At the same time—Marine G-1 Branch Base, before the colossal elevator passage leading up to the summit of the Red Line, to Mary Geoise.
The battle scene here had already transformed into something bizarre and surreal—an inferno forged of ice and gold—forming an eerie mirror to the confrontation above between Gern and Figarland Garling Saint at the Holy Land's entrance.
The dazzling, colossal golden giant formed by Tesoro—once radiant beyond belief—had now become a breathtaking ice sculpture.
Kuzan's Ice Age had completely frozen more than half of its massive body. Golden light refracted through the translucent ice, casting a cold, metallic sheen as the giant was temporarily rendered immobile.
Even Lipo, who had attempted to interfere with Kuzan using her healing energy, was grazed by a suddenly formed ice spear. Her petite body was instantly sealed within a massive block of frozen crystal, her expression forever locked in shock.
On another front, the Snake Empress Toritoma moved like a phantom. Her razor-sharp kicks—coated in Armament Haki—flowed seamlessly into sword strikes, relentlessly targeting Kuzan's lower body and flanks, probing for an opening.
At the same time, Dracule Mihawk forced Kuzan to condense thick ice shields just to defend himself, shards of ice exploding in all directions with every clash.
Facing two top-tier swordmasters simultaneously, Kuzan had not been defeated—but he was firmly pinned in place, unable to break free.
High above—
Enel, his body crackling with violent arcs of lightning, filled the sky with thunder. Though his injuries had yet to fully heal, the terrifying speed and destructive power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit remained overwhelming. Countless lightning serpents lunged toward the constantly flickering figure of Kizaru.
Bartholomew Kuma, meanwhile, sealed off Kizaru's movement with pinpoint, instantaneous Ursus Shock pressure blasts. At times, he even used his Paw-Paw ability to reflect Enel's lightning at even more treacherous angles, redirecting it straight toward the Admiral.
Kizaru dissolved into flashes of golden light, blinking through the air to evade, all while calling out lazily—
"Yeeeh~ how scary~"
From time to time, Yasakani no Magatama and Ama no Murakumo struck back in retaliation. He looked flustered, even cornered—yet in truth, he was still "earnestly" slacking off, fighting the two of them to a very convincing stalemate.
But the most unexpected battlefield of all—
was Douglas Bullet versus Monkey D. Garp.
The two of them were actually locked in an evenly matched deadlock!
Honestly, if this were a game, these three would absolutely get reported.
...
Holy Land—Mary Geoise.
"Sorry,"Gern's voice was cold, merciless—like a final verdict."I'm not interested in playing children's games today."
The instant his words fell—
SCHIING!The black blade Bahuang, wrapped in weathered gray bandages, was drawn in a flash!
The aged wrappings twisted and unraveled as if alive, disintegrating spirally to reveal the blade beneath—a pitch-black edge riddled with dark crimson, magma-like fissures that pulsed ominously.
HUMMMM!!
Dark-purple Conqueror's Haki lightning erupted like frenzied serpents, instantly coiling around Bahuang, crackling with heart-stopping violence!
A wave of pure destruction swept across the entire platform like a raging tsunami!
Gern held nothing back.That vast, abyssal, tyrannical Conqueror's Haki exploded forth in its entirety!
The first to be struck was Shamrock.
An utterly irresistible pressure—one that assaulted the soul itself—crashed down on him like a collapsing mountain!
"H-How can this Haki even exist…?!"He let out a muffled groan, his face draining of all color as his knees buckled.
THUD!
He dropped to one knee uncontrollably, both hands slamming into the ground as he tried to resist. Every bone in his body screamed in protest; even lifting his head became impossibly difficult.
He had felt Haki like this before.
From another brother of his—one who had once been brought back to the Holy Land… and later left it.
Shanks.
That man's Haki hadn't been as overwhelming—but the quality was identical.
On the other side, Figarland Garling Saint, though vastly stronger than his son, still staggered under the full force of this unleashed Conqueror's Haki. His expression darkened further.
"This monster… he's grown this much stronger since back then?!"
Grinding his teeth, he forcibly steadied himself and yanked his longsword free, Armament Haki rapidly coating the blade. He tried to reclaim momentum with words—
"Hmph! What are you being so arrogant for?! That damned useless subordinate of yours wasn't beaten to death—what a shame!!"
The moment those words left his mouth—
Garling Saint regretted them.
Because he saw it clearly.
The instant the word "useless" reached Gern's ears—
All emotion vanished from Gern's already icy gaze.
What remained was something utterly pure.Something capable of freezing the world itself—
Killing intent.
There was no pause. No delay.
Garling Saint's vision blurred—the place where Gern had stood was nothing more than an afterimage.
In the next one-thousandth of a second—
Two pupils burning with dark-red fury, like the depths of hell itself, completely filled his field of view!
The murderous intent contained within them nearly froze his very soul!
And then—
The black blade Bahuang, wreathed in berserk dark-purple Haki lightning, tore through space itself, carrying a cold, absolute resolve to judge all things—to slay even gods—as it came crashing down upon him!
"Godfall."
"—!!"
Garling Saint's pupils shrank violently as the shadow of death swallowed him whole!
Pure instinct took over.
He poured everything—strength, Haki, will—into his sword and raised it overhead to block!
KRAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was no clash of steel.
It was the sound of annihilation.
CRACK!
The gorgeously crafted longsword in Garling Saint's hands—an unquestionable treasure—let out a wail like shattered glass the instant it met Bahuang's edge!
The next moment—
The apocalyptic blade continued its descent, utterly unhindered!
"GRAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Garling Saint screamed in despair and defiance—
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
A shockwave of dark-purple Haki-infused vibration slammed squarely into his chest!
It was as if a fully accelerated Sky Island had collided with him head-on!
His Armament Haki shattered instantly. His luxurious garments exploded into scraps. A nauseating crack echoed as his breastbone collapsed inward!
He couldn't resist for even a single second.
Like a cannonball fired from a gun, blood mixed with fragments of his own organs erupted from his mouth as he was hurled backward at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow!
He smashed straight through the sacred, ornate wall behind him and vanished into a storm of dust and debris—
alive or dead, unknown.
The power of a single strike—
terrifying beyond words.
Gern slowly sheathed his blade, never once glancing in the direction Garling Saint had been sent flying.
Those cold, merciless eyes turned instead toward the half-kneeling, utterly terrified Shamrock.
Before Gern Reginald Sigmar—
the so-called "strongest" of Mary Geoisewere still nothing more than insects.
...
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