After the discussion with Garling and Shamrock, Thorne returned to spar against Shepard, this time without the shackles and weights. "This would be my last time sparring against you, Shepard. I would give my all this time. You should also, since I may hurt you a bit much," Thorne said to Shepard, who simply listened and grinned evilly. "GIHAHAHAHAHAHA! If your meager strength is enough to defeat me, you would've done so already! I'm gonna miss you, little runt, so allow me to give you a proper goodbye," Shepard laughed, as if he had heard the funniest joke ever told.
Thorne then drew his sword, Chimare, with his pistol in his left hand while the rifle on his back was fully loaded, and the other sword, Leviathan, was ready to be drawn, powered by his lightning element. Meanwhile, Shepard also had his sword drawn, covered in thorns. He coated his entire sword with Armament Haki, and Thorne watched as he tried to replicate the process of using Armament Haki.
Shepard initiated the attack, lunging at Thorne, who fired his pistol filled with explosive ammunition, which Shepard deftly dodged. Realizing his pistol was ineffective, Thorne replaced it with Leviathan and engaged Shepard head-on, who slashed with all his might before being overpowered by Thorne, whose strength was enhanced by his Devil Fruit powers.
Shepard soon recognized that he was severely outmatched as he underestimated Thorne's strength. In their next exchange, he employed the technique of Emission, avoiding direct contact between their swords. Nevertheless, Thorne pushed through, forcing Shepard's sword and arm to recoil. He attacked again, but Shepard anticipated the move, channeling his Haki into a punch with his free hand, covered in thorns, towards Thorne. The punch landed, leaving Thorne slightly stunned from the damage of that single strike.
Thorne was then struck in the torso by the sword he had been blocking, slashing him like how Roger had attacked Oden—but worse, as Thorne was now riddled with puncture holes, along with the slash. He then collided with a barrier, stopping their fight from spilling out. He paused to vomit blood, yet his Devil Fruit was already healing him. Thorne stood up, gazing at Shepard, who was waiting for him to attack again.
Thorne then recognized he should utilize everything at his disposal. He began channeling his lightning element from his Devil Fruit and started transforming both himself and his sword. He moved at a much faster speed and possessed greater strength than before, re-engaging in combat with Shepard. He slashed at Shepard using the lightning element, which struck him for the first time with all of Thorne's strength, sending Shepard flying a good distance.
Seizing the opportunity, Thorne rushed forward with newfound speed, gripping Chimare tightly, channeling lightning into the blade. The energy twisted and surged until it morphed into a massive, glowing goat made of lightning. "Tanngrisnir!" Thorne shouted, as the goat-shaped lightning construct charged ahead, emitting an unnatural bleat—a deafening thunderclap disguised as a beast's cry. It slammed into Shepard with catastrophic force, lightning detonating upon impact.
For the first time in every fight against Thorne, Shepard was injured. "Is this blood? Am I injured by someone younger than me?" Shepard contemplated, forgetting that during every spar with Thorne, the boy had always worn weights and suppressed his Devil Fruit.
"This is the first time I've used my Devil Fruit in a fight. I guess it's really strong, don't you think?" Thorne suddenly said, snapping Shepard from his internal musings. "I guess this is the first time you injured me in a fight," Shepard replied, placing more thorns across the battlefield as traps and encasing himself entirely in them, while Thorne summoned even more lightning to assault Shepard.
"Lightning Rush!" Thorne yelled, as lightning started targeting Shepard from the sky. Shepard began spinning like a Beyblade, attacking Thorne directly, with each spin lined with spikes to stab Thorne, intermingled with Haki. Thorne enhanced himself with lightning and began to counterattack against Shepard. Both clashed; swords met swords, thorns collided with lightning—as their fight escalated to speeds few could observe.
Shamrock and Garling, watching Thorne fight with his full strength against Shepard, were astounded by how strong Thorne was at just seven years old. They both recognized Shepard's strength.
"It seems that I would have to introduce the concept of Armament Haki to Thorne," Shamrock said to Garling, who nodded with an extremely proud expression.
"It seems that Shepard pushed Thorne to his fullest," Garling responded.
Five hours had passed. Their fight continued, each clash reverberating through the entire area. Both Shepard and Thorne refused to give up, each reaching their limit and the brink of exhaustion.
"Let's decide the winner in this final clash," Shepard proposed, aware that Thorne could outlast him with his Devil Fruit abilities and inherent strength.
"Since you're so eager to lose, why not?" Thorne retorted. He summoned more lightning until two massive goats, resembling Tanngrisnir, appeared, pulling him forward. Thorne held them back with lightning-like reins as if riding a storm chariot.
Shepard, observing Thorne prepare for his attack, summoned more thorns onto his sword and body, then charged. Thorne let the lightning goats propel him forward. Shepard resembled a spinning drill, while Thorne appeared like a charioteer riding a tempest.
Their clash unleashed a blinding light that radiated toward the spectators.
Moments later, as the light dwindled and the smoke cleared, Thorne stood heavy-breathed, bloodied, and with fresh wounds still oozing. Shepard lay on the ground, unconscious—his skin charred and body battered.