Sexy Isekai: One Piece Most Wanted-Chapter 43: - : The Lion That Defied the Sea

King stood on the deck of one of the beast pirates' ship. It wasn't his own as he generally had no time captain a ship, since all the running of the beast pirates operations was his job.

The winds howled across the open waters as King stood silently at the prow of the sleek black-hulled Beast Pirates ship. His obsidian armor gleamed under the afternoon sun, and his wings, folded behind him, cast long, sharp shadows across the deck.

"Distress signal was logged just after midday," one of the crewmen reported, holding up a scratched and blinking den den mushi. "Patrol vessel #8. Last known coordinates pinged near the Shoal Ridge Isles—barely 20 kilometers from Egghead's territorial waters."

King narrowed his crimson eyes. "Egghead..."

"Is that another island under Kaido's thumb?" Shinobu asked, standing behind him with her arms folded. Though her voice was casual, her stance was tense—Wano's seas were not to be taken lightly, especially so far from home.

"No," came the reply from a tall, wiry Beast Pirate manning the starboard post. "Egghead's a top-secret island run by the World Government. Most of us only know about it through rumors. Full of Cipher Pol dogs and weird tech they say."

"Cipher Pol?" Shinobu blinked. "You mean that shadow group Orochi used to whisper about? I thought that was just a ghost story for nobles."

"No ghost stories," the man grunted. "They're real. Egghead's crawling with 'em. And worse. It's where Vegapunk's based. That old science freak."

King said nothing, but his gaze sharpened. He reached beneath his armored chestplate and pulled out a sleek metal canister—smooth, airtight, and lined with rows of glass vials inside.

"Why bring that?" Shinobu asked.

"If I find a sample of Lunarian DNA—blood, bone, cells—anything that isn't mine, I'm taking it," King replied flatly. "That island may be the only place in the world where such data could exist."

She raised a brow. "You think that scientist has what you're looking for?"

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"If he doesn't, he knows who does."

A heavy silence fell over the deck. Even the low-ranking Beast Pirates dared not interrupt.

King turned to the crew. "We'll investigate the distress call first. Then make a decision about Egghead."

"Aye, sir!" came the scattered reply.

The ship's sails billowed as they cut across the water. It didn't take long before the sky shifted—a strange pull in the air, the scent of fresh earth where there should only be salt and sea.

And then, just beyond the mist—

A floating island.

Rugged and jagged, its base hovered several hundred feet above the ocean, its surface dotted with broken trees and the cracked remnants of a ship—clearly, the missing patrol vessel, torn in half like a child's toy.

"Th-this is unnatural," one of the newer recruits muttered, backing away from the railing.

King's expression didn't change. "Prepare for contact."

From the top of the island, a silhouette emerged.

Tall. Broad. A head with a Ship's wheel lodged inside and a thick mane of wild gold hair rippled in the wind. Another thing that stood out bout him was that his legs did not end in feet, no below his knees were two swords attached. They were not just any swords but two famous swords of great power. He hovered confidently at the edge of the floating island, eyes blazing with challenge and amusement.

It was a man spoken of only in pirate legends.

Golden Lion Shiki.

"I never thought Kaido'd send you," Shiki's voice boomed across the waves. "The bird boy with fire in his blood. You're a long way from your cage."

King's wings snapped open, the faint shimmer of heat distorting the air around him.

"You should be dead. You Old fossil, yet here you are making trouble in our territory. You better go turn yourself into a musem or pre order your funeral arrangements...." King said as he glared menacingly.

"Bah! The sea couldn't hold me. Impel Down couldn't break me Neither will you." Shiki grinned, both legs attached to his twin sabers twin sabers were moving as if he were leisurely swimming.

"I heard whispers of a mystical island surrounded by magical seas that were filled wit ha forbidden treasure so I passed by, who would have thought I would run into the beast pirates.....and to think they were that weak........."

Without warning, Shiki raised his hand.

The floating island shook.

Chunks of stone ripped themselves free from the ground and hovered in the air like feathers caught in a storm—then shot down toward the sea.

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" King barked.

The ship pitched hard to starboard as massive boulders rained down, splashing violently around them. One chunk the size of a wagon missed the deck by mere meters, sending water spraying into the sky.

Shinobu formed hand signs quickly, her body shimmering as she vanished and reappeared on the main mast.

"What kind of Devil Fruit is this?" she gasped.

"Float-Float Fruit," King replied grimly. "He can make anything defy gravity. Including himself."

And indeed, Shiki began to rise—slowly, effortlessly—walking on air like a god surveying a battlefield.

"Let's test how strong Kaido's little favorite is!"

With a roar, Shiki launched himself toward King.

They clashed mid-air—Shiki's twin sabers meeting King's flame-laced sword in an explosion of sparks and heat. The sound rang out like a bell across the ocean.

King struck with precision, his burning blade slashing in arcs that melted through the air. But Shiki was slippery, darting and gliding through the sky with impossible speed, deflecting with a grin plastered across his face.

"You're tough, alright," Shiki laughed. "But you're also distracted."

Shiki raised his hand again, and the ocean itself rose. Seawater, shaped like claws, reached up and grabbed the ship, lifting it several meters into the air before crashing it down in a wave of chaos.

Screams erupted from the Beast Pirates as the deck splintered beneath them. Barrels rolled, ropes snapped, and one cannon tore loose and smashed into the railing.

"We can't stay here!" someone yelled.

Shinobu darted toward the helm. "I'll try to stabilize the rudder!"

But King was still mid-sky, locked in fierce combat. Their swords met again and again—King's flames licking at Shiki's coat, while the older pirate's control of the battlefield grew more erratic and deadly.

Then Shiki vanished—only to reappear above King, his sabers spinning.

"You're good, brat. But this is my sky."

With both hands, Shiki slammed his sabers downward, not at King—but at the floating island.

A fissure tore through the rock.

And from within, a colossal slab of stone launched upward.

King's eyes widened a fraction, he was deciding whther he should blast it with fire, cut it with his sword or transform and attack it— hesitated just a second too late.

The impact struck like a freight train, crashing into him from behind with enough force to send shockwaves through the clouds.

BOOM!

The world became white-hot for a second as fire and smoke bloomed across the sky.

The Beast Pirates below screamed.

"King!!"

Shinobu's head whipped upward, her mouth open in horror as she saw his figure plummet from the sky.

His wings faltered—he twisted midair, trying to stabilize—but the force of the blow had disrupted his flight.

He fell like a meteor, silent, shadowed by the smoking debris above.

No blood.

No scream.

Just the fading outline of the Lunarian, hurtling toward the waves.

To Be Continued...