The sea churned violently under the lingering shockwaves of the clashing Conqueror's Haki, spray exploding upward like a torrential downpour.
Gern Reginald Sigmar stood at the prow of the Marine warship, his cloak snapping furiously in the gale, his gaze locked unwaveringly on the space ahead.
Suddenly, Roger's Conqueror's Haki retracted without warning.
"Hm?"Gern's brows knit together slightly. Within his Observation Haki, he sensed another presence—slightly weaker in purity, yet far more savage—rapidly closing in.
In the distance, the sea erupted in a plume of white water. A towering, iron-tower–like figure charged straight through the waves, detonating the ocean surface with every step.
"MARINE!!"
Douglas Bullet's roar thundered across the sea. His body was a mass of knotted muscle, bronzed and gleaming under the sun, radiating overwhelming violence.
"COME AND FIGHT!!!"
"Douglas Bullet…"Gern's pupils contracted subtly.
The man known as the "Devil's Heir" came hurtling forward like a fired cannon shell, his entire body wrapped in ferocious Haki. His eyes burned with raw battle lust—like a caged beast finally unleashed—as he lunged straight for Gern.
"If this were before I challenged Kozuki Oden,"Gern's gaze darkened, though a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth,"you might have been a worthy opponent."
"But now—heh."
Without the slightest hesitation, Gern's figure blurred.
In an instant, he activated Shock Flash.
His form wavered at its original position as ultra–high-frequency vibration particles drove his body into a molecular, quantum-flow tunneling state.
In the blink of an eye, Gern's presence vanished completely from the Observation Haki of every powerhouse present.
Then—
In the very next second, he appeared directly in front of Bullet.
"What—?!"Bullet's pupils quivered violently as Gern materialized without warning before him.
For a fraction of a second, he froze—too stunned to even adjust his stance.
He had never imagined Gern could be this fast. His Observation Haki felt as though it had utterly failed him.
But Gern was already there.
Dark crimson Ryuo Armament Haki surged around Gern's right fist like molten magma. Vibration particles collapsed inward at the knuckles, compressing to a needlepoint singularity.
"Sorry…"Gern's voice was low, cold, and utterly merciless."Douglas Bullet."
Before the final syllable faded, his fist drove forward.
Space itself shattered inch by inch before the punch, fracturing like glass. A piercing, high-frequency shriek tore through the air.
"Please—do me a favor…""and serve as a proper background prop."
Bullet's vision went black.
Gern's fist expanded rapidly in his field of view, torrents of Conqueror's Haki—laced with dark purple lightning—flooding forward like a cataclysm.
Bullet's Armament Haki hadn't even fully coated his body—
When the punch slammed into his chest.
"Black Shock · God-Slaying Spike!!!!!"
The moment fist met flesh, time itself seemed to freeze.
Reflected in Bullet's wide, disbelieving eyes was the horrifying sight of space splintering apart like shattered crystal.
High-frequency shockwaves pierced straight through his Armament defense, directly assaulting every single muscle fiber.
CRACK—!
The sickening sound of bones fracturing echoed across the sea.
Bullet's steel-like body—his greatest pride—burst apart with spiderweb cracks, as fragile as porcelain.
Violent shockwaves tore through him like invisible blades.
Muscles, bones, internal organs—everything was shredded in an instant by relentless vibration.
In less than a heartbeat, his body twisted into an unnatural shape midair, before being blasted away like an anvil struck by a god's hammer.
BOOOOM—!!!!
A visible shockwave ripple expanded outward. The sea was crushed downward, forming an enormous depression.
Bullet's body flew like a severed kite, streaking across the sky like a falling meteor before smashing into the ocean two nautical miles away from the Oro Jackson.
SPLASH—!!
A colossal wave over a hundred meters tall erupted skyward, seawater cascading down like a torrential storm.
The Oro Jackson rocked violently. Crew members clutched desperately at whatever they could grab, their faces drained of color.
On the Marine warship's deck—
Clack.
The golden pocket watch slipped from Tesoro's hand and hit the floor.
He turned stiffly toward the bow.
There, Gern slowly drew his fist back. Pale, shimmering particles dissipated from his knuckles as if evaporating into nothingness.
His cloak rolled in the fading shockwaves, the black-edged kanji for Justice gleaming coldly beneath the sun.
"Th-this…"Tesoro swallowed hard, his throat tight."…is this really the strength of that man?"
......
Elsewhere, the thunderous roar of the torn sea still echoed between heaven and earth.
Hundred-meter waves collapsed like a falling sky, plunging back into the ocean and throwing the entire region into chaos.
On the deck of the Oro Jackson, Buggy's scream nearly pierced the frozen air. His mouth gaped absurdly wide as his body practically split apart in shock.
"You've gotta be kidding me?! That monster who just clashed with Rayleigh—Bullet—got taken out with one punch… just ONE PUNCH?!"
"So strong…"Shanks's straw hat was ripped away by the raging air currents, revealing eyes stretched wide with disbelief.
Instinctively, he reached out, trying to grab onto something—anything—but his fingers closed only around icy seawater. Droplets spilled through his hand, refracting blinding light in the sun.
"H-hey…"Gaban's brow was deeply furrowed, fine beads of sweat rolling down his temple. His voice carried a gravity never heard before."This joke's gone way too far…That was Bullet, not Buggy we're talking about!"
"Did you see it clearly, Roger?"Rayleigh's lenses cracked with a sharp sound as the ship trembled violently. A thin fracture split across the glass as he stared unblinkingly at the distant battlefield."How he suddenly appeared right in front of Bullet…"
At Rayleigh's words, the trademark grin vanished completely from Roger's face for the first time.
His hand tightened around Ace's hilt, veins bulging. Residual gold-and-red arcs of Conqueror's Haki snapped and crackled around him, scorching the surrounding air into visible distortion.
"Everyone, listen carefully…"Roger turned his head slightly, eyes sharp as blades, his voice low and cold."From this moment on, no one moves—except me and Rayleigh."
Rayleigh's pupils shrank violently. Behind the fractured lenses, disbelief flooded his eyes."Wait, Roger… don't tell me even you—"
"That's right."Roger nodded slowly, the pressure around him dropping to an ominous stillness."I didn't sense that bastard's movement at all.
"In other words…"He paused, his tone heavier than ever before."Even with my Observation Haki, I couldn't predict his action in that instant.
"And if the one charging across the sea just now had been me—and I'd gone in with the same carelessness…"
The deck fell into deathly silence. Only the sound of waves slapping against the hull remained.
"I'm afraid…"Roger's final words struck like a hammer to everyone's chest.
"…the one sinking into the sea right nowwould have been me."