Longinus did not care much about Waldo's final cry.
His thoughts were still fixed on the Conqueror's Haki that had erupted moments ago.
"Ten years of buildup, unleashed in a single day." Longinus murmured in a voice only he could hear. "Its power seemed somewhat different from what I understood. I had only intended to suppress Waldo's momentum."
"It seems my earlier theory was indeed correct. Conqueror's Haki is absolutely more than some useless ability for clearing out fodder." Longinus pulled his right hand from Waldo's chest and said calmly, "Once I return, it seems I'll have to ask Admiral Sengoku about how Conqueror's Haki is used!"
With Longinus no longer supporting him, Waldo collapsed. His massive body struck the storm-ravaged ground.
Just then, a clear, piercing cry rang through the skies.
That cry somehow carried a startling range of human-like emotions.
Longinus looked up and saw a streak of golden light cross the heavens, as dazzling and impossible to look at directly as sunlight.
"That griffin? It didn't die?" Longinus was genuinely surprised. Waldo's final attack had forced even Red-Haired and Katakuri to avoid its edge. Not to mention that the griffin had been bound by Seastone at the time—even if it had broken free, surviving an attack on the scale of a natural disaster should have been difficult.
But in the next moment, Longinus understood somewhat how the griffin had survived.
With one beat of its wings, the griffin crossed the distance like lightning and appeared before him. Its speed was not much slower than Waldo's after his hundredfold enhancement!
"The Speed-Speed Fruit! I understand now. Waldo deliberately fed it that Devil Fruit, so that after this griffin escaped from the Big Mom Pirates, he could sell them a favor."
Longinus came to a realization. "The Seastone chains