Above the desolate island, Borsalino's figure fractured endlessly between countless mirrors of light.
Hundreds of golden afterimages surged in from every direction, each one carrying the devastating momentum of light-speed motion.
Gern Reginald Sigmar pushed his Observation Haki to its limit, yet even then, Borsalino's movements blurred into incomprehensible streaks—golden lines too fast to fully grasp.
"Tch… damn it…"
He had already taken more than a dozen hits. His pupils tightened as the Black Blade Eight Desolations trembled faintly in his grip.
Then—
His gaze sharpened.
"If I can't find you…" Gern spread the fingers of his right hand and pressed them toward the empty air before him."…then I'll destroy everything."
"Heavenquake — Spatial Collapse!"
BOOOOOOM—!!
A deafening rupture tore through the air. Space itself twisted violently within a kilometer-wide radius centered on Gern.
The ground shattered like fragile glass. Cracks spiderwebbed outward in every direction as rock, soil, and even space itself vibrated at catastrophic frequencies before disintegrating into dust.
The entire island convulsed.
Massive waves rose dozens of meters high, slamming against the surrounding sea as warships tilted dangerously, decks nearly vertical.
"Hold the rudder!!""What the hell is this—some kind of natural disaster?!"
Sailors clung to railings in terror as they watched the island crumble and dissolve under the tremors.
The air warped, light refracting into warped rainbows as reality itself buckled.
On the flagship, Kong's coat snapped violently in the wind. His expression hardened in disbelief.
"This level of destruction…"
Sengoku's face darkened."It already surpasses what Kuzan, Sakazuki, or Borsalino can do."
He had fought Whitebeard himself—and yet even Whitebeard hadn't produced such precise, controlled devastation.
Zephyr stared silently, his sunglasses reflecting the fractured sky.
"…That boy," he muttered. "Even Borsalino might be in trouble."
Kizaru's voice drifted lazily from above."Hmm~ Looks like he sent me flying."
On the ruined island, Gern stood amid the dust, breathing heavily. The technique had drained him significantly—but Borsalino was nowhere in sight.
"…Where did you go?"
Suddenly—
A golden glint flashed behind his eyes.
"Behind you!"
"Too late~"
BOOM!!
A light-speed kick slammed into Gern's back, launching him like a cannonball. He tore through three stone ridges before crashing to a halt, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The spectators erupted in shock.
"What the hell?!""After all that, he still took no damage?!"
Borsalino reformed atop a shattered rock formation, brushing dust from his coat. Beneath the torn fabric, his body remained completely unscathed.
"Scary stuff," he muttered lightly. "If I'd been a moment slower, I'd have shattered."
On the flagship, Kong exhaled sharply.
"Gern's destructive power is monstrous… but Borsalino's speed and defense…"
"…are on a completely different level," Zephyr finished grimly. "Among the three, he's the most dangerous."
Sengoku adjusted his glasses."And he's about to end this."
High above, Borsalino's expression finally sharpened.
"Had your fun yet?" he asked calmly.
Raising one finger, brilliant light gathered at the tip, warping the air around it.
"This one's fast."
Gion shot to her feet."Captain Gern—!"
A razor-thin beam of light pierced the sky.
Gern barely raised his blade in time.
CLANG!!
Black lightning crackled as the beam struck Eight Desolations, forcing him backward, carving twin scorch lines through the ground.
"And I'm not done yet~"
Borsalino's voice echoed from every direction.
Ten figures appeared in the sky—each identical, each aiming a blazing finger of death.
"Ten shots. Think you can stop them?"
The island trembled as ten beams fired simultaneously.
The world drowned in golden light.
Then—
BOOM!!
A violent pressure wave erupted outward, forcibly tearing open a space within the storm of beams.
At its center stood Gern.
His entire body was coated in thick Armament Haki, blade braced before him. Though he was being pushed backward, gouging scorched trenches beneath his feet, his gaze was sharp—unwavering.
"Senior Borsalino…" he said calmly."Can your light… go any faster?"
In the next instant, he vanished.
"Quake Flash—Maximum Velocity!"
His body dissolved into vibrating particles, reappearing almost instantaneously.
Borsalino's pupils shrank.
He tried to disengage, transforming into light—
Exactly as planned.
"Heavenquake—Star Ring!"
A massive circular shockwave erupted outward.
The air vanished. The clouds tore apart. Even light distorted violently as the sky briefly collapsed into a vacuum.
The sea around the island surged upward in towering walls.
Borsalino's movement stuttered.
"…?!"
Without air resistance, without stable spatial flow, his light-based motion faltered.
"Got you."
Gern's voice was cold.
Eight Desolations rose slowly, its blackened blade humming—not violently, but eerily calm.
Borsalino's Observation Haki screamed.
He crossed his arms, coating them in Armament Haki.
The blade descended.
There was no explosion.
No distortion.
Just a soft, nearly inaudible hum.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
"…Hm?"
Borsalino blinked.
Confusion flickered across his face.
Then—
Crack.
Not the sound of space shattering.
But of ice forming.
Frost spread across his fingertips, crawling rapidly over his arms, chest, and shoulders.
"What…?"
The temperature plunged catastrophically.
Crystalline ice encased his body in an instant, freezing him solid mid-motion.
"Vibration Lock — Absolute Zero."
The air itself crystallized.
The battlefield fell silent.
By suppressing molecular vibration to its absolute limit, Gern forcibly halted all thermal motion within a localized space. According to thermodynamic law, absolute zero cannot be reached through finite steps——but this is the world of pirates.A world governed by will.
When vibration ceases, temperature collapses.
And in that moment—
Everything froze.