The silence was instantly shattered.
Sakazuki gave no warning, launching a zero-frame attack immediately. His body, draped in a cloak of justice, sank slightly, and his right arm instantly transformed into churning magma.
Viscous black-red magma surged from his shoulder, instantly enveloping his entire arm. Red and black patterns rolled across the surface, and the terrifying high temperature caused the surrounding air to distort violently.
"Great Eruption!"
That gigantic magma fist, carrying terrifying, volcanic-eruption-like energy, slammed straight toward Lorne without the slightest hesitation.
The gigantic magma fist rapidly expanded mid-flight, nearly obscuring the sky above half the dock and completely sealing off all possible escape routes for Lorne.
This bastard truly has no martial ethics!
A thought of complaint flashed through Lorne's mind. Facing this world-destroying strike, he slammed both palms violently onto the ground.
"Ice Wall: Triple Rashomon!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three gigantic ice walls, several meters thick and dozens of meters high, rose from the ground, layered one behind the other, guarding Lorne.
The surface of all three ice walls was coated in ink-black Armament Haki, radiating a cold, metallic texture.
Almost the instant the third ice wall formed, the gigantic magma fist struck fiercely!
Hiss, hiss, hiss~!
As soon as the Armament Haki made contact with the scorching magma, a fierce sound of resistance erupted. The black hardening layer held for several seconds under the magma's erosion before being completely melted through.
Immediately afterward, the massive ice bodies instantly vaporized upon contact with the extreme heat, triggering a violent steam explosion!
Boom!
The shockwave of the explosion, mixed with scalding water vapor, swept outwards. The second and third ice walls ultimately disintegrated under the continuous impact.
Even with the layered weakening provided by the three ice walls, the terrifying radiant heat still penetrated the defense. Lorne's short shirt was scorched black and curled up, and waves of burning pain spread across his skin.
So hot!
This guy's temperature is indeed high enough. The compatibility between us is truly terrible!
Although Lorne was complaining internally, his body did not relax in the slightest, as the pace of the battle was too fast to allow him a moment's rest.
Before the red glow of the magma had completely faded, a sense of deadly crisis struck from the flank!
Lorne's Observation Haki captured a rapid attack trajectory. He suddenly turned his head, and Sakazuki's figure had already appeared on his left side.
A right leg covered in pitch-black Armament Haki, carrying a whistling sound that tore through the air, delivered a powerful, heavy sweep directly toward his waist and abdomen!
Lorne's pupils contracted. In his haste, he could only cross his arms, pouring all his Armament Haki onto them without reservation, forcefully blocking the blow.
Bang!
With an extremely dull, massive sound, Lorne felt an irresistible, tremendous force transmit from his arms. He was kicked straight off his feet and sent flying backward dozens of meters, smashing through several large cargo containers before crashing messily onto the ground.
"Cough..."
He struggled to climb out of the pile of wood chips, feeling numbness in both arms and hearing his bones groan.
So heavy! As expected, a Marine Admiral's Armament Haki is also monstrous!
Not far away, Sakazuki slowly retracted his right leg. Magma dripping from his body burned smoking pits into the stone slab ground beneath his feet.
With a gloomy expression, he approached step by step, the oppressive feeling suffocating.
Lorne shook his numb arms, completely abandoning any hope of luck. He slowly exhaled a breath and pushed his mastered Observation Haki to its limit.
Under a month of hellish sparring with Dorry and Brogy, his perception had long been completely transformed.
Sakazuki moved again. Pushing off the ground, he transformed into a red afterimage and pursued once more. His magma-fists created a flurry of punches, each one containing temperatures high enough to melt gold and iron.
Lorne's body slid half a step to the right with a minimal movement. The fist capable of melting gold and iron blasted past, practically scraping his cheek, and the scorching punch wind slightly curled his hair.
Having missed the strike, Sakazuki maintained his offensive, transforming his fist into a claw and swiping horizontally at Lorne's neck.
Lorne advanced instead of retreating, his body suddenly sinking into a slide that passed beneath Sakazuki's arm. At the same time, he joined his right fingers into a sword shape, condensing a pitch-black ice blade wrapped in Armament Haki, and stabbed it toward the center of Sakazuki's back.
Sakazuki's Observation Haki also captured this counterattack, but he disdained dodging, letting the ice blade stab into his elementalized spine.
Pffft!
The black ice blade plunged unimpeded into the scorching magma, emitting a grating sound of vaporization.
However, this attack did not cause any substantial damage to Sakazuki. His magma-formed body merely churned slightly, completely engulfing and melting the ice blade.
As expected, this level of physical attack and Armament Haki has minimal effect against a Logia Devil Fruit User who has developed their fruit ability to the extreme.
But Lorne's objective had been achieved.
Using the force of the counter-stab, his body flipped in mid-air, widening the distance from Sakazuki, and he landed steadily.
"Brat!"
Sakazuki slowly turned around. The killing intent in his deep eyes intensified. "Tricks are over now."
Lorne took a deep breath, knowing that conventional fighting methods were useless against this kind of monster.
Immediately, an invisible aura erupted centered around him!
Buzz!
The air emitted a dull moan. Red and black lightning arcs appeared out of thin air, coiling around Lorne's body. The violent shockwave cracked the ground inch by inch, sending gravel flying upward!
On the deck of the Marine Warship in the distance, the weaker Marines collapsed in swathes, their eyes rolling back, before they could even utter a gasp of surprise.
Even the two Marine Officers who had been standing behind Sakazuki went weak in the knees under the impact of this domineering will, immediately collapsing onto the ground. Cold sweat poured down their faces as they stared at Lorne in horror, filled with disbelief.
"C-Conquerors Haki?!"
Sakazuki's steps halted for the first time.
He stared at the young man, whose entire body was wrapped in the so-called King's Disposition. A hint of shock appeared in his deep eyes.
A brat who possesses powerful ice abilities, has mastered high-level Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and has now even awakened Conquerors Haki, which only one in a million possess... This existence itself is the greatest threat to the World Government's order!
An unprecedented, intense killing intent erupted from Sakazuki's body. This killing intent was so pure and tyrannical that the surrounding temperature seemed to rise even further.
"Conquerors Haki..."
Sakazuki's voice was frighteningly low, every word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of hell.
"Indeed... I truly cannot let you live!"
The moment his voice fell, he transformed into a red afterimage, moving several times faster than before!
"Dog Biting Crimson Lotus!"
During the charge, his right arm transformed into a ferocious magma dog head, opening its massive, fanged mouth and lunging viciously towards Lorne's left shoulder with a tyrannical aura capable of incinerating everything!
Lorne's Observation Haki gave frantic warnings, but his body's reaction speed was still a beat too slow, and he only managed to condense an Ice Shield in front of him.
Crack!
The Ice Shield was as fragile as paper before the magma dog head and was instantly smashed to pieces. The scorching fangs were now right in front of him.
"Urgh!"
Unimaginable agony instantly spread throughout his body—the pain of flesh being scorched by high-temperature magma. The strong smell of char mixed with sulfur stimulated his nerves.
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