Rayleigh's body traced a long arc through the air, his golden hair whipping wildly within the pale shockwaves.
His vision warped under the violent vibrations, his ears filled with nothing but a piercing, high-pitched ringing.
And yet—those razor-sharp eyes remained clear.
He saw it.
He saw Gern Reginald Sigmar's figure break apart beneath the sunlight, dissolving into countless vibration particles that scattered like stardust and vanished into the air.
"So that's how your Vibration Flash works…"Blood foam spilled from Rayleigh's throat, yet a smile tugged at his lips."To develop an ability to this level… truly terrifying."
The very next instant, the particles across the sky reassembled directly above him.
Gern's half-elementalized form hung upside down like descending divine punishment. Both fists were wrapped in flowing Ryuo Armament Haki, the knuckles compressing high-frequency shockwaves so dense they twisted space itself.
"Black Quake · Hundred Forms · Vibration Core Barrage."
Time seemed to freeze.
The first punch slammed into Rayleigh's abdomen, spiral-shaped shock patterns blooming at the point of impact.
The second punch followed instantly—striking the exact same spot, the shock patterns stacking.
The third punch. The fourth—
Gern's fists blurred into afterimages. Each strike injected a high-frequency vibration core, and a hundred punches were completed in the span of a heartbeat!
Dull, heavy impacts fused into a continuous roar.
Rayleigh's body trembled violently in midair. Black Armament Haki and pale shockwaves intertwined, forming a bizarre cocoon of light.
From the deck of the Oro Jackson, the crew saw their vice-captain seemingly nailed to an invisible cross—assaulted from every direction, unable to fall, unable to escape.
Gern counted silently, his punching speed climbing higher and higher.
"Got it… the rhythm!"At the instant Rayleigh was struck by the third hundred-punch sequence, he suddenly twisted his waist.
The strike that should have pierced his heart was narrowly intercepted by the sword hilt.
"CLANG!"
A metallic wail echoed through the sky.
Gern's fist collided with the hilt, detonating a visible shockwave ring.
借着 that force, Rayleigh dropped like a stone, plummeting downward as the sea rapidly expanded in his vision.
"…Fine. If that's how it is."Gern gazed down coldly. His left hand opened, fingers spread, aimed at the falling Rayleigh."Vibration Principle—"
Points of light appeared in his palm, perfectly corresponding to the vibration cores embedded throughout Rayleigh's body.
Those dormant high-frequency cores began to resonate, emitting a dangerous hum.
"Execute."
BOOM!
In an instant, shockwaves erupted simultaneously from inside Rayleigh's body.
He convulsed violently in midair, pale electric light bursting from every pore.
The sea was crushed into a kilometer-wide depression by the blast, colossal waves parting outward like towering walls.
"Rayleigh!!"Shanks's cry was swallowed by the explosion.
Buggy collapsed onto the deck, his separated body trembling uncontrollably."N–No way…"
When the light finally faded, the sea returned to an eerie calm.
At the center of the blast, a single figure was sinking slowly.
"Did he… win?"From the distant Marine warship, Tesoro stared through his binoculars, eyes wide.
But Gern suddenly frowned—his Observation Haki catching something wrong.
He snapped his head toward the sea two hundred meters away.
SPLASH!
Rayleigh burst from the water, soaked in blood yet burning with fierce clarity.
His clothes had been completely shredded, revealing a powerful, battered body streaked with fresh wounds. The longsword in his hand, however, remained as steady as ever.
"Came this close…"Rayleigh spat out a mouthful of bloody seawater, leveling his blade at Gern."…to taking me down, Gern."
He no longer called him Marine brat.
He spoke his name.
"Tch."Gern narrowed his eyes and pulled Black Blade Eight Desolations from the rocks beside him.
He could clearly see it now—every wound on Rayleigh's body bore a precise spiral pattern.
Obvious proof that Rayleigh had forcibly expelled the vibration cores from within using Armament Haki.
"To disperse them with Haki at the instant of detonation…"Gern tightened his grip on the blade."…That really is worthy of the title 'Dark King.'"
Rayleigh lowered his gaze, golden hair disheveled, studying his ravaged body. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet a slow smile spread across his face.
"What a… satisfying battle."
Before the words even finished—
His pupils contracted violently.
An unprecedented presence erupted from his body!
BOOOOOOM!!
Dark crimson Conqueror's Haki exploded outward like a volcanic eruption, wrapped in crackling red lightning that shot straight into the heavens!
The sky split apart. Clouds were blown back like tidal waves. The entire sea trembled beneath the crushing pressure of his will!
Full release. No discrimination.
The coating on the Oro Jackson shattered instantly. Buggy and several weaker pirates rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious.
Shanks clung desperately to the railing as his straw hat was torn away, red hair whipping wildly in the storm of Haki.
"Rayleigh… he's serious now!"
Roger stood at the bow, arms crossed. For once, there was no smile on his face—only a faint, troubled frown.
...
On the island, Gern's pupils tightened.
Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki was completely different from before—no longer restrained and sharp, but utterly unleashed, raging fury incarnate.
Crimson lightning coiled around his body like living serpents. The rocks beneath his feet cracked inch by inch under the pressure.
"In that case…"Gern grinned.
Black Blade Eight Desolations began to vibrate violently, the dark-purple patterns along its surface igniting with blinding light.
"Then come on!"
Gern released everything as well.
Dark-purple Conqueror's Haki erupted skyward!
Space twisted under the collision of wills. Crimson and violet lightning intertwined, bathing the entire sea in apocalyptic light!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The clash of Haki triggered chained explosions. The sea was blasted into countless craters, massive waves surging sky-high!
Rayleigh's figure blurred—
And in the next instant, he appeared directly before Gern, longsword wrapped in crimson lightning as he brought it down in a single slash!
Before the blade even arrived, the sheer sword pressure stabbed into Gern's skin!
This strike was the perfect fusion of Rayleigh's peak Conqueror's Haki and swordsmanship—where the sword light passed, arrival was instantaneous!
Gern didn't dare hesitate.
He raised Black Blade Eight Desolations to block, dark-purple lightning colliding violently with crimson arcs!
The weapons never touched.
Instead, an energy sphere detonated between them.
The shockwave expanded outward in a perfect ring, forcibly pressing the surrounding sea into a kilometer-wide depression!
In an instant, both figures were hurled backward dozens of meters, the air beneath their feet exploding into circular shock rings.
"Not over yet!"Rayleigh's voice thundered as he closed in again!
His sword was even faster now. Crimson lightning tore through the sky with each strike, every slash carrying overwhelming might!
Gern raised his blade to defend with everything he had—but Rayleigh's offense was a relentless storm. Sword light wove into a tightening net of death!
In a blink, Rayleigh's sword light split into hundreds of slashes, attacking from all directions at once!
Each carried Conqueror's Haki—impossible to tell real from feint!
Gern's Observation Haki screamed warnings, but the speed was too great. He could only rely on instinct, swinging desperately to block!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks erupted.
In an instant, more than a dozen new wounds opened across Gern's body. The deepest slash nearly severed his collarbone!
Blood sprayed, soaking his Justice cloak crimson.
"Kh—!"Gern coughed up blood, yet his gaze only grew fiercer.
Rayleigh didn't give him a moment to breathe.
His blade shifted, crimson lightning compressing into a single blinding point—thrusting straight for Gern's heart!
"You're finished!!"
At the brink of death, Gern's pupils shrank—
Then his lips twisted into a savage, almost grotesque grin.
He suddenly withdrew his blade and snapped his left hand upward, fingers slightly curled, palm aimed at Rayleigh!
In Rayleigh's vision, a distorted white mass of energy was violently trembling within Gern's palm!
The energy writhed irregularly like a living thing. As Gern's fingers clenched, the vibration frequency skyrocketed, emitting a teeth-grinding hum!
"What is—?!"
"It's not me who lost."
"It's you—Game Over."
Gern's fist clenched.
"Heaven-Shaker · Airspace Collapse."
For one terrifying instant, the world fell silent—like listening to a legendary blade shatter.
CRACK!
Space collapsed around Rayleigh.
Within a kilometer, sky and sea shattered like glass crushed by an invisible giant hand. Air, water, light—everything twisted and disintegrated!
In the blinding white flash, the sea was blown open into a massive vacuum abyss several kilometers wide, the exposed seabed reduced to dust!
Rayleigh—greedy for the finish—took the full brunt of a top-tier, maximum-damage super move head-on.
The Oro Jackson and the Marine warship were hurled away like fallen leaves, everyone on deck clinging desperately to the masts as the deafening roar brushed death past their skin.
When the light finally faded, the sea became eerily calm.
Two floating reef fragments.
On them, Gern and Rayleigh faced each other from afar.
One's left arm hung limp.
The other's sword hand slowly bled.
"A draw…?"Shanks's voice trembled with disbelief.
"No."Roger shook his head slowly, eyes deep as he watched the faint tremor at Rayleigh's sword tip. His tone was calm—almost gentle.
"Rayleigh… didn't block it."