Under everyone's gaze, Lloyd raised his hand and pressed it against his mask, then slowly removed it.
Beneath the sunlight, his golden pupils gleamed with a sharp, piercing brilliance.
Boir's mouth fell wide open, almost reaching her ears, while Galette and Pudding stood frozen, their eyes unfocused.
For them, Lloyd's face far exceeded anything they had imagined. The visual impact was overwhelming.
Since childhood, the men they had been surrounded by were mostly their brothers. Among the sons Charlotte Linlin had given birth to, appearances varied wildly, and none could truly be called handsome.
But for those who had witnessed that battle, Lloyd's face was not beautiful.
It was terrifying.
Daifuku and the others immediately stood, drawing their weapons, each one treating Lloyd as a deadly threat.
The other guests were on the verge of collapse. Regret filled their hearts. No one had expected Fleet Admiral Tenryu to appear at this wedding.
Among them, Pieklo's expression twisted the most. Thinking back to what had happened the previous night, he wished he could slap himself twice.
On the Vinsmoke side, Judge quickly recalled the dinner from the previous day. After confirming he had not offended Lloyd, he quietly let out a breath, already planning to take his family and leave if a fight broke out.
Someone like Lloyd was far beyond what he could handle.
After so many years, Dragon once again saw the face that had haunted his nightmares countless times.
Just standing there and looking at him made Dragon's entire body tense. He instinctively took a step back.
Nearby, Whitebeard and Linlin had already pushed their Observation Haki to the limit the moment Lloyd revealed his face.
Across the entire sea, only Lloyd could force two Emperors to react like this.
Both of them noticed Dragon's reaction, and a trace of disdain appeared in their eyes.
There was no avoiding it. Dragon had been completely traumatized by Lloyd in his youth.
Back then, his Haoshoku Haki had nearly been destroyed by him.
The mask in Lloyd's hand dissolved into darkness and vanished.
He looked at Dragon, whose face had gone pale, and spoke indifferently,
"Dragon, how much have you improved over the years?"
The moment his words fell, a deep purple force erupted from Lloyd, instantly spreading across the entire wedding venue.
Boom!
A deafening explosion followed.
Except for the small area beneath Lloyd, the ground around them collapsed without warning.
In the blink of an eye, the once beautiful park filled with music and celebration turned into a massive crater.
Lloyd stood atop a tall stone pillar, looking down at the scene below.
Galette stared in shock, her voice trembling,
"What… what just happened?"
Stussy covered her mouth, her eyes filled with surprise.
"Ara ara, Master, have you gained another ability?"
Lloyd gave a faint smile.
"Yes, this one is quite useful."
As he spoke, a pair of massive black wings spread from his back.
With a snap of his fingers, the stone pillar beneath them broke apart. A separate slab of stone lifted Stussy and the others into the air, forming a stable seat.
Lloyd glanced at Stussy.
"Keep an eye on them."
Without waiting for a reply, he stepped forward and leapt off, his wings beating gently as he hovered in midair.
The next moment, several figures shot upward from the crater.
Zeus carried Linlin and Whitebeard, bringing them face to face with Lloyd.
A surge of green wind followed, condensing into Dragon's figure.
All three wore grim expressions.
Dragon clenched his teeth.
"There is no mistake, that was Issho's power just now. How can you use it?"
Lloyd's lips curved slightly, but he ignored the question. He raised a single finger, and deep purple rings began to form around it.
Then he pointed toward Dragon.
The rings compressed into a concentrated beam of deep purple light, wrapped in pitch black lightning, and shot forward instantly.
"Gravity Slash Cannon."
The attack reached Dragon in an instant.
His pupils shrank as he coated his only remaining arm with Armament Haki and raised it to block.
The moment the beam struck, a crushing force slammed into him.
It felt like being hit by overwhelming weight. His body was blasted backward, completely unable to resist.
Throughout it all, Linlin and Whitebeard made no move to help.
In their eyes, if Dragon could not even withstand a single attack from Lloyd, then he was not worth acknowledging as an ally.
His earlier hesitation had already lowered their opinion of him.
It reminded them too much of the past, when Dragon had first joined the Navy and fought alongside Aokiji and Aramaki against Lloyd.
In every alliance, Dragon always ended up as the least respected.
When Dragon finally stabilized himself, his arm trembling, Linlin and Whitebeard only glanced at him briefly before looking away, offering no concern.
Linlin turned to Whitebeard and suddenly laughed.
"Mamamama, Newgate, it has been over thirty years. I did not expect we would fight side by side again."
Whitebeard watched his sons climbing out of the crater below.
Hearing her words, he paused, then a nostalgic look appeared on his face.
"Yeah… it has been over thirty years…"
Before he could finish speaking, a pitch black slash suddenly cut through the air.
Whitebeard instinctively tilted his head, narrowly avoiding having it split open.
However, his crescent shaped white beard was not so fortunate. Nearly a third of it was cleanly severed.
The once iconic beard now looked uneven and strange.
Lloyd hovered in the distance, a faint smile on his face.
"Whitebeard, what do you think of the new look I gave you?"
Whitebeard's expression twisted, veins bulging across his forehead.
A circular ripple formed around his fist as translucent shockwaves gathered.
With a roar, he swung his fist forward.
Crack!
The air shattered like glass, fractures racing toward Lloyd.
Violent tremors spread outward, shaking the entire island.
Below, Teach struggled to climb out of the crater while dragging Chiffon with him. The tremors nearly sent him falling back in.
At the center of the destruction, Lloyd remained completely unaffected.
His body flickered like a shadow, then solidified again.
Seeing this, Dragon opened his mouth instinctively.
"He can make his body intangible…"
"Shut up!"
Whitebeard cut him off without hesitation.
Among everyone present, he understood that ability better than anyone.
He did not need Dragon explaining it to him.
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