The violent collision and the storm's fury tore apart Shiki's massive flagship in an instant. The rudder on the deck was also shattered, as if by fate itself. With a fierce impact, it slammed into Shiki's head.
In the chaos, Shiki didn't immediately realize what had happened. All he felt was a sharp pain in his head, and blood began streaming down, turning his once golden mane into a blood-soaked mess.
Before he could make sense of it, the shattered debris and sand engulfed him. In his daze, Shiki thought he saw the remnants of a broken warship?
Meanwhile, Claudius and his crew, trapped inside a ball of sand, couldn't see the outside. Based on their calculations, they hadn't fallen all the way to sea level yet, but the sudden jolt from a violent impact left them rattled.
"Did we crash into a mountain? If that's the case, we might still be alive," Claudius thought briefly.
As the thought crossed his mind, another powerful impact sent him flying. The sturdy warship they'd been on was instantly shattered.
The sand cocoon burst apart, and Claudius regained his vision. To his surprise, they hadn't hit a mountain, they'd crashed into a ship.
Swept along with the yellow sand, Claudius felt himself propelled towards a familiar figure. But everything was happening too fast; he couldn't immediately recognize who it was.
In the next second, he and the sand buried the figure on the deck. A fierce gust of wind followed, sweeping away all the sand.
Only then did Claudius notice that his hand was pressing down on something round and sticky.
"Wait a minute, did I just land on a girl? That'd be awkwardly exciting. Is it Gion? But it doesn't feel right, it's too hard, and... kind of gross?" Claudius thought to himself with a hint of dirtiness.
He shook his head sharply, trying to clear the dizziness. When he opened his eyes, he realized his hand was pressing down on the head of someone whose face was smeared with blood. The worst part? It was a man.
"What the hell? It's a dude's head? I was hoping for something better..." Claudius muttered in disappointment.
Still feeling woozy, Claudius was about to move when he suddenly heard an enraged voice from beneath him: "Claudius, it's you!!!?"
Startled by the familiar voice, Claudius snapped out of his dizziness and looked closely. No way, it was Shiki! How did this guy end up here? Could it be... did we crash into his ship?
But wait — what's up with the rudder on his head? Did we hit it? Is that why it's stuck there?
"Shi—" Claudius began to speak, but a wave of nausea hit him hard. It was as if he was drunk; there was no stopping it. Without warning, he vomited all the leftovers in his stomach straight onto Shiki's head.
Shiki was already having a bad day with the rudder lodged in his skull. Recognizing his enemy, Claudius, on top of him only made things worse. And just as he was about to lash out, Claudius spewed vomit all over his face.
For a split second, Shiki nearly passed out from sheer disgust. The Golden Lion — a man whose reputation shook the world, who commanded respect even from his enemies had never been treated like this. Yet today, here he was, drenched in vomit.
He instinctively opened his mouth to curse Claudius, but thankfully stopped himself at the last moment. If he opened his mouth now, wouldn't he swallow all that disgusting stuff?
After Claudius finished emptying his stomach, the dizziness eased, and he started regaining his senses. Then it hit him: "Oh, crap! Did I just throw up all over the infamous Golden Lion Shiki?"
As that realization sank in, Claudius felt even more shocked. Not only had he puked on Shiki's head, but he was actually pinning him down!
"This has got to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance!" Claudius thought, exhilarated.
Without hesitation, he pressed Shiki's head harder and started pounding it with his fist, landing blow after blow. At the same time, the power of his Logia Nitrogen-Nitrogen Fruit surged to life. Claudius gritted his teeth and shouted, "Death's Choke!"
Shiki felt an unbearable suffocation washing over him. He opened his mouth in desperation, trying to gulp down air, but instead got a mouthful of Claudius' vomit, nearly choking him to death.
Struggling, Shiki grabbed Claudius by the neck. With great effort, he finally managed to summon some of his Haki. Although he had healed somewhat, he was nowhere near his peak strength. Still, he cursed Claudius in his heart. "If it weren't for this bastard crashing into my ship, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
Of course, Shiki had no idea that, even without Claudius, his fate was pretty much sealed once that rudder hit him.
Claudius, meanwhile, kept squeezing Shiki's throat, cutting off his air. Shiki responded in kind, tightening his grip on Claudius' neck. Both men were now red-faced, gasping for air, locked in a ridiculous struggle.
Here they were, the legendary Golden Lion and one of the world's most privileged Celestial Dragons, reduced to a petty street brawl, strangling each other without any grace or dignity.
Claudius' hand fumbled for the short sword at his waist. "If I can just get my hands on Shinsō, I can finish this guy off!"
Just as he reached for it, a strong gust of wind from the storm suddenly blew them both apart. The wind scattered Claudius' nitrogen power, allowing Shiki to breathe again, but Shiki couldn't maintain his grip on Claudius either.
Claudius, blown backwards, smashed his head against the cabin wall, his forehead bleeding profusely before he could activate his Logia powers.
Still, he was in better shape than Shiki. In this chaotic environment, Shiki's powers were severely restricted. Claudius grabbed onto the crushed wall for support and pulled out Shinsō from his waist.
He was about to say "Shoot him," but just then, Crocodile came flying through the air, swept up by the same wind, and crashed directly into Claudius.
"Cough," Crocodile spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. But Claudius couldn't worry about him now. If Shiki recovered, none of them would stand a chance.
Pushing Crocodile aside, Claudius pointed Shinsō at Shiki, and growled, "Shoot him, Shins—"
Before he could finish the command, the storm surged, slamming the broken ship into the sea with a force that completely destroyed what was left of it.
The impact sent Shinsō flying from Claudius' hand. He lost his balance and was thrown into the air once again, landing right back where Shiki was.
This time, Claudius was ready. He grabbed Shiki's arm as they collided, pinning them together, and pressed Shinsō against Shiki's abdomen.
"Shoot him, Shinsō!" Claudius roared with all his strength.
At such close range, Shiki had no chance to dodge. Pain exploded in his gut as Shinsō stabbed into him, and his injuries compounded, leaving him in utter despair.
"Die, you brat!" Shiki managed to summon enough strength to grab his saber, and with a bit of Haki, he slashed at Claudius' side.
The searing pain nearly made Claudius let go, but instead it only triggered the viciousness deep inside him. He wasn't about to let go now. Not after coming this far.
The King Engine kicked into high gear, his heartbeat thundering in his chest. Amidst the storm's noise, Shiki could clearly hear the rapid thumping, and for the first time, he felt a pang of panic.
Claudius didn't care about honor or fairness at this point. He released Shinsō, leaving it lodged in Shiki's body, and with his free hand, he grabbed the rudder stuck in Shiki's head.
He pulled. Hard.
A sharp, searing pain shot through Shiki's head. He struggled, trying to push Claudius away, but with the King Engine boosting his power, Claudius held on tight, refusing to let go.
"I'm gonna turn you into a dead lion today!" Claudius growled through gritted teeth. He yanked the rudder again, harder this time.
Shiki's eyes rolled back, and before he could stab Claudius again, everything went dark, and he passed out cold.
Feeling Shiki go limp, Claudius relaxed a little, thinking, "Did I kill him? Man, this rudder really is dangerous. It's been jammed in his head this whole time."
But sensing that Shiki was still alive, Claudius realized he'd only knocked him out.
"Damn, that was rough," Claudius muttered. One hand held onto Shiki's lifeless body, while the other pressed against his own waist, trying to stem the bleeding. Blood flowed freely from between his fingers.
"Still, this is a win, right?" Claudius thought triumphantly. "First thing CP-0 and Naval Headquarters will do is scramble to capture the great pirate Golden Lion Shiki. Bringing him to justice..." Claudius thought joyfully.
But before he could bask in his victory, the storm showed no mercy, the ship beneath them still creaking and groaning. He held onto Shiki's limp form, blood still pouring from his own wounds. Shiki's unconscious body was barely hanging on, and Claudius himself wasn't in much better shape.