At the pier, CP0's black warship slowly docked.
On the deck, over ten agents in white suits stood in formation.
The man leading them wore a mask and a cloak embroidered with the World Government's emblem.
Rear Admiral Gern stood at the edge of the pier with one hand in his pocket, the shadow from his hat brim obscuring half his face and a slight upward curve of his lips.
The hem of his black shirt, not tucked into his trousers, fluttered gently in the wind, while Tesoro and Stella stood behind him.
"Rear Admiral Gern?" The leading CP0 agent descended the gangplank, his voice, muffled by the mask, carried an air of condescending arrogance.
"Charloss went missing, and as the highest-ranking official in West Blue, you only show up now, even while on leave?"
"None of your business?" Rear Admiral Gern scoffed, slightly tilting his hat brim to reveal his eyes.
"What kind of attitude is that?" The CP0 agent, seeing this, snorted, "Do the Marines no longer understand basic etiquette?
Under certain circumstances, we CP0 can take over command of the Marines!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the agents behind him immediately fanned out, surrounding the pier.
"So, Rear Admiral Gern. Now, please report everything you know truthfully, otherwise..."
"Otherwise?" Rear Admiral Gern sneered, "Otherwise, what can you do?"
The leading CP0 agent seemed provoked by his attitude and abruptly stepped forward.
"Otherwise, I will report your dereliction of duty to the World Government!
Don't forget, the Marines are merely a subordinate organization of the World Government!"
The sea breeze suddenly stilled for a moment.
Rear Admiral Gern suddenly turned his head slowly, ignoring everything, and looked at Tesoro, muttering to himself,
"Let me introduce you, this is a promising talent I just found, and I plan to bring him back to Marineford for training."
Seeing Rear Admiral Gern's actions, the CP agent was also bewildered, but soon someone's gaze immediately locked onto Stella, who was behind Tesoro.
Although the slave collar had been removed, the marks couldn't be erased in a short time.
"A blonde slave? Charloss's last known location was the slave market!"
Hearing his subordinate agent's words, the CP0 agent suddenly drew the long blade from his waist, "Take her away for interrogation!"
Two CP agents instantly rushed towards Tesoro.
Stella cried out in alarm, and Tesoro instinctively shielded her, gold condensing into sharp spikes in his palm.
Just at this tense moment, a dark flash of a blade suddenly cut through the air.
"Swish!" Time seemed to freeze for a second.
The leading CP0 agent still held the pose of raising his blade to command.
But the next second, his head suddenly slid from his neck, landing with a thud on the pier's wooden planks, blood gushing like a fountain from his severed neck.
The headless corpse swayed, then crashed to the ground.
Rear Admiral Gern was standing beside the corpse at some unknown point, a drop of blood dripping from the tip of black blade eight desolations.
He stepped on the rolling head, his leather shoe grinding over the fragments of the mask, emitting a teeth-grinding "crunch."
"My apologies." Rear Admiral Gern smiled as he looked at the remaining CP0 agents who were frozen in place.
"I seem to have special enforcement authority over the entire West Blue." The blade tip lightly tapped the ground, producing a clear ringing sound.
"I now believe this fellow is suspicious, so I killed him.
Everyone... no objections, right?"
A deathly silence fell over the pier.
The cries of seagulls from afar sounded particularly harsh.
Seeing the CP0 agent beheaded before he could even react, the other ordinary CP agents trembled and took half a step back.
"You, do you know what you're doing?! That's CP0! Directly under the World..."
"Oh!" Rear Admiral Gern tilted his head, his smile growing even gentler.
"So, what you mean is, do you want to join him on his journey, or..." He slowly raised black blade eight desolations as he spoke.
"Will you obediently cooperate with me in investigating the Celestial Dragons' disappearance?"
Rear Admiral Gern's move almost made Tesoro's breath stop.
He saw those arrogant CP agents cower like lambs under Rear Admiral Gern's gaze.
He also saw the terror frozen in the wide-open eyes of the head beneath Rear Admiral Gern's foot.
It was the despair of realizing death's arrival but having no time to react.
"Madman..." one agent muttered, "How can there be a madman like you in the Marines...?"
Rear Admiral Gern suddenly reined in his smile.
He stepped forward, his black military boots treading through the blood, each step causing the CP agents to retreat a bit.
"Three days ago, the 'Blood Hand Pirate Crew' landed on Lilac Island." Rear Admiral Gern directly pulled out a crumpled stack of wanted posters from his pocket.
"This morning, I received news that they purchased explosives on the black market."
Papers fluttered down like snowflakes, and on the top wanted poster, a man with a face full of scars grinned ferociously.
"There were traces of an explosion on the wreckage of Charloss's carriage." Rear Admiral Gern's blade tip picked up a golden button from the ground.
He had just torn it from Charloss's corpse, "And this was found on a pirate from that pirate crew."
The CP agents exchanged glances.
One of them, emboldened, picked up the button, his voice trembling: "But, but this doesn't prove..."
"Do I need proof?" Rear Admiral Gern softly interrupted, "Doesn't special enforcement authority mean..." black blade eight desolations suddenly swept horizontally, and the agent's mask split into two with a snap.
"I say who the murderer is, and that person is the murderer?"
"Actually, the World Government probably already found a reason, right? Whether they find it or not, in a few days the newspapers will report that...
【Charloss has safely returned to the Holy Land】Isn't that right?"
"Yes, yes..." The agent whose mask was split open looked pale.
Rear Admiral Gern leaned close to his ear and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear,
"Tell them up there that the pirates in West Blue are becoming more and more rampant, even daring to touch Celestial Dragons..."
He straightened up, his voice returning to normal, "And I will personally purge this sea area."
The sea breeze picked up again, and Rear Admiral Gern turned and walked towards the warship, his black overcoat billowing behind him like.
"Tesoro, take Stella. We should return to the 133rd Main Branch for investigation.
Also, remember to thank the agents for providing the warship."
"Oh?! Thank you." Tesoro, as if waking from a dream, quickly nodded to the stunned CP agents, then pulled Stella along to follow.
.........
Hours later, on the Marine warship.
Tesoro stood on the deck, looking at Lilac Island gradually receding into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He had never imagined that he would so easily escape suspicion and leave that city full of painful memories.
Stella, equally relieved, stood beside him and softly said, "A new life has begun."
Tesoro nodded, gripping her hand tightly: "Yes, this time, I won't let anyone take you away again."
Rear Admiral Gern walked out of the cabin, holding a Marine uniform, and tossed it to Tesoro: "From today on, you are a member of the Marines.
Adapt well to your new identity; you were too nervous when facing CP just now."
Looking at the uniform, Tesoro hesitated for a long time, then finally asked in a low voice, "Rear Admiral Gern, those pirates you mentioned just now..."
"They were annihilated by Sakazuki's fleet a few months ago." Rear Admiral Gern said without looking back, "Their bodies should be floating in the Calm Belt now."
Stella suddenly covered her mouth, and Tesoro's pupils abruptly contracted.
He suddenly understood everything.
From the moment Rear Admiral Gern killed the Celestial Dragons, this scheme had already been set.
Those pirates were merely scapegoats prepared long ago, and CP0... were just pawns on a chessboard, casually manipulated.
Anyway, Charloss's body was completely untraceable; the World Government would investigate in secret, but outwardly, they would go along with the narrative.
"Remember, Tesoro." Rear Admiral Gern's voice, mingled with the sea breeze, was cold and clear.
"In this world, true power is not gold, but the 'truth' that everyone is forced to believe."
"Then Rear Admiral Gern, why did you choose to help me?"
Rear Admiral Gern glanced at him and said indifferently, "Because I saw your potential.
I will need the combat power of the Gold-Gold Fruit's ability in the future, and..." He paused.
"I also need a companion who can truly understand the meaning of my 'Justice.'"
"Are you cultivating your own direct line of personnel?" Being a man who lived in casinos, Tesoro instantly understood Rear Admiral Gern's thoughts.
He didn't just want to be an Admiral, but a Fleet Admiral!
So Tesoro was silent for a moment, then solemnly nodded: "I won't disappoint you."
Rear Admiral Gern smiled: "I hope so." He then cast his gaze towards the clear blue sky.
According to the timeline, I wonder if our "God" has landed on Sky Island yet?!
(Eneru was not a native inhabitant of Sky Island in the plot but went to the original Sky Island after destroying his hometown, Birka.
So, Rear Admiral Gern at this point is also unsure which Sky Island he is currently on, or if that Sky Island is Birka.
After all, there are many Sky Island clouds in the Pirate World.)