Asahi did have talent, especially when it came to steering readers with headlines.
Combined with Gern's utterly shameless interview answers, the hottest headlines across West Blue became...
"Golden Roger? Give me, Gern, two years!"
"Why did Golden Lion and Whitebeard make their names first? To avoid Gern's edge, or because slow birds have to fly early?!"
"Gern: The strong often have two traits. One is a bad memory, and the other... I forgot."
The whole strategy was to turn whoever was most famous lately into his supporting act.
But to be fair, Asahi's early brand of clickbait really did attract countless readers.
Especially since West Blue hadn't produced an outstanding Marine rookie in a long time, Gern's meteoric rise sent his fame sweeping across the sea.
Even the World Economy News Paper, which Big News Morgans had only recently founded, ran a rare article on the subject.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The last light of sunset spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the office, making the words "Non-killing justice" hanging on the wall gleam.
Zephyr sat behind his broad desk, his short purple hair taking on a cold, metallic sheen in the light. His thick arms were folded across his chest, and his calm gaze rested on the open document before him.
"West Blue 133rd Branch Warrant Officer Gern Reginald Sigma's action report-Battle of Ashport"
Beside the document lay several recent issues of the World Economy News Paper. Every front-page headline featured the same name-"Heavenquake" Gern.
"West Blue's rising star! Marine 'Heavenquake' Gern single-handedly slays a seventy-million pirate!"
"A Logia user? The monster recruit of a West Blue branch!"
Zephyr tapped his fingertips lightly against the desk, but his eyes never left the action report.
The report detailed the entire battle of Ashport, including how Gern had ordered the Marine flag taken down from the warship after seeing the slaughtered civilians.
And the words he had spoken-[Justice that arrives late doesn't deserve to be called justice at all.]
The corners of Zephyr's mouth lifted slightly, and a rare flicker of approval crossed his eyes.
"This kid..." he murmured, recalling the boy he had seen during the retreat from God's Island a year earlier, drenched in blood and carrying a comrade's corpse on his back, his eyes weary but resolute.
Even then, he had felt that this young man was no ordinary recruit.
And now, Gern's performance had once again confirmed his judgment.
"Justice that arrives late... doesn't deserve to be called justice at all."
"Heh..." Zephyr recited the words under his breath, a rare trace of emotion surfacing on his resolute face.
He set down the document and looked out the window.
In Marineford's harbor, Marine soldiers were busy moving supplies, while the flags of the warships snapped in the wind.
Just then, the office door was flung open.
"Hahaha! Zephyr, guess what? That bastard Roger slipped away again!"
A young, black-haired Garp strode in laughing, clutching a bag of snacks, his cheeks stuffed full.
"The guy runs faster than a rabbit! Sengoku sent three warships, and they still couldn't box him in!"
Sengoku followed behind him, rubbing his temples helplessly.
"Garp, could you stop making such a racket every time you come in?"
Zephyr pulled himself from his thoughts, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "What, did you let him escape right under your nose again?"
Garp dropped onto the sofa and crossed his legs.
"Tch! If Roger hadn't suddenly changed course for the Calm Belt, I'd have hammered him straight to the bottom of the sea!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full! You bastard, Garp!"
"Sengoku, did Whitebeard's trail go cold in the New World?"
Hearing Zephyr turn the conversation toward him, Sengoku nodded.
"Yes. He formed his own pirate crew. Apparently, he's been particularly fond of looking for sons lately...
"No telling whether he's gone back to the Four Blues or the Grand Line."
"We really should've brought Tsuru along, mmph..."
"You..." With crumbs sprayed all over his face, Sengoku couldn't be bothered to entertain Garp's boasting. His eyes fell on the newspapers on Zephyr's desk, and one eyebrow rose.
"Oh? That 'Heavenquake' Gern from West Blue? News about him has been everywhere lately."
"Yes." Zephyr pushed the document toward Sengoku. "Take a look, Sengoku."
Sengoku took the mission report from Zephyr and skimmed it, his expression gradually growing serious.
"Single-handedly killed a pirate with a sixty-nine-million bounty... a Logia user..."
When he reached the passage about Gern ordering the flag lowered, his fingers paused slightly. "Took down the Marine flag? This kid... is interesting."
Garp leaned over, still chewing rice crackers. "Took down the flag? Why?"
"The Blood Spear Pirates slaughtered Ashport's people. By the time the Marines arrived, the entire town was already in ruins," Zephyr said in a low voice.
"Gern believed that justice arriving late was meaningless, and that they didn't even deserve to fly the Marine flag."
Garp's smile faded for an instant. He fell silent for a rare few seconds, then grinned. "Heh, he's got backbone! I like him!!"
Sengoku looked up at Zephyr, a question in his eyes.
"What do you think, Sengoku?" Zephyr asked with a smile.
Sengoku was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Interesting. Those aren't words you'd expect from an ordinary branch soldier."
"Exactly." Zephyr rose and walked to the window, looking down over Marineford's harbor.
"His service record is unusual, too... He joined the Marines at ten, then took four years just to reach seaman apprentice.
"Yet after the Battle of God's Island, he suddenly rose to prominence and wiped out sixteen pirate crews in a single year."
"But..." Sengoku adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp.
"His Devil Fruit ability... a Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
"It's somewhat like Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but fundamentally different."
"A Logia's elemental power of vibration is purer than the Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit," Zephyr said gravely. "And he's only fifteen."
Sengoku narrowed his eyes slightly. "At fifteen, he can single-handedly kill a pirate who returned from the Grand Line with a bounty of nearly seventy million. His potential is not to be underestimated.
"However..." He paused. "The World Government seems to have some reservations about his ability."
"Those people spend all day jumping at shadows," Garp scoffed. "As long as he's not a pirate, who cares what ability he has!
"Besides, how long has it been since West Blue produced a promising rookie? The Naval Academy just had a graduating class, too. Three rookie monsters! Hahaha."
Zephyr didn't answer. He simply folded the newspaper and set it back on the desk. "I've already signed his transfer orders. He'll report to headquarters next month."
Sengoku raised an eyebrow. "Report here? Zephyr, are you planning to ask Fleet Admiral Kong for him personally?"
Normally, when recruits from the Four Blues like Gern earned a promotion, they would spend some time studying at the Naval Academy.
Zephyr had also been giving frequent lectures at the Naval Academy over the past year or two, clearly showing an interest in training new recruits.
The three recent rookie monsters—Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino—had all been trained by Zephyr during his intermittent teaching stints at the Naval Academy.
But having Gern report directly to headquarters was an entirely different matter!
Zephyr wanted to keep Gern right by his side! Being a student and being a personal disciple were two completely different things!
"Haha! I'm already thirty-seven. I'm different from you two." Zephyr stood and walked to the window, his back as straight as a pine.
"We have you two now, and the next generation has those three monster students.
"But Gern... I've looked into his records. Before he had his Devil Fruit, he was exactly like me when I was young.
"An ordinary person with no particular gifts apart from being a little stronger than others.
"Now that he's gained a Devil Fruit ability, he has what it takes to rise through the ranks. So let me give him some proper training myself."
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