"Was that brat Kuzan's power?! Did another Marine Admiral come to back them up?!"
Kaido circled in the air, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his eyes as he studied the bizarre pillar of ice stretching between heaven and earth.
After all, ice on that scale immediately brought another Marine Admiral to mind: "Aokiji" Kuzan.
But no sooner had the thought surfaced than the sight before him shattered it completely!
On the surface of the enormous ice pillar, a figure wreathed in dark-purple Conqueror's Haki lightning raced up the vertical wall of ice, moving too fast for the eye to follow!
He moved so quickly that a string of afterimages trailed behind him. It was Gern!
As he sprinted upward, he thrust his right hand open toward the distant ruins!
Bzzzt!
The Black Blade: Eight Desolations, embedded among the distant rubble, gave an excited hum, as though summoned by an invisible force.
With a clang, it pulled itself free and became a streak of black light, crossing the distance in an instant and flying straight into Gern's hand!
The moment the blade touched his hand, Gern's aura surged again, undergoing a fundamental transformation!
The pale-blue quake patterns that had spread like ice crystals abruptly changed color, turning as fierce and violent an orange-red as magma from the earth's core!
The extreme heat even warped the surrounding air!
At the same time, dark-purple Conqueror's Haki lightning erupted alongside the red lightning of top-tier Ryuo Armament Haki.
They merged with the orange-red quake patterns, forming a destructive storm of raging black, red, and orange energy that engulfed Gern!
From afar, he looked like a hellish meteor rising against the heavens, wrapped in thunder and flame as he shot toward the azure dragon Kaido amid the clouds, poised to destroy everything!
It all happened