It was not the wind at work, but a sign that the power of the Gladiator's Flag Fruit had activated.
Diamante slowly drew the Western Sword at his waist, pointing its tip straight at the figure in the distant crater.
"Ho ho ho... what an... incredible monster." Wariness flickered in Diamante's eyes. "So young, yet already this strong. If we let you return to Marine Headquarters alive, will there be any place left for our Donquixote Family in the future?"
He glanced at Baroque's corpse, which had been smashed to a pulp, and his killing intent reached its peak.
"An Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit may be precious, but compared to the threat you pose alive, it's nothing."
Diamante made his decision. He had to kill this Marine himself.
"You've just finished using that earth-shattering move. Your stamina should be drained by now, shouldn't it?" Diamante's lips curled into a sinister grin. "Allow me to bring your life to a perfect close."
Believing he had seen through Lorne's condition, he hesitated no longer.
Diamante leaped from the wreckage of the building, silently approaching Lorne in the center of the crater like a gliding bat.
"Hmm?"
In the center of the crater, Lorne was feeling the power of Battlefield Valor surge through his body when his Beast Ears suddenly twitched, picking up a trace of hostility.
He looked up to see that tall, thin man in a red cloak charging toward him, Western Sword in hand, with movements both elegant and eerie.
"Finally willing to crawl out of your rat hole?" Rather than growing nervous, Lorne grinned. "I thought you were planning to watch until dawn."
His Observation Haki had long since locked onto this man, who had been lurking in the shadows and watching since the battle began.
"Ho ho ho,