Chapter 4: Justice vs. the Golden Lion

A few days after Rouge's arrival at Marineford, the latest issue of the World Economic News hit the presses and was delivered by tens of thousands of News Coo across the seas—kingdoms, islands, even ships.

And when people all over the world laid eyes on the headline splashed across the front page, they froze on the spot.

[Pirate King Gold Roger Captured by the Navy!!!]

The article briefly recounted how Admiral Sengoku and the 'Hero of the Marines' Garp had led Vice Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan to capture Roger on Baterilla Island in the South Blue.

It also announced that on January 1st of the coming year, at precisely eleven o'clock in the morning, Roger would be publicly executed at Marineford's Plaza of Justice.

It even noted that Roger's birthday was December 31st.

The paper praised the World Government for its kindness in allowing Roger to celebrate his final birthday—an act of mercy, they claimed.

In an instant, the entire Grand Line was thrown into chaos by that single sheet of newsprint.

Especially the New World, where the great pirates gathered like storm clouds.

Aboard the Moby Dick, Edward Newgate remained silent, a massive bottle of sake in hand, staring off in the direction of Marineford.

At his feet lay the now-read newspaper.

Around him, his crew exchanged uncertain glances.

For a long moment, the only sound on deck was the crashing of the waves.

...

Somewhere in the New World.

With a thunderous BOOM, a floating island in the sky suddenly shook violently.

Cracks spread across its surface, and countless stone fragments crumbled and fell, crashing into the sea below and sending massive columns of water soaring skyward.

"Impossible!!"

A furious roar, like that of a lion king, erupted and was accompanied by a wave of dark red energy that swept across the sky, shredding the surrounding clouds in an instant.

"B-Boss..."

Inside the banquet hall on the floating island, hundreds of pirates—new recruits who had joined the Flying Pirates within the past three years—stared in horror at the massive gash that had split the hall nearly in two, a chasm so deep it seemed bottomless. Panic-stricken, they scrambled back in a chaotic stampede to either side of the room.

At the center of it all, atop the platform, stood Golden Lion Shiki, gripping his swords with trembling hands, his entire body seething with fury.

His chest heaved with heavy breaths, his bloodshot eyes glowing with rage. The rudder embedded in his head throbbed with a dull, aching pain.

Just moments ago, he had cleaved the newspaper on the tea table into dust with a single slash.

"Roger! Roger was a man I acknowledged!"

"How could he—how could he have been captured by those worthless Navy bastards?! How?!"

Shiki roared again, his voice shaking the very air.

At the same time, an overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.

Dozens upon dozens of pirates instantly dropped to the floor, unconscious, their eyes rolled back.

In the blink of an eye, only a handful remained standing, swaying on their feet.

But Shiki didn't spare them a glance. Still gripping his dual swords, he transformed into a blur of golden light and burst out of the hall.

Even as several officers shouted after him, he ignored them completely and sped off into the sky, flying away from the island at incredible speed.

Within about five minutes, Shiki's silhouette had vanished completely.

As the few remaining officers stood frozen, unsure of what to do next—

The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently.

Their expressions turned deathly pale.

Moments later, the entire floating island plummeted like a massive meteorite, crashing into the ocean with a deafening explosion and vanishing beneath the waves, leaving behind only monstrous tides.

From that moment on, the Flying Pirates—who had terrorized the seas for nearly fifteen years—ceased to exist.

...

Marine Headquarters – Marineford.

"What? Golden Lion Shiki is going to attack us?!"

In the Fleet Admiral's office, Admiral Sengoku had just taken his seat when he heard the news from Fleet Admiral Kong. He immediately shot to his feet.

Even Garp, who had been calmly munching on rice crackers across from him, stopped mid-bite.

"Yes. The message just came in from the Five Elders. We need to prepare immediately," Kong said, his tone deadly serious.

"If that's the case, he must've read today's paper and rushed straight here. Given the distance and the speed of his floating island… he'll probably arrive by tomorrow morning?" Sengoku muttered, thinking aloud.

But Kong shook his head.

"No. According to the Five Elders… he's coming alone."

"Alone?" Garp raised an eyebrow.

"How the hell does he have the nerve?" Sengoku asked, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. He quickly followed up, "How did the Five Elders even know this?"

"Not sure. They didn't say. But if you think about it, the answer's obvious." Kong let out a weary sigh.

"There's a Cipher Pol agent inside the Flying Pirates."

Sengoku's eyes lit up with realization. "So the spy must've seen Shiki leave on his own and immediately reported it. That would explain how the intel came in so fast and so accurately."

"Exactly." Kong nodded.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The office fell silent, the atmosphere heavy.

The terrifying intelligence-gathering capabilities of Cipher Pol left them deeply unsettled and increasingly wary.

That's when Garp finally broke the silence, his tone uncharacteristically serious.

"So… what do we do now?"

Even someone as carefree as Garp knew full well how grave it was for Golden Lion Shiki to be coming here.

"If he's coming alone, he'll be much faster. At this rate, he might even arrive tonight—or before tonight," Sengoku said in a grim voice.

"Then we wait. And when he comes… we take him down," Garp said, clenching his right fist.

"No."

Sengoku shook his head and locked eyes with Kong.

"We can't let the battle take place at Marineford. The destruction and casualties would be catastrophic. But we also can't let it happen too far from here—after all, Shiki's target is this place."

Kong nodded slowly as he pondered the situation.

"Do you have something in mind?" he asked.

Sengoku sat back down on the couch, brow furrowed in deep thought.

There were only three islands near Marineford—Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Sabaody Archipelago.

Obviously, none of those locations could be used as battlegrounds.

But without an island… what, was he supposed to fight Shiki at sea with Garp?

That would mean aerial combat.

And for the Golden Lion Shiki, a man with the powers of the Float-Float Fruit, that would be far too much of an advantage.

"What if we cleared out a few warships and grouped them together off the coast of Marineford?"

It was Kong who proposed the idea.

"That could work," Sengoku replied. "But a few might not be enough. Even if Garp and I go all-out, taking Shiki down won't be easy. We'd need at least ten."

...

Time slipped by.

The golden sun began its slow descent across the blue sky, gradually sinking toward the horizon.

Before long, the golden rays of dusk painted the sea in brilliant hues, and the sky itself began to darken into evening.

Suddenly—

On the far edge of the horizon, in the direction of the New World, five Navy warships appeared, floating high in the sky.

The decks of every single one of them were littered with the corpses of sailors.

A few of the bodies still wore justice-emblazoned coats—officers of the Navy.

A pungent, overpowering stench of blood hung around the five ghostly vessels.

From time to time, cold, congealed blood dripped from the hulls into the waves below.

They looked like ships from the abyss—demonic, blood-soaked, and gliding swiftly across the sea.

And seated cross-legged atop the crow's nest of one of the ships…

Was the Golden Lion Shiki.

His eyes burned with fury as he stared at the distant silhouette of an island just beginning to come into view.

Marineford.

The headquarters of the Navy.

He had arrived.

Shiki slowly rose to his feet, both hands gripping the hilts of his twin swords tightly.

But as the distance closed, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He couldn't yet see anything with the naked eye—but his Kenbunshoku Haki had already sensed two extremely powerful—and all too familiar—aura signatures.

The realization left him both confused and unsettled.

Roughly twenty minutes passed.

And then, the two sides were close enough to see each other.

Shiki finally saw them clearly—two towering figures clad in white coats of justice over black suits.

They were standing on the surface of the ocean?

"Sengoku! Garp!"

The five floating warships began to slow.

The Golden Lion growled their names through clenched teeth, his eyes brimming with hatred and murderous rage.

And then he noticed what they were standing on—ice.

A vast frozen expanse had covered the sea near Marineford.

It was clear now—the Navy had been prepared for this from the start.

"Took you long enough," Garp called out, cracking his thick neck and rolling his muscular shoulders.

"I've been standing here waiting for two hours. You'd better believe I'm gonna beat the crap outta you."

"Shiki," Sengoku said grimly, standing firm atop the icy surface, "think carefully. If you raise your hand today—don't expect to leave here alive."

Shiki's expression twisted with fury.

If he dared to attack Marineford, then he had already accepted the consequences.

He wanted answers.

"Tell me!" he roared.

"How the hell did you worthless Navy dogs manage to catch Roger?!"

"Bring him to me! If he's going to die, then it should be by my hand alone! He was the only man I ever acknowledged!"

Sengoku and Garp offered no reply.

As if that could ever happen.

They exchanged a glance and, without a word, ripped off their justice coats and tossed them aside.

Then, step by step, they began walking toward Shiki.

Elsewhere—

The five massive, blood-soaked warships, responding to Shiki's furious roar, came crashing down toward the sea like meteors.

"Give Roger back to me!"

At the edge of the Marineford plaza—

A heavily panting Kuzan, dressed in dark robes and a purple shirt, collapsed to the ground.

Exhausted, he gazed wearily toward the furious battle erupting in the distance.