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At sea, far from Mock Town, a Marine warship sailed quickly toward Jaya Island.
On the water near the ship, a tall middle-aged man riding a bicycle on ice approached the vessel.
"Admiral Aokiji, you're finally here," a Marine officer greeted as the man jumped from the ice onto the deck.
"Yes," Aokiji nodded slightly. "Where is Vice Admiral Tsuru, and how is Gion doing now?"
Aokiji had recently accepted this temporary escort mission from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Please follow ," the Marine officer said, turning toward the warship's infirmary.
Aokiji followed closely, and they soon arrived at the infirmary door. After bringing Aokiji there, the officer returned to his post.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, how is Gion's condition?" Admiral Aokiji asked as he entered the room.
Aokiji frowned when he saw the Demon Mark covering half of Gion's face. When he first received Sengoku's call saying Gion was extrely weak and possibly dying due to sothing called the "Demon Mark," he hadn't believed it. But seeing Gion's actual condition, he had no choice but to accept the truth.
Gion's hair had turned completely gray, and she seed too weak to even open her eyes. She lay on the bed with a ventilator, her feverish face covered in sweat.
Tsuru was wiping the sweat from Gion's face with a worried expression.
"She's been unconscious for half an hour," Tsuru said without looking back. "The Demon Mark is affecting Gion more severely than we thought. Although her appearance hasn't changed much except for her hair, her body is deteriorating rapidly inside. Aokiji, we need to find that man quickly."
Aokiji nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. This was the first ti he'd heard panic in Tsuru's voice.
"We're heading to Jaya Island," Aokiji said. "Since Ikki left Alabasta, his next stop should be Jaya. We should et him soon. Don't worry, Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Tsuru nodded, but before she could respond, the nearby Den Den Mushi began ringing.
Aokiji glanced at Tsuru, who showed no intention of answering, so he went over and picked up.
"Hello, this is Aokiji."
"Kuzan, have you arrived?" Sengoku's voice ca through.
"Just got here, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Good! How is Gion's condition?"
"Not... good."
"I see..." After a brief silence, Sengoku continued, "Kuzan, I've received news that Ikki has been spotted in Mock Town on Jaya Island."
Hearing this, both Aokiji and Tsuru perked up with hope.
But Sengoku's next words made them frown.
"However, Ikki is currently in conflict with Golden Lion Shiki on that island. The latest intelligence shows they're still fighting in the sky. It seems to be a stalemate."
"Golden Lion? Why is he there?" Tsuru stood up and took the Den Den Mushi from Aokiji with a frown. "And why is Ikki fighting him? Wait, does Ikki want to take the two legendary swords from Golden Lion?"
Tsuru thought of Gion's sword, Konpira, which Ikki had taken.
"Perhaps," Sengoku replied. "But our intelligence officer in Mock Town was caught in the battle's aftermath. We've lost contact. Tsuru, Aokiji, your ship is now closest to Mock Town. I need you to get there as quickly as possible to resolve the situation between Ikki and Golden Lion. Though Ikki is powerful, Golden Lion is a legendary pirate. If Ikki loses..."
Sengoku didn't finish his sentence, but Tsuru understood his aning. If Ikki was defeated and killed by Golden Lion, Gion's life might be lost as well.
"I understand, Sengoku. We'll rush to Mock Town at top speed. I believe in Ikki—he won't lose so easily."
Tsuru's order was quickly relayed to every Marine on the warship. Their target was the legendary pirate Golden Lion, and their destination was Mock Town.
"Ikki, you must hold on," Tsuru said, standing on the deck and looking toward Mock Town. "If not for yourself, then for Gion."
anwhile, in Mock Town...
"Damn it, why won't this guy go down?" Nami's forehead was covered in sweat as she gritted her teeth, wanting to release another thunderbolt to help Ikki.
But severe energy loss left her unable to gather even a shred of strength. Gonryōmaru, which had been in its powerful Bankai form, had returned to its sealed state.
"Nami, are you okay?" Nojiko reached Nami and pulled her up from the shaking ground, standing on the one-eyed manta ray transford from her released Minazuki.
Behind Nojiko were Vivi and Robin.
"I'm fine, just out of energy," Nami said, looking worriedly at the sky where Ikki was still fighting Golden Lion. "But Ikki..."
"You did your best, Nami," Nojiko reassured her. "Now we need to trust our captain. The blonde man's speed has slowed down a lot—our captain will definitely defeat him. It's too dangerous here. That man's ability affects the entire town and island. Let's get to a safe place first, or we might distract Ikki."
Nojiko guided the manta ray toward the Traveler, their ship. Nami knew she could no longer help Ikki, so she nodded and agreed to Nojiko's suggestion.
"Co on, Ikki," Nami whispered, looking up at the sky with deep concern. "You must co back safely."
"Getsuga Tenshō!" With a sharp shout, Ikki swung another massive black crescent toward Golden Lion.
Shiki widened his eyes and tried to dodge, but found that his escape angle was almost completely blocked by the huge Getsuga Tenshō. There was only a tiny space below to escape through.
'I can't take this attack head-on,' Shiki thought, rembering the damage from Ikki's previous Getsuga Tenshō. He gritted his teeth and suddenly released his control over the surrounding rocks, using all his Float-Float Fruit power on himself to make his body drop rapidly.
He narrowly escaped Ikki's Getsuga Tenshō, but the next mont, fear flashed across his eyes.
Within his sight, a black blade wrapped in scorching flas was striking with explosive montum and laser-like speed.
Golden Lion, having just dodged the Getsuga Tenshō, had no ti to evade this second attack.
SLASH!
Blood sprayed as Shiki felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw that the black blade wrapped in flas had pierced his heart.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
Only then did Ikki's cold voice reach Golden Lion's ears.
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