Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 23.
Crocodile's body flew backward like a rag doll, crashing into the thick trunk of a mangrove tree, coughing up a mouthful of blood, his pupils contracting violently.
“Damn it, that kick just now shattered my arrogant soul!”
“Cap… Captain Crocodile?!” His crew members froze in place, their throats tight.
Captain Crocodile is a Nature Type ability user! How could he be hit in his physical form by a kick?!
“Can’t get up already?” Gern slowly retracted his foot, dusting off non-existent dust from his trousers, his tone a bit bored: “Is this all the Supernovas are capable of?”
Silence suddenly fell over the surroundings.
At this moment, a pirate wearing a tattered tricorn hat saw Gern's face clearly.
He suddenly buckled at the knees, falling to the ground with a thud, his teeth chattering: “Heaven… Heaven Tremor Gurn!”
“Hey… that man…” A pirate with a face full of scars suddenly froze in place, a liquor bottle slipping from his hand and smashing to pieces on the ground.
“What’s wrong?” His companion turned back impatiently, but his face instantly turned pale the moment he saw that figure.
“Heaven Quake…” The scarred man’s voice trembled so much it was almost inaudible, “It’s that ‘Marine Monster’…”
“Two years ago…” A pirate wearing a tattered tricorn hat suddenly fell to the ground, “He alone… defeated the Whitebeard Pirates’ Second Division Commander…”
“Kozuki Oden!” Someone next to him shrieked, finishing the sentence, “Oden, the ‘Samurai’ with a bounty of 1,950,000,000 Berries!”
But even more terrifying memories followed.
“What do you newcomers know?!” A one-eyed pirate suddenly laughed hysterically, his laughter filled with madness.
“Seven years ago! It was in New World G2! This kid heavily injured Golden Lion’s famous…”
He couldn't finish his sentence. Just then, Gern suddenly turned to look at the crowd, a half-smile playing on his lips.
“Boom!” Hundreds of pirates collectively recoiled three steps.
Several pirates with bounties over 100,000,000 Berries had cold sweat on their foreheads, their hands already on their sword hilts but lacking the courage to even draw them.
The crowd seemed to have been put on pause.
The previously noisy port instantly became eerily quiet, even the seagulls stopped chirping.
The Marine soldiers stationed in Sabaody Archipelago collectively gasped.
Although they wore uniforms, most of them were soldiers from the first half of the Grand Line.
They had never seen this legendary superior officer with their own eyes.
So Gern’s appearance made all of them unconsciously straighten their backs, their eyes filled with fanaticism.
“Hey, hey, you’re kidding me…” A Supernova pirate stumbled backward, almost falling into the sea.
“How could such a big shot appear in Sabaody?! The Celestial Dragons aren’t even here!”
“Idiot! He’s the ‘Marine Tyrant’! I heard even the Fleet Admiral can’t control him!”
Amidst these whispers, Crocodile swayed and stood up, his golden hook claw digging deeply into the tree bark.
He stared intently at Gern's casual attire, finally making out the black general star emblem embroidered on the opponent's cuff.
“So that’s it…” Crocodile wiped the blood from his chin, panting, “No wonder you could hit me.”
“However…” He suddenly spread his arms wide, sand particles gathering frantically, “I’m a man who’s going to become a ‘King’! Desert…”
“You really think you can go toe-to-toe with me?” Gern sighed.
Before the words “Treasure Sword” could leave his mouth, Crocodile’s vision blurred.
Gern’s figure appeared before him like a ghost, his index finger lightly touching Crocodile’s forehead.
“High-Frequency Vibration · Concussion.”
“Bang!” Crocodile’s head was hit as if by an invisible giant hammer, his entire body falling backward, smashing through three shops, and finally embedding itself into the outer wall of the auction house.
Amidst the rubble and dust, he rolled his eyes, saliva uncontrollably drooling from the corner of his mouth.
Gern blew on his fingertips, where no smoke existed, then turned and winked at the dumbfounded Marines: “Now, you can handle it yourselves, right?”
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Five seconds later, the entire port erupted.
“Pinch me! Am I dreaming?! That’s a great pirate with a bounty of 381,000,000 Berries!”
“The rumors are actually true… Was he so understated when he fought Oden too?!”
Gern ignored the commotion, casually grabbing an apple from a passing fruit stall.
He took a bite with a crunch and waved to Crocodile’s slumped crew members, his smile harmless.
Then, he turned and walked towards the Marine ship.
His footsteps were light, but in the deathly silent port, they sounded as clear as a death knell.
It wasn’t until his figure disappeared over the ship’s rail that the port erupted in gasps of relief, as if having escaped a disaster.
“Why did that monster appear in the first half of the Grand Line?!”
“Hurry! Leave Sabaody before he changes his mind!”
As the Marine ship left the port, the setting sun cast Gern's shadow long.
The Sergeant on the deck finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice: “Officer, why did you specifically take action…”
“Hmm?” Gern squinted, looking at the sea, and suddenly thought of something, then smiled slightly.
“Because I also wanted to experience what it feels like to take down a Supernova with one kick.”
“But I didn’t expect there to be only one Crocodile, what a pity!”
“Of course, I also wanted to adhere to the principle of ‘no trouble during vacation’! Hahaha.”
“All in all, you just wanted to bully the weak…” The Sergeant looked at the still smoking ruins of the port behind him and silently closed his mouth.
.......
A few days later, the Marine ship slowly sailed into the waters of West Blue, the azure sea shimmering under the sunlight.
Gern stood on the deck, looking out at the distant horizon, a rare sense of nostalgia rising in his heart.
“Officer, ahead is the sea area under the jurisdiction of the 133rd Main Branch.” The Sergeant walked over and reported respectfully.
Gern nodded, his gaze fixed on the distance.
However, as the Marine ship rounded the last island and the view suddenly opened up, Gern’s expression immediately froze.
On the base building of the 133rd Main Branch, a huge, heavily photoshopped portrait of himself was prominently displayed.
In the painting, he wore a Marine coat, his gaze sharp, and exaggerated broken effects were rendered behind him.
Even more outrageous, below the portrait, written in gilded characters, were the words:
“God of West Blue — Gern Reginald Sigma.”
Gern: “…”
Sergeant: “…”
All the Marine soldiers on the entire deck fell silent, some even rubbing their eyes, wondering if they had seen wrong.
Gern’s mouth twitched slightly: “Asahi… that bastard…”
When he left West Blue, Asahi, who was then the base chief of the 133rd Branch, was greedy, but still a proper, serious Marine officer. How could his style have changed so drastically after a few years?
“Rear Admiral Gern…” The Sergeant hesitated, “Should… should we inform them of our arrival?”
“No need.” Gern took a deep breath, rubbing his temples: “Don’t make a fuss yet. I want to see what these guys are up to.”