High above, Dawn panted lightly. The dark arms condensed behind him had long since dissipated. Looking down at the transport fleet below, which was damaged but still largely intact, and at Kuzan, who was injured yet clearly still possessed formidable combat power, he had already made his decision.
"Using half my Haki only gave him minor injuries... The cost-effectiveness is too low. Even now, facing a true admiral-level opponent head-on is still too difficult for me."
Dawn shook his head inwardly. His objective had been achieved, and the gap between them had been measured. There was no need to keep fighting. After giving Kuzan one last look, he turned and prepared to ascend into the sky.
Whoosh!
A tearing sound came from diagonally below.
A white figure burst through the icy mist at an unbelievable speed and appeared at Dawn's side.
It was Guernica. He had waited a long time for this opportunity. His right index and middle fingers were pressed together, their tips condensed with highly compressed Armament Haki as they stabbed toward Dawn's temple.
Guernica had never intended to fight head-on from the beginning. All he wanted was a chance to land a killing blow.
Although his timing was exquisite, he had vastly underestimated his opponent's reaction speed.
"[Almighty Push]"
Centered on Dawn's body, a spherical, omnidirectional repulsive Gravity Field erupted at nearly point-blank range.
An incomparably dense wall of air formed less than half a meter outside Dawn's body, then expanded outward at an explosive speed.
Guernica's Finger Pistol struck this suddenly appearing wall of air with brutal force when it was less than ten centimeters from Dawn's temple.
Crack! The sound of bones shattering rang out.
Immediately afterward, the expanding Gravity Field itself crushed solidly into Guernica's body. His eyes bulged beneath his mask, bloodshot veins