CLANG! BOOM!
Under the staggering, overwhelming force of Gin's spinning strike, the massive wax sword, gripped tightly in Mr. 3's hands, was violently knocked off its original trajectory.
It veered wildly like an unbridled stallion, hurtling straight toward the unsuspecting Mr. 2, Bon Kurei.
Mr. 2, who had been preparing to engage Zoro, saw the massive white weapon careening toward him.
With a loud, flamboyant shout, he exclaimed, "Okama Kenpo: Hakucho Arabesque!"
In an instant, all the power in his body converged like a tidal wave onto a single, elegantly pointed foot, which he then kicked out with devastating, balletic force.
The attack was as graceful as a dancing swan, yet lethally sharp. Its style bore some resemblance to Sanji's "Mutton Shot," focusing immense power into a single point, but its raw power was arguably even greater.
In the original storyline, Mr. 2 had used this very technique to send the formidable Mr. 1 flying a great distance, and even the fearsome Sphinx guardian of Impel Down had struggled to withstand such a terrifying, focused assault.
With a resounding "BOOM!", Mr. 2's kick connected squarely with the flat of the wax blade.
Mr. 3's great sword was struck once more, forcibly redirected yet again, and now hurtled, end over end, straight toward Lancelot.
At that moment, Mr. 1, who was locked in a tense, blade-to-blade standoff with Lancelot, saw this unexpected projectile heading for his opponent.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself, 'What a perfect opportunity…' He prepared to capitalize on the distraction.
Yet, faced with this sudden, chaotic turn of events, Lancelot showed not a trace of panic.
Instead, the corners of his lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
After all, he was currently surrounded by numerous elite agents of Baroque Works—who could say for sure where this ricocheting attack would ultimately land?
Why should he be the one to deal with it?
"Soru!" With a soft cry, Lancelot's figure vanished from the spot without a trace.
With Lancelot no longer blocking the path, the massive wax sword, now carrying a fierce gust of wind from Mr. 2's kick, swept directly toward the unprepared Miss Merry Christmas and her slow-witted partner, Mr. 4.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden, redirected assault, Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 were visibly startled.
In an instant, Miss Merry Christmas underwent a beastly transformation, shifting from her human form into that of a large, powerful mole, her hands morphing into razor-sharp giant claws as she lunged fearlessly toward the incoming great sword.
Meanwhile, Mr. 4 gritted his teeth, gripping his four-ton baseball bat tightly and swinging it with all his might, striking hard against the flat of the wax blade.
Through their combined, desperate efforts, the two finally managed to block the great sword, which had now been redirected twice.
It clattered harmlessly to the ground.
But before they could even catch their breath, a shadowy figure shot toward them at astonishing speed.
Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound through the air, the newcomer charged at them like lightning, twin swords already drawn.
It was Lina, seizing the opening Lancelot had created.
"Twin Sword Style—Frostfire Slash!"
With a sharp cry, Lina swung both Frost Demon and Flame Dragon simultaneously.
One blade gleamed with a bone-chilling, icy light, while the other blazed with fierce, consuming flames.
Two completely distinct sword energies intertwined, merging into an overwhelmingly powerful, elemental force that surged directly toward the off-balance Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas.
"Thud..."
With a sickening sound of impact and searing flesh, two figures were sent flying into the air like kites with severed strings, struck by a suffocatingly powerful impact.
At the same time, two horrifying, bone-deep wounds appeared on their bodies.
Although the two wounds were nearly identical in size, running diagonally across their torsos, their conditions were vastly different.
On Mr. 4's large, blubbery body, the gruesome and terrifying wound was actually covered by a thick layer of instantly formed ice.
This ice faintly glowed with an eerie blood-red hue, as the surging blood from within his body had no time to gush out before being instantly frozen solid by the extreme cold of Frost Demon.
In contrast, Miss Christmas's wound presented an entirely different, equally horrific scene.
The area around her injury was charred jet black, as if scorched by fierce flames.
Moreover, that charred patch emitted a faint, elusive, and deeply disturbing aroma of roasted meat from Flame Dragon.
With just a single, devastating move, both Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas were instantly defeated, crashing to the ground in broken, bleeding heaps, utterly incapacitated.
This scene made everyone who witnessed it shudder inwardly, their pupils abruptly contracting.
After all, although Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas were not among the absolute top-tier powerhouses in this group, they were still high-ranking Officer Agents within the Baroque Works organization!
How could individuals of such status and position be so effortlessly, brutally defeated in the blink of an eye? It was truly beyond anyone's expectations.
At this moment, the vast majority of the lower-ranked Baroque Works agents present showed clear signs of retreat on their faces.
The reason was simple: whether it was Lancelot, Gin, or the terrifying tiger-woman Lina who had just made her move, the strength they displayed was far too monstrous, far exceeding what everyone had initially anticipated.
According to the intelligence previously obtained from their spies in the East Blue, the situation was not supposed to be like this!
Leaving the mysterious Lancelot aside for now, just Gin and Lina's performances were utterly astonishing.
How could ordinary Marine Ensigns possess such formidable strength? If not for witnessing it with their own eyes, who would dare believe it?
Some even felt that it would not be an exaggeration to say these two possessed the strength of Marine Captains, or even higher.
Just then, Lancelot's figure reappeared.
This time, however, when everyone looked over, he was standing beside the startled Mr. 11, his hand tightly gripping the lesser agent by the neck, lifting his entire body high into the air, feet dangling uselessly.
At the same time, Lancelot did not forget to voice his sincere admiration for the devastating move Lina had just executed.
"Not bad, Lina," he commented calmly, as if he hadn't just appeared out of thin air to snatch a man by the throat.
It had to be admitted, the seamless, almost telepathic coordination among the three of them—Lancelot, Gin, and Lina—was truly impeccable.
Lancelot's feint on Mr. 3 drew everyone's attention. Gin used the opening to instantly take out the dangerous support, Miss Goldenweek.
This, in turn, forced Mr. 3 to react defensively, inadvertently creating chaos that Mr. 2 amplified, leading to an opening for Lina to eliminate both Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas.
With just the three of them working together, they had effortlessly subdued three Officer Agents and their partners in mere seconds.
Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine, along with the other remaining, lower-numbered agents, watched Mr. 11 held helplessly in Lancelot's grasp.
They became like startled birds, their eyes darting around for an escape route.
In their eyes, if even the powerful pairs like Miss Goldenweek/Mr. 3 and Miss Merry Christmas/Mr. 4 couldn't withstand a single coordinated move, how could they possibly hold their ground?
Looking at Mr. 11, he seemed as insignificant and fragile as an ant in Lancelot's powerful hand.
Especially Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine, who had already suffered grievously at Lancelot's hands back in Loguetown—their legs were now trembling weakly, their previous bravado completely gone.
Lancelot, however, ignored their fear.
He simply snatched the sword from Mr. 11's limp hand and then, with a contemptuous flick of his wrist, flung the agent forcefully aside like discarded trash.
The blade, Kashuu, traced a graceful parabolic arc through the air under everyone's watchful gaze, finally landing perfectly, hilt-first, right in front of Zoro.
Zoro caught it instinctively.
The moment the sword touched his hand, Zoro's expression shifted subtly.
As a dedicated swordsman, he could feel it instantly—the balance, the weight, the inherent quality of the steel. This was no ordinary blade!
Lancelot confirmed his suspicion.
"One of the 50 Skillful Grade swords, Kashu."
Hearing this, Zoro's visible eye lit up.
Without a word, he promptly replaced the last of his ordinary, cheap swords at his waist with this new, superior one.
Thus, he now possessed the Skillful Grade sword Yubashiri, the Skillful Grade sword Kashuu, and his most precious blade, the Great Grade (O Wazamono) sword Wado Ichimonji.
Three swords. Three famous swords. His set was finally complete.
For so long since he began his journey, he hadn't found a single decent blade.
Yet after following Lancelot, within just half a month, he had unexpectedly obtained two famous swords.
He had truly, undoubtedly, chosen the right person to follow.