In the town square of Snowy Island, eighty-nine pregnant women with desperate expressions and twenty-two infants were gathered together.
At the same time, the islanders on the periphery were blocked by Marine soldiers outside the cordon, watching.
Some of them sobbed softly, some clenched their fists in anger, but no one dared to step forward.
At this moment, CP agents, dressed in sharp black suits and holding registration books, emotionlessly verified the information of every pregnant woman and infant.
On the other side, in the Marine lounge area, Gern was lying back in a chair, a newspaper covering most of his face, the chair gently swaying, seemingly unconcerned by everything before him.
Eneru, meanwhile, lay sideways on a long sofa temporarily brought by the Marine, propping his head with one hand.
With his other hand, he toyed with an apple, his eyes full of impatience: “How boring… Does such an ant-like task really require a God to personally supervise?
I heard there’s someone on the Blue Sea called the ‘World’s Strongest Man,’ Whitebeard, right?
Gern, let’s go kill him, shall we? We are Gods…”
Eneru kept muttering, completely unaware that Gern had earplugs in.
“Sir, all registrations are complete.” The agent handed over the documents.
This time, the person in charge of cooperating with Gern for this mission was Spandine, the current commander of CP9.
“I know, I’m watching too! You don’t need to tell me!”
Spandine wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his fingers trembling slightly as he clutched the newly registered list.
“Damn it! Why did this guy have to be the Marine sent for this mission?!”
Spandine swallowed, his gaze shifting back and forth between Gern and Eneru, as if weighing which side was more dangerous.
Clearly, it was the man in the coat of justice before him.
Gern Reginald Sigma, Marineford’s youngest legendary Vice Admiral, a monster who personally arrested Pirate King Roger.
He was also the most uncontrollable “thorn” in the eyes of the World Government’s high-ranking officials.
Spandine knew very well that this man had always outwardly complied with World Government orders while inwardly defying them, not only publicly humiliating the Celestial Dragons but even causing the God's Knights to be dispatched.
But the result was… the World Government lost a lot of face and was ultimately forced to compromise.
In other words, Gern was a complete plague god to the CP agent agencies that served the World Government!
“Vice Admiral Gern…” After a moment of hesitation, Spandine still shuffled half a step forward, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of being overheard by the surrounding Marines, “We… are done registering.”
“Hmm?” The newspaper shifted slightly, revealing a pair of cold eyes.
Then Gern half-propped himself up, “How is it? Any abnormalities?”
“Uh…” Spandine’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
An old hand like him naturally understood the meaning behind that question.
If he said “yes,” Gern might use it as an excuse.
If he said “no”… then the next order would probably make this Marine Vice Admiral completely lose his temper.
But the World Government’s mission had to be completed, after all, he worked for the World Government, not the Marine.
So, Spandine gritted his teeth and forced out a fake smile.
“They… all meet the criteria.” He paused, then added, “Therefore, according to the World Government’s order…”
“What order?”
“Leave none alive.”
When the last four words fell, the air in the square seemed to solidify.
In the distance, the pregnant women who were being held seemed to sense something; some began to sob softly, and the cries of infants came intermittently.
At the same time, the Marine soldiers present instinctively looked at Gern, as if waiting for a signal.
Gern slowly folded the newspaper and casually tossed it onto a nearby table.
His movements were light, yet they instantly soaked Spandine’s shirt with cold sweat.
“Oh?” Gern’s voice remained calm, even with a hint of laziness, “Are you sure there’s no ‘misjudgment’?”
“Or rather, Spandine, are you sure there are no omissions?”
“Of, of course!” More cold sweat seeped from Spandine’s forehead as he gave a dry laugh: “Our CP9’s screening will never be wrong!”
Gern didn’t respond, only slowly stood up, causing Spandine to instinctively take half a step back.
“Since there’s no problem, then execute it,” Gern said indifferently.
“Really? No! I’ll issue the order right now!”
Spandine, as if granted a great pardon, hurriedly turned and waved to the CP agents.
The agents immediately drew their weapons, their cold muzzles pointed at the unarmed women and children.
Just at this critical moment—
“Boom!!!” A dazzling bolt of lightning descended from the sky, precisely striking the open ground between the CP agents and the crowd!
The ground instantly turned scorched black, smoke billowed, and the agents were startled, stumbling backward.
“So noisy!!” Eneru’s irritable voice rang out.
And he had, at some unknown point, stood beside Gern, his golden staff resting on his shoulder.
“A bunch of ants, chattering away, disturbing a God’s peace!”
“Vi-Vice Admiral Gern…” Spandine collapsed to the ground in fright, stammering, “Di-didn’t… didn’t you say to execute the order?”
“Huh?” Gern frowned, a smile appearing on his face, then he half-crouched down.
“Tsk tsk tsk.” He raised a hand to pinch Spandine’s face, then patted it.
“You didn’t think I was telling you to execute the order, did you?”
Spandine: “…”
“This is a World Government order!” Spandine, emboldened, shouted, “Both of you had better think carefully!”
“Sorry, Gods are not bound,” Eneru snorted coldly, pointing his golden staff directly at Spandine’s nose: “Dare to babble again, and I’ll strike you down too!”
Gern glanced at Eneru, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. He didn’t stop him, only slowly walked towards the crowd.
The pregnant women held their children tightly, their eyes filled with fear and pleading.
“Sir!” A young mother trembled as she spoke: “Please… my child is only three months old, he can’t possibly be the Pirate King’s child, I don’t even know…”
Gern raised his hand to interrupt her, then turned around to face all the Marine soldiers, his voice calm but unyielding: “Everyone, listen up.”
The Marine soldiers immediately stood at attention, their gaze firmly fixed on Gern.
“Escort these women and children back home,” Gern said indifferently, “Mission accomplished.”
“Vice Admiral Gern!” Spandine’s eyes widened suddenly, and he shrieked, “You are defying the World Government’s orders!! You are trampling on the World Government’s authority!”
“Sorry, there is no such thing as a World Government order to me!”
“Because this island bears…” Gern glanced sideways at the flag fluttering above the square, enunciating each word:
“It is the ‘Justice’ of the Marine.”
“You…” Spandine’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, cold sweat soaking his shirt: “You… you really aren’t afraid at all…”
“Afraid?” Gern suddenly laughed, a smile that made Spandine feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, “On this vast sea, I am the authority.”
“Or rather, if you have the guts…” Gern casually rested his right hand on the hilt of black blade eight desolations, his tone suddenly turning cold.
“Then let Gringo Saint, that good-for-nothing, come again!”
These last words exploded like thunder, and the entire square instantly fell silent.
The Marine soldiers unconsciously straightened their backs, a fervent light igniting in their eyes.
Spandine, however, looked as if all the bones had been sucked out of his body, stumbling two steps backward, his face ashen.
“Too troublesome!” Eneru suddenly burst into a wild laugh: “Gern, your justice still needs debate. If it were up to me, I’d just…”
His raised golden staff instantly caused a change in the weather, “Let the thunder welcome them!!”
“Boom!!!” Dozens of lightning bolts precisely struck every CP agent. In the dazzling lightning, Spandine’s comical figure, slumped on the ground, was illuminated in stark white.
Eneru looked down at the scorched bodies on the ground, dangerous lightning flickering in his eyes.
“Kneel or ashes… This is the ‘freedom’ a God bestows upon you.”
From Eneru’s current mindset, he simply didn’t care about the Marines’ reverence for Gern.
Because in his twisted perception, both Gern and he were “Gods.”
As long as he could defeat Gern in the future, all of this Marine legend’s power and status would be “God’s” for the taking.
“See clearly, Spandine.”
“What flies here will always be the Justice of the Marine.”