His beast ears twitched slightly. The flow of the wind around him, the friction of the sand grains, and even Garp's thunderous heartbeat all reached his mind clearly.
"On the left!"
Lorne snapped his eyes open and drove his right fist, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, hard into the empty space to his left.
Bang!
Garp appeared in that very spot, his right fist colliding with Lorne's heavy punch.
"Oh?"
"Not bad Observation Haki, you little brat!"
Garp laughed, but his left leg swept toward Lorne's waist like a bolt of black lightning, without any warning.
"Rankyaku: Amane Dachi!"
Lorne growled, swinging his left leg as well and whipping up a blade of air.
Bang!
Their legs collided in midair. The air blade and Haki wore away at each other, producing an ear-piercing screech.
They broke apart upon contact, then immediately became afterimages as they tangled again.
Explosions rang out incessantly across the beach, and sand and dirt flew everywhere.
Garp's punches looked slow, but they were actually lightning-fast, each following an intricate trajectory.
"Watch closely, brat! This is how you really use Ryuo!"
Garp roared and punched out from a distance.
Lorne felt a jolt in his chest as an invisible force pierced his Armament Haki and exploded directly inside his chest cavity.
"Urgh!"
Lorne grunted, a mouthful of fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
This power acted directly on his insides, rendering his Iron Body defense useless.
But the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even more fiercely.
"Internal destruction?"
"It really is impressive!"
Lorne growled, the Battlefield Valor bloodline within him fully activated.
The lower his health fell, the more his recovery rate increased exponentially.
He could feel the cells in his body frantically devouring the invading Ryuo Haki and converting it into nourishment