Can You Still Fly with One Wing Missing?

Lin Ye disengaged and stepped back, his gaze falling on King as he landed in a blaze of fire.

To conceal his racial traits, King still wore that black outfit that covered his entire body, though the enormous wings on his back were exceptionally conspicuous.

Lin Ye sheathed his blade and sized King up.

King was also sizing Lin Ye up.

"Stop!"

King spoke, his voice thick with killing intent. This man actually dared to ignore his command.

At that thought, killing intent surged from King's body.

Especially when his gaze fell upon the headless corpse on the ground, his anger intensified.

The thing he least wanted to see had truly happened.

He did not care whether Kurozumi Orochi lived or died, but the man was still useful. Kaido's plan needed him. At the very least, Wano Country could not descend into chaos at this time.

Kurozumi Orochi might have been foolish, but he was at least obedient.

But now that Kurozumi Orochi was dead, Wano Country would certainly fall into turmoil. Sorting out Wano Country's internal affairs would likely take quite some time.

At that thought, King's eyes, concealed behind his mask, brimmed with killing intent. He directly raised a hand to grip the hilt of his sword.

Lin Ye merely sneered upon hearing King's words.

"Hmph. You? Kaido himself would be more like it."

The moment those words left his mouth, King's killing intent erupted violently. Lin Ye's words had clearly enraged him.

What did that mean?

Was he looking down on him?

A person's character was shaped by those they followed.

After King escaped the World Government's research facility with Kaido, he had remained by Kaido's side, naturally picking up some of Kaido's traits.

Whoosh!

The massive blade cut down toward Lin Ye, leaving an afterimage behind it.

The blow was immensely powerful, as though it meant to cleave Lin Ye in two with a single strike.

Lin Ye's sword, which had just been returned to its sheath, was coated in Conqueror's Haki as he raised it horizontally to block the overhead slash.

Airwaves rolled out, yet Lin Ye's body did not even sway.

King, holding his sword in one hand, was startled. The anger filling his chest calmed somewhat.

This guy had blocked his attack so easily?

Kozuki Oden had barely been able to resist him, making Lin Ye realize that his current strength was no longer weak.

Changes in strength brought changes in one's state of mind.

And such a state of mind happened to allow one to wield their strength more perfectly.

It was hard to say whether level 6 Calmness had played a part in it.

But Lin Ye could clearly feel that when facing certain matters, he found it difficult to become agitated. Or rather, his emotions no longer swayed his judgment.

His strength had risen sharply in a short time, yet he had adapted to it quickly. This mentality had been of enormous help as well.

And now, though he was much shorter than King, his aura overwhelmed King's.

That was without him even unleashing his Conqueror's Haki.

"You bastard!"

King's voice turned grave. He abruptly withdrew his blade and leaped back, assuming a guarded stance.

"Then take a slash from me too!"

Seeing King draw back, a smile appeared on Lin Ye's face as the Black Blade in his hand swept out.

Boom!

A black slash shot forth.

King's pupils contracted sharply. Gripping his sword with both hands, he slashed with all his strength at the incoming attack.

Boom!

King's huge body flew backward, smashing through more than ten houses before being buried beneath the rubble.

The next moment, a mass of flame shot into the sky.

King stood in midair with his sword in hand, his wings spread wide as orange flames emerged from his wings and above his head.

This was the Lunarian Tribe's racial gift. They possessed incredible vitality and could instinctively produce a certain kind of high-temperature flame.

It was precisely because of these racial traits that the Lunarian Tribe had been targeted by the World Government and nearly exterminated.

As far as anyone knew, King was the only Lunarian Tribe member left.

Looking at King, surrounded by flames, Lin Ye suddenly felt a little emotional.

"As expected of the Flame-Flame Fruit. Even dogs wouldn't eat it."

Although many people argued that there were no weak Devil Fruits, only weak users, the Flame-Flame Fruit, despite being a Logia, truly had not displayed the power it should have possessed.

All the powerful figures of the New World knew a trick or two involving flames.

Or perhaps Ace's use of it had simply been too shallow.

The thought suddenly surfaced in Lin Ye's mind, but quickly faded away.

"The Flame-Flame Fruit? This isn't the Flame-Flame Fruit."

After hearing Lin Ye's words, King gave a cold snort.

"I know. You're from the Lunarian Tribe, the people the World Government nearly wiped out."

Lin Ye waved a hand, speaking as though he did not care.

"You... why do you know that?"

King completely lost his composure. Even his voice changed, his emotions clearly fluctuating violently.

"With traits that obvious, it'd be hard not to know. Or are you going to kill me here to keep it secret?"

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes at King in the sky, deliberately making his tone somewhat mocking.

"You bastard, you must die here."

In an instant, King recalled the torment he had suffered in the World Government's experimental facility.

He did not even want to remember those days.

The current King did not possess the composure he would have twenty years later. Lin Ye exposing his identity directly shattered his defenses.

"Tankyūdon!"

The flames around King flared brightly. Then his entire body transformed into a huge pteranodon, coated head to toe in Armament Haki. His wings became like two enormous blades as he dived toward Lin Ye.

He was too fast.

In the blink of an eye, his huge, flame-wreathed body had reached Lin Ye.

His enormous, sharp beak, coated in Armament Haki, was already before Lin Ye.

Lin Ye raised his sword upright. His body slid slightly along the angle of King's descent, brushing past the sharp beak, only for King's blade-like wings to come sweeping toward him.

Smiling, Lin Ye raised his left hand. Level 9 Armament Haki coated it as he grabbed the edge of King's outstretched wing. Lin Ye's left arm suddenly swelled, then with a twist, he seized hold of King just as he was about to fly away.

King tried to flap his wings, but it was too late.

Grabbing King's enormous wing, Lin Ye spun once before violently smashing him into the ground.

Boom!

The entire Flower Capital shook.

The ground exploded apart.

The attack looked terrifying, but it did limited damage to King.

After all, while using Tankyūdon, his body was covered in Armament Haki.

But the next moment, Lin Ye had already raised the sword in his hand.

The Black Blade, coated in Two-Color Haki, slashed down.

Blood sprayed everywhere as King's enormous left wing was severed by the blade in Lin Ye's hand.

Armament Haki was indeed tough, but it had encountered a Black Blade coated in Two-Color Haki, with a slash whose Armament Haki was of even higher quality.

King let out a miserable scream. His remaining right wing flapped wildly as his body tumbled away erratically.

After crashing through several houses, King dropped to one knee.

His body had returned to human form. The left wing on his back had been severed at the root, scarlet blood streaming out.

With a flick of his Black Blade, sending the blood from its edge flying, Lin Ye turned to look at King, who was kneeling on one knee and trembling all over.

"Originally, with the advantage of your wings, it really would have been inconvenient for me to catch you."

Lin Ye walked toward King as he spoke.

"Now it's better. With one wing missing, can you still fly?"