Golden Lion's figure completely vanished into the distant horizon, leaving only the whistling wind and lingering smoke at Marine G-3 Base.
Sakazuki and Zephyr stood in place, their gazes fixed on Gern's back.
Gern's body remained upright, black blade eight desolations pointed diagonally at the ground, the purple-black lightning on its blade having completely dissipated.
"Gern..." Zephyr called out softly, his brows furrowed.
He sensed something amiss... Gern's posture was too rigid, like a statue.
Seeing this, Sakazuki also said in a deep voice, "Hey, Gern, Golden Lion has escaped."
Gern did not respond to their words.
Zephyr's heart sank, and he quickly stepped forward, placing a hand on Gern's shoulder.
"Gern, you..." The moment Zephyr touched him, Gern's body fell straight backward, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Zephyr, quick-witted, caught him, only then realizing Gern's eyes were tightly shut and his breathing was faint.
"He... passed out?" Sakazuki's voice carried a rare hint of hesitation.
Zephyr lowered his head to examine Gern's injuries, his expression complex.
Gern's tiger's mouth was split, and his arm muscles were torn from excessive exertion.
That one strike, God's Fall, had almost completely drained him of all his strength.
However, even so, his body still maintained a combat stance, and even the blade of black blade eight desolations had not slackened in the slightest.
"He lost consciousness after unleashing that strike," Zephyr slowly said.
"Just now... his body was simply holding on by instinct."
Upon hearing Zephyr's words, Sakazuki's pupils slightly contracted.
Subconsciously, he looked at black blade eight desolations tightly clutched in Gern's hand; the purple-black patterns on the blade were slowly fading, but the heart-pounding sense of oppression had not completely dissipated.
"Just an... unconscious body and a slightly moving blade scared Golden Lion away..." Sakazuki murmured to himself, a difficult-to-describe emotion flashing in his eyes.
"So, just how terrifying was that strike!"
He had never imagined that this guy, whom he admired and usually enjoyed joking with, could unleash such terrifying power at the brink of life and death.
"Headquarters' support will arrive soon." Zephyr carried Gern on his back and turned to walk inside the Base.
"First, contact the medical team that evacuated to the safe zone."
Sakazuki silently followed behind, the scene constantly replaying in his mind.
The moment Gern swung his blade, the fear in Golden Lion's eyes, and that purple-black blade light that tore through the sky.
"Zephyr Sensei." Sakazuki suddenly spoke, "What is the origin of that blade?"
Zephyr's steps paused slightly, but he did not turn back.
Then, he said in a low voice, "What are you thinking? It's just Gern's blade, isn't it?"
"And..." Seeing Sakazuki hesitate, Zephyr also sternly reprimanded him, "Sakazuki, ever since you obtained the Magma Fruit, why have you become weaker instead?"
The sea breeze suddenly turned biting, sweeping up dust from the ground.
"Zephyr Sensei, I..." Sakazuki was about to retort, but Zephyr's voice followed immediately.
"Don't let the immense power granted by the Devil Fruit blind you, you fellow.
Look at your Armament Haki! Observation Haki! When I hadn't arrived...
Even if you were no match for Golden Lion, with Gern's cooperation suppressing Golden Lion's Fruit...
You shouldn't have been defeated so quickly! You fellow."
Sakazuki's pupils contracted sharply.
Memories flooded back—himself at sixteen, kneeling in the dojo, a newly sharpened military sword laid across his lap.
At the graduation ceremony, splitting a test reef with a Haki-infused blade.
Those images overlapped with the charred magma fist prints before him, causing fine beads of sweat to seep from his forehead.
Sakazuki slowly raised his palm, gazing at the old calluses of a swordsman that he had long ignored.
"Giving up your weapon, you should also forge a new path, not remain stagnant here.
I remember, I taught you this lesson, Sakazuki."
Watching Zephyr's back as he carried Gern away, Sakazuki fell silent...
Since being stationed at G-3 Base, he had indeed become somewhat reliant on his Fruit ability and neglected his Haki training.
.......
Meanwhile, in a safe zone at G-3 Base,
A man in a gray trench coat slowly put down the camera in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
As a senior reporter for World Economic News, he had witnessed countless grand scenes, but what had just happened still made him feel suffocated.
He had originally come here simply to report on what famous pirate G-3 Base had arrested first, much like a paparazzi chasing news.
But what happened?! At first, he thought it was just a routine small news story about 'Island Splitter' Doge being captured.
Then Golden Lion's attack on the Marine Base immediately caught his eye.
After all, a legendary pirate assaulting a key Marine stronghold was enough to make headlines.
But then Zephyr appeared and saved the day, which was also a good draw, but...
When he personally witnessed Gern cut back Golden Lion with a single strike, he realized that what he had captured was far more shocking than imagined.
The reporter looked down at the photos in his camera.
The image was frozen at the moment Gern swung his blade; the purple-black blade light pierced through heaven and earth, while Golden Lion's eyes rolled back, his expression twisted, as if he had come face-to-face with death.
"This... Is this really something I should be photographing?" he murmured to himself, his throat dry.
He then slowly pulled out a golden Den Den Mushi from his Pregnant, dialing President Morgans' private line.
"How is it? Did you get any good news at the G-3 Marine Base?" The moment the private line connected, Morgans' sleepy voice, mixed with chewing sounds, came through.
"A routine report from G-3 Base? Don't tell me you wasted film again taking a bunch of Marine mess hall recipes."
The reporter did not answer immediately, still staring at the photo.
"Hey? Speak up!" The sound of a glass heavily hitting a table came from the other end of the line, and Morgans impatiently urged,
"I should have told you, if there's no explosive news, don't contact me.
You should know what it costs to make me, the President of World Economic News, waste my time..."
"Shut up!!"
"You..." After a brief silence, the Den Den Mushi's expression changed, and the creaking sound of a leather chair bearing weight came through—Morgans had clearly sat upright.
"President... prepare to rewrite news history." The reporter wasn't worried about yelling at Morgans.
Instead, he took a deep breath, his voice trembling as he slowly began,
"This time, the protagonist is no longer pirates... but the Marine."
"President, the world is about to change."