"Let them come. My fists have been itching for a worthy target." Lorne hung up the Den Den Mushi and casually handed the receiver back to Ryan beside him.
"Captain, if the Holy Knights' regular forces really do turn out in full strength, should we pull our defensive lines back to the Flower Capital in advance?" Ryan put away the Den Den Mushi and asked gravely.
"The word 'retreat' isn't in the Fearless Empire's dictionary." Lorne strode onto the Fearless's bridge and looked down over the churning sea below. "Tell the craftsmen to speed up repairs on No. 7 Island. This will be the strongest gateway in the New World."
"Yes!" Ryan straightened his back and loudly acknowledged the order.
Just half a day later, the earth-shattering news that Cross Guild's fifty warships had been utterly annihilated off Wano Country spread across the entire sea at a terrifying speed, carried by currents and radio waves.
On island after island in the New World, roof-raising cries erupted in the once-boisterous taverns.
"You've got to be kidding! That was a massive combined fleet led by the former Shichibukai Crocodile himself!"
"Fifty elite warships, smashed head-on by a single ship from the Fearless Empire?"
"I heard Crocodile couldn't even take one punch from Lorne. His breastbone was completely shattered, and his men dragged him away like a dead dog!"
"Insane... this whole world has gone completely insane! What kind of monster warship has Lorne built?!"
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's Office, Sengoku gripped the newly delivered encrypted intelligence so tightly that his Haki sent cracks spreading through the thick solid wood desk.
"Dozens of warships vaporized in a single strike... even the deep seawater was blasted away to leave a vacuum trench?!" Sengoku raised his head and looked at Staff Officer