One Piece: sign-in to Ryujin Jakka

The Golden Lion's eyes locked onto the jungle in the distance.

A tension unlike anything he had ever felt before rose in his chest.

"Who's there?!"

Before the echo of his voice had faded, his right leg lashed out like a whip!

A vicious slash tore through the air, screaming toward the jungle with a force that could rend the earth.

BOOM!

Trees exploded, the jungle split in two, and even the buildings behind it were cleaved apart as if paper-thin.

But then, a voice drifted down from above, calm and unhurried. Adjusting his cloak slightly

"If I said I'm just passing through. Would you believe me?"

Golden Lion's pupils shrank as he looked up. A trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Floating in mid-air was a cloaked figure, looking down on him with cold detachment.

"You're... floating?" Golden Lion narrowed his eyes and sneered. "Tell me what Devil Fruit power you've got, and maybe I'll believe you."

He felt it in his gut—the man before him was dangerous.

Whether it was instinct or sheer battle experience, something was off. He didn't like this feeling. 

After all, he was the Golden Lion Shiki! 

A former great pirate belonging to the Roger era! 

How could such feelings arise just because of the presence of this mysterious man?

Roman didn't speak immediately. He simply lowered his gaze and said plainly, "My ability is simple. I can levitate myself, and make other objects float."

Silence.

Then—Golden Lion burst out laughing.

"Jihahahahah! You bastard! Are you mocking me?! So you're saying your ability is the same as mine?! I ate the Float-Float fruit, I am the Floating Human! There's no way someone else has the same Devil Fruit as me!"

His face darkened with fury.

"In this entire world, there can't be two identical Devil Fruits!"

"Lion's Threat!!"

With a thunderous shout, Golden Lion slammed both palms onto the ground.

The earth quaked violently as five lion head-shaped boulders rose up, roaring with storm-force winds as they hurtled toward Roman!

"You say your ability is the same as mine? Then let's see—whose is stronger!"

The five lion heads roared towards Roman.

Roman didn't flinch in the face of the incoming attack.

He simply adjusted his cloak slightly and placed one hand on the ground, mimicking the Golden Lion.

"Rooster Talisman—Activate."

A blue light pulsed from his palm.

The ground beneath him trembled and began to float.

Chunks of rock lifted, soil floated—until they formed a magnificent, lifelike dragon's head!

Its detail and aura even surpassed the lion heads summoned by Golden Lion Shiki.

Golden Lion's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's impossible!"

BOOM!!

Rumble!

BOOOOMMMM!!

The dragon's head roared forth, colliding head-on with the lion constructs.

Four of the lion heads were obliterated instantly. The last one clashed with the dragon and both were reduced to rubble in a massive shockwave.

Dust filled the sky.

Golden Lion stared, face twitching, unwilling to accept such an outcome.

His opponent was someone whose ability was almost exactly like his own.

"I'm not letting you go after that, you bastard! You've really got me all riled up now. In that case, Ill let you taste-"

But before he could continue his attack again, thunderous explosions rang out in the distance.

BOOM! BOOM!

Cannonballs rained from the skies, striking the island of Vermillion, leaving craters in their wake.

Seeing the ten Marine warships in the distance,

"Damn Navy!" Golden Lion growled, sweat forming on his brow. "They sent ten warships after me?!"

Among them, he spotted two familiar figures—Sengoku and Garp.

Roman stood beside him and calmly said, "You're giving yourself too much credit. I'd say half of that fleet is here for me."

"Half?!…You? What, did you pull off some big heist or something before I escaped?"

"Just a small matter," Roman replied casually. "I stole something the Maines hold dearly… then wiped out an entire Buster Call with a single sword strike."

Golden Lion blinked.

Then—he exploded into laughter.

"One sword strike took down a Buster Call? Jihahahaha! You're a bold one, I'll give you that! Wiping out a Buster Call in one strike? Not even I could do that!"

He grinned madly, then raised his arm. Then after a pause, he added,

"You've got guts and power to boot! Why not join my Flying Pirates? I'll make you my vice captain! With our combined strength, we can crush these Marines scum, then use the IQ plants on this island to rule the world—accomplishing what even Gol D. Roger never could!"

Roman shook his head.

"I refuse."

"…What?"

"I'm just passing through. And besides—relying on external power makes you weak."

With that, he turned and floated away, unmoved. He was only here to sign-in, he had no interest getting involved in any battles or world conquests.

Those parting words, like sharp blades, stabbed right into the Golden Lion's heart.

The Golden Lion stood frozen for a moment.

Then, rage erupted within him like a volcano.

He, Golden Lion Shiki, Captain of the Flying Pirates, a legendary pirate belonging to the sky, had just been called weak?!

Unforgivable!

"You bastard! You dare call me weak?! Fine! Let me show you power!!"

"Slash Wave!!"

With a kick of his sword-clad foot, Golden Lion sent out a massive shockwave, ten times larger than the one before.

The sky itself seemed to split under its force.

Even the Marines' warships in the distance hesitated.

On the deck of one ship, Sengoku narrowed his eyes. "What's going on? Are they… fighting each other?"

Garp scratched his head, confused. "Weren't we worried they'd team up?"

Sengoku smirked, eyes flashing with opportunity. They had been afraid the two would join forces but it looks like they were simply overthinking it.

"Let the snipe and clam fight, we shall be the fishermen."

"Everyone, prepare for battle! This time, we're capturing both of them!"