Watching Corazon shield Doflamingo's frantic escape with a barrier created by the Calm-Calm Fruit,
Gern chose not to pursue them and slowly descended from the sky instead.
Just then, Hawk-Eye approached from nearby with the Black Blade Yoru on his back.
He glanced in the direction Doflamingo and Corazon had disappeared and said in his usual level tone, "Wasn't that a little too obvious?"
"Obvious? To ordinary people or idiots, maybe." Hearing Hawk-Eye's question, Gern chuckled and shook his head. "But our Doflamingo...
"He's a smart man. A very suspicious smart man who likes to make simple things complicated."
At that, Gern stretched. "The more something looks like a coincidence or a deliberate setup, the more that overthinking brain of his will reach the opposite conclusion.
"Right now, Doflamingo will only believe that his 'clumsy' brother, who 'loves him deeply,'
"risked his life at a critical moment and unleashed astonishing potential to save him from 'Calamity.'"
"And as for me..." Gern spread his hands, his expression both arrogant and helpless. "Come on! I'm 'Heavenquake' Gern!
"A madman who doesn't give a damn about the World Government, pays lip service to Marine Headquarters while doing whatever he wants, and is lawless enough to beat up Celestial Dragons!
"What the hell is Doflamingo to someone like me?
"Would he be worth all that scheming and playacting just to pave the way for his brother? That would be an insult to my 'character'!"
Mimicking the reasoning Doflamingo would probably invent, Gern laughed. "So not only will he have no suspicions, he'll be overwhelmed with gratitude toward Corazon. His trust will go straight through the roof.
"After all, even though that Divine Spear detonated in midair, I really did put thirty percent of my power into it!
"If the Calm-Calm Fruit hadn't happened to