The sea wind howled, and waves crashed against the reefs…
Roger and Gern stood facing each other, an invisible pressure permeating the air.
“Hahaha!” Roger suddenly burst into laughter, a hint of helplessness and relief in his voice.
“If that guy Garp knew that half of his disciple snatched his ‘dream’, he’d probably be hopping mad!”
“Vice Admiral Garp’s dream is to personally arrest you, and my dream…” Gern shrugged, a lazy smile playing on his lips.
“Is to make the ‘Pirate King’ a stepping stone for all my future promotions.”
“A stepping stone, huh…” Roger narrowed his eyes, “You planned this all along, didn’t you? From Edwal, or even earlier?”
“Who knows?” Gern spread his hands, his tone relaxed.
“After all, when you threw me into the sea back then, I already said it!
I would personally bring you to the execution platform, and I’m a man of my word!”
Roger was silent for a moment, then slowly drew Ace, gently patting the dust off the hilt.
“Gern, do you know? I originally planned to leave quietly, to surrender in the East Blue.
But now…” His eyes suddenly sharpened, and Haoshoku Haki spread like a tide, the surrounding air seemingly solidified.
“It seems there’s no choice left!!” Before his words finished, Roger’s figure had vanished from his original spot like a ghost.
The next instant, he didn’t draw his sword, but instead, his fist, wrapped in violent Haki, went straight for Gern’s face!
“Bang!” Gern reacted extremely quickly, black blade eight desolations blocking in front of him.
The moment fist and blade collided, a terrifying shockwave swept out, the reefs beneath their feet shattered, and the seawater was forced to roll back.
“You’ve gotten much stronger than before!”
Roger took a step back to create distance, his brows slightly furrowed as he watched the man calmly twirling his blade.
“Have I?” Gern looked up, a faint smile on his lips.
“It’s you, though… even though you’re dying, your attacks are still so ruthless.”
With that, Gern flipped his wrist, and black blade eight desolations traced a cold arc in his palm, “You didn’t draw your sword just now… were you afraid of destroying this island?”
Roger’s eyes darkened, his thoughts exposed.
The sound of waves crashing on the distant shore suddenly became clear, making his voice exceptionally low: “This place… was never meant to be a battlefield.”
“Then let’s change locations.” Gern chuckled, his figure already leaping onto the small boat Roger had originally prepared for his surrender.
Roger looked at that retreating figure, his throat bobbing.
Ultimately, all complex emotions transformed into a sigh.
........
At the same time, Marineford, Marineford, Fleet Admiral’s office.
The air seemed to solidify, and the heavy pressure caused a fine layer of cold sweat to seep from Tesoro’s back.
Kong sat behind the large desk, his sharp eyes seemingly able to penetrate all lies.
Sengoku stood to the side, his fingers rhythmically tapping the tabletop, each soft tap seemingly striking Tesoro’s taut nerves.
“So…” Kong slowly began, his voice deep and authoritative.
“That guy Gern claimed he was on the ship, but he sent you and Libo back to report?”
Tesoro’s throat bobbed, and he unconsciously touched his golden ring, twirling it between his fingers.
Then he opened his mouth, but found he couldn’t come up with a single reasonable explanation.
Because Gern had only left him with the words “adapt as needed” before leaving, but in the current situation, where was there any room for adaptation?
“Reporting, Fleet Admiral Kong…” Tesoro forced himself to speak.
“Vice Admiral Gern was originally on the battleship, but he… had other arrangements on short notice.”
“Other arrangements?” Sengoku’s voice suddenly rose, his gaze behind his glasses as sharp as a knife.
“What arrangement is more important than the current grave situation?!”
Tesoro’s fingertips trembled slightly.
He couldn’t possibly say that Gern had no intention of returning to Marineford at all, could he?
“I… I don’t know.” Tesoro lowered his head, his voice almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
“Vice Admiral Gern only ordered Libo and me to return and report first; as for the rest… he didn’t say.”
Hearing this, Kong’s face completely darkened.
He slowly stood up, his tall figure casting a shadow over Tesoro.
“Major Tesoro.” The Fleet Admiral’s voice was as cold as ice, “Do you know the consequences of concealing information from a superior?”
Tesoro’s breath hitched.
However, just as the atmosphere was about to completely solidify, the office door suddenly burst open.
“Report!” An intelligence officer rushed in, his face pale.
“Just, just received news! The remnants of the Roger Pirates seem to be moving abnormally!”
Kong and Sengoku’s expressions changed simultaneously.
“What?!” Sengoku slammed the table, “It might be Roger making a move!
I didn’t expect Roger to change so quickly, from someone in the open to someone in the shadows.”
Looking at the suddenly bustling office, Tesoro suddenly felt a bit at a loss, so he just stood there blankly.
“Vice Admiral Gern… what exactly are you planning?”
“You can’t really be arresting the Pirate King by yourself, can you?” Thinking this, Tesoro himself didn’t believe it, shaking his head and chuckling.
“Impossible, impossible! How could such a thing be possible! That’s the Pirate King!”
But the more he thought about it, the more Tesoro suspected it, after all, that was Gern!
.......
At the same time, on Byax Deserted Island, the island where the South Sea and East Blue converge.
Gern and Roger stood facing each other, the blade of black blade eight desolations reflecting a cold light, while Roger’s hand gripped Ace’s hilt tightly, his knuckles white.
“A pirate trying to persuade a Marine…” Gern curled his lips into a cold sneer, “Roger, don’t you think that’s ridiculous?”
Roger was silent for a moment, then finally sighed: “I don’t want to fight you.”
This sentence was like a thorn, piercing deeply into Gern’s nerves.
He chuckled softly, his laughter tinged with sarcasm: “In your eyes, am I really not worth your serious attention?”
Roger shook his head: “I just don’t want to waste my last time.”
“Last time?” Gern’s eyes suddenly turned cold.
“Your ‘last time’ is disbanding your pirate crew, and hooking up with a young woman to bear your child?”
Roger’s pupils suddenly contracted, and for the first time, his expression wavered: “You… how do you know?”
It was known that only the two of them knew about Rouge’s pregnancy.
Rouge had never been to a hospital, and Gern had never even been close to his home!
“I know much more than you imagine.” Gern’s voice was low but his tone was flippant.
“She’s also a ‘D’, isn’t she? Portgas D. Rouge…”
“Heh heh, you think you’re hiding it well?” Gern’s blade tip lightly scraped the ground, sending up a shower of sparks.
“A fifty-something old man, tricking a twenty-something young girl into bearing your child…”
“Shut up!” Roger’s roar shook the surrounding gravel .
“What? Did I hit a sore spot?” Gern’s laughter became even more unrestrained.
Roger’s breathing grew heavy, veins bulging on his fists: “You don’t understand…”
“Of course I don’t!” Gern suddenly erupted, black blade eight desolations slashing down with a tearing shriek.
“I don’t understand why a irresponsible bastard like you deserves to be called a ‘King’!”
“You know you’re going to die, and you know the World Government will hunt you down until your bloodline is extinguished, yet you insist on leaving behind a posthumous child.
Roger, this isn’t fatherly love; it’s putting a noose around the neck of an unborn child!
It’s using your wife and child as sacrifices to carry your ambition, watering your own so-called ‘immortality’ delusion with their flesh and blood!”
“Rouge will protect…”
“Protect what?” Gern sneered, “Let her endure an inhuman pregnancy far beyond what a normal person could bear?
Sorry, this isn’t love; it’s naked torture!
To hide your bloodline, she might have to exhaust her life acting, eventually dying from exhaustion!!
And all you say is: she will protect.
Hahaha, what a hypocritical guy, Roger!
A ‘King’ who doesn’t even dare to protect his own woman, what right does he have to talk about dreams?!”
Facing Gern’s words, a flicker of pain crossed Roger’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.
Ace began to be enveloped in a pitch-black Armament Haki, and Haoshoku lightning exploded around him.
“Marine’s Heaven Quake brat…” Roger’s voice was terrifyingly low.
“You will regret these words.”