On the warship, Libo's droopy ears stood up, her gaze fixed on the shockwaves continuously erupting on the Deserted Island in the distance. Each collision made her heart pound violently.
"Gern..."
She could clearly feel it—the samurai's aura was terrifyingly strong, almost on par with Gern's.
"Sergeant!" Libo spun around abruptly, her droopy ears slightly flared due to static electricity. "Quickly contact Sakazuki!"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki." The Sergeant, as if waking from a dream, rushed to the communication room, his trembling fingers dialing the strictly confidential channel.
This was the only remaining communication line between Gern and Sakazuki.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!" The Sergeant's voice was hoarse with urgency. "We've encountered the Whitebeard Pirates!
Rear Admiral Gern is currently engaged in battle with the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, 'Samurai' Kozuki Oden, who has a bounty of 1,870,000,000 Berries!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by the gurgling sound of boiling lava.
"Location." Sakazuki's voice was as cold as ice.
The Sergeant quickly reported the coordinates. As soon as he finished speaking, the communication was abruptly cut off.
He held the receiver blankly, cold sweat seeping from his forehead: "Warrant Officer Libo, Vice Admiral Sakazuki, he..."
"He'll come. And Gern won't lose!" Libo's gaze returned to the sea, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.
........
On the Deserted Island, the fierce battle between the two had long since disfigured the landscape. The coastline was torn apart by slashes, and the central area was covered with giant, crater-like pits.
Before the smoke and dust had settled, Oden dragged his two swords, trailing crimson-black flowing Haki, carving scorching trails in the air.
"Hahaha! Again!" He laughed wildly, blood still on the corner of his mouth, but the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even more intense.
At the same time, his kimono was already in tatters, his exposed upper body covered in fine scars.
Gern watched coldly, the black blade eight desolations in his hand trembling slightly, pale particles entwining the blade like living things.
There was also a deep, bone-deep wound on his left shoulder, blood dripping down his arm.
Suddenly, Oden roared, slashing with his two crossed swords. Crimson-black Haki condensed into two roaring dragons, tearing through the ground and charging straight at Gern.
Wherever they passed, the rock layers were cut open like tofu, and seawater poured into the cracks, raising monstrous waves.
Gern's pupils constricted, and he plunged his blade into the ground: "Heaven Quake!"
"Boom!!" Centered on him, high-frequency vibrating pale particles spread out like a tide. The ground layers cracked, and Oden's slashes collided with the shockwaves, erupting in dazzling light.
The shockwave knocked both of them back. Oden flipped several times in the air before landing, his geta deeply embedded in the rock layer.
Gern, meanwhile, slid back dozens of meters, his blade plowing a scorched mark on the ground.
"It's not over yet!" Oden stomped his foot, his figure darting forward like a ghost, his two swords turning into afterimages. "Two Sword Style · Peach Slash!"
The sword light crisscrossed like a swallow's tail. Gern raised his blade to block, but Oden's sword stance suddenly changed. ame no habakiri angled upwards from a tricky position, aiming directly for his throat!
"Clang!" Gern dodged the vital spot by turning sideways, but the blade still left another bloody mark on his cheek.
At the same time, Gern countered with a Supreme Vibration Tremor Fist towards Oden's abdomen, but it was blocked by Enma's hilt.
In the instant they were locked in a stalemate, Oden grinned: "As Bai Ji said, your vibration... is very interesting!"
Before he finished speaking, Oden's flowing Haki suddenly surged. The Haki on his two swords boiled like flames, actually forcing Gern's vibrating particles back!
"Trouble?!" Gern's heart jolted.
"Take this!" Oden's arm muscles bulged, and he slammed his two swords down. "Two Sword Style · Revolving Heaven!!"
"Boom!!!" Crimson-black slashes poured down like a collapsing sky. Gern's defense was instantly torn apart, and he was blasted away, crashing through several large rocks before finally stopping.
At the same time, Oden once again charged forward, suddenly spinning, his two swords slashing at Gern's waist like a whirlwind.
Gern took half a step back, holding Eight Desolations horizontally in front of him. The moment the blade collided with the two swords, vibrating particles erupted, reflecting Oden's slashing force back.
Oden's arms went numb from the shock, but he used the momentum to leap, flipping in mid-air, and his two swords chopped down again.
Gern looked up, the falling sword light reflected in his pupils. His left hand's five fingers suddenly spread open, his fingertips literally tearing a wrinkle in the air, erupting with dazzling pale light.
"Heaven Quake · Cleave!"
"Whoosh!" Five parallel spatial cracks instantly tore through the atmosphere. Shockwaves, like invisible blades, cut through everything in their path.
Seeing this, Oden forcefully twisted his body in mid-air and hastily blocked, but the impact of the slash blasted him hundreds of meters away, crashing through several giant trees before he finally stopped.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, but the fighting spirit in his eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest: "Hahaha! Now that's more like it!"
Gern panted slightly, thinking to himself: "This guy's stamina is practically endless..."
But he didn't back down; instead, his fighting spirit grew even stronger.
The pale particles on the Eight Desolations' blade re-condensed. The surrounding air buzzed with an ear-splitting hum due to high-frequency vibrations.
Gern didn't answer. Instead, he held Eight Desolations horizontally in front of him. The pale particles on the blade suddenly contracted, then...
"Buzz!!" An ear-piercing hum echoed across the Deserted Island. The high-frequency vibrating particles on the blade compressed to the extreme, even causing the surrounding air to twist and collapse.
Seeing this, Oden didn't retreat but advanced, charging forward with a wild laugh: "Come on!!"
"Sky Tremor · Shattered Realm." Gern coldly uttered four words, then slammed his blade down.
"Crack!!" Space shattered like glass, and a pale white slash pierced through the earth, disintegrating everything in its path.
"Rumble!!!" A towering pillar of light erupted from the center of the Deserted Island, tearing a huge hole in the clouds. A tsunami swept out from the island's center in all directions.
In the dust, two figures were simultaneously sent flying backward.
............
Oden stood not far away, his two swords hanging low, his chest heaving violently, yet he still grinned with bloodied lips, sneering: "What? Is that all the Marine can do?"
"Heh heh, you like forcing me into sword duels so much." Gern, covered in wounds, raised a hand to wipe the blood from his chin, his eyes cold.
"Since that's the case... then I'll treat you to a good one too!"
Before he finished speaking, the air around Gern suddenly twisted. Eight pale white vibrating spheres condensed out of thin air around him.
Each sphere's surface was covered in a spiderweb of cracks, and the high-frequency trembling hum from within caused the surrounding air to tremble with it.
"Heaven Quake · Eight Extremes Orbs!" The eight spheres instantly locked onto Oden, shooting out like meteors!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're cheating!!" Oden shrieked. Seeing Gern completely open the distance, he could only grit his teeth and swing his sword to meet them.
"Clang!" The moment Enma shattered the first sphere—"Boom!!" Space vibrated and exploded!
A terrifying shockwave spread out spherically. Oden was sent flying several meters, his arms instantly torn open and bleeding.
Before he could land, the second and third spheres arrived one after another!
"Two Sword Style · Revolving Heaven!" Oden hastily spun his two swords, his slashes forming a barrier, barely taking two spheres, but the fourth came from a blind spot!
Undoubtedly, Oden's side abdomen took another direct hit from a tremor blast, blood gushing out!
He grunted, forcing himself to stabilize, but the fifth and sixth spheres had already sealed off his retreat!
"Damn it..." Oden gritted his teeth, hardening his entire body with Armament Haki, enduring the explosion!
"Boom boom boom!!!" Three consecutive tremor blasts exploded, blasting deep pits into the Deserted Island's surface. Oden knelt in the bottom of a pit, blood spilling from his mouth, his two swords plunged into the ground to support his body.
Although Armament Haki blocked most of the damage, his stamina consumption was enormous, and his breathing was as heavy as an ox.
"Uncomfortable? It's not over yet!" Gern sneered, suddenly pulling his hands together.
"Heaven Quake · Thousand Light Rings!" Hundreds of rotating white circular energy bodies appeared behind Gern, each emitting destructive high-frequency vibrations.
The next second, the rings poured down like a torrential rain!
"Hey! Wait!!" Oden's eyes widened, but Gern gave him no chance to breathe.
"Boom boom boom boom boom!!!" The rings exploded upon impact, and high-frequency shockwaves spread wildly. The entire surface of the Deserted Island shattered layer by layer like fragile glass!
Oden frantically dodged amidst the explosions, but there were simply too many rings. Even with Armament Haki, he couldn't take this kind of damage!
"Pfft!" A ring grazed his shoulder, and his flesh instantly vibrated into a bloody mist!
"Two Sword Style · Tornado!" Oden roared, unleashing a storm of slashes, barely clearing a safe zone, but more rings had already sealed off his retreat.
Gern stood in the distance, coldly watching this feast of tremor blasts.
"Damn it, now you know what 'cheating' means, don't you?"
This is a battle. If you can use your swordsman advantage to force me into close combat, then I'll use my Nature Type Heaven Quake advantage to directly unleash a crazy, carpet-bombing, natural disaster-like crush!!!