Seeing the look of shaken conviction on Ace's face, Gern Reginald Sigmar remained outwardly calm—yet inside, he was practically bursting with delight. A voice in his head was frantically spamming the same thought over and over:
It's happening, it's happening! That expression—yes, that one!This is it! The exclusive "adult disciplining a kid" experience!Damn… this feeling is actually kind of addictive!
At that thought, Gern forcibly pressed down the corners of his mouth, cleared his throat, and prepared to strike while the iron was hot—ready to pour out a few more lines of "Gern-style guidance," all while savoring the sense of accomplishment that came from educating a younger generation.
He raised a hand, deliberately slowing his speech, adopting a solemn, earnest tone.
"Ace, you—"
But before the words following "you" could even finish forming—
The Ace who, just a second ago, looked as though he had fallen into self-doubt suddenly flashed a trace of cunning in his eyes!
He hadn't come looking for Gern to listen to some long-winded lecture!
"Heh!" Ace let out a low shout as his previously stiff hands suddenly flung forward.
"Firefly · Fire Dharma!"
In an instant, countless tiny points of light—like fireflies, small yet blindingly bright—burst forth from his palms!
Like a disturbed swarm of bees, they surged outward in a vast, overwhelming cloud!
These miniature fireballs didn't attack head-on. Instead, they nimbly curved around from all directions, surrounding Gern and sealing off every possible route of evasion.
At the same time as he released Fire Dharma, Ace twisted his core and didn't pause for even a moment—flowing seamlessly into a lightning-fast sideways roll to open some distance between himself and Gern.
Just as the roll was about to end, while his body was still half-crouched, his hands snapped up before his chest like lightning.
His index fingers crossed into a perfect "X," and a clear, cross-shaped beam instantly locked onto Gern!
"Cross Fire!!"
Almost the moment the light took shape, massive flames erupted along the cross's trajectory—
Forming a scorching fire shockwave that struck first despite being launched second, synchronizing with the firefly-like Fire Dharma above to form a lethal, staggered pincer attack from top and bottom!
"Oh?" Gern raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing through his eyes.
This kid… doesn't play by the script, does he?
At this point, aren't you supposed to collapse in tears, screaming about how unfair it is, how you're too weak?Then shout something about friendship, comrades, bonds, and dreams—and finally explode with a super-mega Flame Emperor attack aimed at me?
So what the hell is this smooth little combo?!
Still—complaints aside—using a feint to mask a counterattack…This sequence was actually pretty clean!!
The fleeting inner monologue vanished in an instant. Faced with this sudden double-pronged assault, Gern immediately put away any lingering "educating the junior" leisure mindset.
The hand he'd raised to lecture instead pressed straight down!
"HUM—"
An invisible vibration expanded outward from his palm, instantly spreading downward like an inverted bowl, shielding his entire body.
The sand at his feet trembled and lifted slightly, quivering in midair.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
The Cross Fire's blazing shockwave struck the invisible vibrational barrier first, erupting in thunderous explosions. Flames scattered violently in all directions—yet failed to break through even an inch.
Almost simultaneously, the countless Fire Dharma orbs were drawn in by the unseen force, slamming into the transparent vibrational wall one after another.
"SIZZLE! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
A dense chain of explosions rang out without pause, firelight completely engulfing Gern's figure.
Amid the continuous detonations, Enel, watching from the side, commented with mild surprise,"Tch… this brat's got quite a few tricks."
Meanwhile, standing at the very center of the explosions, Gern felt the flames and shockwaves being constantly annihilated around him.
Instead of frowning, the corner of his mouth lifted into an extremely faint smile—one tinged with genuine appreciation.
"Interesting… Looks like you're not an ordinary kid anymore," he said softly."You're the kind that needs to be disciplined with a heavy hand."
The moment his words fell—
The flames and smoke enveloping him were once again blown apart by sheer presence!
Then, under Ace's wary gaze, Gern stood there with both arms folded across his chest and spoke in a clear, resonant voice:
"Since that's the case… I'll give you a handicap."
"I won't use my hands."
"And I won't use Haki."
"What?!" Ace's pupils shrank violently—his brain didn't even have time to process those words.
And in the instant his mind was shaken into blankness by that declaration—
Gern moved.
After all, this was a technique Gern had always wanted to use—
The classic arms-crossed dominance style Vegito loved so much in Dragon Ball!!
And with his Devil Fruit and physical techniques combined, it was finally achievable…
Gern's presence was simply erased from where he stood—
Then, within a thousandth of a second, he "appeared" in the space behind Ace!
This was a movement technique that fused martial arts and his vibration-based teleportation to their absolute extreme!
In less than a blink, Ace's hair stood on end as a lethal sense of danger screamed through him!
He didn't even have time to turn around—let alone elementalize.
"BANG!!"
A heavy side kick slammed brutally into his lower back!
The force was terrifyingly refined, with not a shred wasted—pure, merciless physical impact!
"Ugh—!" Ace let out a pained groan as his internal organs felt violently displaced, his body sent stumbling and flying forward uncontrollably.
But his body had barely left the ground—his forward trajectory hadn't even fully formed—
When Gern's figure once again vanished from its original position like a ghost.
The next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Ace's flight path—
And then—
A clean, razor-sharp rising kick snapped upward, the top of Gern's foot striking Ace's chin with perfect precision!
"CRACK!" (teeth colliding)
Ace's head snapped back violently as the upward force altered his trajectory, launching him straight into the air!
Pain and dizziness flooded his senses like a tidal wave, his consciousness nearly torn apart by the relentless, incomprehensible barrage.
For a moment, he desperately tried to gather flames, to stabilize his body—
But Gern still didn't give him the slightest chance.
At the exact moment Ace reached the apex of his arc, Gern's figure once again defied all physical logic—appearing directly above him!
A shadow fell.
Gern's expression was calm, his right leg lifting high before crashing downward in a brutal axe kick!
"BOOM!!!"
The kick smashed squarely into Ace's chest and abdomen, driving him like a meteor straight down from midair!
"THUD!!!!!"
The sandy ground let out a dull roar as it was smashed into a cracked crater several meters wide!
Ace lay at the center of the pit, his body curled from agony, unable to rise for the moment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."Gern's figure drifted lightly back to the ground, still maintaining his arms-crossed stance.
Looking down at Ace struggling in the crater, he said calmly,
"Well? Seems like not using my hands… is still more than enough."
...…
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