The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

In the center of the training field, Libo and Tesoro, blindfolded by black eye patches, awkwardly dodged left and right.

Beneath their feet was a specially designed vibrating grid; each step generated a weak shockwave, disrupting their balance.

"Left! No...right!" Libo's furry ears perked up, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

The carrot hair accessory swayed slightly with her rapid breathing, trying to catch the subtle sounds in the air through her hearing.

"Bang!" At that moment, a pale white particle beam grazed her shoulder and exploded in the ground, creating a tiny crater.

"So close!" Lipo exclaimed, barely managing to dodge, and touched her small breasts.

But then another beam of light shot from the exact opposite direction, hitting her knee precisely.

"Oops!" She stumbled and almost fell, but gritted her teeth, steadied herself, and continued jumping on the grid.

Not far away, under a sunshade, Gern lay lazily on a deck chair, holding a chilled watermelon juice in one hand and slowly taking a sip.

With his other hand, he casually raised it, and low-energy vibrational particles condensed at his fingertips. With a light flick, another ray shot out.

Compared to high-energy particles, the destructive power of the vibrations generated by low-energy particles was almost controlled by Gern to the point of being similar to being hit by a small stone.

After all, after the fruit awakened, Gern found that he had much more control over the vibrations.

In particular, compared to the super-enhanced physical bodies of Zoan-type users and the alteration and assimilation of Paramecia-type users, the awakening of Logia-type users is mostly reflected in their daily control.

Of course, the "Domain Expansion" is the true awakening mode in terms of form, but it is generally not needed unless it comes to a life-or-death struggle.

“Tezzolo, your movements are too stiff.” Gern took a big gulp of juice, sighed, and shook his head.

"The color of perception is not obtained through the eyes, but through the senses."

If you had even half a second's worth of foresight when Barrett punched you, you wouldn't have been lying there for so long.

"Me? I anticipated Barrett's movements by half a second?!" Tesoro's lips twitched.

"Lieutenant General Gern, when you were being trained by Lieutenant General Garp..." he asked, barely dodging a beam of light as he spoke, panting heavily.

Is it also this intensity?

"Huh? This level of intensity?" Gern scoffed, put down his watermelon juice, and sat up straight. "Vice Admiral Garp is much more ruthless than this."

As he spoke, Gern's gaze became slightly unfocused, as if recalling the time when he was subjected to hellish training by Zeffagarp.

Especially Garp's cannonballs, imbued with domineering power, each strike capable of shattering mountains.

He honed his Observation Haki instincts through sheer domineering suppression.

"Back then, nobody told me where to hide. Vice Admiral Garp was determined to kill me!"

"You guys are actually quite lucky! At least I didn't chain you up and throw you into the sea before I made you practice Armament Haki."

"Thrown...thrown into the sea? And still chained up..."

Ribo and Tesoro, both Devil Fruit users, subconsciously swallowed as they recalled Garp's usual easygoing demeanor.

"Lieutenant General Garp was a formidable character in his youth!"

No, no, no, Gern, who survived, is an even bigger character.

“So…” Gern shrugged, particles gathering at his fingertips again, “Stop complaining, keep going!”

"Whoosh!" Another ray shot out, this time heading straight for Tesoro's chest.

Tesoro suddenly turned to the side, the ray grazing his clothes, but the next second, another ray from a tricky angle struck him directly in the back.

"Ugh!" He groaned, kneeling on one knee, gritting his teeth as he said, "Damn it, how is it possible to dodge this?!"

“Why not?” Gern raised an eyebrow. “The essence of Observation Haki is ‘listening to the voices of all things.’”

Not just enemy attacks, but also air currents, ground tremors, and even…”

He suddenly stopped, the vibrating particles at his fingertips suddenly intensified, and a ray ten times faster than before burst out!

"The opponent's killing intent!"

Libo and Tesoro both felt their hair stand on end and instinctively lunged to either side.

"Boom!" The ray exploded where they had been standing, and the shockwave sent sand and dust flying.

"Not bad, you've finally made some progress." Gern nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and stretched.

That's all for today.

Libo ripped off her blindfold and slumped to the ground, panting heavily, her rabbit ears drooping limply: "Gern, isn't this too strict..."

“Strict?” Gern walked up to her, knelt down, and gently flicked her forehead.

"If you can't even handle this level of training, how will you face the monsters of the new world?"

Those guys won't show you any mercy.

Tesoro silently removed his blindfold, a flicker of resentment in his eyes.

"Lieutenant General Gern, can we... really become that strong?"

Gern looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Of course."

"Because the era to come... will only be more brutal than the present."

"Although I don't expect you to reach the general level, you'll still need the strength to deal with that group of vice-presidents in the future..."

The last sentence was left unsaid, only lingered in his mind.

Thinking of this, Gern had just gotten up to let the two of them rest when suddenly he stopped.

The air temperature dropped sharply, and the vibrations detected that the water molecules in the air had turned into ice flowers.

At the same time, a wisp of cold air silently swept across the back of my neck, and almost simultaneously...

A fist-sized ice puck tore through the air and hurtled toward his back at near-sonic speed!

"Heh." Gern's lips curled slightly, without even turning his head, he simply raised his left hand casually behind him.

"Bang!!!" The ice puck exploded in his palm, the terrifying impact turning into a visible shockwave, and the ground beneath his feet collapsed with a "crack," leaving spiderweb-like cracks.

A chill permeated the air, and ice crystals spread along his arm, only to shatter upon touching his skin, hardened by Armament Haki, and fall in a flurry.

Gern slowly withdrew his hand, flicked the remaining ice shards off his wrist, then turned around and looked at the entrance to the training ground with a half-smile.

"A sneak attack?" He raised an eyebrow. "Kuzan, when did you learn such tricks?"

A tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Kuzan stood with his hands in his pockets, smiled slightly, and his breath condensed into frost in the air.

"Oh dear... I've been found out." He scratched his head, his tone still casual, but his eyes were unusually sharp.

"However, only you could withstand my 'attack' so easily... Gern."

Lying on the ground, Libo and Tesoro's pupils shrank.

If it were them, they probably wouldn't even have had a chance to react to that attack!

Gern simply chuckled, his fingertips trembling slightly as he dispelled the last trace of cold air.

"Hahaha." He looked directly at Kuzan and smiled.

"It seems that Marshal Kong has already delivered the World Government's 'notice' to you!"

"Kuzan".

Chapter 217 Drinking with Old Friends

Inside the tavern in Marineford, at midday, the resting recruits liked to gather for a drink, and for a moment the noisy chatter was silenced in a corner.

Kuzan and Guern sat at the bar, seemingly out of place amidst the surrounding noise.

Even so, Guern was still chased around for autographs, and the enthusiastic fans only dispersed after he had signed for more than ten minutes.

"A naval legend, even more famous than Mr. Garp, a naval hero!"

"There's nothing I can do!" Gern touched his forehead with one hand, brushed his bangs aside, and revealed a melancholy look.

"Sometimes the strong have to bear a price that others cannot bear."

"..."

"You think you can get away with just a few compliments and then climb the social ladder, huh?" Kuzan took a large glass of beer from the bartender, and the moment he took it, water droplets condensed on the glass.

He tilted his head back and took a swig, his Adam's apple bobbing as the cool liquor slid down his throat, accompanied by a satisfied sigh.

He then glanced at Gern, a lazy smile playing on his lips: "But the last time we drank was a few years ago when you went to Fishman Island, wasn't it?"

Gern rested his elbow on the table, his slender fingers gently swirling the wine glass, the amber liquid rippling softly within.

"Yes!" He smiled slightly, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes: "Since the promotion, we've been so busy that we haven't even had time to drink."

“You haven’t changed.” Kuzan chuckled, his gaze falling on Gern’s glass. “You still prefer the strong liquor that Professor Zeff likes to drink.”

"Just a habit." Gern picked up his glass and took a sip.

"But you, when did you start drinking this water-like beer?"

"Ah, I'm getting old, I can't handle anything too stimulating." Kuzan shrugged, his tone still nonchalant, but his eyes gradually darkened.

He paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Gern, about the position of general..."

Gern paused slightly in his swirling of the wine glass, then resumed his normal motion, looking up at Kuzan with the smile on his lips undiminished.

"What, are you worried I'll fall out with you over this?"

Kuzan didn't answer immediately, but instead took another swig of wine, the frost spreading from his fingertips to the side of the glass.

"I don't like this arrangement."

"Just a trick by the World Government." Gern scoffed, his gaze shifting to the noisy marines in the center of the tavern.

"They want to see if we'll fight tooth and nail for a title."

Kuzan stared at Gern's profile, trying to read something from his expression, but Gern remained calm, even with a hint of mockery.

"Aren't you angry?" Kuzan asked.

"Angry?" Gern turned his head. "Kuzan, how many years have we known each other?"

Kuzan paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "It's been almost fifteen years since someone started eating like crazy in the cafeteria back then."

“Yes! Almost fifteen years…” Gern repeated softly, his fingertips lightly tapping the rim of the glass.

"So, you think I would fight you over something like this?"

“It’s different.” Kuzan looked down at his wine glass and said calmly, “I came to see you today to tell you that I will not compete with you for the position of general.”

Because whether it's in terms of achievements or reputation..." Kuzan suddenly raised his glass and made a clinking motion towards the air, the ice cubes clinking crisply in the glass.

"You truly deserve it!"

"Hey, hey... stop it, Kuzan." Looking at Kuzan's self-satisfied expression, Gern blinked.

What's with this self-satisfied look on your face?

After saying that, Gern gently punched his shoulder and laughed.

"I don't believe that someone as smart as you can't see through the trickery."

"Huh? What's going on?!" Kuzan looked bewildered as he stared at the laughing Gern.

Seeing Kuzan's seemingly genuine reaction, Gern, who had just taken a sip of his drink, choked. "Cough cough, wait! Holy crap, you really don't know?"

"Wait, didn't the Air Marshal tell you when you went to his office?"

"I already said it!" Kuzan raised the glass to his lips, a helpless smile on his face.

"He told me that there was only one generalship left, and that you and I were competitors."

"..."

No, the Ohara incident hasn't happened yet. Kuzan may seem lazy on the surface, but he's actually a very passionate guy at heart.

Therefore, Gern was certain that Kuzan must have heard about Kong's claim that he wanted to compete with him for the position of admiral.

The moment he finished speaking, this guy came running over to him, without even letting him finish!

"Sigh!" Thinking of this, Gern rubbed his temples.

"What's wrong? Don't worry, I really didn't mean to argue..."