"Warm-up's over."
Douglas Barrett ran his tongue across his lips, baring a row of stark white teeth in a savage grin.
"Now we get serious… 'big brother' of the God Knights."
Shamrock's sword arm trembled slightly. His breathing had grown noticeably heavier.
That lightning-fast exchange just now had wiped away every trace of his earlier contempt for Barrett.
Or rather—having spent most of his life in the Holy Land, Shamrock simply lacked real experience. Standing before Barrett, a monster who treated life-and-death duels like candy, the gap between them had become painfully clear.
No wonder 'Heavenquake' trusted him to escort the Mother Flame alone…
I underestimated him.
Maybe… even without Hawk Eyes joining the fight…
This 'devil' alone could drag me to death.
Against opponents of comparable strength, a strategy built around stalling often worked against the one trying to stall.
At that moment, Barrett seemed to read Shamrock's thoughts perfectly. A mocking snort escaped him.
"Pfft… that look in your eyes. You've already realized it, haven't you?"
His knuckles cracked loudly as he flexed his fists.
"You know I can hold you here and drag this fight out. Got you stuck in a real dilemma, huh?"
Barrett rolled his shoulders lazily, the bones popping one after another.
"But judging from your stance… you're not planning to retreat."
He grinned wider.
"So you'd rather get dragged down with me than fail your mission?"
"Ha. Looks like the thing Gern told me to escort… the 'Mother Flame,' right?"
He tilted his head slightly, eyes gleaming with sharp insight.
"The World Government must really value it."
"So much that they sent you lapdogs of the 'gods' personally… and maybe not just one team either."
Shamrock said nothing.
"No answer?" Barrett's mind worked quickly, linking the pieces together in an instant.
"In that case… over at G-10 Base…"
"Tesoro and Toritoma probably have 'guests' knocking on their doors too, huh?"
"You bastards are blooming across multiple fronts. You're determined to win this one."
This time, Shamrock did not remain silent.
His grip tightened around the sword hilt, and his voice turned cold.
"It can't be helped."
"This mission… carries an extremely high priority."
"The 'Mother Flame'…"
"The World Government must obtain it."
"Well then…" Barrett raised an eyebrow, asking another key question.
"Who did you send to Dressrosa to intercept Gern himself?"
"Classified."
"Heh."
Barrett wasn't surprised in the slightest. The feral grin crawled back onto his face.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter."
"Whoever went after Gern… things probably won't end well for them anyway."
His aura surged violently.
"Right now…"
"I just need to focus on tearing apart you, the red-haired brat's big brother!"
Before the final word had even faded—
Barrett's presence exploded upward once again.
Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki erupted simultaneously, black lightning snapping and crackling through the air.
He had fully entered his Demon Form.
"Come on!"
"Round two!"
"Let's see whether that so-called bloodline of gods…"
"…can withstand the bite of a devil!!"
At the same time—far away.
Just as Barrett had guessed, not long after Gern and Enel left Dressrosa, they encountered an interception.
It did not happen at sea.
Instead, it occurred on a small, deserted island along the route near Dressrosa.
Across the center of the island stretched a massive chasm.
More than ten meters wide.
Its depth was impossible to see.
It had clearly been carved by a single slash.
The enormous trench lay directly across the path of Gern and Enel.
That slash had not been an attack.
It was a warning.
A message:
This path is closed.
"Gern… this guy…"
Enel hovered in midair, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the silent figure standing beyond the chasm. He smacked his lips thoughtfully.
"I think I saw him once before."
"At that World Government live ceremony when you took office as the Navy's New World Supreme Commander."
He chuckled.
"But I didn't expect him to show up acting this damn cool."
Ignoring Enel's teasing tone, Gern spoke quickly and quietly.
"Transferring the Mother Flame is the top priority."
"The fact that this man appeared here means his objective is clear—he's here to intercept me."
"Enel, don't stop."
"Head back to G-10 at full speed immediately."
"Barrett and Kuma may already be in trouble."
He kept his gaze fixed forward as he spoke.
"If this old man has personally stepped onto the battlefield…"
"That means the World Government is absolutely determined to seize the Mother Flame."
"If he's here…"
"…then that faction's 'God Youth Corps' has likely already mobilized as well."
"You return to G-10 and take command."
"At the same time, contact Sengoku at Marine Headquarters. Tell him to immediately deploy the Admirals—Kizaru and Fujitora."
He paused briefly.
"Doflamingo—that flamingo bastard—already mentioned it."
"Blackbeard, that hyena, has been lurking around the outskirts of G-10's territory lately."
"So if he hears that we've all been intercepted…"
"…there's no denying he might get ideas."
Although Enel had always been a carefree and arrogant character, years had passed since the days when he ruled Skypiea as an untouchable "god."
Now he understood the gravity of the situation.
He stared at the figure across the trench for a long moment.
Then he glanced at Gern's cold profile.
He asked no questions.
Said nothing more.
Without hesitation, his body transformed into a bolt of brilliant azure lightning that tore across the sky—
and shot straight toward G-10 Base.
At the exact moment Enel vanished as a streak of thunder—
The figure across the chasm slowly raised his head.
He was not particularly tall.
He wore a plain, dark kimono.
Wooden sandals rested beneath his feet.
"Gern Reginald Sigmar…"
He spoke the name directly, his voice calm and steady.
"The 'Mother Flame' created by Vegapunk…"
"…should not—and cannot—fall into your personal possession."
"Hand it over to the World Government."
The old man paused slightly before offering what sounded like a generous condition.
"In exchange…"
"The World Government will grant you any one request, as long as it falls within a 'reasonable' scope."
The promise sounded extremely weighty.
After all, it came from one of the highest authorities in the world.
Unfortunately—
Gern simply let out an openly mocking laugh.
"Heh. Really?"
After laughing, he stepped forward.
His gaze carried a teasing glint as it drifted up and down over the old man's gleaming bald head.
His tone turned deliberately flippant.
"But hey, old man."
"Before you start making offers…"
"Mind standing at a different angle?"
Gern pointed at the blazing sun in the sky.
Then pointed at the man's head.
His expression remained completely serious as he complained.
"That shiny bald head of yours is reflecting way too much light."
"It's blinding, you know?"
"Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro."
Nusjuro showed no reaction whatsoever to the mockery.
Instead, with a slow movement that felt almost ceremonial, he lowered the ancient blade resting against his shoulder—
and began to draw it.
Inch by inch.
The moment the sword slid free of its sheath—
The air darkened.
Black lightning crackled as overwhelming Haki wrapped around the blade.
It was the most cursed of the Supreme Grade swords.
One of the Twelve Supreme Blades.
Shodai Kitetsu.
"Impudent wretch…"
His voice was quiet.
"When you first appeared in the Holy Land…"
"And caused chaos during the 'Holy Land Incident'…"
"I should never have allowed you…"
"…to leave alive."
"Tch."
Gern scoffed.
The playful grin vanished entirely from his face, replaced by cold indifference.
He reached behind him and firmly placed his hand on the hilt of the black blade at his waist.
"Buzz—"
The pale gray bandages wrapped around the blade Bahuang began to unravel on their own, as though alive.
Layer by layer they fell away, revealing the pitch-black sword beneath.
The blade emitted a low vibration.
Pale tremor particles drifted through the air like scattered stardust.
"Spare me the nice-sounding excuses, old man."
Gern's voice turned icy.
"You talk like…"
"…you actually could have kept me back then."
He slowly drew the blade.
"Save it."
"You bald-headed fossil."