The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

"After all, tremors do not only bring destruction and annihilation."

The ultimate frequency can lead all things, or it can... lead to the end of stillness.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gern's arm muscles bulged, and he swung the Black Blade Eight Desolations from back to front!

The movements seemed a little slower than before, but they carried an irresistible force, a power that governed the operation of all things!

"Impact..." There was no deafening explosion, no violent shockwave.

"Absolute...zero degrees."

Where the blade passed, space seemed to freeze and solidify!

A crescent-shaped slash, pale blue and thin as a cicada's wing yet exuding endless chill, flew silently toward Hawkeye!

Along the trajectory of this slashing flight, the air was no longer distorted, but had completely lost all vitality and energy, and the molecular motion was forcibly reduced to almost a standstill!

Everything on the path, from dust and debris to even light, seemed to be frozen solid within invisible amber!

A dark blue "stasis zone" radiating absolute cold spread as the slash advanced!

Hawkeye's pupils shrank to the size of a dangerous pinhead!

His fighting instincts and top-tier Observation Haki were telling him: Do not touch! Do not block!

Get out of the way! You must get out of the way!

At this critical moment of life and death, Hawkeye unleashed the full potential of the world's greatest swordsman!

The ground beneath their feet suddenly shattered, not from the force of the impact, but from the recoil generated by the instantaneous burst of extreme domineering power!

With that burst of speed, his body defied the laws of physics, narrowly dodging to the side and rear!

"laugh!!"

The azure absolute zero slash almost grazed Hawkeye's nose!

In that instant, Hawkeye felt as if the hairs on half of his face, his blood, and his thoughts were about to freeze!

He could even clearly see the air molecules, shimmering with azure ice crystals, that were absolutely still and imprisoned at the edge of the slash!

The absolute zero strike missed its target and continued flying forward, silently disappearing into the distant, turbulent sea.

There was no explosion, no giant wave.

The next moment, an unforgettable scene unfolded.

Centered on the point of impact, the sea surface within a radius of several thousand meters froze completely in an instant!

It was as if time had stopped, maintaining the undulating shape of the previous second.

But it lost all vitality, turning into a lifeless, absolutely still "sculpture" that shimmered with a ghostly blue hue!

Even the spray splashing in the air solidified into eerie ice crystals, frozen in mid-air!

This "sealed" area exudes a despairing stillness and cold!

"hiss!!"

Enel, who witnessed this scene from afar, gasped in shock, his scalp tingling.

"Isn't this the Ice Man's move? Why can Gern use it?"

Barrett's maniacal laughter froze, his eyes becoming extremely serious.

Because in all his years of one-on-one battles, he had never forced Gern to use such a move.

........

Meanwhile, Hawkeye, who had dodged the attack, knelt on one knee. The icy chill still lingered on half of his face and right arm, bringing a piercing numbness and stinging pain.

He was breathing heavily, each breath feeling like he was inhaling a cold steel needle, a strange sensation of burning pain and icy cold coexisting in his lungs.

But his gaze remained fixed on the distant sea area that had been completely "stunned".

The waves froze, the spray remained still, all vitality and movement were forcibly stripped away, turning into a deathly, absolutely still place shimmering with an ominous, eerie blue light.

That was no longer a natural wonder, but the ultimate scene that appeared after the laws of nature were forcibly distorted.

Then, his gaze slowly moved across the desolate sea and finally landed on Gern.

As Gern stood there, the eerie blue light on his Black Blade Eight Desolations was gradually being replaced by another dark red lava pattern.

Extreme cold and extreme heat shift so naturally in his hands, as if it were as simple as breathing.

His tall figure was shrouded in the lingering, chilly mist and the distorted, vibrating light.

Like a demon god who stepped out of mythology, wielding destruction and end.

At this moment, Hawkeye Mihawk felt all the shock, confusion, and even a trace of resentment...

He got it.

I understand completely now.

"Natural disaster"... it turns out that it was not just a title that highlighted Gern's power.

It represents something that transcends the comprehension of ordinary people and rises above all living beings.

Like a natural disaster, it is irresistible, unavoidable...absolute!

Earthquakes can shatter the earth, tear the sky apart, and trigger tsunamis.

It can also delve into the microscopic world, manipulate molecules, and create a state of absolute zero, a state of utter stillness.

This has long transcended the scope of so-called "swordsmanship" or "physical skills"; it is a power that touches upon the fundamental rules of the world!

It's a real, walking natural disaster!

The man she had been so determined to challenge was... a being who was almost the embodiment of rules!

"disaster!!!!"

Chapter 280 "Falling Down"

"To be able to dodge this attack? You truly deserve the title of world's number one."

As Gern continued his stroll, an even more terrifying energy began to converge upon him, this time with a subtle change in its nature.

It's no longer just about suppressing vibrations, but about more precisely controlling the power of the Heaven-Quake Fruit and unleashing it to its fullest potential.

Suddenly, the buzzing sound emitted by the high-frequency vibration abruptly rose, becoming exceptionally sharp, even exceeding the limits of human hearing, transforming into a tearing sensation that directly affected the soul.

Most alarmingly, the eerie blue color surrounding the blade began to undergo a strange change!

Extreme energy compression and intense friction at the molecular level generated unimaginable high temperatures.

This caused the energy patterns, resembling veins of lava, to twist, coil, and leap around the blade, scorching the surrounding air with a crackling sound.

The scene was violently distorted by the intense heat, as if what Gern held in his hand was not a knife, but a piece of boiling lava spine just taken from the core of a star!

"Catch it, Mihawk!" Gern roared, stomping his feet on the ground!

"Boom! Clang!!!" Another powerful and heavy thrust followed by a flash!

Hawkeye parried with all his might, the Black Blade Night clashing violently with the tip of the Eight Desolations Blade, sparking blinding sparks and black and red lightning!

Although most of the terrifying shock force concentrated at one point was deflected, the remaining impact still slammed into Hawkeye's crossed arms like a heavy hammer!

"Ugh!" Hawkeye could no longer completely dissipate the immense force and let out a muffled groan.

He was thrown backward and upward uncontrollably, as if he had been launched by a catapult!

His body traced an arc in the air, and for a moment he had nowhere to put his weight on!

And just as Hawkeye's body was knocked away, hovering in mid-air for that brief moment...

"Boom!" The ground exploded, and Gern shot into the sky like a cannonball, instantly leaping to a high altitude directly above Hawkeye!

Hawkeye suppressed his injuries and stood ready, raising the Black Blade Night above his head and fully activating his Armament Haki, preparing to meet the earth-shattering slash.

However, Gern did not strike directly.

He suddenly twisted his body in mid-air, gripping the hilt of the Eight Desolations Blade, which resembled solidified molten lava, with both hands.

With an almost insane frequency, it launched a barrage of continuous slashes at Eagle Eye below!

Countless slashes, each wrapped with a fiery shockwave resembling lava veins, instantly enveloped the entire space around Hawkeye like blooming petals!

Each strike was so fast that it left only a blur, carrying terrifying power to tear everything apart and incinerate everything!

From afar, Gern's figure flashed and darted rapidly through the sky, his lava blade tracing countless destructive paths.

These trajectories intertwined and overlapped in the air, actually outlining a huge, poignant, yet death-laden flower.

Lava red lotus in full bloom!

Eagle Eyes reflected the lava-slashing petals that filled his entire field of vision, and he felt an unprecedented threat of death!

He roared, pushing his swordsmanship and domineering aura to an unprecedented peak! The Black Blade Night Dance became impenetrable, transforming into a resilient green sphere of light!

"Clang clang clang!!!!!!!!!"

A terrifying barrage of gunfire erupted, so dense it was almost continuous!

Each collision unleashed blinding sparks and fragments of energy!

Hawkeye, like a small boat struggling to stay afloat in a storm, perfectly exemplified what it means to have the world's best defensive swordsmanship.

In an instant, it precisely blocked the vast majority of the slashes!

But Gern's slashes were too ferocious and too dense!

Moreover, each strike contains high-frequency vibrations and terrifyingly high-temperature burning!

Hawkeye blocked 99% of the slashes, but the few that were missed, along with the vibrations and high temperatures transmitted through the blade, continued to accumulate and worsen his injuries!

Finally, at the moment when the red lotus was fully gathered, Gern unleashed a final slash that concentrated all his power!

Like the core of a crimson lotus exploding!

"Boom!!!" Hawkeye's black sword, Night, was violently knocked away, leaving him wide open!

He could choose to turn his back now and dodge, thus thwarting all of Gern's subsequent attacks.

But, for a swordsman, to have a scar on one's back is... a disgrace!!!

Gern clearly noticed this as well, and after a brief moment of surprise, he slashed heavily into Gern's chest with his knife!

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere!

"BOOM!!!" Hawkeye's body turned into a red light and crashed heavily into the ground, exploding into a cloud of dust and debris, forming a huge crater.

Meanwhile, Gern gracefully flipped in mid-air, landing steadily with his back to the deep pit, casually twirling his black sword, Bahuang.

"Shattering Embers..." The molten, scorching light quickly dissipated.

It emitted a low, fading sound, like a sigh, before being swept away by his backhand and pointed diagonally at the ground.

The soft sound of a blade slicing through the ground was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence of the battlefield.

"Red Lotus... Hell".

As he finished speaking, the lingering air at the deep crater where Eagle Eye had fallen...

The intense, vibrating energy that had seeped into the ground seemed to have been finally detonated, and suddenly erupted a second time!

Boom!!!

Centered on the deep pit, a massive, lotus-shaped explosion, over a hundred meters in diameter and composed entirely of destructive energy, burst forth!

A scorching storm swept by, making the wind whip around General Gern's cloak.

He slowly turned around, looking at the crimson lotus of destruction that was slowly rising and gradually dissipating, his eyes calm and undisturbed.

This attack, [Ember Shock - Crimson Lotus Prison], first uses countless high-speed slashes to form a death lotus for suppression and damage accumulation.

The final moment of sheathing the sword triggers a secondary explosion, destroying all remaining energy—a truly lethal strike.

Even someone as strong as Kozuki Oden in his prime fell to this move, let alone you, Dracule Mihawk!

As the smoke and energy ripples slowly dissipated, the scene at the bottom of the crater was horrific.

The figure of the world's greatest swordsman still stands there, his hands gripping the hilt of the black sword, Yato, supporting his body and preventing him from falling.

But it has already fallen!