The violent collision and the storm's fury tore apart Shiki's massive fgship in an instant. The rudder on the deck was also shattered, as if by fate itself. With a fierce impact, it smmed 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 mao 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, Cudius and his crew, trapped inside a ball of sand, couldn't see the outside. Based on their calcutions, 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," Cudius 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 co burst apart, and Cudius regained his vision. To his surprise, they hadn't hit a mountain, they'd crashed into a ship.

  Swept along with the yellow sand, Cudius felt himself propelled towards a familiar figure. But everything was happening too fast; he couldn't immediately reize who it was.

  In the sed, he and the sand buried the figure on the deck. A fierce gust of wind followed, sweeping away all the sand.

  Only then did Cudius notice that his hand ressing down on something round and sticky.

  "Wait a minute, did I just nd on a girl? That'd be awkwardly exg. Is it Gion? But it doesn't feel right, it's too hard, and... kind of gross?" Cudius 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 ressing 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 somethier..." Cudius muttered in disappoi.

  Still feeling woozy, Cudius was about to move when he suddenly heard an enraged voice from beh him: "Cudius, it's you!!!?"

  Startled by the familiar voice, Cudius 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—" Cudius 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. Reizing his enemy, Cudius, on top of him only made things worse. And just as he was about to sh out, Cudius spewed vomit all over his face.

  For a split sed, Shiki nearly passed out from sheer disgust. The Golden Lion — a man whose reputation shook the world, who anded respect even from his enemies had never beeed like this. Yet today, here he was, drenched in vomit.

  He instinctively opened his mouth to curse Cudius, but thankfully stopped himself at the st moment. If he opened his mouth now, wouldn't he swallow all that disgusting stuff?

  After Cudius finished emptying his stomach, the dizziness eased, aarted regaining his sehen it hit him: "Oh, crap! Did I just throw up all over the infamous Golden Lion Shiki?"

  As that realization sank in, Cudius 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 on-a-lifetime ce!" Cudius thought, exhirated.

  Without hesitation, he pressed Shiki's head harder and started pounding it with his fist, nding blow after blow. At the same time, the power of his Logia Nitrogen-Nitrogen Fruit surged to life. Cudius 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 Cudius' vomit, nearly choking him to death.

  Struggling, Shiki grabbed Cudius by the neck. With great effort, he finally mao summon some of his Haki. Although he had healed somewhat, he was nowhere near his peak strength. Still, he cursed Cudius 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 Cudius, his fate retty much sealed ohat rudder hit him.

  Cudius, meanwhile, kept squeezing Shiki's throat, cutting off his air. Shiki responded in kind, tightening his grip on Cudius' 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 nity.

  Cudius' hand fumbled for the short sword at his waist. "If I just get my hands on Shinsō, I 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 Cudius' nitrogen power, allowing Shiki to breathe again, but Shiki couldn't maintain his grip on Cudius either.

  Cudius, blown backwards, smashed his head against the wall, his forehead bleeding profusely before he could activate his Logia powers.

  Still, he was ier shape than Shiki. In this chaotiviro, Shiki's powers were severely restricted. Cudius 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 Cudius.

  "Cough," Crocodile spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. But Cudius couldn't worry about him now. If Shiki recovered, none of them would stand a ce.

  Pushing Crocodile aside, Cudius pointed Shinsō at Shiki, and growled, "Shoot him, Shins—"

  Before he could finish the and, the storm surged, smming the broken ship into the sea with a force that pletely destroyed what was left of it.

  The impact sent Shinsō flying from Cudius' hand. He lost his band was thrown into the air once again, nding right back where Shiki was.

  This time, Cudius was ready. He grabbed Shiki's arm as they collided, pinning them together, and pressed Shinsō against Shiki's abdomen.

  "Shoot him, Shinsō!" Cudius roared with all his strength.

  At such cle, Shiki had no ce to dodge. Pain exploded in his gut as Shinsō stabbed into him, and his injuries pounded, leaving him in utter despair.

  "Die, you brat!" Shiki mao summon enough strength to grab his saber, and with a bit of Haki, he sshed at Cudius' side.

  The searing pain nearly made Cudius let go, but instead it only triggered the viciousness deep inside him. He wasn't about to let go now. Not after ing 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.

  Cudius 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 stu Shiki's head.

  He pulled. Hard.

  A sharp, searing pain shot through Shiki's head. He struggled, trying to push Cudius away, but with the King Engine boosting his power, Cudius held on tight, refusing to let go.

  "I'm gonna turn you into a dead lion today!" Cudius growled through gritted teeth. He yahe rudder again, harder this time.

  Shiki's eyes rolled back, and before he could stab Cudius again, everythi dark, and he passed out cold.

  Feeling Shiki go limp, Cudius rexed 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, Cudius realized he'd only knocked him out.

  "Damn, that was rough," Cudius 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?" Cudius 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..." Cudius thought joyfully.

  But before he could bask in his victory, the storm showed no mercy, the ship beh them still creaking and groaning. He held onto Shiki's limp form, blood still p from his own wounds. Shiki's unscious body was barely hanging on, and Cudius himself wasn't in much better shape.