One Piece: I'm not Roger

Luffy had no idea that Golden Lion Shiki had already recovered his former strength.

Even if he knew, with Luffy's personality, he still would have accepted the challenge without hesitation. He was the type of person who acted purely based on instinct. If he liked someone, he liked them. If he hated someone, he hated them. He never complicated things with unnecessary thoughts.

"Jiahahaha! Well said!"

Golden Lion burst into loud laughter, clearly amused by Luffy's response.

"As expected of the brat who defeated me."

Although Shiki felt annoyed whenever he remembered that defeat, he did not truly dislike Luffy. On the contrary, he appreciated people with straightforward personalities. In his eyes, those with pure hearts often possessed the greatest potential to stand at the top of the seas.

Ace covered his face helplessly from the side, already imagining the miserable outcome waiting for his younger brother.

The remaining four immediately switched into spectator mode. Bonney even pulled out snacks she had secretly stored away while Yamato sat on a rock with interest shining in her eyes.

There was barely anything entertaining on this island, so naturally nobody wanted to miss such a rare scene.

Luffy made the first move.

Steam exploded from his body as Gear Second activated completely. Without wasting time, he inflated his right arm to an enormous size.

"Gear Third!"

The giant fist rapidly hardened into a pitch-black color as Armament Haki covered it entirely.

"Elephant Gun!"

The massive punch tore through the air with overwhelming force. Violent winds spread across the battlefield before the fist even arrived.

Luffy stared at Golden Lion confidently.

This was his strongest attack.

Golden Lion only grinned.

"Brat, you're still too inexperienced."

Compared to Luffy's giant fist, Shiki's raised arm looked absurdly small, almost like a man foolishly trying to stop a collapsing mountain.

Then the collision happened.

Boom!

The ground exploded violently.

Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief.

Golden Lion had casually stopped the gigantic Armament Haki-coated fist using only one hand.

Not only that, Shiki had not moved back even a single inch.

The difference between them was overwhelming.

Before Luffy could recover from the shock, Golden Lion swung his arm and directly hurled him across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

Luffy crashed against the ground and rolled several times.

But Shiki gave him no time to breathe.

The surrounding earth suddenly trembled violently.

Huge lion heads made entirely of soil erupted from the ground and surrounded Luffy from every direction. Under the influence of the Float-Float Fruit, even the gravity of the island itself seemed distorted.

Golden Lion spread his arms arrogantly.

"Lion's Majesty, Earth Lion Roll!"

The ground surged like massive ocean waves.

Dust and shattered rocks filled the sky as the entire island shook violently. Even the giant beasts living deeper within the island fled in terror from the sudden disaster.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions continuously echoed across the battlefield.

Ten seconds later, silence finally returned.

A massive crater had appeared where Luffy once stood.

Luffy himself lay at the bottom completely motionless, looking half-dead. His body twitched slightly, but he could not even move a finger properly.

For the first time in a long while, he deeply realized how enormous the gap between them truly was.

Even after becoming stronger, he still could not survive more than a few moments against a genuine legend of the old era.

Golden Lion slowly floated down in front of him.

Then he crouched slightly and patted Luffy's cheek mockingly.

"Straw Hat Luffy, remember this properly."

"From now on, you call me Teacher Shiki."

"And you'd better prepare yourself mentally."

"The next month of your life will be hell."

Luffy's face looked bitter and unwilling, but his personality made him accept defeat honestly.

"...Teacher Shiki."

"Hahahahaha!"

Shiki laughed proudly while the others watched with obvious amusement.

Luffy absolutely deserved this outcome.

Unfortunately for them, Golden Lion suddenly turned his attention toward the remaining five.

The moment they saw the grin on his face, everyone felt a bad premonition.

"And you little brats aren't escaping either."

"For the next month, all of you will receive my special training."

Shiki folded his arms and smirked arrogantly.

"Of course, if the five of you can survive thirty minutes against me together, I'll let you go."

The five immediately exchanged glances.

Even though they knew victory was impossible, nobody wanted to back down so easily.

Ace stepped forward first.

"Then let us experience the strength of a true legend."

Golden Lion's smile widened.

"Interesting."

"Soon all of you will be lying on the ground calling me teacher too."

The battle instantly erupted.

Yamato, Ulti, and Page One charged from different directions simultaneously.

Ulti transformed into her Pachycephalosaurus hybrid form while Page One entered his Spinosaurus hybrid state. Their enormous bodies crushed the ground apart as they rushed toward Golden Lion with terrifying force.

However, before they could even approach him, massive walls of earth suddenly rose and swallowed them completely.

The mud twisted into gigantic lion heads that pinned both siblings to the ground.

No matter how fiercely they struggled, they could not break free.

At the same time, Ace launched his attack.

A pillar of flames exploded forward and shattered the earthen prison, freeing Ulti and Page One while also engulfing Golden Lion entirely.

But when the fire disappeared, Shiki remained floating in place completely unharmed.

Pitch-black Armament Haki covered his body.

Golden Lion looked toward Ace with disappointment.

"You rely too heavily on your Devil Fruit, Ace."

The moment his voice fell, Shiki disappeared.

Ace's instincts screamed in warning.

Golden Lion suddenly appeared directly in front of him and slashed downward with both swords.

Terrifying sword energy erupted like a violent storm.

Ace barely managed to defend himself as he was continuously forced backward.

As for Bonney and Black Maria, whose strength lagged behind the others, they could not even find an opening to approach the battlefield safely.

Only one minute into the fight, all five were already in miserable condition.

The gap between them and Golden Lion was simply too massive.

Seeing them attempt to attack once more, Golden Lion finally lost interest in playing around.

Countless amounts of earth rose into the sky around him.

"You little brats still dare to act arrogant in front of me?"

Golden Lion spread both arms as terrifying power erupted from his body.

"Lion's Majesty, Heaven and Earth Roll!"

The entire island violently trembled.

The sky darkened.

Mountains cracked apart while enormous masses of earth surged upward like natural disasters given physical form.

Black and crimson lightning exploded throughout the battlefield.

Advanced Conqueror's Haki spread across the island with overwhelming pressure.

Against such monstrous power, nobody could resist for long.

Only Ace managed to continue struggling for several minutes.

The others were defeated within moments.

Golden Lion Shiki, after regaining his peak strength, was a monster capable of standing alongside Yonko-level powerhouses.

When the destruction finally subsided, the once lush battlefield had become completely devastated.

Several mountain peaks had even been flattened during the battle.

The five young fighters now lay scattered across the ruined ground in miserable condition.

Their future training would definitely not be pleasant.

Golden Lion floated above them proudly and burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Come on, let me hear all of you properly call me Teacher Golden Lion!"

"Teacher!" x5

Not a single person dared to resist now.

Nobody wanted to end up receiving special attention like Luffy.

Meanwhile, far away in the North Blue, Aether received another call from his intelligence network.

The scouts had finally located the target's traces.

Based on the current route, the enemy ship would arrive very soon.

However, before heading there, Aether still had something more important to handle.

Over the past few days, the news of him defeating two Admirals had spread throughout the seas, generating massive emotional reactions worldwide.

System notifications continuously echoed in his mind.

[SS-Rank character has generated strong negative and positive emotions toward the Host. Reward: 220,000 Experience.]

[S and A-Rank characters have generated emotional fluctuations toward the Host. Reward: 1,136,700 Experience.]

[B, C, and D-Rank characters have generated emotional fluctuations toward the Host. Reward: 5,683,239 Experience.]

[Total Experience Obtained: 7.13 Million.]

[Level Increased.]

[Current Level: 98.]

[Experience: 870,000 / 6,000,000.]

[Physique has reached King-tier.]

The increase in level itself was not the most important part.

What truly mattered was that his physique had finally stepped into the King-tier realm, a level that even many Level 100 individuals could not naturally reach.

But even that was secondary compared to what came next.

After waiting nearly two months, it was finally time for the biggest reward.

[Moderately altered the fate of a B-Rank individual.]

[Reward: 200 Destiny Points.]

[Current Destiny Points: 1.02 Million.]

A few days ago, Aether's Destiny Points had finally surpassed one million.

Because this draw was extremely important, even Aether became unusually serious about it.

He had deliberately waited for today before using the points.

After all, even he felt the need for a little luck when dealing with something this valuable.

Aether slowly inhaled.

Then he activated the draw.

One million Destiny Points instantly disappeared.

Golden light erupted before his eyes.

Among countless golden spheres floating within the system space, one suddenly flew forward and transformed into an ancient-looking manual.

The moment Aether saw its name, his pupils contracted slightly.

Even he could not suppress the excitement rising inside him.

[Divine Ability: Houttuynia.]

[A Divine Ability capable of altering the user's body size freely.]

[During transformation, strength, endurance, durability, and vitality are greatly enhanced.]