Golden Lion Shiki

"I can't let those things fall." A cold gleam flashed in Gern's eyes as he unleashed his strength.

With his speed doubled, the edge of the Black Blade: Eight Desolations suddenly blazed with dazzling white light.

At the same time, his arm muscles tightened to their limit, and Armament Haki spread from his right hand toward the blade's tip like a living thing.

It resonated with the blade's vibration particles, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in space.

"Heavenquake: Cross Slash..."

A horizontal slash! A vertical cleave!

The Black Blade: Eight Desolations carved two intersecting, vicious slashes through the air. Wherever its edge passed,

space seemed to tear apart, and pale vibration particles formed a massive cross-shaped shock wave that shot straight into the clouds!

"Sky Severance!!!!" The two intersecting slashes tore through the sky.

The horizontal slash wave was pale white, neatly slicing every cloud in its path into upper and lower halves.

The cross-shaped slash compressed the air along its path to the extreme, creating a vacuum corridor.

Crack! The sound of the sky shattering rang out across the heavens.

All three massive ships began breaking apart from their centers at once-their thick hull planks, sturdy masts, heavy gun emplacements...

Every structure was shaken into precise cubic fragments the instant it touched the slashes.

Splinters, steel, and scraps of sail scattered across the sky, like a devastating natural disaster!

Yet the wreckage was still falling!

At the same time, Gern's body began to descend.

Fierce winds howled past his ears, his black hair whipping wildly in the air currents.

"I'm not done yet..." As he fell, Gern suddenly twisted at the waist and spread the fingers of his left hand toward the sky.

Countless pale particles gathered in his palm, forming a small ring.

With a thrust of Gern's palm, it instantly expanded into an enormous ring-shaped shock wave.

The space inside the ring warped violently, as though even light itself had been shattered.

"Heavenquake: Starfall!"

Boom!! The shock wave erupted from the ring, spreading outward in a sphere.

All the falling wreckage was pulverized the instant it touched the shock wave!

Wood shattered, steel twisted, and the expanding white shock wave cleared a vacuum zone across the sky!

Below, the Marines at G-3 Base stared at the scene, dumbstruck, even forgetting to breathe.

Sakazuki looked up and saw the falling wreckage crumble like fragile sandcastles the instant it touched the shock wave!

"So this is... your power, Gern." Sakazuki's fists clenched involuntarily.

Magma seeped between his fingers, only for him to force it back down.

Leaving Devil Fruit powers aside, at that moment, Akainu understood more clearly than ever before

that, at least in mastery of Observation Haki, he truly fell short of Gern.

Meanwhile, Gern landed lightly on a tilted pole, bending one knee slightly to absorb the impact.

The Black Blade: Eight Desolations pointed diagonally toward the ground, the vibration particles along its edge still lingering.

"Sakazuki, someone terrifying has arrived!!"

"Isn't that right..." Gern raised his head toward a spot above the clouds, his Observation Haki locked firmly onto it.

"Golden Lion Shiki!!!!"

"Jahahaha!!" The instant Gern finished speaking, arrogant laughter rang out. The clouds parted, revealing a golden figure standing in midair beneath the sunlight.

At the sight of Golden Lion, even Sakazuki's pupils instinctively contracted.

Especially when that man drew his two swords-the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit inside Sakazuki began boiling uncontrollably!

"Brat, you're more interesting than I expected!" Golden Lion laughed, his Conqueror's Haki pouring down like a tsunami.

Sakazuki merely broke into a cold sweat, while Gern felt nothing at all in the face of Golden Lion's Conqueror's Haki.

After all, compared with the baptism of Rocks's and Roger's Conqueror's Haki back at God Valley, or Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki... Golden Lion's intimidation really didn't amount to much.

In an instant, every Marine at G-3 Base was knocked unconscious, leaving only Sakazuki and Gern standing!

Golden Lion Shiki had descended!!!

Golden Lion Shiki hovered in midair, his hawk-sharp eyes fixed on Gern, the faintest cold smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.

His long golden hair danced in the wind like a living thing, every ripple carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.

"It really is exactly the same ability..." Golden Lion's voice was low and hoarse. "And a Logia, at that."

Down at the base, Gern could feel that his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

Unlike the tension or excitement he felt when facing other enemies, what he felt now was an instinctive shudder of dread.

It was the primal reaction of prey caught in the gaze of an apex predator.

His left hand clenched involuntarily, vibration particles silently gathering in his palm with a faint hum.

"Shiki." Sakazuki's voice carried the explosive crackle of boiling magma.

He deliberately positioned himself half a step ahead and to Gern's side, a stance that allowed them to attack together while leaving Gern room to fight.

In particular, Akainu had noticed the small adjustments Gern was making to his breathing. Clearly, he needed to recover after that last slash.

Golden Lion didn't even glance at Sakazuki. His gaze remained fixed on Gern.

It was an appraising stare.

"Brat." Golden Lion suddenly spoke, his voice carrying an unquestionable command. "Release Doger, then kneel and apologize to me.

"Otherwise..." He slowly raised his right hand and gave a light flick of his index finger.

Boom! A distant watchtower suddenly tore free of the ground, twisting and compressing in midair until it became a lump of scrap metal that crashed into the center of the base's plaza, sending dust billowing everywhere.

"This base will end up in even worse shape than that pile of scrap."

Hearing Golden Lion's words, Gern instinctively looked toward Sakazuki.

He found that the normally unyielding man also wore a grave expression, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

That made sense. As they were now, even joining forces against Golden Lion would barely be enough.

Akainu wasn't some brainless fool, either...

"Shiki, you're welcome to try." Gern drew a deep breath and held the Black Blade: Eight Desolations across his chest. The vibration particles on the blade began oscillating at high frequency, warping the surrounding air.

At Gern's declaration, a flicker of approval passed through Sakazuki's eyes.

His magma fist then swelled to twice its original size, radiating astonishing heat.

He practically forced the words through gritted teeth. "Justice... will not be insulted!"

Golden Lion froze for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.

The Conqueror's Haki within that laughter struck the surroundings like a physical force, shattering the base's windows one after another.

"Hahaha! Interesting! So very interesting!" Golden Lion wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.

"Two brats who don't even have Conqueror's Haki dare to run their mouths in front of me?" His smile suddenly vanished, replaced by chilling killing intent.

"You have no idea who's standing before you."

Before his words had faded, Golden Lion swept his hand sharply. The two renowned swords, Oto and Kogarashi, flew out and hovered at his sides, their tips aimed straight at Gern and Sakazuki.

"I'll ask one last time." Golden Lion's voice was as cold as ice. "Release him, or die?"

Half of Sakazuki's body had already turned into scorching magma. Crimson lava dripped onto the ground, burning blackened pits into the steel floor.

His gaze was as cold and hard as iron, his voice low and hoarse. "Golden Lion, this is Marine territory, not a place for you to run wild!"

Gern said nothing. He merely lowered his stance slightly, the Black Blade: Eight Desolations angled toward the ground, vibration particles silently dancing along its edge.

His eyes stayed firmly locked on Golden Lion. Rather than making threats...

what he needed to do now was push his Observation Haki to its fullest, tracking every minute movement his opponent made.

"So..." Golden Lion looked down at the two of them from above, a mocking curve lifting the corner of his mouth.

"You want me to... kill you here?"