Chapter 267: Tactical Maneuvers"Steering wheel!"  

"You dare hurt our friends? Don't think you'll get away with it!" 

As the flames of battle spread elsewhere, the main battlefield erupted as Luffy gave the Golden Lion a new "nickname," signaling the start of the fight. 

Punches that split mountains, kicks that shattered rocks, blades that tore through the sky, and sword energy that swept in all directions! 

As the battle between Roman, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji and the Golden Lion begins, every move they make changes the terrain and affects the weather with terrifying force.

What is the most important thing in a battle?

The answer is distance!

"Everyone, be careful!"

When you're outnumbered or facing a stronger opponent, the key is to maintain formation and support each other. Otherwise, once the team gets split up, the enemy can easily pick them off one by one. So:

Crack, crack, crack!

Hiss, hiss, hiss~~~Roman and Luffy instantly entered 'speed boost' and 'Gear Second' states, significantly increasing their speed. Then, they leapt forward, launching a fierce attack to pin down the Golden Lion, preventing him from using his wide-area Devil Fruit abilities.

"Gomu Gomu no Eagle Rifle!"

"Paper Dance—20x Shock Sword!"

Faced with fists moving too fast to be seen and Roman's long sword wrapped in bright white light, the Golden Lion, floating in mid-air, suddenly dodged Luffy's attack by shifting to the side. At the same time, he kicked forward with his legendary sword, 'Sakura Ten.'

Clang!

A strong shockwave shot out from where their swords clashed, but the people present were all skilled fighters. The powerful gust of wind was enough to make clothes flap loudly, but it didn't knock anyone down. Meanwhile, a fast-moving figure appeared behind the Golden Lion.

"Ultimate Meat Grinder!"

Sanji, coming from the rear, delivered a sharp kick, but the Golden Lion, with Roman's leg pressed against his, didn't turn around. He simply flicked his fluffy golden hair.

"Lion's Hair—Needle Earth Burial!"

Boom!!!

Tsk—It felt like kicking a hard mountain of knives. Sanji let out a muffled grunt, forcing himself to ignore the pain in his leg. The Golden Lion's golden hair, combined with Armament Haki, was as tough as spiked armor—this was ridiculous.

"Cook!"

Luffy, with his powerful jumping ability and the speed from Gear Second, kept up with the Golden Lion. Sanji, with his 'Wind-Beating Shell' on his feet, could also fight in the air. As for Roman, well, with Geppo and wings, he was arguably the Straw Hat Crew's best at aerial combat.

But Zoro...Swishhh—

Sanji, whose attack had missed, landed on the ground and lifted one leg as a platform! Zoro immediately leapt up, stepping on Sanji's foot, and then:

"Air Force Powershoot!"

This was Sanji's technique for launching his teammate into the air. With this move, Zoro was now in the battle. He shot toward the Golden Lion like a cannonball, and then:

"Three-Sword Style—One Hundred and Eight Troubling Phoenix!"

Zoro spun in mid-air, his blades whirling together into a massive, cutting whirlwind aimed at the Golden Lion. The strikes grew stronger and faster with each rotation, creating a deafening hurricane. The flying snow scattered in all directions as the wind uprooted trees, snapping branches and even knocking smaller trees down.

The three legendary swords, filled with a fierce, ghostly aura and Haki, spun toward the Golden Lion! While they hadn't yet reached the level of the 'Black Sword,' they still made the Golden Lion's eyes sharpen.

Clang!!

The sword 'Withered Wood' at the Golden Lion's feet precisely blocked Zoro's three legendary swords, and at the same time, the Golden Lion's left leg felt a sharp pain that it hadn't experienced in a while!

With a loud clash of blades, the exploding sword aura and blade strikes released an ear-piercing sound like metal cutting through air, violently sweeping across the battlefield. A stone wall and several trees below were torn apart like paper.

If Roman's swordsmanship combined with Devil Fruit abilities, then Zoro's sword was pure, unadulterated swordsmanship! Single-minded and unyielding!

This swordsman was a bit troublesome.

After just one exchange, the Golden Lion had a good idea of the group's strengths.

The one with the straw hat had powerful physical strength and a variety of sword techniques; both he and Luffy wielded three-colored Haki with great skill, so the Golden Lion had to focus.

The one who used kicks was the fastest and had good Observation Haki, but his attacks lacked power...The swordsman with the three swords had the strongest attack! Luckily, he didn't have aerial combat skills, so it seemed like he could be taken out one by one...It's not that Zoro was stronger than Roman, but Roman's two strongest abilities—the Shock-Shock power and More-More power—were things the Golden Lion was already very familiar with. He had long figured out how to deal with them. Forget surprise, he couldn't even fully unleash their normal power.

And Zoro couldn't 'fly' and needed Sanji's help to join the fight.

As for the Flying Slash? This skill is fine for dealing with weak enemies, but when facing skilled opponents, it's necessary to fight with real weapons and strength.

Whoosh—The saying "The best martial arts are the fastest" is especially true when one person faces many attackers. If most of the attackers can't keep up with the speed of the one being attacked, the attackers' numerical advantage is useless.

It was just like how Roman dealt with those pirates on Gaia Island. When the Golden Lion realized that these young people had solid foundations and decent Haki abilities, making it difficult to defeat them quickly, he started to move around, looking for an opportunity to break through.

Up ahead, the tall golden figure of the Golden Lion moved around, both attacking and retreating. Roman was flapping his wings, Luffy was jumping with incredible agility, and Sanji was attacking fiercely from behind. Unfortunately, Zoro could only run on the ground...The mobility of the Flying Devil Fruit immediately showed its power. The Golden Lion could move in all directions, above and below, making it hard for the Straw Hat crew to do anything other than be led around!

"Golden Lion, you're a legendary pirate, but you still don't dare face us directly—"

Seeing that the four were being forced into a disadvantage—mainly because Zoro's movement speed couldn't keep up with the others—Roman started talking, trying to draw attention away from them.

"Do you have no shame?"

"Hehehehe, once I kill you, no one will know what happened here."

The Golden Lion was a true pirate through and through, and such insults didn't faze him. Roman couldn't help but sigh. Pirates who are both shameless and strong are the worst.

"Gomu Gomu no Eagle Rocket Launcher!"

The battle continued, but the distance between Roman, Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro was getting wider. Using his high jumping speed, Luffy caught up again, and his Haki-covered hands shot forward like rocket launchers, tearing through the air. The power, speed, and Haki behind this attack were extraordinary. Even a small hill would crumble before Luffy's punches!

The Golden Lion didn't take this lightly. He activated his Kenbunshoku Haki, dodging the punch, and then swung one leg, aiming at Luffy's arm with his move.

Clang!

But Roman, already close by, swung his Haki-wrapped sword in front of the Golden Lion's attack, saving Luffy's arm from being cut. Luffy then grabbed a nearby tree and pulled himself back into the fight.

"Gomu Gomu no Eagle Whip!"

Luffy's leg, hardened with Armament Haki, kicked out, sending shockwaves through the air. But the Golden Lion simply flew upwards, avoiding the attack, which left the others speechless. With this, they thought:

'Just keep going with him!'

Normally, the Golden Lion would be dodging with his abilities, and eventually, Roman and the others would be unable to keep up. But since the Golden Lion was using this shameless hit-and-run tactic, Roman decided:

"Let's get our health back!"

Whoosh—"Paper Dance - King's Treasure!"

As they moved at high speed, Roman waved his hand, sending out sheets of paper that transformed into flying swords aimed at the Golden Lion.

These golden swords, covered in Haki, moved under Roman's control, weaving in and out in the air. The scene was spectacular, with golden sword lights filling the battlefield. It looked impressive, but—

It was just for show, mostly effective against weak opponents.

Even though the golden swords, made from flying paper, were speeding toward the Golden Lion like meteors, once detached, the Haki on them would quickly fade. Roman hadn't mastered the technique of releasing Haki externally yet, and could only maintain it on the swords through his own creation and connection with his body.

"Hehehe, this kind of trick can't hurt me!"

The Golden Lion sneered, but Roman ignored him. He knew these "flying swords" wouldn't harm the Golden Lion, but they could block his vision and mess with his perception.

"Mm?"

In the midst of the flying swords, a few golden swords hit Luffy and the others, then turned back into green paper. As the life force from the paper flowed into their bodies, the three who were slightly out of breath suddenly felt energized.

...???

"You guys—!?"

The four of them fought their way across the island, leaving behind massive ruins!

The Golden Lion, already breathing heavily, suddenly realized that if the battle dragged on, he might not last much longer. These young fighters seemed to have endless stamina. It seemed he had no choice but to:

"Lion's Might—Earth Spiral!"

Roar, roar, roar!!

With a fierce grab in mid-air, the Golden Lion caused the earth to rumble! Dirt and rocks soared into the sky! Huge clumps of mud, towering tens of meters high, turned into roaring lions with sharp manes, and they charged toward Roman, Luffy, Sanji, and the others.

This move was quite similar to Naruto's 'Chibaku Tensei,' but only similar. The Golden Lion could control the earth to push toward the Straw Hat crew, but he couldn't summon the terrifying gravitational force that Hokage could. So:

"Soru!"

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Rocket!"

"Maximum wind blast—"

Three figures shot out from the massive lion-shaped mud wave before it could close. But then:

"Damn, Zoro!"

At the same moment, the Golden Lion had spun around and brushed past Roman and the others, heading straight for Zoro, who was trapped in the Earth Spiral! He knew that with Zoro's level of Armament Haki, a single Earth Spiral wouldn't be enough to finish him off. So, he planned to strike him down with another attack!

In an instant, Roman, Luffy, and Sanji turned back to help, but they had instinctively moved away from the Earth Spiral earlier, leaving a gap between them. They could only watch helplessly as the Golden Lion rapidly closed in on Zoro, who was buried in the mud.

"Zoro—!"

It's up to you now.

Boom!!

With a loud explosion, countless pages of paper burst open, forcing the dirt aside and revealing Zoro, completely unharmed. His fighting spirit was soaring, surrounded by dark, ghostly energy. The corners of his mouth twisted into a dangerous grin.

"I've been waiting for you—"

He spun around and swung his sword!

In an instant, Zoro became a whirlwind of sword slashes, attacking the Golden Lion head-on!

This was a technique most swordsmen used—'Whirlwind Slash,' a high-speed spinning move meant to strike the enemy. But for Zoro, it was far more than just a simple attack!

As Zoro spun, his figure multiplied into countless afterimages, rotating like a wheel. It looked as though he had become three-headed, six-armed.

But Roman, watching, understood this wasn't an illusion—Zoro had truly become three-headed, six-armed!

Normally, an object needs to complete a full 360-degree spin to return to its original position, but Zoro had defied space itself, managing to return after just 120 degrees of rotation.

In one move, Zoro split himself, and his weapons, into three! His swords, the Sandai Kitetsu, Akushui, and the Wado Ichimonji, each turned into nine distinct weapons in the blink of an eye.

"Nine-Sword Style—Asura—Piercing Wave!"

Nine blades spun and slashed toward the Golden Lion, each infused with powerful Haki, capable of splitting mountains and parting seas! The Golden Lion, who had never expected to be wounded by such an attack, was caught off guard—he could only—Pfft!!

As the two figures passed each other, the Golden Lion's coat and hair were splattered with blood.

Since the battle began, the Golden Lion had been injured!

And it was a deep, bone-cutting wound!

---PS: Cough, using a big move to deal with a clown like this is a waste. At least this move could have been used to cut down Kaido—should have used it on the Golden Lion first~~~ 

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