Abandoned warship mooring area.
Gern and Kuzan stood together before the armor plating of a decommissioned battleship, their fists already wrapped in bandages.
Garp leaned against a nearby gun emplacement, leisurely sipping a drink.
"Twenty thousand punches. Full strength," he said indistinctly. "Remember, you two: if the bones in your fists aren't hard enough, you won't even withstand one punch from me."
Gern took a deep breath and settled into his stance.
He threw his first punch.
Thud! The dull impact echoed, leaving a shallow dent in the armor plating.
A piercing pain shot through his finger bones, but he didn't pause. His second punch followed, then his third...
By his three hundredth punch, his bandages were soaked in blood.
By his five hundredth, Gern's knuckles were a bloody mess, and every impact made his arms tremble.
"No Haki!" Garp suddenly barked. "Right now, your Haki is your roar! Roar for me!!"
By his eight hundredth punch, the dent in the armor plating was two inches deep.
"Bleeding? That means you're still alive! If you're alive, you can keep punching!"
By his nine thousand five hundredth punch, the entire armor plate began to warp.
"Roger stood steadier than you when he took this punch back in the day!"
His twenty thousandth punch...
Boom! Gern's final punch blasted straight through the entire ship!
Seeing Gern finish before him, a flicker of surprise crossed Kuzan's eyes. He had clearly been training with Garp longer.
As Gern drew back his fist, panting, Garp walked over and inspected it, then nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. You're finally getting somewhere."
"Remember, a true 'iron fist' isn't about brute force. It's the union of Haki and willpower."
Gern looked at his battered hands, which somehow felt reborn, and suddenly understood something.
"Tomorrow," Garp said as he turned to leave, "we'll try some real sparring."
Gern's smile froze on his face.
A bitter wind howled. A thick layer of frost covered the training ground, and bone-chilling mist hung in the air.
Gern stood in the center of the grounds, wearing only a thin black training tank top. His white breath condensed into frost before him.
Across from him, Kuzan stood languidly with his hands in his pockets, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
"So... this is 'special training in defending against Logia powers'?" Gern chuckled. "Or... am I just supposed to sit back and enjoy it?!"
"Ah, la la. Don't be nervous, Gern." Kuzan waved a hand. "I'm just letting you experience it."
Zephyr stood outside the grounds with his arms folded and said in a low voice:
"The rules are simple. Kuzan will use his freezing powers to restrain you.
And you must use Armament Haki to defend against everything, or even negate his powers."
"Negate Kuzan's powers with Armament Haki?" Gern's eyes widened.
"Can't do it?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Then when you face opponents like Kuzan or Sakazuki in the future, you won't even have a chance to put up a fight."
"I understand, Instructor Zephyr." Gern took a deep breath, his gaze gradually firming.
"Here we go, Gern." Kuzan raised a hand. A glittering ice crystal formed at his fingertips, and he flicked it gently.
Whoosh! The crystal burst in midair, turning into countless tiny ice needles that shot toward Gern like a torrential downpour!
Gern gave a low shout, and jet-black Haki instantly covered his entire body. The ice needles struck his skin with a series of clear clinks, unable to penetrate it.
Kuzan smiled faintly. "Not bad. But we're only getting started."
He brought his hands together, and freezing air spread wildly. The ice beneath Gern's feet rapidly climbed upward, trying to freeze him solid.
I can't stop! Gern gritted his teeth, maintaining his Haki output to resist the encroaching cold.
But he soon discovered a problem: using Armament Haki to defend against Logia powers drained it far faster than he had imagined!
"Armament Haki isn't just about coating your skin," Zephyr called from outside the grounds. "You have to make Haki flow through your body, forming a 'defensive cycle.'"
Gern tried adjusting his breathing, no longer letting his Haki sit rigidly over his skin, but instead circulating it through his muscles and bones like blood.
Seeing this, Kuzan's gaze shifted slightly.
"Oh? You're a quick learner." He chuckled, then suddenly raised a hand.
"Ice Ball!"
Boom! Countless hail-like blasts of freezing air hammered toward Gern, each carrying a penetrating, bone-chilling cold!
"Ugh!" Gern grunted. His Haki wavered slightly under the impact, and the cold began seeping into his skin.
"Don't let the cold get inside!" Zephyr barked.
Gern clenched his teeth fiercely. His Armament Haki erupted again, black lightning flickering as he forcibly shattered the ice covering his body!
Time ticked by. Gern's breathing grew heavier and heavier. The strain of expending Haki left his whole body burning hot, yet the bitter cold around him made him feel as though he had plunged into an ice cellar.
Kuzan's attacks never stopped. Ice spikes, freezing blasts, and waves of cold came one after another, forcing Gern to constantly adjust the flow of his Haki.
Fifteen minutes... twenty minutes... twenty-five minutes...
Gern's arms began trembling, and slight fluctuations appeared in his Haki coating.
"Can't hold on much longer?" Kuzan tilted his head. "Want to give up?"
"Heh..." Gern managed a smile and let out a low roar.
"Keep going, you frozen bastard who keeps stealing my food!!"
As he spoke, his Haki erupted once more, and a faint dark-red sheen actually appeared over his jet-black Armament Haki!
"Oh?" Kuzan's gaze sharpened at the sight. "Interesting. Have you already grasped the beginnings of Ryuo?"
(I don't know what the Navy calls "Ryuo," so I'll just use that name throughout!)
Outside the training grounds, the corners of Zephyr's mouth lifted slightly too. "Finally reached the threshold..."
"Last thirty seconds!" Zephyr shouted.
Hearing Zephyr's countdown, Kuzan stopped holding back. He pressed both hands to the ground. "Ice Age!"
Crack! A terrifying chill instantly swept across the entire grounds. Thick ice formed beneath Gern's feet, threatening to freeze him completely!
"Aaaah!" Gern roared, his Haki surging wildly as he repeatedly froze and broke free, froze and broke free.
"Time's up!" At Zephyr's command, Kuzan withdrew his power, and the frost slowly receded.
Steam rose from Gern's entire body as his Haki gradually faded. Utterly drained, he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.
Zephyr walked over and nodded in satisfaction. "You pass."
"Kuzan, you were definitely using this to settle a personal score!" Gern slumped onto the ground with a grin.
"You'd better not give me an opening...
Or I'll definitely blast you back."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Kuzan plopped down on the ground at that, smiling as he waved a hand. "Then I'll be waiting."
Before you continue