Whitebeard's dying words echoed through Gern's chaotic mind.
[Don't look back... the times are always changing.]
Yes, wallowing in regret over a battle he had not fought to his heart's content was no longer the attitude of someone striving for the pinnacle.
The moment of decision passed in a flash.
In an instant, all the confusion and resentment faded from Gern's eyes.
The will and ambition to control everything that belonged to "Heavenquake" rekindled, firmer than ever!
He no longer looked at Whitebeard's peaceful face, sealing away those complicated emotions completely.
Hum! Whoosh.
He opened his right hand. The Black Blade: Eight Desolations lying on the ground hummed obediently, then flew into his palm like a streak of black lightning.
At that very moment, Golden Lion's cross-shaped slash reached him from above!
Gern did not even turn around fully, relying solely on perception and speed that defied all reason.
His arm swept Eight Desolations upward in a clean Reverse Kesa Slash!
Clang!!!!!!
Kogarashi, Oto, and Eight Desolations clashed head-on!
Purple, gold, and red Haki and energy tore violently into one another!
The shockwave shaved another layer off the already shattered ground around them!
Gern steadily blocked Golden Lion's all-out strike. He raised his head, calmly meeting Golden Lion's bloodshot eyes.
Golden Lion stared just as fiercely at Gern's face, now calm and even faintly indifferent, and demanded through gritted teeth,
"Gern... this is the moment you've been waiting for, isn't it?"
"Tell me, you bastard!"
He was a ruthless conqueror who had roamed the seas for decades. He might have been arrogant, but he was no fool.
With the war having reached this point, Whitebeard's end, Gern's arrangements, and his own predicament...
Taken together, they revealed a chilling truth.
Perhaps he, Golden Lion Shiki, had already become a piece on