"Damn it…"Doger's arms went numb from the impact of Gern's kick.
He staggered backward, slamming his foot down as the ground beneath him instantly cracked apart. A deep fissure split open, forming a jagged pit between them, halting Gern's pursuit.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Doger bared his teeth in a feral grin."I ate the Split-Split Fruit, you bastard! I'm the man who tears the world apart!"
The moment his words fell, he stomped the ground again. The earth fractured violently, stones tearing free from the surface and floating into the air. Every piece of debris that broke off fell under his control.
With a savage gesture, the shattered rocks twisted and compressed, transforming into countless blade-like fragments that rained toward Gern like a storm.
"Paramecia-type… the Split-Split Fruit, huh?"Gern raised an eyebrow. His black blade, Yahao, angled toward the ground as faint white particles coiled around it."Interesting."
"Shatterstorm!"
The flying debris fragmented even further midair, turning into a dense barrage of razor-sharp shards that sealed off every possible escape route.
Gern merely chuckled.
He raised his left hand, a tiny sphere of white light forming in his palm.
"Skyquake Barrier."
HUM—!
The sphere expanded instantly into a hemispherical shield of vibrating force. The incoming debris disintegrated on contact, reduced to dust before even touching the barrier.
Not a single grain passed through.
Doger's pupils shrank."That power…"
"Sorry," Gern said coldly, his form blurring. "I don't have time to waste on someone like you."
The air beneath his feet compressed and detonated—
Boom!
He vanished in an instant, closing the distance again.
"Shock Step — Second Acceleration!"
His silhouette tore through the air, warping space itself.
Before Doger could react, Gern was already beside him.
The black blade swept out, and before it even reached its target, the air screamed—compressed, twisted, and crushed by high-frequency vibrations.
"If that's the case," Doger roared, "then I'll just break your weapon!"
His arms crossed as thick black Armament Haki surged over them.
"Disintegrate!"
The moment blade and arms collided, the Split-Split Fruit's power activated, trying to tear the weapon apart at a molecular level.
But—
The vibration particles coating the blade fused with hardened Haki, forming an almost absolute defense.
Instead of breaking, the blade flared with blinding white light.
Crack!
A sickening sound echoed as Doger's bones screamed in protest. His arms split open with fine fractures, blood spraying outward.
"H-How…?!" He staggered back in disbelief.
His power… couldn't even damage the blade?!
"Your Devil Fruit can break matter," Gern said calmly, sheathing the sword."But Haki… is something you have to train."
"A Marine Captain's Haki… shouldn't be this strong…"
"Honestly," Gern muttered, "you're not even worth using Yahao on."
His left arm suddenly tensed.
Dark red light seeped across his skin as Armament Haki surged violently outward, wrapping his entire arm. The vibration particles layered on top of it began to tremble wildly, sizzling like boiling metal.
"H-Hey—wait! I surrender—!" Doger shouted, panic flooding his eyes.
The ground trembled. Pebbles rattled and bounced.
"This game's over," Gern said coldly.
He stepped back half a pace.
The ground cracked beneath his foot.
His left fist drew back slowly—every inch warping the air itself. Space bent and groaned under the pressure.
When his fist reached its limit, the Armament Haki flared brilliantly.
"Black Quake — Starbreaker."
Time seemed to freeze.
Then—
BOOOOM!!!
Space itself collapsed inward before violently shattering outward like broken glass.
A massive, spiderweb-like rupture tore through the air, expanding over ten meters wide. The shockwave erupted outward in a roaring explosion.
Doger's hastily raised Haki shattered instantly.
His abdomen caved inward. His coat disintegrated into shreds.
"GAAAH—!"
Blood sprayed violently as his body was launched backward, crashing through three solid rock walls before finally collapsing in the ruins.
Dust billowed.
Doger lay motionless, bones shattered, eyes rolled back.
"So… this is… Armament fused with vibration…" he muttered faintly before losing consciousness.
Gern slowly lowered his fist. The air still hummed violently around him.
"…That felt good."
Aftermath
Some time later, the Marine warship docked at the shore.
Troops disembarked swiftly, forming ranks as they secured the area.
The remaining Shatter Pirates had long since lost the will to fight. They collapsed to the ground and were swiftly cuffed.
"Report! We found 'Island-Splitter' Doger!" a soldier shouted, astonishment clear in his voice."He's… he's still alive!"
The soldiers froze, staring at the broken figure in the crater.
That didn't match the rumors surrounding the "Head-Cutting Devil."
"Captain Gern… you didn't execute him?" a young soldier asked quietly.
Gern stood atop a rock, the sea breeze fluttering his Justice cloak. The black blade at his waist was once again wrapped in bandages.
"The mission stated he was to be captured alive," Gern replied casually."I just followed orders."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"And besides… a living three-hundred-sixty-million-berry pirate is worth far more than a severed head."
The soldiers exchanged looks of realization.
Of course—Doger had just allied himself with Golden Lion. Headquarters would want information.
"Captain Gern really thinks ahead…"
"So he's not as ruthless as the rumors say…"
Their whispers drifted through the air.
Gern ignored them.
He approached Doger, now bound in Seastone cuffs, and leaned down slightly.
"You should be grateful for my 'mercy,'" he whispered.
Doger's dull eyes twitched—but his body could no longer respond.
As Gern turned away, his gaze swept across the captured pirates with chilling indifference—no hatred, no sympathy—only calculation.
Cruelty or mercy… depends on what benefits me most.
When he had served under Zephyr, brutality had been necessary—to force independence, to sever that bond.
Now, acting alone, he needed results. Clean, efficient results.
Capturing a 360-million-berry pirate alive would speak far louder to Marine Headquarters than a mountain of severed heads ever could.
And after all—If he wanted Sengoku and the others to truly acknowledge his path…
He had to show them that Gern Reginald Sigmar walks his own road.
"Return to base," he commanded, stepping onto the deck."Report to Marineford: The Shatter Pirates have been apprehended. Bounty—three hundred and sixty million. Mission complete."