"Divine Departure."
Luo Chen held his black blade, wreathed in the black and red lightning of Conqueror's Haki, and slashed horizontally at Kizaru's neck.
This strike was remarkably similar to the one he used on Aokiji.
Both involved using "Observation Killing" to block their perception, then exploiting the information gap—their belief that the Flying Thunder God technique required a medium—by switching to Kamui for teleportation.
He delivered a fatal blow from behind.
The right eye of Kamui can suck the user's entire body into the Kamui dimension and transfer it to another location.
The effect is equivalent to a teleportation that requires no medium. Its activation speed is slightly slower than the Flying Thunder God, having a brief "wind-up" as he pulls his whole body into the Kamui dimension.
Of course, the teleportation speed of two-eyed Kamui is much faster than Obito's single-eyed Kamui.
It was just barely fast enough for combat.
This was the real reason why Kizaru and Aokiji failed to predict his appearance behind them.
The two of them were still operating on the false information that his 'teleportation required a medium'.
"Sshhh..."
The skin on the back of Kizaru's neck was sliced open, and blood spurted out.
Luo Chen's blade had cut through the outer flesh, and the white cervical vertebrae were already clearly visible.
Just as the longsword was about to sever the spine...
Kizaru finally completed his Logia transformation.
He turned his neck into golden light, and the upper and lower parts actively separated to dodge the blade.
Luo Chen's sword was imbued not only with Conqueror's Haki but also Armament Haki.
To evade it, Kizaru could only transform and open a "pathway," essentially letting the rest of Luo Chen's blade cut through empty air.
Everything happened in a flash.
Blood splashed from Kizaru's neck, and then his body and head separated, lurching forward.
Many Marines couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
For a moment, they thought Admiral Kizaru had been beheaded.
Only when they saw the golden light at the base of his head and the top of his neck did they sigh in relief.
He must have used his Logia power to avoid it.
His head and body actively separated, narrowly dodging Luo Chen's fatal strike.
More than ten meters away, Kizaru's body and head reassembled.
He clutched the back of his profusely bleeding neck with one hand and, without looking back, dissolved into golden particles, vanishing from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already a hundred meters away.
Only then did Kizaru turn around, sizing up Luo Chen with a face full of fear and suspicion.
That last attack had almost finished him.
It was terrifying.
The back of his neck was half-severed.
He hadn't faced such a deadly threat in over a decade.
Today, he had nearly fallen.
Luo Chen stood his ground, not moving rashly, keeping some of his attention on Kizaru.
Another part of his attention was on the large crater in the distance.
Aokiji, whom he had struck down earlier, was slowly climbing to his feet. His arms hung limply in front of him, and a large amount of blood dripped from his wrists, spreading across the ice.
Aokiji's wrist, especially his left one, was hanging on by just a layer of skin.
The bones and muscles had been completely severed.
His right wrist was slightly better off; the white bone was intact and not broken.
When blocking his "Divine Departure" earlier, Aokiji must have had his left hand forward.
"Zzzzzz..." A pale chill emanated from Aokiji's arms.
Ice sealed his bleeding wrists.
His left wrist, which was almost completely severed, was temporarily fused back together with ice.
Aokiji's face was a little pale. Clearly, his injuries were not light.
His left hand had almost been cut off.
Now, his left hand was obviously unusable.
It was uncertain if it could be reattached after the war. Even if it was, it would likely take a year or two of recovery.
On the battlefield, the Marines' war cries had become faint, almost inaudible.
Instead, the laughter of the pirates rose and fell, one after another.
"Two Admirals, both heavily wounded! Luo Chen is invincible!"
"Marines, your time is up! Release Ace at once!"
"Brothers, kill! With Luo Chen and Pops, we'll definitely win this war!"
"..."
The clash of the top-tier fighters had completely changed the battlefield's morale.
Luo Chen alone had heavily injured two Marine Admirals in succession, while remaining completely unscathed himself.
For the pirates, it was like a shot of adrenaline, making them ecstatic.
But for the Marines, it was a crushing blow.
Coby and Helmeppo stared at the two wounded Admirals, then at the unharmed Luo Chen.
They also saw their fellow Marines being killed by pirates one after another, their faces as white as paper.
While no one was paying attention, the two of them retreated backward, fleeing toward the residential area behind the battlefield.
Basically, no one cared about them.
All attention was either on the enemies they were fighting or on Luo Chen.
Smoker bit through the cigar in his mouth. He silently swung his jitte, sending a pirate flying.
Hina was nearby, creating black iron fences to bind several pirates.
She sighed, "Hina didn't expect him to be this strong already."
Tashigi bit her lip tightly, swinging her longsword as she fought desperately against the pirates.
Smoker was silent for a long time before speaking. "Back in the East Blue, when we first met, I could still fight him."
"Luo Chen even had to avoid me."
"The second time we met, I was heavily wounded by a single kick."
"The third time, and now... I don't even have the right to face him."
"Hina, how did he get so strong, so fast? We haven't slacked off on our training, but we can never catch up. We just get further and further behind..."
Hina pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it, taking a deep drag. She smiled bitterly. "Maybe... that's just what talent is."
"The Admirals, the Four Emperors... every one of them is a monster. It's not a level a normal person can reach just by training."
"Without a doubt, Luo Chen has already crossed over into that monstrous tier."
Smoker's smile was bitter. He said nothing more, focusing on the pirates in front of him.
He had accepted it.
He, who had never admitted defeat, had admitted it today.
On the execution platform, Sengoku clenched his fists so hard his bones cracked.
Ace, however, revealed a smile.
Luo Chen's strength far exceeded his imagination.
'Imprisoned?'
'I'm afraid Luo Chen planned it. He must have gone to prison on purpose.'
'To bring out such powerful pirate subordinates.'
'And with the strength Luo Chen himself has shown...'
Ace understood that Luo Chen's imprisonment was, 99 percent, a deliberate plot.
"You Marines... you've been played again," Ace said with a laugh, looking at Fleet Admiral Sengoku beside him.
Sengoku's aura fluctuated violently, and cracks even began to spread across the execution platform beneath his feet. His expression was absolutely glacial.
Ace's words certainly enraged him.
But Sengoku had a doubt in his mind.
That slash Luo Chen had just used on Kizaru... it looked familiar.
In the distance, Whitebeard had stood up at some point. Though his chest was still bleeding, he seemed completely unconcerned.
Whitebeard's voice boomed out, echoing across the entire battlefield.
"Luo Chen! That attack just now was Roger's 'Divine Departure,' wasn't it? What is your relationship with him?"
Hearing this, Sengoku clenched his jaw.
'So it really was Gol D. Roger's "Divine Departure."'
Ace's expression froze, and he looked at Luo Chen.
In another part of the battlefield, Garp and Bullet, who had been clashing fists, also stopped and turned to look.
Gol D. Roger had deep connections to both of them.
For Garp, he was the strongest enemy he had ever faced, and also a friend.
As for Bullet, the person he had always wanted to defeat, from beginning to end, was Roger.
The Warlords Mihawk, Doflamingo, and Gecko Moria also looked over.
"Hawkeyes" Mihawk, in particular, had sharp, golden eyes filled with fighting spirit.
The swordsmanship Luo Chen had displayed with those two strikes had ignited his hunter's spirit, giving him the urge to spar.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]