Twin blades collided.
Black-red and dark violet arcs of Conqueror's lightning tore at one another in a frenzied clash, roaring like thunder gods locked in battle.
Beneath their feet, the already-sundered remains of the island could endure no more. At the instant of impact, the fractured landmass finally disintegrated completely, exploding into countless colossal chunks of stone that plunged toward the surging sea below.
"When I fought that bastard Roger, it was exhilarating," Whitebeard bellowed through laughter. "But it was mostly a contest of Haki!"
His eyes burned brighter.
"But you, Gern! You've made me feel… a higher version of myself!!"
His laughter swelled, wild and unrestrained.
"So come! Take the title of 'Strongest' from me if you can!!"
With a single fluid motion, the massive naginata Murakumogiri shifted in his grip—from a downward cleave into a sweeping arc. The blade whistled horizontally toward Gern's waist, the air itself screaming under its pressure.
"Sorry." Gern's eyes sharpened. He dared not take that blow head-on.
A shockwave detonated beneath his feet. His figure blurred, retreating by the narrowest margin—mere inches separating flesh from annihilation.
"As for the so-called 'Strongest'…" Gern's voice cut through the chaos, cold and resolute. "It's already mine."
The words fell.
Hachikō returned to his hip in a single smooth motion. His Observation Haki expanded to its absolute limit, predicting Whitebeard's next action—
"Heavenly Quake · Divine Foresight…"
The blade had yet to move, yet vibrating particles had already raced along the projected path of the future, tearing at space in advance.
"Sever!!"
The word left his lips—and a violet slash wrapped in high-frequency shockwaves erupted forth without even drawing the blade.
"Heh!" Whitebeard did not dodge.
His left fist blazed with concentrated white light as he slammed it forward.
"Crack!"
The space before him shattered instantly, spiderweb fractures spreading outward to form an invisible barrier.
The incoming slash struck that barrier—and was violently dispersed.
But the moment the vibrating wall dissolved, Gern's body dispersed into oscillating particles, passing through the chaotic molecular turbulence left in its wake.
Using the brief gap created by Whitebeard's defense—
He activated Quake Flash.
"Black Quake · Rapid Barrage!"
His fists became afterimages. Compressed vibration particles warped the space around each strike. Every punch carried the penetrating force of Ryō, infused with internal high-frequency quake cores that detonated beneath the surface.
They hammered into Whitebeard's chest and abdomen at blistering speed.
For a moment, the giant was driven slightly backward. Armament Haki and titanic flesh boomed under impact.
But the fire in his eyes only intensified.
Enduring Gern's barrage head-on, Whitebeard allowed the punishment to land as Murakumogiri whirled in his right hand.
The butt of the weapon—wrapped in oscillating force—smashed toward Gern's temple.
"Quake Break!!"
Gern raised his arm to block.
"Dong!"
The collision exploded through him. A savage shock force pierced his body, his entire arm instantly numb. Blood surged violently in his chest as he was sent flying sideways like debris caught in a hurricane.
"Not finished yet!"
Whitebeard pressed the advantage mercilessly.
His enormous frame moved with impossible agility. One step—
The air thundered. The ground below cracked.
In an instant, he had caught up to the airborne Gern.
Gripping Murakumogiri with both hands, he no longer slashed—
He thrust.
Like a colossal spear, the blade lunged forward.
At its tip gathered a single point of extreme white light. Wherever it passed, space itself split open in a straight, lingering scar that refused to heal.
A crushing sense of death engulfed Gern.
There was no foothold beneath him—he couldn't muster full power to block.
"Tezolo!!" he roared.
In the same instant, Tezolo understood.
A golden pathway erupted beneath Gern's feet, forming a new stage in midair above Marineford.
With ground beneath him, Gern forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his blood. He twisted midair, landed, slid backward, and brought Hachikō horizontally before him.
"Clang!"
Murakumogiri's tip struck the blade's flat with perfect precision.
It did not bounce away.
Instead, a screeching friction exploded between them.
Gern's arms trembled violently. The skin between his thumb and forefinger tore open again, blood soaking the hilt.
The terrifying piercing force drove him backward, carving a long white vapor trail in his wake.
"Hrrgh…" Gern growled low.
A flicker of madness flashed through his eyes.
Rather than retreat further to disperse the force, a shockwave erupted beneath his feet again—
He forcibly halted his backward slide.
Using the momentum of Whitebeard's thrust, his body spun like a top. Hachikō followed the rotation, tracing a flawless circular arc.
"Heavenly Quake · Ring Sever!!"
Whitebeard reacted instantly. His thrusting blade dipped, the guard precisely locking against the incoming circular slash.
"BOOM!!"
Another direct collision of Conqueror's Haki coating exploded without embellishment.
The shockwave that followed was enough to bring the temporary golden stage to its breaking point.
It began crumbling from the center outward—
But Tezolo would not let his creation fall so easily.
Every golden fragment liquefied once more, reforging the platform, awaiting their return.
Meanwhile, Gern and Whitebeard were blown apart by the opposing force, each landing atop a massive falling chunk of gold.
"Gurararara! The footing's getting in the way!" Whitebeard roared with hearty laughter.
There was no trace of panic in him, despite the disappearing platforms and plummeting debris. Instead, he drove Murakumogiri downward—
"Dong!"
Though it struck only air, a muffled boom that shook space itself erupted.
Using the recoil, his massive body stabilized midair.
Then—
Arms crossed, power gathering, thick white halos wrapping both fists—
Like pulling open a grand curtain, he swung them downward toward the sea on either side.
"Seaquake · Sundering Divide!"
"CRACK—RUMBLE!!!"
This was no mere tsunami.
It was something far more horrific.
Centered on Whitebeard, the sea within several thousand meters to both left and right was violently torn apart.
The ocean roared in agony as an irresistible vibration forced it aside—
Forming two colossal walls of water that towered from sea to sky.
In an instant, the azure sea was completely emptied, revealing the damp ocean floor below—trenches, reefs, jagged formations laid bare to the air.
A battlefield of the seabed had been born.
Yet high above, Gern did not pause.
Without hesitation, he hurled the black blade Hachikō high into the air.
Then—
His hands came together before his chest, fingers spread wide, palms aimed downward at Whitebeard.
A soft clap.
"Heavenly Quake · Aerial Domain Collapse!"
Centered on Whitebeard, within a radius of a thousand meters, everything—newly exposed seabed, lingering seawater, even the air itself—had its internal "structure" forcibly detonated.
Space transformed into a colossal pane of cracked glass—
And shattered under invisible force.
Countless fragments of spatial debris formed a collapsing domain, seeking to grind everything within into oblivion.
But at the very instant it formed—
"Whoosh!"
A flying slash wrapped in black-red lightning tore through the not-yet-sealed collapse zone.
It pierced forward with speed that transcended thought, aiming straight for Gern's face.
Whitebeard had predicted the domain before it fully activated.
"Damn it." Gern's pupils contracted.
He cut off the sustained output of his ability and twisted aside.
The slash grazed past his chest—
And in that fleeting instant of stiffness caused by the evasive motion—
The light behind him vanished.
A towering figure, using the recoil of vibrations and Observation Haki foresight, had already broken through the edge of the collapsing space and appeared behind him.
Whitebeard.
He had never intended that slash to succeed.
It was bait—to force an opening.
In Gern's sensory field, a monstrous presence erupted behind him. Every hair on his body stood on end.
His pupils shook violently.
"It's over, brat!"
Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri with both hands.
The colossal naginata fell mercilessly toward Gern's back.
"Break—Heaven Shatter!!"
"BOOM!!!!"
Gern had only enough time to hastily condense Armament Haki across his back.
Then—
An indescribable force smashed into him.
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Darkness flooded his vision.
His body shot downward like a football struck with full force—reduced to a streak too fast for the naked eye to follow.
"RUMBLE!!"
The exposed seabed quaked violently.
A massive crater over a hundred meters wide exploded outward, spiderweb cracks spreading for hundreds more.
Whitebeard descended slowly from midair, chest rising and falling steadily.
Murakumogiri angled toward the crater below.
Through the swirling dust, his gaze remained grave.
Not a hint of relaxation touched his expression.
...
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