"Damn it…"
Dog's arms went numb from Gern's kick.
He immediately retreated a step. Under the influence of his ability, the ground beneath his feet split apart in an instant, forming a deep crater that blocked Gern's pursuit.
Dog spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and sneered.
"Marine, I'm a Rift–Rift Fruit user—a Rift Man!"
As the words fell, Dog stomped hard. The ground cracked violently, countless chunks of stone levitating into the air. Any material he split apart fell completely under his control.
At his command, the fragmented rocks sharpened into blade-like shards and shot toward Gern like a torrential storm!
"A Paramecia-type, Rift–Rift Fruit?" Gern raised an eyebrow. The black blade Bahuang pointed diagonally toward the ground, faint white particles coiling around its edge. "Interesting."
"Rift Rock · Scatter Shot!"
The stones split again mid-flight, turning into countless razor-sharp fragments. The coverage was enormous, sealing off nearly every possible path of evasion for Gern.
Gern merely chuckled.
He raised his left hand, a tiny white sphere of light forming in his palm.
"Heavenquake · Barrier."
Buzz!
The sphere instantly expanded into a hemispherical vibrating shield.
The moment the shards touched it, they were shattered into dust. Not a single speck passed through.
"This ability…"
Dog's pupils shrank as he stared at the distorted air.
"Sorry. I don't want to waste time on trash like you."
Gern's voice was icy as his figure blurred.
The air beneath his feet compressed and exploded—he closed in again at near-teleportation speed!
"Quake Flash · Glide Track—Second Acceleration!"
Whoosh!
Gern's silhouette tore through space, leaving behind a residual afterimage in Dog's vision.
Bahung slashed horizontally. Before the blade even arrived, the air ahead was violently compressed and twisted by high-frequency vibrations, releasing a piercing sonic boom!
"In that case, I'll scrap that blade!" Dog roared, crossing his arms as pitch-black Armament Haki instantly coated them.
His power surged at full throttle—
"Disintegration!"
At the instant blade and arms collided, Dog's Rift–Rift Fruit power went berserk, attempting to deconstruct Bahuang at the material level!
But the vibrating particles wrapped around the blade, combined with Armament Haki, formed an almost absolute defense.
Not only did the blade fail to split—it trembled violently and burst out with blinding white light!
Crack!
A dreadful sound rang out as Dog's arm bones screamed under the strain. Countless fine fissures exploded across his skin, blood seeping out.
"How is that possible?!"
He staggered backward, terror filling his eyes.
His power… couldn't even shake this blade?!
"Your Rift–Rift Fruit can break down matter, but…"
Gern slowly sheathed the blade, his gaze colder than ice.
"Haki is a wonderful thing. Which means—you have to train it."
"How can a Marine captain's Haki be this strong…?"
"Honestly…"
Gern suddenly finished sheathing Bahuang.
"You're not even worth me using it."
As the words fell, the muscles of his left arm tightened, dark red light spreading across his skin.
With a low growl, jet-black Haki surged like a living thing from his forearm to his shoulder, completely encasing his left arm.
Even more terrifying—
The white vibrating particles clinging to the Haki began to jump violently, like boiling droplets, releasing sharp sizzling sounds.
"H–Hey, wait! I surrender—!"
Dog's pupils shrank violently.
The air around them was trembling. Even the rubble underfoot began to bounce uncontrollably.
"This boring game is over."
Gern's voice was glacial.
His right foot slid back half a step—
Crack!
The ground split into spiderweb-like fractures.
His left fist slowly drew back. With every inch it moved, the surrounding air warped further.
When the punch reached its limit, the Armament Haki covering his arm shimmered, and the vibrating particles went completely berserk.
"Black Quake · Shatterstar!"
At the instant the punch was thrown, time seemed to freeze for a single second.
BOOM!
The space in front of the fist caved inward—then shattered like glass!
A spiderweb of spatial fractures over ten meters in diameter erupted in front of Dog, a horrifying shockwave blasting outward in a fan shape.
Dog's hastily raised Haki defense crumpled like paper. His abdomen caved in, his shirt ripping apart with a rriip as it disintegrated.
"PFF—!"
Blood sprayed violently from his mouth as his body was flung away like a broken kite, smashing through three rocky walls before finally coming to a stop.
Amid the dust, Dog lay sprawled in the ruins—bones shattered, eyes rolled white.
"So this… is a technique that fuses Armament Haki with Heavenquake?"
Gern slowly withdrew his fist. The air around him still vibrated at high frequency, releasing a low hum.
"Seriously… that felt amazing!!"
...
A long while later, a warship slowly docked.
Marine soldiers disembarked in perfect formation, swiftly surrounding the entire beach.
The remnants of the Shatter Pirates had long since lost the will to fight. One by one, they collapsed and were efficiently shackled.
"Report! We've found 'Rift Isle' Dog!" a soldier suddenly shouted, his voice filled with disbelief. "He… he's still alive!"
The surrounding soldiers froze, all turning to look at the massive figure lying in a pool of blood.
Dog's abdomen was caved in, his right arm broken—but his chest still rose and fell faintly.
This clearly didn't match the rumors they'd heard over the past two years about the so-called 'Beheading Demon.'
"Captain Gern… didn't execute him this time?" a young soldier whispered, confusion in his eyes.
Standing atop a protruding reef, Gern slightly turned his head.
The sea breeze fluttered his Justice coat, revealing the black blade Bahuang at his waist, freshly rewrapped in bandages.
"The mission order said to capture him alive, didn't it?" Gern said casually, a meaningful smile curling at his lips.
"I just followed orders."
"And besides—three hundred and sixty million alive is worth far more than a single head."
The soldiers exchanged looks before realization dawned.
Dog was a newly risen pirate on the verge of defecting to Golden Lion.
Naval Headquarters would definitely want to extract as much intelligence as possible from him about the Flying Pirates.
"As expected of Captain Gern—so thorough!"
"So he's different from the rumors after all…"
Hearing their discussion, Gern merely smiled noncommittally.
He then walked over to Dog, now shackled in Seastone cuffs, bent down, and whispered into his ear:
"You should be grateful… for my 'mercy.'"
Dog's clouded pupils shrank sharply—but his grievously injured body could no longer respond.
As Gern turned and headed for the warship, his gaze swept over the escorted pirates—terrifyingly calm.
No anger. No pity.
Just as if he were looking at a batch of goods awaiting processing.
"Cruelty or mercy?" Gern sneered inwardly.
"That depends on who benefits."
Back on Zephyr's ship, he had been forced to use the most extreme methods—to ensure survival, and to force Zephyr to let him operate independently.
Now that he was acting on his own, what he needed was a flawless mission report and the fastest possible path to promotion.
His very first solo mission—perfectly completed, capturing alive a pirate worth over three hundred million.
That would leave a far deeper impression on Headquarters' merit records than piles of severed heads back when he served under Zephyr.
Besides, he had previously worn the mask of "ruthless justice" to gain independence. Now, a change was necessary to justify it.
Only then would Sengoku and the others understand—and truly believe—
Gern should walk his own path.
"Return."
With that thought, Gern leapt onto the deck, his voice ringing clearly across the entire ship.
"Report to Marineford: the Shatter Pirates' 'Rift Isle' Dog, bounty three hundred and sixty million Beli, has been successfully captured. Mission complete."
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