(Extended Chapter)
Golden Lion Shiki's pupils shrank violently.
For the first time, the wild laughter froze on his face.
Suspended in midair, his golden hair fluttered like tattered battle flags. His expression shifted rapidly—
from shock,
to disbelief,
and finally into a distortion of barely restrained rage.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
The laziness was gone from his voice.
The mockery vanished.
In its place was a tremor—one even Shiki himself failed to notice.
The collision of Conqueror's Haki tore through the air, black lightning splitting the heavens.
Clouds ruptured.
The sea churned violently.
The entire island trembled as if struck by a divine hammer.
"Just moments ago, you were nothing but a brat without Conqueror's Haki…"
"And now you dare stand before me?!"
Shiki stared down at Gern.
Those eyes that had once looked down upon countless monsters now reflected an impossible sight—
a man who should have been crushed beneath his heel,
standing tall as a king.
A king newly awakened.
"Shihahaha!"
Shiki laughed again, but the composure was gone. What remained was fury—pure and offended.
"Interesting! Truly interesting!"
"Zephyr… you hid your disciple well!"
Zephyr said nothing.
Behind the cracked lenses of his glasses, shock, pride, concern, and something far deeper flickered through his eyes.
He knew better than anyone—
Conqueror's Haki was never an accident.
This disciple of his… was anything but ordinary.
"Gern."
Shiki descended, his feet hovering inches above the ground. His Conqueror's pressure crashed down like a tidal wave.
"You think this freshly awakened will changes anything?!"
Gern did not retreat.
His own Conqueror's Haki surged upward in response.
The two wills collided violently.
The air warped.
The ground split open.
"I don't need to change anything," Gern said, his voice hoarse yet unyielding.
"Because—"
BOOM!
Their Conqueror's Haki detonated fully.
The sky split apart.
A massive black crack tore through the clouds, as if the heavens themselves had opened an eye.
Shiki's smile vanished completely.
What replaced it was genuine killing intent.
"You arrogant brat!"
With a furious roar, Shiki swung both arms. The air beneath his feet condensed into countless razor-sharp slashes.
"Lion's Thousand-Cut Valley!"
Blades of destruction rained down, each strike capable of cleaving mountains.
Gern raised Black Blade Bahuang to block, but the onslaught was relentless. He was forced backward, cracks tearing across the ground beneath his feet.
"Not finished yet!"
Shiki vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Gern, Sakura Ten thrust straight for his heart.
At that critical moment—
A purple figure slammed between them.
"Heavy Strike!"
Zephyr's Armament-coated fist smashed directly into the blade.
CLANG!
The deafening impact forced Shiki's attack aside.
Zephyr stood firm.
"Shiki," he said coldly.
"Your opponent isn't just him."
"You dare interfere?" Shiki sneered.
"He's my disciple!" Zephyr roared.
"Bullying the weak—don't think I'll allow it!"
With a furious howl, Shiki unleashed both blades, sword intent and Haki forming a lethal net that engulfed them both.
Zephyr countered with precision and power, deflecting strike after strike—but gradually, the pressure mounted. Sweat formed at his brow.
"Teacher!"
Gern stepped forward, Conqueror's Haki surging again.
Before Shiki could respond—
A crimson figure charged in from the side.
"Hound of the Underworld!"
Sakazuki's magma fist tore toward Shiki's back.
Shiki twisted midair, cleaving the magma apart—but scorching splashes burned through his cloak.
"Tch. Magma brat… the Navy fights three-on-one now?"
"Against pirates," Sakazuki replied coldly,
"there's no need for honor."
The battlefield erupted.
And then—
The sky darkened.
Black Blade Bahuang began to vibrate—not from shockwaves, but from within.
A violet-black lightning erupted from its edge.
This was not ordinary Conqueror's Haki.
It was something older.
More violent.
More absolute.
The lingering will of Rocks D. Xebec, awakened by Gern's resolve.
The lightning wrapped around Shiki like chains.
His ability failed.
Gravity reclaimed him.
"What—?!"
Shiki's body plummeted.
In that instant, Gern vanished.
Not movement—
instantaneous displacement.
He appeared before the falling Shiki.
Shiki's eyes widened.
In that moment, the figure before him changed.
The face blurred.
The posture overlapped with a nightmare etched into his memory.
"R-Rocks… Captain…?"
Gern raised his blade.
"Godfall."
The world went silent.
The slash descended.
Space shattered like glass.
Purple-black lightning and vibration fused into a single, annihilating arc.
Beneath the fall of a god—
all beings are equal.
Blood erupted.
A massive gash tore from Shiki's shoulder to his abdomen.
He nearly lost consciousness.
Barely—
barely—
he survived.
And then—
He fled.
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