"CRACK—WHOOOOOM!!!"
The instant the blades collided, the world fell into an eerie stillness—lasting less than a thousandth of a second.
Then reality itself collapsed.
Two forces born of the same origin yet diametrically opposed smashed together, devouring and annihilating one another in a violent storm of vibration.
Gern's oscillating particles—compressed into a state of extreme frequency and collapse—attempted to pierce, dissect, and dismantle Whitebeard's overwhelming shockwave.
But Whitebeard's power surged like an endless tsunami, an absolute force that crushed everything in its path, seeking to pulverize Gern's condensed "point" of destruction.
The atmosphere was compressed to its limit, forming a momentary sphere of absolute vacuum that warped light itself.
At the same instant, both men roared as if their souls were tearing free—
"SHATTER!!!"
What erupted was not white light—but a chaotic radiance leaking from ruptured space itself, a color the world could not properly comprehend.
A perfectly spherical shockwave expanded outward in utter silence.
Then—
BOOOOOM!!!
The sound came late.
The sea fell into absolute stillness—followed by a sight that defied all reason.
The ocean had been erased.
A perfectly smooth abyss, thousands of meters wide and unfathomably deep, had been carved straight into the sea.
Water surged upward as if seized by an invisible god, forming towering ring-shaped waterfalls that spiraled violently toward the sky.
That single clash shook the entire ocean.
"…Damn it…"
Gern's muscles bulged violently as Black Blade: Bahuang trembled in his grip. The vibrating particles along the blade screamed, struggling desperately to suppress Murakumogiri's overwhelming power.
But Whitebeard's weapon stood firm.
The radiant white glow only intensified.
The two forces continued to collide violently, compressing the atmosphere between them to its absolute limit.
And then—
Something impossible happened.
Gern's ultra-condensed vibration particles began drilling forward like a living auger, forcibly eroding Whitebeard's quake energy.
At the point of contact, faint spiderweb-like fractures appeared across the crystalline white surface of Murakumogiri—like cracks formed by billions of microscopic impacts.
For the first time, the unshakable grin on Whitebeard's face froze.
Shock flickered in his eyes.
"This brat's ability… is it a Logia-type?""Turning vibration itself into an element…?"
Before the thought could settle, a horrifying creak echoed across the sea.
The ship carrying Marco—now pushed several nautical miles away—groaned violently as its keel threatened to snap apart.
Whitebeard's expression hardened.
"Brat… your power is even more dangerous than mine."
"And if I lose my ship…""…that would be a real pain."
"Sorry about this."
His pupils flared crimson.
This time, it wasn't mere pressure.
It was Conqueror's Haki, erupting like a physical substance—thick, viscous, and coiling with dark-red lightning as it wrapped around Murakumogiri.
Haoshoku Infusion.
The blade's white glow was instantly drowned in black and crimson.
CRACK—!!!
The moment their weapons met again—
BOOM!!
Gern felt an overwhelming force crash into him like a collapsing mountain.
Black Blade: Bahuang screamed as its vibration field shattered under the weight of Haoshoku.
There was no resistance.
His body was hurled away like a broken puppet, tearing across the ocean and gouging a trench over a thousand meters long.
Only through elemental transformation—and the fact that Whitebeard held back from killing him—did Gern manage to survive, slamming back onto the Marine warship like a living cannonball.
The impact tore two burning trenches through the deck, nearly splitting the ship in half.
On the shattered deck, Gern dropped to one knee.
Both feet were embedded deep into the metal plating.
His right arm was ruined—uniform shredded, muscle fibers torn, bone cracked and visible, blood pouring freely.
Black Blade: Bahuang was buried deep in molten steel, its once-brilliant surface completely dulled.
"Kh—!"
Gern coughed violently, spraying blood mixed with fragments of shattered organs. His body shook violently as he struggled to lift his head.
Through blurred vision, he could barely make out that towering figure in the distance.
Whitebeard stood proudly at the bow of his ship, Murakumogiri resting heavily against the deck, arcs of dark-red lightning still crackling around it.
The residual pressure of Conqueror's Haki crackled through the air like roaming serpents of lightning.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's thunderous laughter echoed across the sea, his eyes shining with undisguised admiration.
"To make me get serious… to even use Conqueror's coating…"
"You're one hell of a brat."
"…That's all my full power amounts to?"Gern murmured weakly.
Blood loss and lingering pressure blurred his vision as Whitebeard's towering form slowly faded from sight.
After Whitebeard withdrew, silence engulfed the Marine warship.
Every soldier stood frozen, eyes locked on the kneeling figure.
Gern Reginald Sigmar.
They had seen it with their own eyes.
This young Marine lieutenant had faced—head-on—the legendary monster of the era, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
And not only that…
He had forced Whitebeard to use Conqueror's Haki.
"T-That… that was Lieutenant Gern?"A Marine whispered, hands trembling so badly he nearly dropped his rifle.
"In my life… I've only seen people like Sengoku, Garp, or Zephyr fight like that…"
"He didn't just clash with Whitebeard," another whispered in disbelief."He made him go all out…"
A heavy silence fell.
The looks directed at Gern had completely changed.
Where there had once been doubt and dismissal—now there was reverence.
And buried within it…
Awe.
Even fear.
Yet Gern himself seemed oblivious.
Slowly, he raised his trembling hand, blood dripping from his fingers.
"…So the gap… is still this wide," he muttered hoarsely.
But his eyes—
They burned brighter than ever.
Not with despair.
But with exhilaration.
"I saw it… I really did…"
"The future I'm chasing…"
Before he could finish, his strength finally gave out.
His body collapsed forward.
"Lieutenant Gern!!"
Shouts erupted as Marines rushed toward him, medics sprinting desperately across the shattered deck.
The sea, still scarred by the battle, slowly began to calm—
But the legend born that day would echo across the world forever.