"What kind of monster... is this guy?!"
Baroque could not understand, much less accept, what was happening before his eyes.
That was the strongest killing move that had made his name, the "Bloodfang: Bipolar Slash" infused with all his strength and will, powerful enough to cleave a standard warship in two!
Yet those two blood-red beams of death had been forcibly stopped in midair by a pair of fists!
"No... this is impossible!" Baroque's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the figure in the heart of the storm. "My slashes, my Haki... why... why don't they work on him?!"
Just as Baroque sank into an abyss of self-doubt, Lorne grinned, exposing a mouthful of stark white teeth. His smile brimmed with unrestrained satisfaction.
"Is that all the strength you've got?" Lorne's voice reached everyone present with perfect clarity. "That's not even enough to tickle me, 'Blood Axe'!"
The instant he finished speaking, his hands, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, suddenly exerted force, his fingers clenching inward!
Crack-!!!
A cracking sound so sharp it made their scalps prickle suddenly rang out!
Under the horrified gazes of Baroque, Ethan, Diamante, and all the Marines and civilians, those two Flying Slashes, solid as blood crystals, actually... shattered piece by piece in midair, like glass smashed by an invisible force!
Countless blood-red fragments of energy shot in every direction before finally dissipating into the air.
Silence.
Aboard the Fearless, the scarred veteran's mouth hung open. The spyglass in his hand clattered onto the deck, but he did not even notice.
"He... crushed them?" A young Marine's voice shook uncontrollably. "He... used his hands... to crush slashes like those?!"
"My God..." Lieutenant Commander Ethan felt his heart skip a beat. He murmured to himself, "He wouldn't be out of place as a Vice