"You lost."
"I..."
"You what? What can you do now?" Gern stared coldly at the motionless Ace, making no move to sheathe his blade.
Instead, he spoke softly, his tone so calm it bordered on cruelty.
"What do you think power is? A Devil Fruit? Innate talent? Or... reckless courage?"
"When I first set sail on these seas, Rocks's legend had already ended. It was the age when Roger, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard began forging their legends."
"And at first, I was nothing more than someone at a branch in the West Blue, with no talent whatsoever, just a little stronger than the average man.
"A chore boy, an ant, who was so afraid of dying that he bribed officers to avoid battles with pirates."
"No gifts from my bloodline. No favor from fate.
"I only made it this far because I dared to cut off my own retreat, gamble, and scheme for a sliver of luck-the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Eight Desolations.
"But even with those assets, I was still weak. So I began planning, advancing one careful step at a time, using every means available
"to learn, to obtain the resources I needed to rise-Haki and Physical Arts."
At this, Gern raised his voice, laughter creeping into it. "During that climb...
"I drew my blade against Whitebeard at the very height of his power and saw what the 'World's Strongest' truly meant.
"In an age dominated by the Naval Academy system, in a Marineford ruled by seniority, I defeated Kizaru in actual combat!
"I made my mark and made everyone remember my name-Gern!!"
"I cut down 'Golden Lion' Shiki when he was at his proudest, leaving him with a scar on his mind that would never fade, so he never dared face me again!!
**"I defeated Wano Country's hero,