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

Not far away, the destructive torrent of energy that had devoured everything slowly dissipated.

Katakuri and the others, who were urgently evacuating with their younger siblings, stopped in their tracks, their hearts pounding in their throats.

I stared nervously at the epicenter of the explosion, hoping to see my mother's unyielding figure, and hoping for the end of the battle.

however.

"asshole!!!"

A roar, filled with pain and rage, suddenly erupted from the gradually clearing smoke and dust!

Immediately afterwards, a figure was violently blasted away as if by an invisible force, shooting backward from the dust and flying straight into the sky!

It's BIG MOM!

She looked quite disheveled at the moment, with a wisp of black smoke escaping from the corner of her huge mouth, and her gorgeous dress was charred and torn in many places, clearly indicating that she had suffered a great loss in the earth-shattering clash just now.

Before Katakuri and the others could react...

"Whoosh!" A figure, moving even faster, transformed into a purple meteor, emerging from the dust below.

With a speed that surpasses that of an elderly woman, it took off from behind and soared into the sky, instantly closing in on the high altitude!

It's Gern!

He brought his left hand together and stroked the blade of the Black Blade Eight Desolations.

As the palm swept across, dark purple Conqueror's Haki wrapped around it once more, resonating with the blade and emitting a deep hum.

Even more terrifying was that countless tiny, trembling particles were forcibly compressed and condensed onto the blade at an unprecedented density.

A constantly rotating, contracting pale energy halo formed, and the blade's light streaked across the sky as it rose—a streak of light!

at the same time.

"Fire the light cannon!!!"

BIG MOM let out a hysterical roar and made a final struggle!

The sun Prometheus suddenly opened his fiery maw and swallowed the end of the hilt of Napoleon's sword!

Zeus the Thundercloud stretched and deformed instantly, allowing Napoleon's sharp sword tip to pierce directly through his lightning-condensed body!

The three forces converged wildly!

A tri-colored energy ring, formed by the fusion of extreme flames, raging thunder, and unparalleled domineering aura, suddenly formed at the tip of Napoleon's sword, radiating a terrifying wave of destruction!

"boom!!!"

BIG MOM wielded his greatsword, and the energy ring suddenly contracted, unleashing a highly condensed tri-colored destructive laser beam!

Wherever the laser passes, space is distorted and everything is annihilated. It shoots down from above at a speed beyond the reach of vision, directly into the air where it is gathering power!

This is BIG MOM's ultimate combined attack technique, a finishing move that merges the power of the three Homies with her own Haki!

Faced with this laser that could pierce through everything, Gern's eyes remained unmoved. He simply activated the power he had gathered in the Eight Desolations once more!

The sky turned completely dark at that moment!

"Earthquake - Space Rift!!!"

Gern gripped his sword with both hands, facing the oncoming beam cannon that had just reached its highest point, and with a simple, clean slash, he charged at BIG MOM!

The moment the black blade struck...

The entire world was silenced, followed by a mournful, piercing sound from the surrounding space!

"Snap... Snap snap—!!!"

Starting from the edge of the Eight Desolations Blade, the entire azure sky resembled a giant glass mirror.

Suddenly, countless clearly visible, crisscrossing pure white cracks burst open!

The cracks spread instantly, covering an area of ​​hundreds of meters in radius!

A perfectly condensed, straight slash, its edges flashing with pale shockwaves and dark purple arcs of electricity.

Silent and stealthy, yet faster than thought, it instantly tore through the sky!

"puff!"

The light shattered!

The slash passed right through his body!

It lacked dazzling light effects, only a blurry, distorted vision, moving at a speed beyond comprehension.

It pierced through Napoleon's arm as Big Mom hastily tried to block, tearing apart her protective aura and the "steel balloon" defense, and then...

Big Mom's massive body stiffened abruptly, all her movements coming to an abrupt halt.

The slash continued its momentum, heading straight for the boundless sky itself!

The regrouping clouds were the first to split in two, and everyone looked up to see the azure sky above...

The sky has cracked open!

A massive, pitch-black crack, its edges flashing with pale, vibrating arcs of electricity, was cleaved out by this single strike!

Stretching across the sky, extending for hundreds of meters!

BIG MOM, pierced head-on by the [Void Rift] slash, fell helplessly towards the shattered earth below, like a kite with a broken string.

Gern hovered beneath the shattered sky, holding the still-humming Eight Desolations Sword, coldly looking down at the slowly falling Big Mom.

silence.

A deathly silence.

Only that brief, quickly healed black crack in the sky remained, silently telling its story...

What is... the power of a celestial earthquake!

Chapter 518 The New Era, Now It's Only Now... Getting Excited!

Gern landed, his chest rising and falling slightly, his breathing a little rapid, and a trace of blood remaining at the corner of his mouth.

His black shirt was also torn in several places, clearly indicating that he was not entirely unharmed in the devastating final clash.

Then he turned his gaze to the ruins where Big Mom had fallen, sensing that she still stubbornly remained.

He had only temporarily lost consciousness and was unable to get up.

"Hoo..." Seeing this, Gern let out a soft breath, casually flicked his right hand holding the Eight Desolations, and the remaining pale vibration particles on the blade dispersed like stardust.

In the air, the grayish-white bandage fragments that had shattered when the sword was drawn were drawn together by an invisible force.

It reappeared, quickly wrapping itself around the black blade and resealing it.

He then reversed his hand and tucked the Eight Desolations back into his waistband.

"Just as I expected." Gern rubbed his slightly sore right shoulder, a cheerful yet slightly tired smile spreading across his face.

"Documents and calculations are all bullshit."

"A truly satisfying battle is one where the fighting is exhilarating!"

After saying that, he prepared to take a step and head towards the ruins, clearly intending to check on Big Mom's condition.

"Wait! Earthquake!"

At that moment, a voice rang out.

Gern paused, turning his head slightly.

Katakuri, who had been escorting his younger siblings to safety, had somehow returned and was now alone, blocking his path.

"Hmm?" Gern frowned, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure at being interrupted. "Katakuri, your courage is commendable."

"but……"

"I don't necessarily need to use a knife to kill you."

"Go away!"

The three cold sentences carried an undeniable killing intent.

Faced with this blatant threat of death, Katakuri unconsciously tightened his grip on the trident earth dragon.

But he didn't back down. Instead, he took a deep breath, met Gern's suffocating gaze, and spoke in a deep, unusually calm voice.

"Tianzhen, I have already sent someone to retrieve the rubbings of the World's Road Poneglyphs."

Upon hearing this, Gern raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and the surging murderous intent slightly froze: "Oh?"

Catching this subtle change in Gern's emotions, Katakuri felt a little more at ease and immediately continued speaking.

"So, please... show some mercy."

After speaking, Katakuri paused slightly, organizing his thoughts, trying to calm the situation using logic that the other party might accept.

"Mom...she often said that the heroes of their generation, whether enemies or friends, were mostly people who valued 'morality'."

Tianzhen, you have traversed the vast oceans for centuries, emerging from a legendary era, and are undoubtedly one of the strongest figures standing at the pinnacle.

"Moreover, I have learned from Perospero that you... came with an invitation to formally 'attend' Mother's tea party."

Katakuri deliberately emphasized "attendance" and "invitation," nominally turning Gorn's intrusion into that of a "guest."

"Now, Mom's tea party... is 'over'."

"As for the 'return gift' that you, as a guest, are entitled to, we have already gone out of our way to fetch it for you."

"That's... the end of it." His voice held a desperate attempt to maintain his dignity, almost pleading.

"May I?"

His decision not to resort to force was tantamount to a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

He chose the most rational approach, which was also most in line with the current situation.

Pay the price to preserve the foundation.

They traded a rubbing for their mother's safety and the chance to prevent the complete collapse of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand.

Gern looked at the man before him who had set aside his pride and even become somewhat humble in order to protect his family.

I barely heard what was said before, only the word "morality," which reminded me of the old lady's assessment of Blackbeard.

Then I remembered the white-bearded man and the golden lion I had worshipped before coming here, and realized that I really was...

Nonsense! It's just that the old lady's territory is too far away, and she can't eat it all herself!

If things really collapse now, Blackbeard will definitely be the one to take advantage of the situation.

Thinking of this, the sharpness in Gern's eyes gradually softened, and the terrifying killing intent slowly dissipated. He sighed deeply, feigning profound emotion.

"Morality..."

After saying that, he pretended for a while before looking at Katakuri and suddenly chuckled.

"Ah……"

"Charlotte Katakuri...you are quite good."

He didn't directly answer whether it was good or bad, but that comment, along with the dissipation of his murderous intent, had already made his stance clear.

So he stopped moving forward, stood still, and waited for the "return gift" that was "rightfully" his.

Seeing that Gern's murderous aura had dissipated and that he had actually stopped and was in a waiting posture,

Katakuri, whose heart had been stretched to its limit, finally relaxed a little and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Confronting a man like that is like dancing on a knife's edge every second.

But this brief moment of relaxation was quickly replaced by the shocking scene before his eyes.

Because when he looked back, he discovered that the cake castle, which originally symbolized the sweetness and authority of all nations, had now turned into a huge ruin belching black smoke and flames.

Even more terrifying, the foundation of the entire Whole Cake Island was emitting a faint but continuous humming sound.

The residual shockwaves from the previous battle are still affecting the land, making the island's structure extremely unstable and tilted.

"Is this... the power of 'Heavenly Tremor'?" Katakuri felt a chill creep into his heart once again.

This destructive power, capable of permanently altering the landscape and shaking the very foundations of an island with a mere gesture, has exceeded his conventional understanding of "power."