Sabaody Archipelago’s Grove 23 fell into an eerie silence, as if even the air had frozen.
The commoners kneeling on the ground were the first to recover from their shock, and their screams, one after another, instantly shattered the tranquility of the port.
“The… Celestial Dragons were beaten!”
This exclamation, like a fuse, ignited chaos throughout the port.
The Marine soldiers, as if waking from a dream, rushed towards the fallen Celestial Dragons in a flurry, but then, as if by prior agreement, they all abruptly stopped.
Because they recognized the figure standing not far from the pool of blood.
“Quick! Contact Marineford immediately!”
“This… this is going to be a big deal!”
“Filthy commoners! How dare you lay hands on us!” Rosward Saint’s shriek pierced the sky.
“Where’s the Admiral? Hurry up and call him over!”
His trembling finger pointed at Gern and the two others, his face under the bubble mask distorted beyond recognition, “Charloss is my only son!
Even I, normally, wouldn’t dare to touch a single hair on his head!”
The Marine soldiers froze in place, their gazes shifting back and forth between Gern and the Celestial Dragons, cold sweat soaking their uniforms.
They recognized this famous Rear Admiral of Marineford, ‘Heaven Quake,’ and were momentarily caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Kadar Kambol! What are you doing, you good-for-nothing?!” Rosward Saint roared hysterically, spittle spraying onto his cracked bubble mask.
“Hurry up and inform the Admiral to immediately execute these commoners! I want them torn to shreds!”
However, G-33 Base Commander Kadar Kambol stood dumbfounded, clutching his Transponder Snail, while urgent inquiries came from Marineford.
Yet, he couldn’t even utter a complete syllable.
Meanwhile, on Gern’s side.
“Gern, how did I do?” Libo skipped back to Gern, a few glaring drops of fresh blood on her short-sleeved top, yet she still smiled innocently.
Gern knelt on one knee, gently wiping the bloodstain from her clothes with a handkerchief: “Excellent. But…”
He pointed to Libo’s favorite top, “Remember to avoid it next time; didn’t you save three months’ salary to buy this?”
“Ah! It’s really stained!” Libo hastily patted her clothes, her face instantly falling, and her ears drooped listlessly.
Gern smiled and pinched her cheek: “Next time we go to the New World, I’ll buy you something even better.”
After speaking, he slowly stood up and walked towards Kadar Kambol, each step seemingly treading on the hearts of everyone present.
“G-Gern Rear Admiral.” Kadar Kambol’s voice trembled almost inaudibly.
“How could it be you! If that’s the case, then the person who just made a move was your…”
“She’s my person.” Gern’s voice was terrifyingly calm, “My subordinate, Marineford Warrant Officer Lippo Hope.”
At the same time, the emergency transfer call from Marineford came with an anxious inquiry.
“Hello, hello, what exactly is going on? Who attacked the Celestial Dragons on Sabaody Archipelago?”
Gern reached out and took the Transponder Snail directly from Kadar Kambol’s hand.
“What attack?”
Upon hearing Gern’s voice, the other end of the Transponder Snail fell silent instantly, then a voice filled with disbelief said.
“G-Gern Rear Admiral? Is that you?”
“It’s me.” Gern replied softly.
“Are you on Sabaody Archipelago? That’s great, I heard someone attacked the Celestial Dragons, please control the situation immediately, I’ll inform the Admiral here…”
“It wasn’t an attack!” Gern suddenly interrupted, “It should be…”
At the same time, his gaze swept over the scattered agent corpses on the port, and Charloss Saint, whose head was smashed into his neck.
“Self-defense.”
“Self-defense?!” Rosward Saint looked at the Marines’ incompetence, glaring at Gern and shouting, “You lowly commoners dare…”
“Shut up.” Gern said coldly without looking back, Conqueror’s Haki surging out like a tide.
It directly forced Rosward Saint to his knees, and his oxygen mask cracked with a snap.
The Marine soldiers on the port all recoiled, cold sweat seeping from their foreheads; they had never felt such terrifying pressure!
“Self-defense??” The Transponder Snail hesitated for a moment, “What does that mean?”
“Hmm…” Gern directly strode towards Rosward Saint, his tone flippant.
“If someone attempts to attack a Marineford Rear Admiral, then my counterattack should be no problem, right?”
“If someone attacked Rear Admiral Gern, there’s no problem at all!”
“So!” The next second, Gern had appeared in front of Rosward Saint, his right hand gripping the other’s throat like an iron clamp, lifting him entirely.
The sudden feeling of suffocation made the unconscious Rosward Saint open his eyes in terror and wake up, his face flushed from lack of air.
“You actually dare… dare…” Rosward Saint frantically kicked Gern’s body.
He even pulled out his personal handgun and fired several shots, but they all passed through Gern’s body, leaving only ripples.
“Rear Admiral Gern, why are there gunshots?! Is something happening?!” The Transponder Snail shouted, its expression tense.
“I was attacked, can I make a move?”
“No problem.”
“Rear Admiral Gern…” At this moment, Kadar Kambol mustered his courage and spoke again, “Have you really thought this through? This might…”
“Might what?” Gern cut him off with a sidelong glance, his eyes sharp as knives.
“Send me to a military court? Strip me of my rank? Or… directly execute me?”
Kadar Kambol swallowed, not daring to answer.
“Listen.” Gern’s voice suddenly softened, but the chill within it intensified, “For what happened today, I hope you report it truthfully.
If anyone adds fuel to the fire…”
His gaze swept over every Marine soldier present, “I don’t mind having a personal talk with them.”
The soldiers all took a step back in unison, nodding frantically.
“Since that’s the case…” Gern’s mouth curved into a grin, and his palm suddenly released a shockwave.
In an instant, with Rosward Saint’s head as the center, the air appeared to shatter.
And after a wave of air, Rosward Saint’s body directly slumped down.
The port once again fell into a deathly silence.
Not only did he hit one, but now he directly crippled another!
For a moment, the Marine soldiers were dumbfounded, even forgetting to move, with only the voice from the Transponder Snail echoing.
“Rear Admiral Gern, may I know who the attacker was?”
“Listen.” Gern leaned closer to the Transponder Snail, his voice icy.
“On Sabaody Archipelago, Giant Tree No. 23, two Celestial Dragons attempted to attack a Marineford Rear Admiral, a Marineford Warrant Officer, and a Marineford Warrant Officer.
I am now retaliating according to the principle of ‘self-defense’.”
“G…” The Transponder Snail suddenly reacted, “Rear Admiral Gern, what do you mean by that?”
“In simpler terms… I did it.”
...
After a long time, watching Gern and the two others board the Marine warship and gradually depart, the Marine soldiers on the port looked at each other.
“Did we… just witness something incredible?” a young Marine soldier whispered.
“Shut up!” Kadar Kambol sharply snapped, “No one is allowed to spread what happened today! Wait for Marineford’s orders!”
But everyone knew that this matter would definitely not end here.
A Marineford Rear Admiral and his subordinate publicly beating Celestial Dragons, resulting in one crippled and one incapacitated, was a first on the high seas.
On the warship, Libo leaned over the railing, watching the gradually receding Sabaody Archipelago, and suddenly asked, “Gern, did I cause trouble?”
“No.” Gern stood beside her, the sea breeze ruffling his black hair, “You did very well.”
“But…” Libo lowered her head, “That Celestial Dragon said they were World Nobles…”
“World Nobles?” Gern scoffed, “They’re just a bunch of parasites hiding behind their privileges.”
Tesoro stood nearby, looking at Gern with a complex expression: “Rear Admiral Gern, if we return to Marineford now, will it…”
“We must return to Marineford, because only at Marineford can the World Government do nothing to me!”
“After all, the Shichibukai system has only recently been distributed, and the World Government wants to touch me at Marineford?”
“Heh, they’re not qualified enough.
Moreover, the bigger the commotion, the better I feel!”