Besides, as the battle became more intense, the clash of Conqueror Haki and became more violent, he began to feel waves of piercing pain on the top of his head.
The wound on the rudder was even oozing with blood.
This is the extent of it... Is his body no longer able to bear it?
Looking at Gawain below, who attacked again and again like a tireless beast, Golden Lion felt indescribable reluctance.
If he were a few years younger… if he could just take this damn rudder off…
How many people in this era can be his rival?!
"Damn it!"
Gawain's attack came again.
Golden Lion swung his feet, enduring the severe pain on his head as he used the Conqueror's Haki in his body and burst out with his strongest attack tonight…
"Slicing Wave!"
The extremely powerful slash landed on Gawain, and in an instant, the Battle Armor on his body was torn open, followed by the bones in his chest and even the flesh and blood in his chest cavity.
It's gonna be bad!
Gawain's face turned pale, but he had no time to react before he was chopped down to the ground by Golden Lion's flying slash.
Boom!
There was a loud explosion from the harbor, the ground collapsed, cracks spread to the sea, and dust and smoke filled the air, blocking everyone's vision.
A cut spread from the harbor to the sea in the distance.
The surroundings became quiet for a moment.
Only the Golden Lion standing high in the sky while making panting sounds.
The severe pain in his head almost drove him crazy, so much so that his face was shaking constantly, but what really tortured him was the unwillingness in his heart.
"Damn it!"
"If I can't even handle this, how am I going to fight Whitebeard?"
Between words, he recalled the judgment he had once heard from the ship's doctor.
The rudder had penetrated deep into his skull and even grown together with the flesh and blood of his brain. If it was forcibly removed, his life would probably be in danger.
But at this moment, Golden Lion, who had witnessed his own decline, had already made up his mind to take it out, even if the stakes were his life.
Although his gambling luck has never been very good, this time…
Will you help me?
Golden Lion looked up at the sky, then lowered his eyes to look downward, only to find that Gawain's breath had disappeared long ago.
"Escaped?"
"But..."
Golden Lion raised his hand and touched the rudder above his head, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled up: "You won't have that luck next time!"
After saying that, Golden Lion flew up and disappeared into the clouds with his fleet.
From beginning to end, he never looked back at Crocodile, who was watching the entire battle from a distance.
He originally thought that after witnessing this battle, Crocodile would have some enlightenment in his heart and even break free from his shackles and regain his faith.
That would be useful, but it is not necessary now.
As the Nanohana city calmed down, the battle between Gawain and Golden Lion also came to an end.
… … …
Half an hour later.
When everyone has left.
A figure jumped out of the sea and landed steadily on the ground.
It was Gawain who had just dived into the water.
He had just been hit by a fatal blow from Golden Lion and had been severely injured. Even after exhausting the ground's vitality, he could only barely heal his internal organs and bones.
As a last resort, the only choice is to dive into the deep sea to avoid this disaster.
"The battlefield tonight is not in my favor."
"Plus, there is still a clear gap between my current Haki and that of Golden Lion, so it's not unfair that I lost."
Gawain looked at the scar on his chest, but there was no fear in his eyes, only unspeakable excitement: "But..."
"How much experience did my Conqueror's Haki increase?!"
It was past midnight, and the system calculated today's experience again. A string of numbers that Gawain couldn't believe appeared in front of him: "Conqueror Haki experience +6403!"
Gawain rubbed his eyes and made sure that he was not mistaken. He had only one thought in his mind: "What a loss!"
"Where can I find such good leeks next time?"
"What a pity."
Gawain couldn't help but sigh, but he also knew that this chance would be difficult to come by again.
After all, not everyone has the ability to absorb the earth's vitality to replenish physical strength like the red dragon fruit. Often, if you are injured in a battle, you have to take care of it for a long time.
Moreover, Gawain could also see that in the later stages of the battle, Golden Lion's condition was clearly not right.
He had an absolute advantage, and his original purpose was not to repel or kill Gawain but to recruit him as his deputy captain.
But with that last sword strike, Golden Lion had already gone against his original purpose and directly wanted to kill him.
"Is it the wound on the top of his head?"
This was the only reasonable guess in Gawain's mind.
No matter how well Golden Lion was maintained, the rudder embedded directly into his skull still had a great impact on his body.
"But..."
"He hasn't experienced a proper battle in twenty years, and he has an old wound on his head, but he can still maintain the combat power of a general emperor. It's outrageous."
"If the Straw Hats were to fight Golden Lion in a few years, they would be killed in one encounter. There is no way they would be able to fight to that extent."
"Unless something unknown happened, which caused the rapid decline of Golden Lion's combat power."
"But."
"This has nothing to do with me. The best I can do is give him a decent ending next time I see him rather than ending it in a humiliating way."
Between his words, Gawain felt waves of pain from the wound on his chest.
Obviously, even with the feature of the Celestial Being, the slash with the Conqueror Haki's entanglement is still extremely deadly to Gawain.
He immediately decided to find an island with abundant vitality nearby to replenish his strength and heal his injuries before contacting Kalifa and others.
Thinking of this, a pair of wings extended from Gawain's shoulders and flapped gently, then his whole body flew away quickly into the distance, close to the surface of the sea.
In just a few seconds, he disappeared without a trace.
… … ...
At the other end, several islands hanging high in the sky slowly drifted away from Alabasta.
Golden Lion returned to the base camp and sat on his throne. Beside him were several ship doctors who were treating the wound on his head.
"The rudder is embedded deeper and has even grown together with the brain tissue, posing a risk of infection at any time."
Indigo looked at Golden Lion's wound, frowned, and couldn't help but persuade him: "And the previous speculation was also confirmed in this battle."
"Every great change of emotion, or frequent bursts of Haki, or battles that require a confrontation of Conqueror Haki, will cause the injury to worsen, causing the rudder to embed deeper."
"Maybe next time, when the rudder hurts the motor nerves, it will be too late."
"In other words."
"Captain, you need to avoid high-intensity combat in the future."
"Are you kidding me?"
Golden Lion pulled out the needle from his body and grabbed Indigo's collar; his eyes were full of reluctance: "If I can't fight, how can I take over this world?"
"Roger would die of laughter in the underworld if he knew this!"
He almost roared as he spoke these words.
But there was not a trace of the funny look on Indigo's face that he had in the past.
Instead, there was an indescribable solemn expression.
============
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