At this point, Bepo couldn't be bothered with the battle around him.
He stomped his feet, disappeared quickly, and began to search for Law's figure on the battlefield.
Just as Chopper was about to speak, several mutated animals attacked him, interrupting his movements, and he could only watch Bepo leave.
But what Bepo didn't know was.
At this moment, on a building in the Water 7, Law was also looking at him: "Am I seeing things?!"
Law reached out and touched his forehead, thinking that he must have been hallucinating.
He just couldn't connect the fierce, towering beast, at least three or four times bigger than Bepo, rampaging through the mutated animals with the shy, introverted Bepo he knew.
The difference was so great it was hard to believe they were even the same species.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Law shook his head: "It should be just a mutated animal similar to Bepo."
"Yeah."
"It must be like this."
Thinking like this, Law's heart was a little more peaceful.
He took a deep breath, looked at the tragic battle in the distance, and a trace of pity flashed across his eyes.
But what he knew more clearly was that he was now under Golden Lion's eyes, and it was impossible for him to save people.
Although he was a doctor, he didn't think he was noble enough to sacrifice himself for others, and not taking action was the limit of what he could do.
Unless… Law slowly raised his head.
In the sky, the two figures were facing each other quietly.
Despite the chaos of the battlefield, their confrontation seemed eerily calm.
But even from a glance, Law could feel a crushing pressure, silent yet as overwhelming as a tidal wave, bearing down on him.
"How could that guy, Golden Lion… Lose? What unrealistic idea did I have?!"
How strong is Golden Lion?
Law had once thought he knew the answer.
But as the old wound on Golden Lion's head healed, the last shackle that restricted his power was removed, and his once powerful strength gradually recovered.
At this point, Law didn't even know how strong he would need to become to avenge Penguin and Shachi.
"Heh."
He let out a self-deprecating laugh. Now he understood why Golden Lion acted with such arrogance: "Absolute power, that's the root of everything."
"All those conspiracies or tricks are meaningless in the face of overwhelming strength. I'm still too weak."
"Too weak!"
"I can't even make him feel the slightest threat..."
Law tightly grasped the sword in his hand, his nails deeply embedded in the flesh.
But what he knew more clearly was that before Golden Lion fell or he got the power to compete with Golden Lion, he couldn't even show the hatred in his heart.
Da!
The scabbard touched the ground, supporting Law's body to stand up, then he was ready to turn around and leave.
But the next second, the air pressure suddenly intensified, growing wild and dangerous.
The already biting wind became turbulent.
"This is..."
Law turned his head suddenly, and his gaze fell on the figure confronting Golden Lion.
In the sky, Gawain hovered with his wings spread wide, fine dragon scales covered his body, and the winding dragon horns on his head looked ferocious and exaggerated.
At this moment, Gawain is in his Demon Form.
Even among powerful figures like Mihawk or Kizaru, Golden Lion was one of the strongest foes Gawain had ever faced.
And now, Golden Lion stood before him, no longer injured, no longer restrained, his power close to its peak.
He was no longer a clown beaten by the Straw Hats but the legendary pirate who once ruled the seas.
"Your aura... It's stronger than last time."
Golden Lion couldn't help but exclaim, and he was once again shocked by Gawain's growth speed and potential.
A few months ago, in the battle at Nanohana city, if Gawain had such a strong momentum as he has now, he would definitely withdraw without thinking.
He is confident and unruly, but he is not stupid. When his combat power is seriously dragged down by old injuries, fighting with the strong, whether he wins or loses, would only make him feel extremely aggrieved.
But now everything is different.
He could feel that although his strength might not reach the height of his youth due to physical reasons, it was already very close.
In this era, when Whitebeard was living in a corner, and Roger had passed away, he had the confidence to face any opponent.
Looking at the man who was too young but had already reached the top of the sea, Golden Lion once again felt a little bit of love for talent in his heart: "I'll give you one last chance; become my deputy, Gawain!"
"This world should be in the hands of people like us, not dominated by a group of pigs."
"You should feel it too, right?!"
"How ugly and stupid are those Celestial Dragons!"
Gawain did not reply; he just lowered his gaze to look at the civilians who fled to the basement of the mayor's building in panic and asked: "What about them..."
Golden Lion was stunned and looked along Gawain's line of sight.
He was in the sky, overlooking everything on the ground, and felt that those civilians were not much bigger than the insects on the ground.
So he replied without thinking: "Ants."
"... Heh..."
A contemptuous laugh came out.
Whoosh!
The Guanze Masamune was unsheathed, and the cold light reflected the moonlight, making it appear even sharper.
Gawain's sarcastic voice also reached Golden Lion's ears at this moment: "So you and the Celestial Dragons people are actually the same kind of people. All you see is power and the desire to control everything."
"You can't see the suffering of these ordinary people."
"Although I'm not a good person, but..."
"We are different."
"I believe that no matter how rotten this world gets, people should at least be allowed to live. Not harvested like roadside weeds, cut down, only to grow back again."
The smile on Golden Lion's face vanished, and a complex expression took over his face.
At that moment, he heard an echo from more than twenty years ago, Roger's last words to him during their final battle: "We are not the same."
That was also the last time he saw Roger.
Not long after, the Marines announced Roger's public execution.
Until the moment Roger died, Golden Lion had no chance to ask what was the difference.
But now…
Golden Lion took a deep breath, but his exhalation became more and more rapid.
His Conqueror's Haki gradually became agitated at this moment, and there were even red lightning flashes around him.
"I heard from Spandine that you are also from the East Blue, right?!"
"Coincidence?!"
"No, it's fate."
"Twenty years ago, I was defeated by a man from the East Blue. Twenty years later, I want to take back what I lost from another man from the East Blue."
Whoosh!
A sonic boom sounded, and Golden Lion's figure disappeared in an instant.
The famous sword, Oto, which replaced his feet, stabbed at Gawain like a bee tail.
Fierce, aggressive, yet radiating an overwhelming dominance, none shall stand before me!
Whoosh!
Fierce winds howled, and snakes of lightning danced across the sky.
Gawain's eyes burned bright.
He instinctively tightened his grip on his sword, then launched a thrust of his own.
Clang!
Blades clashed with a screeching ring, power bursting outwards, ripping the clouds into a swirling tempest.
In a split second, Gawain was blown back several hundred meters.
Though his body had been strengthened by multiple enhancements and remained uninjured, his grip tingled with numbness.
Shiki is strong, stronger than he expected!
Realizing this, Gawain's eyes showed no fear. Instead, excitement surged within.
As his power grew, worthy opponents had grown scarce.
After the last battle with Zephyr in Alabasta, he hadn't met a decent opponent for a long time.
Until now… No!
The decent person is not Golden Lion, but him!