"That kind of thing… can't be allowed to fall."
Cold light flashed through Gern's eyes as he forced his body forward.
With double acceleration, the blade of Eight Desolations ignited with blinding white brilliance.
Every muscle in his arm tightened to its limit as Armament Haki surged like a living thing, flowing from his right hand into the blade.
The blade's innate vibration particles resonated with his Haki—
Spiderweb-like fractures appeared in the air itself.
"Skyquake · Cross Sever—"
A horizontal slash.
A vertical cleave.
Two intersecting cuts tore through the sky.
The white vibration waves formed a colossal cross-shaped shockwave, roaring upward into the clouds.
"Heaven-Splitting!!"
The crossing slashes ripped the heavens apart.
The horizontal wave split the clouds cleanly in two.
The vertical cut compressed the air to its limit, forming a vacuum corridor.
CRACK—!
The sky fractured audibly.
All three massive warships began collapsing from their centers.
Deck plating, masts, artillery—
Everything that touched the slashes shattered into perfectly shaped cubic fragments.
Wood, steel, canvas scattered like a divine catastrophe.
But the debris was still falling.
At the same time, Gern himself began to descend.
Gale-force winds screamed past his ears, black hair whipping wildly.
"…Not finished yet."
Mid-fall, Gern twisted his torso and thrust his left hand skyward.
Countless pale vibration particles gathered in his palm, forming a small ring—
Which instantly expanded into a massive circular shockwave.
The space inside the ring warped violently, even light distorting within it.
"Skyquake · Starfall!"
BOOM!!
The shockwave exploded outward.
Every piece of falling debris that touched it disintegrated into dust.
Wood pulverized.
Steel twisted apart.
The sky itself was swept clean, leaving a hollow vacuum zone.
Below, the Marines of G-3 Base stared upward, mouths open, unable even to breathe.
Sakazuki looked on as the debris vanished like sand.
"…So this is your power, Gern."
His fist clenched unconsciously, magma seeping between his fingers before being forcibly suppressed.
At this moment, Sakazuki realized something with absolute clarity—
In terms of Observation Haki, he was decisively inferior.
Gern landed lightly atop a tilted beam, one knee bent to absorb the impact.
Eight Desolations pointed downward, its vibration still humming.
"Sakazuki," Gern said calmly, eyes fixed on the clouds.
"A real monster has arrived."
Then—
"I told you, didn't I…"
He lifted his gaze, Observation Haki locking onto a presence above.
"Golden Lion Shiki."
"KSHHAHAHAHA!!"
Wild laughter tore through the sky as the clouds parted.
A golden figure stood upon empty air.
Even Sakazuki's pupils contracted sharply.
The moment Shiki drew his twin blades, Sakazuki's magma stirred violently inside him.
"You're more interesting than I expected, brat!"
Shiki laughed as Conqueror's Haki crashed down like a tidal wave.
Sakazuki broke into a cold sweat.
Gern, however, felt nothing.
Compared to the Conqueror's clashes at God Valley, or Whitebeard's pressure—
This was insufficient.
Instantly, the Marines of G-3 collapsed unconscious.
Only Sakazuki and Gern remained standing.
Golden Lion Shiki—has arrived.
Shiki hovered calmly, hawk-like eyes locked onto Gern.
Golden hair danced like living flames.
"…Exactly the same kind of power," Shiki muttered.
"And a Logia, no less."
Cold sweat soaked Gern's back.
This wasn't excitement.
It was instinctive terror—the fear of prey facing an apex predator.
Sakazuki stepped half a pace forward, magma boiling.
"Shiki."
He positioned himself deliberately—able to attack, but shielding Gern's breathing space.
Shiki didn't even look at him.
"Boy," Shiki commanded coldly,
"Release Doger. Kneel and apologize."
He lifted a finger.
BOOM!
A watchtower tore itself from the ground, crushed midair into scrap, and smashed into the base plaza.
"Otherwise… this base will look worse than that."
Sakazuki's jaw tightened, sweat beading on his brow.
They both knew—
Even together, victory was impossible.
Still—
"Try it," Gern said, steadying Eight Desolations.
The blade's vibration intensified.
Sakazuki's magma arm swelled twice its size.
"Justice… will not be insulted!"
Shiki froze.
Then burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
"You two don't even possess Conqueror's Haki—"
"And you dare stand before me?"
His smile vanished.
"You have no idea who you're facing."
Twin swords—Oto and Kogarashi—floated beside him.
"One last time," Shiki said softly.
"Release him… or die."