"One strike is all I need!"
A dark crimson glint flashed through Shanks's eyes as his aura abruptly collapsed inward.
His Observation-Killing surged to its absolute limit.
In that instant, Gern Reginald Sigmar's razor-sharp sensory network—keen enough to glimpse the future itself—felt as though a stone had been dropped into the abyssal sea.
It sank.
And vanished.
He lost all ability to track Shanks's precise movements.
Almost simultaneously, the ice beneath Shanks's feet shattered with a sharp crack, exploding into powder!
His entire figure stretched into a dark crimson afterimage—not charging in a straight line, but weaving through faint, nearly imperceptible Z-shaped shifts—
—and in the blink of an eye, he was already upon Gern.
Griffin's blade carved a shrill arc of scarlet through the air, devoid of flourish, cleaving straight down!
Though robbed of foresight, Gern's battle instincts reacted instantly. His torso snapped backward with explosive force—
The blade grazed past the tip of his nose by a hair's breadth, the chilling edge slicing off several strands of his wind-tossed hair.
"Heh."
Gern twisted Bahuang in his grip. The black blade flipped, dragging a pale shockwave in its wake as it surged upward in a reverse slash toward Shanks's waist!
Shanks's strike had missed, his momentum already committed—but there was no panic.
With a light tap of his right foot against empty air, his body drifted back half a foot, perfectly slipping beyond Bahuang's cutting range.
At the same time, his wrist flicked.
Griffin spun half a turn in his palm, its guard smashing against Bahuang's blade—
"CLANG!!!"
The swords collided once more with savage force!
A sharper, more violent metallic explosion rang out as black-red and dark-violet arcs of Haki lightning twisted and detonated like berserk thunder-serpents.
The shockwave shaved several more inches off the ice beneath their feet, sending shards spraying outward in a circular blast!
A deadlock.
Gern's arms bulged with muscle as he felt the terrifying force transmitted through the blade.
There was no doubt about Shanks's strength. Even with one hand, the sheer refinement of his Conqueror's Haki coating and the cutting power of a supreme swordsman—
—especially with their stances completely unequal—
He was actually beginning to suppress Gern's dual-blade hold.
"This position… I can't afford to stall!"
A sharp glint flashed in Gern's eyes. He made his decision instantly.
His right hand tightened violently, locking Bahuang against Griffin—while his left hand released the hilt!
His fingers clenched into a fist.
Jet-black Armament Haki surged over his entire arm like a rising tide. Pale particles were forcibly torn from the air, compressed, and drawn into his fist—
Spinning at high speed.
Condensing into devastating force.
"Black Quake—Starbreaker!!!"
If that punch landed, even Shanks wouldn't escape unscathed!
But just as Gern completed his charge and was about to unleash the blow—
"BOOM!!!"
An indescribable force slammed into him from the side!
Without warning, it struck from behind his left flank—
"What—?!"
Gern's focus had been entirely locked on his clash with Shanks and the imminent strike. His guard on the rear flank had dropped to its lowest.
He barely managed to hastily redirect some Armament Haki to his left back—
—and then the overwhelming force hit.
"Pff—!"
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
His body flew sideways like a severed kite, completely losing balance as he bounced and rolled across the iron-hard ice.
Each collision erupted in sprays of ice shards and heavy thudding impacts, carving a chaotic trail stretching hundreds of meters.
At last, with a low roar, Gern slammed Bahuang into the ice!
"SKREEEECH!!!"
The grating friction screamed as the black blade plowed a deep trench through the ice, sparks and shattered fragments flying—
Finally, barely halting his momentum.
Gern dropped to one knee, bracing himself on the sword, breathing heavily. A searing pain spread from his left shoulder to his back—clearly a serious blunt injury.
He lifted his slightly blurred vision and looked ahead.
In the distance, Dragon had risen again.
Though his arms hung unnaturally at his sides, trembling faintly, his posture remained upright.
He was slowly lowering his hands from a forward-thrust position, the chaotic winds around him gradually settling.
His face was pale as paper. Blood continuously spilled from the corners of his mouth. The caved-in section of his chest was horrifying to behold.
Clearly—that last attack, a long-range compressed wind pressure unleashed by forcefully gathering the remnants of his strength despite his injuries—
—had been his doing.
"Troublesome…" Gern spat blood, his gaze darkening.
The moment the word left his mouth—
Instinct screamed.
Without hesitation, Gern's body transformed into elemental form ahead of time.
Sure enough—
In the very next instant—
A silent crimson blade-light swept through where his waist had been, slicing him clean in half!
Shanks's figure appeared behind the slash, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
Even under the interference of Observation-Killing, injured, off-balance, vision impaired—
Gern had still reacted with flawless precision.
"I knew it," Gern said coldly. "A man like you would never pass up an opening like that!"
And Gern himself did not waste the prediction he had bought with blood and pain.
The scattered pale particles did not disperse.
Instead, several meters behind Shanks, they abruptly converged—
Reforming in an instant.
Gern reappeared, his right hand clawed, wrapped in black Haki and high-frequency vibrations, tearing toward the back of Shanks's head!
Shanks sensed the killing intent behind him—but Gern was too fast, too close.
There was no time to fully turn, block, or evade—
"BAM!!"
His head was slammed straight into the ground!
"Got you!"
A cold gleam erupted in Gern's eyes. Centered on his hand, the air began to quake—a white spherical field forming.
But—
The unexpected struck again.
Dragon interfered once more—with perfect timing.
"WHOOSH!!!"
Two compact yet razor-sharp gray-green cyclones tore through the air, crossing paths as they twisted in from left and right—
Aimed to shred Gern at the waist!
The timing was immaculate—precisely the instant all of Gern's focus was locked onto restraining Shanks.
If he insisted on finishing the grab—
He would be grievously wounded by the cyclones.
"Tch!"
Gern cursed under his breath, forced to abandon his advantage at the last second.
His right hand snapped back, releasing Shanks, while his body twisted midair.
Bahuang swept out with the momentum of the turn!
"Heavenquake—Ring Sever!!"
A pale circular shockwave blade expanded outward from Bahuang—
Colliding head-on with the incoming cyclones!
Boom! Boom!
Two muffled explosions rang out as the cyclones were forcibly split apart, shredded into chaotic airflow.
But the wind pressure still halted Gern midair, leaving him suspended with no footing.
And in that fatal instant—
Shanks moved.
He didn't even look back.
As if he and Dragon shared a silent understanding.
Using the opening created by the cyclones, he shattered the ice beneath his feet—
His figure vanished like a phantom.
When he reappeared—
He was already in midair behind Gern.
Griffin trailed at his side, its blade compressed with dense, dark crimson Conqueror's Haki lightning—
Condensed to a single point.
Blazing with blood-red brilliance.
No roar.
No buildup.
Just the simplest—
Purest—
Most lethal returning slash.
"Divine Departure!!!"
Gern's Observation Haki was already dulled by Observation-Killing.
He had just deflected the cyclones—his old force spent, new force not yet gathered—
His body still rotating midair—
There was no escape.
"—Shhk!"
The dull, sickening sound of steel biting flesh.
The crimson blade carved in from behind Gern's waist, carrying unstoppable cutting force—breaking through his Armament defense, tearing flesh—
Until it struck bone—
And only then was it barely halted.
"Ghh—!"
Gern's pupils shrank violently as agony flooded his entire body.
The sheer force of the slash smashed him downward—
Slamming him into the already shattered ice below!
"BOOOOOOM!!!"
The ice collapsed catastrophically once more.
A massive crater over twenty meters wide erupted into existence.
Spiderweb cracks spread wildly in all directions, while a storm of ice dust and snow surged upward—
Completely engulfing the impact site.
Shanks landed lightly, the ice beneath his feet sinking slightly.
He flicked a few drops of blood from Griffin's blade.
Under the cold reflection of the frozen plain, the edge still gleamed a vivid, chilling red.
His breathing was slightly heavy now. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
The continuous high-intensity bursts—and maintaining Observation-Killing—had clearly taken their toll.
Dragon, clutching his chest, walked over step by step and stood beside him.
His arms hung low. His face was deathly pale.
But his eyes remained sharp, locked onto the crater shrouded in frost and smoke.
Neither spoke.
They simply adjusted their breathing—
Gathering what remained of their Haki and strength.
For a moment, the frozen plain was filled only with the howling wind—
And the faint, brittle sounds of ice fragments falling within the crater.
The smoke…
Slowly began to settle.