Chapter 7: It Is God’s Will That We Perish, Not the Fault of War!

Lucas: "Why did Shiki fail? Simple. Before he could carry out his grand plan, he picked a fight with the wrong pirate crew… and lost. After that, the Marine swooped in and took advantage of his defeat."

Whitebeard: "What the hell?! You're telling me Golden Lion Shiki wasn't defeated by the Marine? That's unbelievable! If some pirate crew actually managed to take him down, why isn't that crew famous?"

Golden Lion Shiki was one of the three great legends, standing alongside Whitebeard, the World's Strongest Man, and Roger, the Pirate King. If some pirate crew had really defeated him, they should have instantly become famous!

Golden Lion Shiki: "Isn't the answer obvious? The Marine and the World Government took all the credit! Those shameless bastards have been doing it for years! Wasn't it the same for Roger? He turned himself in, but they claimed they had captured him!"

Pirate King Roger: "Fair point. But now I really want to know—who was it? What pirate crew managed to take you down? They had to have been strong enough to at least rival the Four Emperors, right?"

Golden Lion Shiki: "…"

Shiki fell silent.

He didn't want to answer.

Lucas: "It was the Straw Hat Pirates."

Fire Fist Ace: "Who?!"

Whitebeard: "Impossible!"

Both men were completely stunned.

Meanwhile, Fisher Tiger and Roger, who weren't familiar with the name, looked confused.

Fire Fist Ace: "Wait a second… The Straw Hat Pirates… Are you talking about Monkey D. Luffy?!"

Lucas: "That's right! Shiki's flying island just so happened to pass by the Straw Hat Pirates' ship. The kindhearted navigator of the crew warned him that the area ahead was about to experience severe weather."

Lucas: "Shiki, being the arrogant idiot he is, realized that his own navigators weren't as skilled as the Straw Hats' navigator. So, what did he do? He got excited and kidnapped her!"

Fire Fist Ace: "You have got to be kidding me…"

Whitebeard: "Gurarara! That's so typical of Shiki!"

Pirate King Roger: "Bah! Shameless! Absolutely shameless! Stealing someone else's crewmate? That's a new low! No wonder you got your ass kicked—you deserved it!"

Golden Lion Shiki: "Go to hell, all of you!"

Whitebeard: "Wait, are you telling me Shiki was defeated by Straw Hat Luffy?"

Lucas: "Hard to believe? Well, believe it. That's exactly what happened."

Fire Fist Ace: "This is insane. Has Shiki's strength really declined that much?"

Pirate King Roger: "Hold on! Are you saying that means Shiki got weaker? So Straw Hat Luffy wasn't actually strong?"

Whitebeard: "I saw Luffy before I died. By that time, Shiki had already been defeated. How should I put it? If I had fought him… it would've taken me half a minute to finish the fight."

Pirate King Roger: "Pfft—"

Pirate King Roger: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HALF A MINUTE?! Really?! Shiki, your strength declined way too fast! No wonder you never became a Yonko—your time in hiding wasn't the only thing holding you back!"

Golden Lion Shiki: "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Shiki suddenly exploded in anger.

Golden Lion Shiki: "That damn rudder stuck in my head has been affecting my reaction speed for years! The swords replacing my legs have ruined my swordsmanship! Otherwise, I could've taken that brat down with one hand!"

Whitebeard: "Tsk! No means no, Shiki. Quit making excuses. I spent over a decade hooked up to IV drips, and even in that state, I could still beat up Marine Admirals!"

Golden Lion Shiki: "You guys don't get it! It's not my fault I lost! Just like the Battle of Edd War, I lost because of something completely ridiculous. It's all Roger's fault!"

Pirate King Roger: "Huh?! How is this my fault?"

Golden Lion Shiki: "Because that damn kid was wearing the same annoying straw hat you used to wear when you were young! And just like back then, the weather turned against me! I got struck by a random bolt of lightning in the middle of the fight, got seriously injured, and then lost!"

Pirate King Roger: "…"

Whitebeard: "Damn… Shiki, why are you so unlucky?"

Pirate King Roger: "I always thought that storm at Edd War was my good luck! But now it turns out… it was your bad luck all along!"

Roger was completely dumbfounded.

Back during the Battle of Edd War, he had been on the verge of losing to Shiki's fleet. But out of nowhere, a massive storm had appeared and obliterated Shiki's armada in an instant. Even Shiki himself had been injured, with a ship's rudder getting lodged into his skull.

Roger had always believed that it was his own incredible luck that saved him that day.

But now, it was clear.

It wasn't his luck that had saved him—it was Shiki's cursed misfortune that had doomed him!

Both times, it was the exact same scenario.

A storm. A fight. Shiki losing everything in an instant.

Lucas: "It is God's will that you perish, Shiki, not the fault of war!"

Lucas couldn't believe it either.

Shiki had faced the protagonists of two different pirate eras. He had the upper hand both times—only to be defeated by random freak storms each time.

This level of bad luck was legendary.

Golden Lion Shiki: "It is not the fault of war that I was defeated by the will God…"

Shiki suddenly stopped talking.

And then…

Golden Lion Shiki: "Damn it… Those words… They really touched my heart…"

Shiki's voice cracked.

A tear slid down his face.

It was the most poetic explanation for his misfortunes he had ever heard.

He hadn't lost because he was weak.

He hadn't lost because his enemies were strong.

He had lost… because the heavens themselves had forsaken him.

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