The moment Roger's words fell—
Not far away, Rayleigh suddenly clutched his chest. His body swayed violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
At last, he dropped to one knee.
The longsword in his hand plunged deep into the reef, barely propping up his collapsing body.
Blood slid down from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the pale stone and blooming into a blinding scarlet stain.
"Cough… what a terrifying Devil Fruit ability…"Rayleigh lifted his head. His golden hair was plastered to his forehead by sweat, yet a bitter smile tugged at his lips."This kind of destructive power… it feels like my very existence was shaken apart and torn to pieces."
His voice was weak—
Yet it rang clearly in everyone's ears.
In this clash of titans…
'Dark King' Rayleigh knelt first.
Silence fell over the Oro Jackson.
Buggy's eyes went wide, his red nose trembling uncontrollably."R–Rayleigh-san actually…?"
His words cut off abruptly, as if an invisible hand had crushed his throat.
On the other side, Shanks stared fixedly at the distant battlefield, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. Gern's final strike replayed endlessly in his mind.
Space collapsing.White light devouring everything.
It was a power he had never witnessed before—something that shattered his very understanding of what it meant to be strong.
"So Captain Roger already saw this coming…?" Shanks muttered under his breath, complex emotions flickering through his eyes."But how is that possible…? That was Rayleigh…"
Nearby, Gaban's pipe had slipped from his mouth and clattered onto the deck, yet he didn't notice at all.
His gaze was locked onto Rayleigh, disbelief written plainly across his face."H–Hey, you've gotta be kidding me… Rayleigh actually lost half a move to a Marine rookie?"
"No. Not a rookie."Crocus adjusted his glasses, the eyes behind the lenses heavy and thoughtful."That Marine named Gern didn't have it easy either."
Though Gern had only recently joined, Crocus—as a doctor—could see what others couldn't.
For instance, the sword wounds carved into Gern's body were severe as well.At best, one could say that Gern had relied entirely on his Devil Fruit ability to win by half a step…
At the bow of the ship, Roger stood with an uncharacteristically serious expression, his sharp gaze fixed on Gern.
A moment later, he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha! What an interesting brat!""I told you, if Rayleigh got held up, things would get troublesome! Didn't I say so?"
His laughter shattered the heavy atmosphere—but at the same time, it made something painfully clear.
The outcome of this battle was no longer in doubt.
...
On the Marine warship, Tesoro's golden pocket watch slipped from his hand and clattered onto the deck.
He turned stiffly toward the sergeant beside him."So… does that mean we… won?"
The sergeant didn't answer.
He simply raised his camera again, silently recording everything that was about to unfold—his eyes filled with nothing but awe.
...
On the reef, Gern's chest rose and fell violently as he exhaled a murky breath tinged with blood.His right hand still gripped Black Blade · Eight Desolations tightly.
Dark-purple lightning flickered along the blade's edge like dying thunder serpents, refusing to dissipate.
Gern stared at Rayleigh kneeling on one knee, a faint trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
He had thought that blow would completely strip Rayleigh of his fighting ability.
Yet the man had endured it—and was still conscious enough to speak.
"To take Heaven-Shaker · Airspace Collapse head-on and stay conscious…"Gern's voice was so low it was almost inaudible."The top-tier monsters of the pirate world really do have freakish defenses."
With that thought, the tip of Eight Desolations tapped lightly against the reef, carving a thin line into the stone.
Then he lifted the blade sharply and asked from above,
"Do you want to continue?"
He stood steady as a mountain.
Blood continued to drip from the wound at his temple, yet the domineering aura surrounding him was sharper than ever—an overwhelming presence that looked down upon the world itself.
Rayleigh raised his head. Blood and grime matted his golden hair to his forehead.
His gaze traveled slowly along the cold, gleaming blade—until it met Gern's eyes.
After a brief silence—
He suddenly laughed.
"What?" Rayleigh's voice was hoarse, tinged with teasing."From the way you're standing… are you planning to help your opponent up?""Are Marines these days so devoted to chivalry?"
"Heh."Gern's pupils tightened slightly before he let out a scoff."If you surrender, I wouldn't mind playing the gentleman for once."
"Surrender…? Heh…"The blood at the corner of Rayleigh's mouth glistened harshly in the sunlight, yet his eyes became sharper than any blade.
Slowly, he straightened his body.
Each step he took made the reef beneath his feet groan under the strain.
"Gern—when I first saw you, it was in the news report about you cutting down Golden Lion with a single slash."
Rayleigh's voice grew steadier, louder.
He knew better than anyone what it meant for the vice-captain of the Roger Pirates to admit defeat.
"In just a few short years… I won't deny it. Your growth rate is astonishing."
In the distance, Roger's lips curled upward unconsciously as his fingers brushed lightly against the hilt of Ace.
"But—!"Rayleigh suddenly roared, stepping forward as he assumed a sword-drawing stance.
In an instant, the air around him twisted violently.
Dark crimson Conqueror's Haki lightning erupted, coiling around his body like an awakened dragon.
The reef beneath his feet shattered into dust, and the sea was forcibly pressed down, forming a hundred-meter-wide depression under the sheer weight of his will!
"Don't be in such a hurry—your era hasn't arrived yet!!So do me a favor and wait quietly!
Because the peak of this era—"
Rayleigh completed a flawless draw. The Haki condensed along his blade made space itself tremble.
"—is not yours to rule!!!"
On the Oro Jackson, Shanks gripped the railing with all his strength, his nails digging deep into the wood.
Watching Rayleigh's back swell and rise within that overwhelming Haki, a question surfaced unbidden in his heart.
And what about my era…?
"Remember this, Marines!"Rayleigh's roar tore through the sky."This era—!"
"—belongs to the Roger Pirates!!!"
At the instant the final syllable exploded—
The world changed.
The sky darkened.The sea wind froze.Even the waves hung suspended in midair.
But then—
Before Rayleigh's words had fully faded, just as his sword intent reached its peak—
A familiar voice detonated behind him.
"Sorry about that, Rayleigh! But I am the captain, after all!"
Roger's figure shot out from the Oro Jackson like a cannonball. His black hair whipped wildly in the gale as his laughter echoed between sea and sky.
"There are some things the captain just has to handle personally!"
"Wait—Roger!!"
Almost simultaneously, Gern's pupils contracted violently.
Roger's figure rapidly expanded in his vision. The legendary blade Ace was already unsheathed.
Conqueror's Haki wrapped tightly around the sword, warping the space around it.
Roger's slash came after Rayleigh's—
Yet it arrived first.
A casual opening motion, yet it carried pressure far greater than Rayleigh's fully charged strike.
At this moment, the difference was absolute.
They were no longer on the same level at all.