Kizaru, and beside him, Aokiji and Garp, stared blankly at the puff of white smoke.
'Why is it smoke?'
'Where's the blood? The blood from cutting Luo Chen?'
Inside the white smoke, a black figure was clearly visible.
But the many powerhouses watching intently all had their expressions change.
Luo Chen's aura had changed!
If Luo Chen's aura before the smoke spread was weak and feeble, on the verge of defeat and death...
Now, it was at its peak!
Completely unharmed, his aura as calm as it was before the battle began!
What was even more inconceivable was that he seemed even stronger than before!
An arm, wrapped in a black trench coat sleeve, reached out from the white smoke.
It accurately and unmistakably grabbed the collar of Kizaru's suit.
The palm was black as ink, and even had black and red lightning coiling around it. An unparalleled, domineering, and invincible will instantly permeated the entire battlefield.
The hundred thousand-plus Marines and pirates on the battlefield were like startled birds.
Like small animals in the forest, terrified by the roar of the king of beasts.
They turned their heads in panic toward the source of the terrifying aura.
That pitch-black hand, flickering with dark red lightning, erupted with a powerful momentum and suddenly swung toward the frozen earth.
The astonishment on Admiral Kizaru's face was immense.
It was as if he had never expected such a turn of events.
His body left an afterimage in the air, his speed too fast to capture. He was swung by that arm and smashed solidly into the ground.
"BOOM—!"
A loud bang, no less than a clap of thunder on a clear day.
Countless ice shards flew.
A mouthful of blood sprayed into the air.
The ground cracked, and a sunken crater appeared, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading in all directions.
Kizaru's body lay in the crater, and a faint, pained groan could be heard.
The white smoke that had been lingering in front of the Empress was also blown away by the shockwave of this violent impact.
It revealed a figure that was both incredibly familiar and yet strange to everyone.
Still the black trench coat, the young and handsome face, his aura as gentle as jade, his expression calm.
Luo Chen!
This name surfaced in countless people's minds.
Their faces, in perfect unison, showed shock and confusion.
'How is it still him?'
'Under that sword strike, not only did he not die, but all the damage to his body and clothes was completely restored.'
'And that sudden, terrifying aura even intimidated Kizaru.'
'He smashed Admiral Kizaru into the ground with one blow.'
'The injury is clearly not light. Kizaru spitting blood... basically no one, Marine or pirate, had ever seen that.'
Cries of alarm erupted across the battlefield.
"My god! It's Luo Chen again! How is it still him?! He recovered that fast?"
"Unbelievable! How does it feel like a completely different person?"
"Is that Luo Chen? Can anyone with Diaochan on their waist explain?" a pirate asked, completely baffled and amazed.
No one paid him any mind.
It wasn't that Diaochan wasn't on their waist, but that they truly didn't know the situation.
The scene just now was too bizarre.
Luo Chen, who had been like a candle in the wind, suddenly became like the midday sun.
His aura was blazing, terrifying, and incomparably domineering.
Admiral Kizaru was clearly intimidated and shocked in that instant, unable to dodge.
Aokiji and Garp stared deadly at Luo Chen.
Among the Marines in the distance, the bandages on Onigumo's face twisted strangely, as if caused by the contortion of the face beneath.
Smoker and Hina, forgetting to attack the pirates, stared blankly.
Below the execution platform, Tsuru's eyes were wide, the crow's feet at their corners stretched open.
Atop the execution platform, Sengoku's mouth was slightly agape. The Den Den Mushi was right by his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.
Ace's blood-covered face was filled with confusion.
'Luo Chen appeared again?'
The difference between the two Luo Chens was so great, it was as if two different people had appeared.
In the distant battlefield, Aokiji's voice was inexplicably dry:
"You, before... were a clone?"
It wasn't surprising he would make this connection.
That puff of white smoke, the stark, 'split' feeling between the two Luo Chens.
And his previous experience fighting Luo Chen... it all made Aokiji's intuition point to this.
Perhaps... the Luo Chen who appeared with the Straw Hat crew earlier was just a clone!
Luo Chen's gaze swept across the battlefield, seeing many familiar faces.
His gaze returned to Aokiji, and he smiled. "We meet again. Now... this is me."
"We've swapped. Everyone, this battle has only just begun."
Luo Chen's calm laugh wasn't loud, but it clearly entered everyone's ears.
To Sengoku and the other Marines, and to Whitebeard and the other pirates, it was like a clap of thunder.
The Luo Chen who had been fighting Garp, Kizaru, and Aokiji earlier... was actually just a clone!
A single clone had held off three top-tier combatants who could be called Admiral-level.
And Luo Chen's real body, upon his very first appearance, had injured Admiral Kizaru.
This indescribable deterrent force made even the hundred thousand Marine elites feel a sense of despair.
'Luo Chen's real body... just how strong is he?'
The pirate side, however, was overcome with surprise, a complete and wild joy.
Besides Pops Whitebeard, they now had another top-tier combatant!
On the ground, Kizaru's body swayed as he stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
There was no longer any trace of a smile on his face. He looked somewhat angry, and very grave.
"You escaped from Impel Down?" Kizaru asked in a heavy voice.
This was the question on many people's minds.
Indeed, Luo Chen had clearly been captured and taken to Impel Down.
Yet his main body had appeared at Marineford.
'He escaped from prison?'
Whitebeard's eyes showed some surprise, and he laughed loudly:
"I didn't think, besides that guy Shiki, someone else could escape from Impel Down."
Sengoku, and Akainu, who was in the midst of slaughtering pirates, both had very ugly expressions.
Whitebeard mentioning the escapee Shiki and now Luo Chen in front of everyone was, without a doubt, a hard slap in the face to the Marines.
It was called the world's number one prison, yet two people had already successfully escaped.
Shiki had lost both his legs, but Luo Chen looked completely fine, unharmed.
This made them confused.
'How did Luo Chen escape?'
'While bound by Sea-Prism Stone, someone must have helped him.'
'Is there a traitor in Impel Down?'
Sengoku wanted to contact Magellan, but now didn't seem to be the time.
They had to deal with Luo Chen first!
He spoke into the amplifier in his hand, his voice heavy. "Do not panic! Even if Luo Chen escaped, he is no match for two Admirals!"
"We captured him once in Water 7, and we can capture him a second time in Marineford!"
"He alone cannot change anything!"
"All Marines, focus on your enemies! Luo Chen will be dealt with by Admiral Aokiji, Admiral Kizaru, and Vice Admiral Garp!"
Sengoku's calm and steady tone once again settled the Marines' hearts.
'That's right. So what if Luo Chen escaped? The Admirals will definitely defeat him again!'
'What's more, he alone can't possibly turn the tide of the entire battle.'
'Unless... Luo Chen is even stronger than Whitebeard.'
'But that's impossible.'
'Two Admirals, plus Hero Vice Admiral Garp, will definitely crush Luo Chen!'
"Kill!" The Marines' morale surged, and they roared as they charged at the enemy.
The Vice Admirals and Akainu each found their opponents.
The Warlord Doflamingo had stopped fighting completely, sizing up Luo Chen with great interest.
He was very curious what the strength of this Luo Chen, who had killed a Celestial Dragon, really was.
'Appearing on the battlefield... is he walking into a trap, or did he come prepared?'
The prison break from Impel Down and all the other major incidents made Doflamingo extremely curious about Luo Chen.
Crocodile turned his head to look, his expression cold and stern.
"That brat actually escaped from Impel Down."
His tone was filled with killing intent; he hadn't forgotten how Luo Chen had nearly killed him in Alabasta.
Gecko Moria and Hawkeye Mihawk both looked over.
Compared to the war as a whole, they were more interested in seeing Luo Chen's next move.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]