Xie Wen's burst of power came so suddenly that Sakazuki had no time at all to react.
Worse still, in his hurry to stop Lunastra, he had made no effort to protect himself, focusing entirely on gaining speed.
For that very same reason, the slash Xie Wen had intended to cut Akainu in half at the waist missed its mark, landing considerably lower.
"Shhk..."
The Maid Long Sword Baby 5 had transformed into sliced effortlessly through a leg made of magma. Xie Wen felt so little resistance that he could not help wondering whether Akainu had used his elemental transformation in time to evade the attack.
But as the magma leg rapidly returned to an ordinary leg during its fall and landed on the ground with a thud, all of Saint Mary Geoise suddenly fell silent for two or three seconds.
Even Kizaru, who had been charging toward Lunastra alongside him, stopped, his eyes behind his sunglasses filled with shock.
Still in midflight, Sakazuki lowered his head and stared blankly at the severed leg on the ground, his mind completely empty.
Because Xie Wen's slash had been so fast, and because he had kept both legs in their elemental state, he still felt no pain. Yet his severed leg had undeniably fallen to the ground, leaving Sakazuki with a profound sense of unreality.
My leg... was cut off?
Had he been fighting an evenly matched opponent, such as another Admiral or one of the Four Emperors, losing a hand or foot would not have shocked Sakazuki this badly. He might even have kept fighting regardless.
But Xie Wen was someone he had clearly suppressed so thoroughly that he could not fight back at all. If not for having to deal with that fire dragon overhead, he could have won with