"Marine brat—your adaptation speed is impressive, but…"Rayleigh's golden pupils suddenly contracted.
"Young people shouldn't be this arrogant!"
The instant the words left his mouth, he kicked off the ground with explosive force. His body shot forward like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Gern Reginald Sigmar once more!
The sword edge tore through the air. Jet-black Armament Haki wrapped around the blade, the dark gleam resembling the scythe of the Reaper itself as it went straight for Gern's throat!
However—
"If you're not arrogant, what kind of youth are you supposed to be?!"
Gern laughed wildly as he drove Black Blade Eight Desolations straight into the ground!
The moment the blade's tip pierced the reef, a terrifying vibrational pulse erupted like a tsunami!
"Heaven-Shaker · Earth Roar!"
RUMBLE—!!!
The entire rocky island convulsed violently. The ground rolled like ocean waves, and countless cracks spread outward from Gern at a manic pace!
The rock beneath Rayleigh's feet collapsed instantly. The overwhelming shockwave forcibly halted his charge, leaving him no choice but to leap into the air, lightly stepping on flying debris as he adjusted his posture midair.
"Trying to forcibly create distance with vibration?"Rayleigh's eyes sharpened.
Just as he prepared to press in again, he saw the cold curve of a smile form at Gern's lips.
"I've never had enemies on my path—only teachers.They taught me lesson after lesson, stripped away my innocence, killed my naivety, shattered my bones…They made me understand that without failure and humiliation, you can never forge a mature person.
"I've never had some grand enlightenment. In every battle, there's only one thing—step by step mistakes, step by step realization!!"
Gern violently yanked Black Blade Eight Desolations from the ground and snapped his wrist.
Eight pure-white spheres instantly formed around him!
Each orb was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, its interior compressing vibrational energy powerful enough to tear space itself apart. They hovered in the air, emitting a shrill, teeth-grinding hum.
"Heaven-Shaker · Eight Extremity Orbs!"
Gern lifted his blade and pointed.
"SHOO! SHOO! SHOO!!"
All eight spheres shot forward simultaneously, their trajectories bizarre—like living creatures that automatically locked onto Rayleigh!
More terrifying still, they didn't travel in straight lines. Spirals, sharp turns, sweeping arcs—every possible escape route was sealed off from multiple angles!
"Tracking attacks?"Rayleigh frowned as his body abruptly halted. His longsword transformed into a storm of black afterimages.
"Thousand Sever!"
Sword light poured down like a torrential rain, precisely striking each incoming vibration sphere!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!
The instant the first three spheres were cleaved apart—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Space shattered like glass. The vibrational explosions chained together, blasting the entire midair zone into countless vacuum pockets!
Rayleigh's sword speed was terrifyingly fast, but the blast radius of the spheres was immense. His shirt was torn open in several places by the aftershocks, thin lines of blood surfacing across his skin.
"Tch—what a nuisance…"Rayleigh gritted his teeth, preparing to deal with the remaining five—
But in that instant—
Gern vanished.
"What?!"Rayleigh's Observation Haki flared to its limit, yet Gern's Vibration Flash completely nullified his perception!
The next second, following the trajectory of the final vibration sphere, Gern closed in like a phantom!
His right leg swept out like a battle axe!
Armament-hardened shin wrapped in pale, high-frequency vibration particles—
"Black Quake · Meteor Kick!"
The kick descended with the force of a falling meteor layered with an eight-magnitude earthquake!
Rayleigh hastily raised his sword to block.
BOOOOM!!!
The blade vibrated violently as Rayleigh was sent flying dozens of meters backward, his feet carving two deep trenches across the sea's surface!
The instant he stabilized himself, he shot back toward the island.
Before he could fully regain balance—
Gern was already there.
"Vibration Flash · Falling Stars!"
In a blink—
Left leg. Right leg. Elbow strike. Knee smash.
Gern's assault was a relentless storm. Rayleigh's Armament Haki coated his entire body, blackened skin gleaming like polished metal under the sun.
But every strike Gern delivered carried vibrations capable of tearing space apart.
Even the toughest defense couldn't stop the internal shock. Rayleigh's organs churned violently, a thin line of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
BAM!
Another side kick. Gern's figure flickered like a specter as his right leg swept in, compressing the air into a visible shockwave.
Rayleigh blocked with his sword—but the moment blade met shin, the vibration detonated!
CRACK!
The reef beneath his feet disintegrated instantly. Rayleigh was forced back several steps by the aftershock, blood again seeping from his lips.
"With this level of close-combat skill—why are you even using a sword?!"He narrowed his eyes, Observation Haki surging as he tried to lock onto Gern's movement.
Gern didn't give him the chance.
"Vibration Flash!"
His figure blurred—gone.
Rayleigh's pupils shrank. Within his Observation Haki, Gern's presence was erased as if wiped clean with an eraser.
The next instant—
BAM! Left side!
Rayleigh spun and raised his sword, Armament Haki concentrating along the blade as he barely blocked Gern's elbow strike.
But the impact far exceeded expectations. His feet carved deep grooves into the ground, his arms numb from the violent oscillation.
"Not over yet."Gern sneered—and vanished again.
"Vibration Flash!"
BAM! Right side!
Rayleigh barely lifted his sword as Gern's knee crashed in. The vibration particles drilled through his Armament defense, sending his organs into turmoil.
"Vibration Flash!"
BAM! Above!
Rayleigh gritted his teeth and leapt upward, sword flicking up to meet Gern's descending leg. The collision detonated a gale of force, the sea below erupting into towering waves.
"Vibration Flash!"
BAM! Behind!
Rayleigh twisted around, blade tracing a circular arc—but Gern's fist had already arrived. Knuckles slammed against steel, sparks exploding outward!
"Ghk!"Rayleigh grunted, the skin of his palm splitting open as blood streamed down the hilt.
Gern's assault was like an endless typhoon. Every reappearance carried vibrations capable of pulverizing mountains.
More terrifying still—his Vibration Flash completely disrupted Rayleigh's Observation Haki, forcing the so-called Dark King into pure reactive defense, scrambling to respond the instant Gern appeared.
"This is bad… if this continues…"
Rayleigh's heart chilled. He knew he was being driven into a corner.
Gern's tactic was brutally simple—and brutally effective.
Using the unpredictability of Vibration Flash, he forced Rayleigh to react within impossibly short windows.
And every rushed defense left behind microscopic openings.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Three more consecutive flashes. Rayleigh barely managed to block them, but the blows were growing faster—heavier.
Finally—
"Vibration Flash!"
Gern disappeared once more.
Rayleigh's Observation Haki still couldn't pinpoint his position.
He could only rely on instinct, predicting the most likely angle—
Right side!
"He's coming!"
Rayleigh spun violently, sword slashing horizontally. Anger flaring, he poured Conqueror's Haki directly into the blade, ready to make Gern pay dearly.
But—
Gern didn't kick.
"You see? Acting on impulse again."
A cold voice whispered beside his ear. Rayleigh's pupils shrank violently.
"Didn't that mean you guessed wrong?"
Gern's five fingers curled into a claw, wrapped in surging Conqueror's Haki, grabbing straight for Rayleigh's face!
"Heaven-Shaker · White Vortex!"
A horrifying vibration wave erupted from Gern's palm!
Space wrinkled like fabric. The moment Rayleigh was seized, time itself seemed to freeze.
In his vision, Gern's palm became a black hole swallowing all light. Pale, high-frequency vibration particles collapsed inward at insane speed, forming a miniature white singularity.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The vibration detonated!
Rayleigh's head twisted under the shock, his vision blurring as his body locked rigid for a split second—
And within that fleeting instant, Gern whipped his arm and hurled him straight into the sky!