Chapter 261: The Legend Falls
Wright's golden eyes gleamed with divine radiance as he evaded the incoming debris at seemingly impossible angles. For the fragments he couldn't avoid, he simply cleaved them apart with his blade!
Shiki's eyes widened in shock.
"How is this possible?!"
Even under an all-encompassing onslaught of debris falling like a collapsing sky, Wright maneuvered as if he could predict every fragment's trajectory in advance!
"Still dodging? Then how about this?!"
Shiki's expression darkened. The enormous masses of seawater that had been scattered in the air suddenly condensed, rapidly closing in to trap Wright, who had just broken free from the debris storm!
"As a Devil Fruit user, let's see how you get out of—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Wright effortlessly leaped out of the watery prison, cutting him off entirely!
"You're a Devil Fruit user! Why aren't you affected?!"
Wright forced the stunned Shiki back with a single slash, laughing heartily.
"Take a guess!"
"You little—"
Shiki nearly choked in frustration, but he quickly snapped back to reality. This was no time to dwell on that!
"This ends now!"
"Secret Technique: Judgment Execution—Sentencing!"
Wright seized the moment of Shiki's hesitation and activated his technique. Three massive blades of Divine Energy materialized in the air, their tips pointing downward, forming an equilateral triangle. They plummeted from the heavens at breakneck speed!
The golden blades cut through the falling island debris like paper, streaking directly toward Shiki!
"No one executes me!"
With no way to dodge, Shiki swung both of his swords, laughing wildly as he charged straight at the descending blades of light.
"I AM THE GOLDEN LION!"
BOOM—
A blinding explosion erupted, obliterating all island fragments within a hundred-meter radius.
A single golden blade had been enough to sever Kaido's dragon horns—what would happen with three?
As the explosion subsided, Shiki's battered and broken figure remained suspended in the air.
The devastation was absolute.
His entire body was riddled with wounds, blood mist seeping from countless ruptures—an aftermath of the Divine Energy still wreaking havoc within him!
"Kid..."
Shiki's voice was low and hoarse. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at Wright, who had floated before him.
"Tell me... am I truly... a legend?"
"..."
Wright's expression turned solemn as he gave a firm nod.
"Without question."
"Good... good..."
"Once again, a man from the East Blue..."
"Roger..."
"A legend..."
"..."
The light in the Golden Lion's eyes faded, and the last remnants of his life force drained away completely.
"Holy Light Prison!"
With a wave of his hand, Wright conjured a sealed barrier of Holy Light—a "reliquary" of sorts—that encased Shiki's corpse within.
"Shiki, you were a legend in your own right."
"I will ensure that your body is returned to Marineford with the highest level of formality."
"Your death... will shake the world!"
"And it will be the key... to shattering the Navy's shackles!"
The floating island fragments around them began to tremble, their massive forms plummeting from the sky.
Wright, carrying the Holy Light reliquary, retrieved his Den Den Mushi.
Just as he was about to make a call, his brows furrowed. He looked toward the reliquary containing Shiki's remains.
"Something's not right!"
Through his keen perception, Wright sensed an unfamiliar energy emanating from Shiki's lifeless body, coinciding with the falling debris. It felt eerily similar to what he had experienced when he killed Jack in the sea!
But this time, Shiki's body was sealed within the Holy Light reliquary—there was no way for the energy to escape!
And then, just like that time with Chopper's attempted Lightforging—
This energy and the Holy Light were fundamentally incompatible!
It couldn't return to Shiki's corpse, nor could it break free from the reliquary's Holy Light containment. It simply remained trapped inside!
"...?!"
A wild thought surged into Wright's mind.
"No way..."
Without hesitation, Wright dialed Smoker's number.
"Smoker? Where are you?"
"Looks like you won. We're on an uninhabited island about a thousand meters southeast of where the floating islands fell into the sea."
"Are the civilians safe?"
"Yeah, thanks to you guys scouting the entire floating island beforehand. Otherwise, they wouldn't have believed a word I said."
"..."
Wright wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Listen... do me a favor. Find a fruit for me—any fruit will do!"
"..."
Smoker fell silent for two seconds. "You sure you don't need a drink of water instead?"
"A fruit!"
"Alright, alright. There are plenty among the supplies the islanders brought. Just get over here."
"On my way!" Wright cut the call and took off, reliquary in tow.
As the island fragments crashed into the ocean below, perhaps a new archipelago would form in the future.
Leaving aside the shock of the islanders upon seeing Wright carrying Shiki's body, he ignored Smoker's skeptical look and accepted an apple from him. Then, he soared back into the sky with the reliquary.
Wright's expression turned serious. He enveloped the apple in Holy Light and passed it through the reliquary barrier. Then, he withdrew the Holy Light from the apple—
Immediately, the trapped energy within the reliquary reacted, surging forth like a starving beast, pouring directly into the apple!
Right before his eyes, the apple began to morph, its surface forming spiral patterns, its stem taking on a distinctive shape—
A Devil Fruit!
"...So it really is the Float-Float Fruit."
Wright massaged his temples. He had only intended to preserve Shiki's body, but he had inadvertently preserved his Devil Fruit power as well?!
Holy Light and Devil Fruits were incompatible, but this...
After thinking it over, Wright realized it wasn't entirely unreasonable. If the Dark-Dark Fruit could actively attract Devil Fruit abilities, then the Holy Light repelling them wasn't out of the question either.
"Well... things just got interesting."
Looking at the fruit in his hand—undoubtedly the same Float-Float Fruit that once belonged to the legendary pirate Golden Lion—Wright felt a bit hesitant.
He retrieved his Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.
"Judge? It's Wright."
"My Lord! How may I assist you?"
"You have a Devil Fruit encyclopedia, right?"
"Yes, my Lord. Do you need it?"
"Check for me—what does the Float-Float Fruit look like?"
"Understood. Please hold..."
A short while later, Judge relayed the information.
Confirming the details, Wright was now certain—the fruit in his hand was indeed the legendary Float-Float Fruit.
"I had planned to find Kuina a Mythical Zoan Fruit—something that enhances her fundamentals while offering additional utility..."
"But now, the Float-Float Fruit seems like a perfect fit for a Sword Saint..."
"Damn... I'm jealous."
Wright coveted Shiki's fighting style—his control over floating blades far surpassed Wright's Divine Energy constructs, which were limited to fixed strikes.
He was essentially an archer at best.
The Float-Float Fruit? That was true sword mastery—more flexible than even Fujitora's Press-Press Fruit!
"I should ask Kuina's opinion. If I recall correctly, there's a decent Mythical Zoan in Impel Down..."
Wright's eyes gleamed. He wouldn't actively hunt for Devil Fruits—but if they belonged to a dangerous pirate locked away in Impel Down, that was fair game!
"Hey, Sengoku!"
"Huh?"
Wright made his request.
"Send a warship for civilian evacuation at XXXX coordinates."
"Civilians? What happened?"
"Also... send Garp personally—to escort the corpse of 'Golden Lion' Shiki!"
Click!
"..."
"Hey! Sengoku?! You there?!"
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