He's in One Piece, but he's also part of the Phantom Troupe.

Chapter 44 The True Strongest

On the second basement level of the castle,

With her tuft of hair sticking up and an innocent expression, Little Drop manipulated the bulging-eyed fish like a vacuum cleaner, sucking everything around it into its belly.

"Little Drop... just inhale the treasure and the sea chart... don't bother inhaling those muscle men, they're disgusting—"

"Besides, they are living beings, you know—"

The knight had already deactivated the automatic operation mode and leaned to the side, complaining.

Little Di tilted her head, looking confused.

Franklin explained kindly, "They are human beings... although they were humans modified by Indic, they are still living beings."

"Huh... really? They're alive, aren't they...?"

Little Drop adjusted her glasses frame with her index finger, and after careful consideration, spat out the muscular men wearing gas masks one by one from the bulging-eyed fish.

【Bulging-Eyed Fish (Conjuration Type)】

[The bulging-eyed fish is a materialized vacuum cleaner with eyes, teeth, and a tongue. Before using its ability, explain the target to the bulging-eyed fish. It can suck up anything that the droplet considers inanimate and spit it out at will.]

It was the Nen ability of the Phantom Troupe's 8th member, Shizuku Murasaki, who was responsible for cleaning up the battlefield and the aftermath within the Phantom Troupe.

Parker gazed at all this tenderly, then covered his mouth and chuckled softly.

He then walked to the side and reported to the guide using the compass on his arm:

"Captain, the treasure hunt team has completed its operation and will be returning shortly."

……

In the banquet hall of the enormous palace,

Kuroro, holding a dying pirate in his hand, sensed the information transmitted through the compass, smiled, and tightened his grip slightly.

"Click—"

The pirate in his hand twisted his neck and was dead as good as dead.

Bonney wandered among the crowd, casually placing her hands on each pirate and turning them into little old men and women.

The two were surrounded by countless dead pirates.

Brightly colored chandeliers, a dazzling array of food, and flowing blood on the floor intertwined, making the banquet hall resemble a painting of a hellish landscape.

Golden Lion had gathered so many pirates on the island in preparation for attacking the East Blue, and Chrollo, being a thief himself, certainly couldn't miss it.

To Kuroro, these pirates weren't just pirates; they were a bunch of valuable reputation points!

[Congratulations, host, for completing the task of clearing out the pirates on the floating island. Your plundering ability has been triggered. The total pirate bounty for this mission was 8700 million, and you have gained 8700 reputation points.]

[Host's current reputation value: 18550]

"........."

"You're kidding me, 35 pirate crews, over 300 people, and you still don't have a bounty of 100 million, right...?"

"Never mind... even a small mosquito is still meat."

Kuroro casually tossed the pirate corpse in his hand aside.

"What trash! No wonder that damn Golden Lion couldn't succeed; he had too few strong subordinates..."

Kuroro sensed the information from the compass, and a smile appeared on his lips:

"Looks like everything's going well with Pike~"

He then adopted a solemn expression, observing the fluctuating life states of Uvogin and the other person.

"Looks like these two are in bad shape."

"Did he not be able to resist challenging a strong opponent...?" Kuroro analyzed, stroking his chin.

"I should have thought of that earlier."

He looked up in the direction where Uvogin and the others were, then pulled Bonnie up beside him.

"Let's go, it's our turn—"

"Where to?"

"Of course, we're going to take down the Golden Lion!"

"No way—I don't like doing that with animals! Besides, I don't even have that ability!!!"

Bonney was pulled along by Kuroro, and her wailing gradually faded into the distance.

..........

Unlike the cheerful laughter of the treasure-hunting team, the atmosphere in the combat team was extremely tense.

"Tick-tock...tick-tock...tick-tock..."

Thick, fresh blood dripped down Uvogin's arm and onto the ground.

He was panting heavily, his face contorted with rage, staring intently at the enemy in front of him.

Nobunaga's brand-new longsword broke in two once again. He gripped the remaining half of the short sword tightly, his tiger's mouth split open, his body covered in hideous wounds.

"Hahaha—"

The Golden Lion's lips curled up, looking at the two with a hint of smugness and mockery.

"The rudiments of Armament Haki and the realm of a swordsman...?"

"For a newcomer, daring to draw your sword against me is quite courageous~"

"I acknowledge your abilities."

"So, what's your decision? Do you want to join me and become my subordinate? I'll let you experience the joy of being a subordinate of a top-tier expert, hahahahaha—"

"Hahahaha—"

However, Uvogin laughed even louder than him, laughing so hard that blood trickled down the corners of his mouth.

"Hahaha, that laughter means he agrees, right?" the Golden Lion said with satisfaction.

"Yeah, right—" Uvogin laughed so hard he almost fell over.

"Top-tier experts don't force others to join."

"What did you say?" The golden lion's eyes suddenly turned gloomy.

"Am I wrong...?" Uvogin's lips slowly parted into a smile.

"A true strongman is someone who commands respect and admiration simply by his aura; you are clearly not one of them."

The smile on Golden Lion's face gradually faded, and the veins on his forehead bulged. In his life, he cared most about his reputation, and naturally hated it the most when others said he was not a strong person.

"What do you know—"

"Let me tell you! I'm the Golden Lion, a pirate on par with Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate—"

"This very sea once trembled before my illustrious name—"

"Oh........"

"What are you laughing at?!" Golden Lion couldn't help but glare angrily at Nobunaga.

"Tch—" Nobunaga spat to the side, raised his broken sword again, pointing it at the Golden Lion, his eyes filled with indifference and coldness:

"To add to that, true powerhouses don't flaunt their past achievements to their enemies."

"It seems the commander was right, you've gotten old."

"You damned thing—" A sword aura swept across the Golden Lion, and Uvogin and his companion quickly dodged.

The golden lion's eyes were so dark they seemed to drip water as he stared at the two of them:

"It seems you have no intention of surrendering..."

His response was to Uvogin and his companion in their fighting stances.

"Then die—"

"Lion's Might - Earth Scroll -"

The golden lion stood in mid-air, its long, golden mane moving without wind, and raised its hand in the distance, causing the soil of the island to groan.

Under the shocked expressions of Uvogin and his companion,

The ground within a radius of several kilometers seemed to writhe as if alive, and the deafening roar of the rock strata fracturing was deafening. Countless boulders rose from the ground, constantly accumulating to form towering lions, each as tall as a mountain.

They shook off the trees from their bodies, opened their enormous jaws—maws large enough to devour an entire forest—and roared as they charged towards the two of them, like the might of the heavens.

There is no way to avoid it.

"boom--"

The next second, countless clods of earth surged up into a mountain of sand and soil, burying Uvogin and his companion within.

"it's over......."

The golden lion's eyes were indifferent. "This is what happens when you oppose me."

He dusted his hands off as if nothing had happened, and turned to leave.

"They're right..."

A soft laugh came from among the bumblebees.

The golden lion stopped abruptly.