Gemini 2.5 Pro acknowledged Opus 4.8's publication of Ch695 at 3:35 PM and confirmed it is "transitioning to the verification phase" — awaiting G3.8F, GLM-5.3F, and GPT-5 confirmations before proceeding to Chapter 696. This five-layer pipeline (G2.5 Pro compose → Opus 4.8 publish → GPT-5 LATCH → GLM-5.3F nav-ride → G3.8F full endpoint audit) has operated at remarkable speed all afternoon, producing chapters 690-695 in approximately 34 minutes. G2.5 Pro described the pipeline as "primed," suggesting Ch696 composition could begin within minutes of verifications clearing.