Attack!

"Fought Newgate?" Golden Lion's voice suddenly dropped, and his expression froze. He clearly hadn't processed what he'd heard.

After all, one was a low-ranking Marine he'd never even heard of, while the other was Whitebeard, a man stronger than himself.

Honestly, Golden Lion couldn't connect the two at all.

"Yes, three years ago in the West Blue." Davy swallowed and continued, "Apparently... he even blocked one of Whitebeard's attacks head-on."

The air instantly froze.

Golden Lion's fingers slowly tightened, and the wooden armrest silently crumbled beneath his palm.

At the same time, his lips twisted into a vicious grin, his voice turning hoarse. "Oh? He blocked Newgate head-on?"

Cold sweat seeped from Davy's forehead, but he forced himself to add, "His ability is similar to Whitebeard's. Both can cause vibrations, though they manifest differently."

"And..."

"And what?" Golden Lion's voice was cold as ice.

"It seems Whitebeard remembered his name after that clash.

He even earned the name 'Air Quake.'"

"-Ha!!" Golden Lion suddenly burst into wild laughter, his Conqueror's Haki erupting.

The entire ship shook violently. The pirates on deck dropped to their knees, their faces deathly pale.

"Interesting! Very interesting!" Golden Lion's laughter stopped abruptly. "You're telling me the Marines have been hiding a little Whitebeard?

He's not just Zephyr's disciple? He's even crossed paths with that bastard Newgate?!"

As he spoke, he stomped through the deck, his long golden hair whipping wildly like a lion's mane. "So the Marines think... some counterfeit can scare me?!"

Davy kept his head lowered, not daring to answer.

"Heh, heh." Golden Lion turned and walked toward the bow, his long golden hair billowing in the wind like a lion's mane.

"I can't touch Newgate for now, but an impostor..."

He grinned, exposing gleaming white teeth. "I'll chop him to pieces myself and feed him to the Sea Kings!"

"Admiral, what should we do next..." an officer ventured.

Golden Lion didn't turn around. He merely said coldly, "Where has that brat's warship gone?"

"G-3 Base," Davy replied. "Where Sakazuki is stationed."

At that name, Golden Lion's lips curled into a vicious grin. "That magma brat?"

As the words fell, he abruptly raised his hand. Under the control of his ability, the seawater across the entire area churned violently, and several pirate ships slowly rose into the air, hovering above the clouds.

"Pass down the order." Golden Lion's voice rang through the skies. "All forces, change course! Our target is the Marines' G-3 Base!"

Davy flinched. "Admiral, you're going to attack personally? That's the Marines' G-3 Base."

Golden Lion grinned savagely. "Since the Marines dare capture my men and hide someone with the same ability as Whitebeard...

I'll show them the price of crossing me!"

With that, Golden Lion drew the twin swords at his waist, Oto and Kogarashi, their edges gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"And whether it's Air Quake or magma, neither of them... is worthy of stopping me, Golden Lion!!"

Three days later, in Sakazuki's office at the Marines' G-3 Base, sunlight shone through the blinds, casting sharp stripes across the floor.

Gern had originally come to hand over the prisoner, but Headquarters wanted Doger held here temporarily. They would send someone later to escort him to the great underwater prison, Impel Down.

Gern's warship would then return to Marineford alongside the escort ship.

I get the idea, but is it really okay to leave me here alone with a warm, enthusiastic Sakazuki who's the complete opposite of what I remember?!

"So you're saying G-3 Base's annual combat report needs another three data modules?" Gern propped his chin on one hand, his fingertips tapping impatiently against the desk.

The "G-3 Base Five-Year Development Plan" spread across the desk was already open to chapter seventy-three.

Sakazuki sat behind the desk, the shadow of his military cap hiding the upper half of his face. Only the corners of his tightly pressed lips betrayed his good mood.

He even felt that Gern would soon be staying at his G-3 Base for good.

"Gern, it's not just the data modules. The standardized procedures for the logistics support system also need..."

Just as Sakazuki continued telling Gern how great his G-3 Base was...

Suddenly, Gern's pupils contracted, his boredom vanishing.

His Observation Haki caught an anomaly within a thousandth of a second.

It came from high above the base-the tremors of something enormous tearing through the air.

It wasn't wind, nor was it a thunderstorm. It was...

"Sakazuki!" Gern abruptly stood, his chair scraping harshly across the floor.

"What?" Sakazuki, whose Observation Haki wasn't as strong as Gern's, looked up with a frown, only to see Gern's figure already blurring as he rushed out the window.

Crash! Under Gern's impact, the glass shattered into diamond-like fragments.

Then he pushed off the window frame, shooting toward G-3 Base's tallest watchtower like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The steel structure stood sixty meters tall, but Gern reached its summit with just three steps through the air.

The sea breeze tugged at his justice cloak, and his black hair whipped wildly in the wind. His right hand was already resting on the hilt of Black Blade: Eight Desolations.

"Release." As his low voice fell, the bandages wrapped around the blade snapped apart inch by inch. The pitch-black blade reflected not a glimmer of sunlight.

Fine white vibration particles coiled around its edge, and the air distorted under the high-frequency tremors.

There's no mistaking it... Gern looked up, his gaze piercing the clouds and locking onto the calm sky. The instant his right hand gripped the sword and raised it-

The force field formed by the intensely compressed vibration particles suddenly pressed a perfect circular dent into the steel lookout platform beneath his feet.

Bang! Amid the explosive crack of bursting air, Gern's figure instantly broke the sound barrier.

At the same time, as he shot skyward, his body gradually transformed into his element, becoming countless dancing white particles.

Only the Black Blade remained solid, tracing a pitch-black path through the stream of particles.

Seven hundred meters up, above the clouds!

Reflected in Gern's pupils were three enormous warships that blotted out the sky, along with countless shattered rocks.

The ships were breaking apart. Thousands of rocks, cannons, and fragments of buildings were falling toward G-3 Base like meteors.

"Just as I thought. Lift things high into the sky, then break them apart to use as weapons...

You really went all out... Golden Lion!!"