"Kid, you really have offered me a temptation... I simply can't refuse!"
"Of course." Gern gave a soft snort. "If I came looking for you without being fully prepared...
then you'd really have to worry about how much funding that legendary head of yours could still fetch from the Marines in Beli."
"Jahahahaha!!!" Golden Lion burst into a hearty, unrestrained laugh.
Then he rose to his feet with the two swords on his legs clanging. Though he still relied on his prosthetic limbs to move,
his straightened back and the renewed gleam in his eyes were already different.
With practiced ease, he pulled a well-preserved cigar from his coat lining, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick white smoke ring.
"So, do you have any solid information on that 'Op-Op Fruit' you mentioned?" Impatience crept into his voice.
"If you do, the two of us can just go snatch it!
Me and you... if we joined forces, wouldn't we be invincible?!"
Watching Golden Lion instantly regain his confidence and even start dreaming of being "invincible," Gern couldn't help rolling his eyes and grumbling inwardly.
"Fuck, if you added my assets to the World's Richest Man's, I'd count as the World's Richest Man too!
Even if you recovered your strength, who knows whether you could keep up with today's Yonko Commanders, you old bastard? And you think we'd be invincible..."
Still, despite his inward grumbling, Gern kept a calm expression and waved a hand, interrupting Golden Lion's fantasies.
"Searching aimlessly for one particular Devil Fruit on this vast ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It isn't that easy."
At those words, Golden Lion's brows had just begun to furrow, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
But Gern immediately changed tack, the corners