A numbing shock ran through Charlotte Linlin's hands. The webbing between her thumbs and forefingers split open, and she nearly lost her grip on her sword.
Werther now had a rough idea of how strong he was.
Even against Red-Haired or Garp, he had nothing to fear.
If both sides fought to the death, Werther and Red-Haired would have even odds. Against Garp, Werther was more likely to win. No matter how strong Garp was, he had grown old.
For masters of Hand-to-Hand Combat, growing older almost always meant growing weaker.
An ordinary member of the Four Emperors had one ability above level twenty. Charlotte Linlin, for instance, had a Devil Fruit ability above level twenty.
Her fruit power likely enhanced her Hand-to-Hand Combat, which was why she relied on it for most of her fighting.
A stronger emperor like Blackbeard generally had one ability between levels twenty-three and twenty-five, with another close to level twenty.
Red-Haired, meanwhile, had one ability at level twenty-five and another around level twenty.
That level-twenty-five ability was Conqueror's Haki. Werther had no idea how Red-Haired had made it so powerful.
Werther's situation was unusual: he had three abilities at level twenty or higher.
His Swordsmanship and Armament Haki were both level twenty, while his Constitution had reached level twenty-three.
That was why Charlotte Linlin was no match for him now.
In fact, Werther's victory over her was all but certain.
Without Thundercloud Zeus and her other helpers, Charlotte Linlin's strength had fallen sharply.
Once he had forced her on the defensive, Werther pressed down harder with his sword.
Charlotte Linlin's plump face turned dark purple.
When more pressure got him nowhere, Werther coated his lower leg in Armament Haki and gathered lightning around it until his entire shin glowed orange-yellow.
Electromagnetic Cannon!
Werther drove