Clang—!!
A piercing metallic impact exploded through the air.
David's Seastone bullet—coated in Armament Haki—was caught barehanded by Gern Reginald Sigmar.The moment it met his palm, a violent shockwave erupted outward, sparks scattering as the bullet shattered into fine dust.
"Y-You… blocked it…?"A pirate stammered, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"Y-You caught my Instant Hell Execution… with your bare hand?"David's grin stiffened, his pupils contracting ever so slightly.
His fingers unconsciously brushed the trigger of his golden rifle—then stopped.
Because Gern still hadn't counterattacked.
"…Heh."
Misinterpreting the silence, believing Gern was wary of the Flying Pirates and Golden Lion, David's grin twisted wider—bordering on madness.
He slowly raised the barrel of his rifle, lazily pointing it toward Gern, dragging out his words with deliberate mockery.
"Ooooh~? What's wrong, Lord Heaven-Shaker? Not gonna move?"
He even tilted his head, cupping a hand to his ear in exaggerated fashion.
"Don't tell me you're… scared?"
On the Marine warship, Gern slowly lowered his hand, a faint crease forming between his brows.
He turned slightly toward the sergeant beside him and asked quietly,"…Has he always been this brave?"
The sergeant blinked, equally confused, then shook his head."I… I'm not sure, sir. But he doesn't seem to be taking you seriously at all."
Seeing this, David laughed even harder.
He planted one hand on his hip, resting the golden rifle casually on his shoulder while waving the other hand dramatically.
"Oi, oi, oi! You're kidding, right?""The great 'Sky-Shattering' man—can't even bring himself to shoot me?"
With a sharp motion, he flung open his coat, revealing the emblem of the Flying Pirates stitched proudly across his chest.
"Look closely! This is Admiral Golden Lion's flag!"His grin turned savage."I'll give you permission—go ahead! Shoot! Life or death, let's see what you've got! Hahaha!"
On the Marine deck, fists clenched tightly, knuckles whitening.
Yet Gern remained silent.
David's grin twisted further.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"He tapped his temple with the rifle barrel."Or maybe you know it yourself… that the only reason you hurt the Admiral back then was pure dumb luck?"
His voice dropped into a cold, venomous whisper.
"You really think stealing a little glory makes you worthy of standing against the Flying Pirates?"
The sea fell unnaturally silent.
Gern finally lifted his gaze.
His eyes were terrifyingly calm.
"…You done?"
"Huh?" David blinked—then burst out laughing."Finally found your voice?"
Gern slowly raised his right hand, palm upward. Pale vibration particles began to gather silently above his skin.
"Do you know why I haven't moved?" he asked quietly.
David snorted. "Because you're scared."
"No," Gern replied calmly."I was just curious."
His eyes locked onto David, voice flat and precise.
"You're nothing more than a marksman with decent Observation Haki.No Devil Fruit. No physical combat ability worth mentioning.And that one-point-nine billion bounty of yours—half of it comes from riding Golden Lion's coattails."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried cleanly across the sea.
David's smile twitched—but he forced it back into place.
"Tch. Big talk.""You were just hiding behind Zephyr back at G-3!"
"And now—"Gern's fingers suddenly clenched.
"You actually dared to provoke someone who can shatter the sea itself?"
His gaze sharpened.
"So tell me… who's the one tired of living?"
David's grin froze.
In that instant, realization struck him like ice.
He had forgotten something—something critical.
"…Tch."
Gern sighed softly, almost disappointed.
"Your courage is admirable."He raised his hand fully, white vibration particles swelling violently as the air itself began to fracture."But I don't have time to entertain it."
"If you want to die—"
"I'll grant your wish."
On the pirate ship, the color drained from David's face.
"Fire! FIRE EVERYTHING!" he roared in panic.
Golden rifle shots and cannon fire erupted in a desperate storm.
But it was already too late.
Gern compressed the vibration field into a dense sphere—and punched forward.
The sea screamed.
The air shattered.
In the next instant, the ocean itself rose violently, as if seized by an invisible god.
A colossal tsunami erupted outward from the Marine ship, towering over a hundred meters high, surging forward like a living wall of destruction.
"SHIT—!!!"
David's pupils shrank to pinpoints as his bullets vanished uselessly into the waves.
The pirate ship groaned like a dying beast before being ripped apart.
"RUN—!!"The pirates screamed in terror, but there was nowhere to flee.
The wave crashed down.
The ship disintegrated like paper.
David launched himself skyward with Moon Step, his coat flaring brilliantly as he twisted midair, golden rifle spinning in his grasp.
A final, desperate counterattack.
But—
"Sorry," Gern said calmly.
"This isn't land. And you don't have a teleporting Devil Fruit."
His hands were already raised in a firing stance. Pale energy spiraled violently around his fingers.
"And when a sniper's Observation is weaker than his opponent's…"He tilted his head slightly, a cold smile forming.
"That means he has nothing left."
"Especially… in the middle of the open sea."
"Right, David?"
"Bang."
The sound was almost gentle.
Ten spiraling shockwaves tore through the sky.
David's eyes went wide as the vibrating beams punched through his body.
The first tore through his shoulder—crack—bone shattering audibly.Then his knee.His wrist.His spine.
Blood burst into the air as his body convulsed like a puppet with severed strings.
"This… is… the Heaven-Shaker…" he gasped.
The golden rifle slipped from his fingers, its ornate engravings glinting once in the sunlight before vanishing beneath the waves.
As blood arced across the blue sky, David remembered something his captain once muttered drunkenly:
"I don't fight Whitebeard.Not because I can't win—but because challenging the Tremor Fruit at sea?I can fly. You idiots can't.You'd just sink and feed the fish."
"Heh… so this is what it feels like…""Damn… Logia freak…"
His consciousness faded.
And through the wind, he heard Gern's voice—soft and final:
"The bell tolls for you."
The sea slowly calmed.
Debris floated across the water, along with the last struggling remnants of the pirate crew.
Gern stood at the bow of the warship, gaze cold and indifferent.
"It's over," he said quietly.
"Vice Admiral Gern…"The sergeant swallowed hard."Should we… capture the survivors?"
Gern shook his head.
"No need. He won't live."
With that, he turned and walked back toward the cabin, as if what had just occurred were nothing more than a trivial inconvenience.
Behind the ship, the ocean slowly returned to stillness—leaving only wreckage, silence… and the echoes of a fallen bell.