Before long, the medics carefully lifted Gern onto a stretcher and carried him away, while the Marines who had watched the fight gradually dispersed.
Soon, only Zephyr and Garp remained on the training ground.
Only then did the two of them truly take in the near-total devastation the battle had caused.
The once-level Training Ground No. 1 was now unrecognizable.
The ground looked as though a giant beast had gnawed through it, riddled with deep pits and cracks. Some areas were even grotesquely warped.
Faint ripples of vibration still lingered in the air, as if the air itself had been shattered and could not settle back into place.
Most terrifying of all was the ground around the enormous central crater, where space bore cracks like fractured glass.
It looked as though some invisible force had torn through it, and faint cracking sounds could even be heard.
In the distance, the walls of several Naval Academy buildings were covered in spiderweb cracks. Some had collapsed outright.
The wall around the training ground had long since been pulverized, leaving only a few lonely steel bars jutting crookedly from the earth.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Garp stood at the edge of the field, his eyes wide as he surveyed the surroundings. "This looks like a meteor hit it!"
As he spoke, Garp crouched down and touched a crack that was still trembling. A stinging, high-frequency vibration immediately shot through his fingertips.
"Hiss... Even the ground's still shaking." He withdrew his hand, his brow furrowing.
Zephyr silently surveyed the destruction, his right hand unconsciously moving to his left arm.
Garp noticed something was wrong. His gaze fell on Zephyr's slightly trembling left hand. "Zephyr, you..."
Zephyr tugged at the corners of his mouth, forcing a smile. "I didn't have time to coat it in Armament Haki for that final blow... I never imagined the Tremor-Tremor Fruit would be this powerful."
Garp's expression grew grave. Any vibration that could make even "Black Arm" Zephyr suffer had to be formidable.
But a moment later, Garp suddenly grinned and patted Zephyr on the shoulder.
"When Sengoku gets back and finds out Training Ground No. 1 is gone again,
"his mustache will probably bristle with rage! Didn't we finish repairing it less than three months ago?"
Zephyr gave a quiet snort and cast Garp a casual glance. "You're the one who suggested letting Gern go all out this time."
"Huh?" Garp's eyes widened in an innocent expression. "I just said it offhand! Who knew you'd actually let him cut loose?" Then he muttered,
"You could've ended the fight with one punch..."
The corners of Zephyr's mouth rose almost imperceptibly. "When Sengoku comes back and asks, we'll tell him you're responsible."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Garp immediately waved his hands, taking two exaggerated steps back. "I don't want Sengoku nagging me!
"Last time, he hounded me for an entire week over the training ground's repair costs!
"I even went to the ship graveyard to practice my punches!"
Zephyr chuckled softly and said nothing more, merely rubbing his left arm, which still ached.
Garp scratched his head, then suddenly brightened. "How about this? We'll say a meteor hit the training ground. Sengoku has no proof anyway!"
"That story..." Zephyr gave him a sidelong look. "You think Sengoku would believe it?"
"Hahaha! Who cares!" Garp laughed and slapped Zephyr on the back. "It's not like he can summon the meteor to testify!"
Zephyr shook his head helplessly, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least Garp would probably draw all of Sengoku's fire.
Jokes aside, once they settled down and looked at the terrifying destruction before them, both men were struck by a fresh sense of awe.
"Destruction on this scale..." Garp murmured. "It's practically worse than Whitebeard... No, it might even be more dangerous."
Zephyr nodded slowly, the pain in his left arm drawing fine beads of sweat across his forehead.
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was already dangerous, but this kid's a Logia user on top of that. And..." Zephyr looked in the direction Gern had been carried away.
"Most importantly, he's only spent a year developing his fruit since he got it. Yet how many different moves did he throw at me just now?
"And that was with me forbidding him from using his sword!"
The lingering ripples of vibration continued to spread through the air, while faint cracking sounds occasionally rose from the ruined training ground.
The two legendary Marines exchanged a glance, each seeing the same emotion in the other's eyes.
Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's Office at Marine Headquarters.
Kong held his clasped hands beneath his chin, staring fixedly at the battle report and several photographs of the training ground shattered by the tremors.
His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Finally, he slammed a hand onto the desk, sending water splashing from his teacup.
"This kid... Is he really a Logia user?" Fleet Admiral Kong's voice carried disbelief.
Although Gern had a record of fighting Whitebeard, Kong still harbored some doubts, having never witnessed it himself.
Especially since, at present, he placed greater importance on the three monsters who had graduated from the Naval Academy.
But this probing bout between Gern and Zephyr had finally made the Fleet Admiral truly take notice of Gern.
"This destructive power... It's almost like someone combined Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit with the properties of a Logia."
The messenger standing beside him wiped away a cold sweat. "Reporting, Fleet Admiral. Vice Admiral Zephyr has confirmed that Warrant Officer Gern's ability is indeed the Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"And..." He hesitated, pointing at the area of fractured space in the photograph.
"According to observations by the Science Division personnel at the scene, the residual vibrations from Warrant Officer Gern's fruit ability can even persist for a short time."
Fleet Admiral Kong took a deep breath, his gaze settling on the handwritten assessment at the end of the report-the fourth one Zephyr had submitted.
[His potential far exceeds expectations. Recommended for focused training...]
"Heh. Zephyr's eye is as sharp as ever." Kong shook his head, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"First those three monsters, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino. Now Gern too...
"Four powerful Logia users. The Marines really have struck gold."
After a moment's contemplation, Fleet Admiral Kong suddenly asked, "By the way, where is Sengoku now?"
"Admiral Sengoku is expected to return to headquarters tomorrow."
"Good." Fleet Admiral Kong gave a meaningful smile.
"When he returns, make sure you immediately take him on a tour of the 'newly renovated' Training Ground No. 1.
"Just... Just tell him Garp did it."
Two months later, in the infirmary at Marine Headquarters.
Snip.
As the last strip of bandage was cut away, Gern grimaced and sat up in bed, looking down at his chest, which had finally seen daylight again.
The ugly bruising had faded, but a few faint fist marks remained on his skin.
"Instructor Zephyr's punches... They really do pack a wallop."
Gern rolled his shoulders, and his joints immediately cracked as if in protest.
"I only took a few hits, and I still ended up stuck in bed for two months!"
"You call that 'a few hits'?!" The medic put away the scissors, unable to resist protesting. "If Captain Kuzan hadn't used his ability in time to stop your bleeding and lower your temperature, you might've..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Gern hastily waved his hands. "Keep talking and I'll start thinking I'm a medical miracle."
Then he jumped out of bed, grabbed the uniform hanging on the wall, and threw it on. "Oh, right. Where's my sword?"
"Your weapon has already been sent to your office."
"Also..." The medic handed him a document.
"Vice Admiral Zephyr left this for you before heading out on a mission last month. He said not to open it until you were back on your feet."
"For me?" Gern raised an eyebrow and took the document. The moment he opened it and glanced inside, he froze.
There was only a single line of large, boldly scrawled writing on the paper:
"Meet me at the docks at four tomorrow morning. Be late and you'll train ten times as much-Z."
"Hey, hey... What kind of recovery gift is this?!
"Wait, how did Instructor Zephyr know when I'd recover?"
Before you continue