke, a charred silhouette loomed—its presence chilling to the bone.
Daren narrowed his eyes.
There was no way the North Blue Fleet's five-minute saturation bombardment had done nothing. At the very least, it couldn't have been completely ineffective.
Even if Shiki had covered his entire body with Armament Haki, with the little strength he had left, there was no way he could've maintained such a draining defense for five whole minutes.
Once that Haki barrier dropped, his body—just flesh and blood—would never withstand the Navy's bombardment.
A human body has limits.
Even someone as strong as Garp once got scratched by "Axe-Hand" Morgan while asleep. It was just a surface wound, but it proved the point.
The same applied to Whitebeard during the Summit War. Without Haki to defend himself, even pistols, cannon fire, or a simple slash could injure him.
Even Daren himself—if he hadn't managed to forge a body on par with Kaidou's "Indestructible Body"—might not have survived the North Blue Fleet's onslaught, a bombardment surpassing even a Buster Call in power.
A hot wind swept through, slowly dispersing the thick, gunpowder-scented smoke.
Shiki's figure came back into view.
The Marines from the North Blue Fleet gasped in horror at the sight and instinctively raised their weapons, aiming at the charred figure.
But Daren suddenly lifted his hand, signaling them to hold their fire.
Shiki's appearance had changed drastically.
His once-floor-length golden hair was scorched and blackened. The upper half of his body was shredded by the bombardment, tattered rags clinging to him like torn strips, exposing a gaunt and bloodied frame.
His skin, flesh, and muscle were riddled with decay—charred, melted, and mangled. Thick black blood, mixed with liquefied flesh, slid down in clumps like dark red sludge.
He was riddled with bullet holes, scorched marks, and rotting wounds... even half of his left face had been blown off, leaving only an exposed eyeball bulging outward, bloodshot and grotesque.
Like a demon risen from hell—gruesome and terrifying.
Shiki gasped for air, his mouth and nose exhaling heat. His entire body trembled involuntarily from the sheer extent of his injuries.
But the hand gripping his sword didn't waver.
"Heh..."
A mocking smile crept onto his lips.
His bomb-ravaged mouth curled, exposing bloody gums as he grinned.
"Heh... Hahaha... Jihahahaha!!!"
His low, raspy laughter swelled into a roar that echoed across the sky.
Soaked in blood, Shiki laughed like a madman.
"I actually got pushed this far!!!"
"You really are something, Daren... You even laced the fleet's bombardment with Seastone!"
"Weren't you afraid you'd get killed by your own attack?"
Daren, expressionless, drew a cigar from his coat, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"Even a lion must go all out to kill its prey. And in this cage, you're the only lion."
"You're too powerful, Shiki."
As he spoke, Daren raised his hand and suddenly dug his fingers into his chest, gouging out a Seastone bullet from his flesh.
Clink, clink...
The Seastone bullet hit the ground with a crisp ring.
Daren's face went pale, but the light in his eyes burned even brighter.
"I have to take this risk."
He reached out again and dug into another wound!
Clang, clang...
One by one, the blood-stained Seastone bullets were pulled out.
Because of his "Indestructible Body," the Seastone bullets didn't penetrate deep into Daren's body. They only managed to barely pierce the flesh that had already been cut by Shiki, lodging themselves in the muscle layers.
"If I can't kill you this time, I'm afraid I'll spend the rest of my life living in fear of you."
After pulling all the Seastone bullets from his body, Daren's breathing grew erratic. Bracing his hands against his knees, he panted lightly, his lips turning an unhealthy pale.
"I see..."
Shiki stared at Daren's nearly deranged act, stunned for a moment, then broke into laughter again.
As he laughed, his wounds were aggravated, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and body.
With injuries covering nearly every inch of him, severe blood loss, and the weakening effect of the embedded Seastone bullets, he felt a weakness like never before.
Pain and exhaustion filled every cell in his body.
His vision blurred, and strangely, the pain in his forehead seemed to have vanished.
"Jihahahaha!! I really underestimated you..."
But Shiki paid no mind to his injuries, his eyes locked onto the young Marine in front of him with burning intensity.
"You set up such a meticulous and sinister plan, even revealing a trump card you'd hidden for years... just to kill me."
"The rumors about you weren't wrong. Compared to a Marine, you're far more like a pirate."
The contempt in his eyes toward Daren remained unmasked.
"In that case, I'll let you see for yourself... what true pirate terror really looks like!"
Shiki took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand.
The movement made Daren's pupils contract.
Even from a distance, Doflamingo, Momonga, and countless Marines turned pale with shock.
Could it be...
"This thing really is in the way..."
Shiki muttered under his breath. His mangled hand gripped the ship's wheel embedded in his skull.
"I can't even feel the pain anymore... damn it."
His fierce eyes suddenly narrowed, and he grinned at Daren.
"You've always wanted to rip this thing out of my head, haven't you?"
"Well then, I'll give you what you want..."
Daren's pupils shrank into pinpoints.
Shiki's gaze turned steely, a flash of unprecedented resolve in his eyes.
Then, with one hand, he yanked the ship's wheel from his head—violently.
Hiss!!
The wheel dragged a thick, crimson streak through the air, carving a grim arc.
For a moment, the world went still.
Then—
BOOM!!!!
A monstrous aura erupted from Shiki like a collapsing mountain or a splitting sea!
Countless black and red lightning bolts surged around the blood-drenched lion, radiating in all directions.
The world in front of them thickened, blurred, solidified—as if all color had been sucked away.
A hellish wind blasted forth, and the suffocating pressure in the air was so overwhelming, the ground of the entire island began to split apart!
"Jihahahahaha!!! Come on, Daren, you little brat!!"
With both hands gripping his swords, the Conqueror's Haki that had long been suppressed by the ship's wheel exploded out without restraint, and Shiki laughed madly and with abandon.
"Don't you dare die so easily!!"
This was the lion's... final roar!