"In the sky?"
Hearing what Chris said, the girls all looked out the window.
All they could see was the blue sky, white clouds, and bright sunshine. The weather was incredibly clear.
"Is this what you call good luck?"
"I don't know about you guys, but all I see is blue sky and clouds," Karina said, standing by the window, squinting hard at the sky.
Sweetheart Queen shook her head and chuckled, "What's there to find? Just clouds drifting by."
Betty furrowed her elegant brows, puffed on her cigarette, and said, "What kind of luck could be in the sky? I really don't get it."
"Chris, did you discover something?" Reiju propped her chin on her hand, her graceful face calm as she looked at him with interest.
Chris retracted his gaze and continued swinging his blood-red blade. In a calm voice, he said:
"Golden Lion Shiki — have you heard of him?"
"You mean that guy? Of course! He's a big deal," Karina's eyes lit up with disbelief. "Chris, are you saying the Golden Lion is up in the sky?"
Betty leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs, "A legendary pirate from Roger's era — of course everyone's heard of him."
"But why would he be in the sky?" Sweetheart Queen asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Chris patiently explained:
"Golden Lion Shiki — a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user with the Float-Float Fruit. He can make himself and objects float in the air."
"Over twenty years ago, he fought the Pirate King Roger at the Edd War. Roger's crew nearly got wiped out."
"Later, when Roger was captured, Shiki stormed Marineford alone and was eventually imprisoned in Impel Down."
"But that guy's a madman. He cut off his own legs and escaped Impel Down. Since then, he's vanished without a trace."
Chris kept swinging his blade as he added, "The Marines have been hunting him ever since. Who would've thought he's been hiding above the East Blue this whole time? No wonder he's never been found."
Silence.
The women fell silent, each processing what Chris had just said.
Most of them had heard of Golden Lion Shiki in passing, but they never truly understood how terrifying he really was — until now.
"That's incredible," Karina said with awe as she looked up at the sky. "If he nearly wiped out Roger's crew, just how strong is he?"
Sweetheart Queen shook her head in disbelief, "Escaping from Impel Down... That's terrifying. He must be the first to ever do that."
Perona fluttered in the air, grinning with excitement, "That's awesome! He can fly and make things float — sounds so fun! Harereharehare~!"
Betty crossed her arms and blew smoke. "Chris, now that we know where this big shot is, shouldn't we do something?"
Reiju batted her eyelashes with a graceful smile, "Chris always likes forming alliances. Why not this time?"
Chris answered flatly, "He's already a cripple."
"After cutting off his legs, he replaced them with swords — 'Oto' and 'Kogarashi' — as prosthetics."
"His strength has dropped significantly. He's no longer the fearsome lion that once roared across the seas."
"He's a relic of the old era. It's time for his curtain to fall."
Chris sheathed his red blade and calmly added:
"Once Lafitte and the others get stronger, he'll be the perfect opponent for training."
"This guy was a great pirate. He must've collected Devil Fruits — maybe even Mythical Zoan types."
Despite Chris's calm tone, the weight of his words hit hard.
They were going to hunt Golden Lion Shiki.
They were going to challenge a former emperor of the seas.
"Chris really has guts," Karina sighed. "Even if Shiki's crippled, he was once someone who rivaled Roger. His strength can't be underestimated."
"And yet Chris plans to go after him — that's seriously wild."
Perona giggled as she flew around, "If Chris says he can do it, then it'll be fine! I can't wait to fight — I really wanna see what the Golden Lion looks like. I bet he looks just like a lion! Harereharehare~!"
Sweetheart Queen brushed her golden hair and nodded confidently, "Chris may be young, but he's stronger than Shiki now. There's no suspense in that fight."
Betty puffed on her cigarette and said nonchalantly, "I'm more curious about how many Devil Fruits Shiki has. His collection must be huge."
Reiju turned to look at Baccarat with a soft smile, "Your intuition is amazing — even sensing something that high up in the sky. That's impressive."
Baccarat picked up her newspaper and smiled gently, "Let's just say we were lucky."
"If we hadn't passed below him, I wouldn't have sensed anything."
"Maybe it's fate. This fallen legend of the sea... was destined to be ended by Chris."
----------
T/N:
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon: p@treon.com//OnePieceChronicles