One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 868: Chapter 868: The Eye of the Storm in Block E

"Eh? Who are you talking about?"

"Lucy," still disguised as an old man, looked at his opponent with a bewildered expression, waving his hands frantically. "I’m Lucy, not Luffy!"

"Herarararara! What a pathetic cover-up! Once I take your head and strip off that helmet and beard, your true face will be revealed!" Kane laughed maniacally, his facial expressions shifting and twisting in an eerie, distorted manner.

As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged toward Lucy. He swung his broadsword with a violent gale, the heavy blade whistling through the air as it aimed straight for Lucy’s neck.

"I already told you, I’m Lucy!"

Lucy hastily denied his identity again, leaping high into the air. The broadsword swept past beneath his feet like a flash of lightning.

Squelch—!

The sharp sword-gale extended several meters beyond its target. Two other contestants locked in combat nearby let out agonizing screams as the air pressure alone sliced through their flesh, blood spraying across the ring.

Tak—!

Lucy landed lightly on the ground, patting his chest with a look of mock relief. "Whoa, that was close!"

"Then try a few more!"

Kane licked his lips bloodthirstily. He wielded the massive, heavy broadsword as if it were a mere straw, unleashing a flurry of strikes in the blink of an eye. It was a perfect display of "heavy weight handled with ease," yet each strike carried the crushing weight of a falling sledgehammer.

Faced with Kane’s frenzied assault, Lucy dodged with uncanny agility, causing every swing to miss by a hair’s breadth.

On the commentary platform, Gatz watched the intense battle and shouted into his mic, "Look at that! Diad Kane’s attacks are as relentless as a torrential storm! Under such pressure, Lucy can do nothing but retreat!"

"Kill him, Kane-sama!"

"Slaughter him! Cut him down!"

The combination of the brutal combat, the splashing blood, and Gatz’s high-octane commentary sent the crowd into a fever pitch, their cheers echoing like thunder.

"Why? Why?! Why can’t I hit you?!"

Kane roared like a madman, his swings becoming even more erratic. After nearly a hundred strikes failed to even graze the hem of Lucy’s clothes, his patience finally snapped, replaced by a creeping sense of unease.

"Stop running! Take a hit like a man!" Kane bellowed, his rage boiling over.

Lucy tapped his foot on the ground, leaping out of range. He clenched his fist and grinned. "Okay!"

Kane froze for a second, then his face turned a deep, humiliated red. "You bastard! I’ll butcher you!" To him, Lucy’s simple agreement felt like the ultimate mockery.

C-R-A-C-K—!

Kane stomped his foot, the sheer force shattering the stone floor as his two-meter-tall frame propelled forward like a cannonball.

"Gear 2..."

Lucy muttered under his breath. His skin suddenly flushed a deep crimson as wisps of white steam began to hiss off his body. He dropped into a crouch, left palm forward, right fist cocked back.

"Rolling Thunder Decapitation!!!"

In an instant, Kane was upon him. With a furious roar, he raised the broadsword high above his head with both hands and brought it down in a vertical cleave. The blade friction against the air produced a low, rumbling sound like distant thunder.

"Armament Haki: Hardening – Gomu Gomu no... Jet Pistol!!!"

Lucy’s eyes turned cold and focused. His right fist turned a metallic jet-black and snapped forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, punching through the air like an atmospheric shell.

BOOM—!

A shockwave exploded outward, turning into a gust of wind that swept across the entire arena.

"Gah—!"

Kane sprayed a fountain of blood. His broadsword shattered into a thousand metal fragments that hissed outward like shrapnel. He was sent hurtling backward, slamming into the edge of the ring with a thunderous crash that kicked up a massive plume of dust.

The ground buckled under the impact, forming a human-shaped crater with dozens of deep cracks spider-webbing across the stone.

"Shishishishi~"

Lucy grinned as his steaming, red body returned to its normal state.

"A... A one-hit knockout?!"

Gatz’s voice cracked as he yelled in disbelief, "Lucy has defeated the supernova Diad Kane, a man with a 200-million-Berry bounty, in a single strike! Did I overwork myself last night? Am I hallucinating?!"

It wasn’t just Gatz; the audience and even the other contestants stood frozen, unable to process what they had just witnessed.

"See? I told you!" Cavendish exclaimed. "That’s Straw Hat! I saw that ability back at Punk Hazard!"

Zzzzt— Zzzzt—

A spark of lightning flickered in Vito’s eyes as arcs of electricity danced in the air. He bared his jagged teeth and hissed, "Should we move now? He’s all alone!"

As he spoke, he unconsciously raised his right hand, and dark blue scales began to shimmer on the back of his hand.

"Don’t be impatient."

Dimitri placed a firm hand on Vito’s shoulder, staring expressionlessly at Lucy in the ring. "This is Donquixote territory. We are guests here; we must respect the host’s rules."

Vito calmed down, the electricity and the scales fading away.

"Fine. Since he’s in the ring, we’ll follow the tournament rules," Vito said with a sharp grin. "I’ll tear Straw Hat apart in the finals!"

"That was incredible!"

"Lucy! Go for it!"

"Take them all down, Lucy!"

The crowd, easily swayed by power, was instantly won over. They waved their arms frantically, chanting Lucy’s name like a pack of devoted fans.

"Truly shocking! A man worth 200 million Berries couldn’t even last one exchange! An unexpected powerhouse has emerged like the eye of a storm in Block E! This man’s strength is immeasurable!" Gatz screamed with excitement.

...

In another section of the stands, three mysterious men hidden under brown cloaks stared at Lucy in shock. Suddenly, one of them stiffened, his eyes fixed on the scar under Lucy’s left eye. "That... isn’t that..."

Slash—!

In the center of the ring, a brilliant flash of sword light flickered. Five contestants simultaneously felt a thin line of blood appear on their necks. A moment later, they collapsed, dead before they hit the floor.

Clang—chack.

Carlo calmly flicked a drop of blood from his longsword before slowly sheathing it. Within a ten-meter radius of him, over thirty contestants lay dead. He had killed every single one of them himself.

"You... are you a monster?"

The speaker was a man in his forties, dressed in gaudy, multi-colored patterned clothes. He held a silver pocket watch in his right hand and a red crystal necklace in his left. His face was a mask of pure terror.

"Pubert, you’ve certainly got skills," Carlo said, his sapphire eyes gleaming with genuine admiration. "In a chaotic environment like this, you easily hypnotized dozens of people to swarm me. The title of ’Evil Hypnotist’ is well-deserved. If I hadn’t focused my mind, even I might have succumbed to your trance."

"Damn you... are you mocking me?" Pubert wheezed, his voice hoarse. "I didn’t expect you to enter this tournament. If I hadn’t seen your swordplay before, I wouldn’t have recognized you."

"Hiding behind a mask... are you afraid the Chris Pirates will find you? ’Moonlight’s Smile’—Calotte!"