The Hero's Name Was a Disguise

God Valley, western Marine evacuation point.

The last rays of sunset fell across the warship's deck. Marines busied themselves carrying the wounded, and the mingled scents of blood and sea salt hung in the air.

"This battle is finally over..."

He had short purple hair and a resolute, sharply defined face. His muscular, powerful frame strained against his standard-issue sleeveless Marine shirt.

The dark blue fabric stretched taut across his chest. A pure white cape billowed behind him, the word "Justice" rippling in the wind.

With his thick arms folded across his chest, Zephyr stood at the bow, his justice cape snapping in the sea breeze.

"Vice Admiral Zephyr!" A Marine approached and handed him a list. "These are the Marines killed in this battle."

At those words, Zephyr knitted his brows, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic deck.

More than half the names on the list in his hand had already been crossed out. The carnage at God Valley had far exceeded their expectations.

"Sigh. In that case, prepare to withdraw and set sail!"

"Yes, sir!" The Marine saluted and was about to relay the order.

Then, suddenly, a commotion broke out in the distance.

"Wait! Someone's still alive!" a Marine cried, pointing at the shoreline.

Every head turned toward it.

A figure staggered toward them, covered in blood, with another man on his back.

His Marine uniform was already in tatters, yet he held his back straight, as though he had summoned the last of his strength.

At the bow, Zephyr's pupils contracted slightly. "That's..."

Gern trudged forward, each heavy step leaving a deep footprint in the sand.

His face was smeared with blood, and his breathing was labored, as though he might collapse at any moment.

Derrick's "corpse" lay limply across his back, arms dangling and swaying gently with his steps.

The soldiers on deck froze, then broke into hushed murmurs.

"Someone actually made it out of that hell of a battlefield!"

"The man on his back... is that Warrant Officer Derrick from the West Blue branch? God, I know him..."

Listening to the Marines' murmurs, Zephyr strode down the gangway without a word and stopped before Gern.

His gaze was sharp as a blade as he scrutinized the young soldier.

"What happened? Your name." Zephyr's voice was low, carrying unquestionable authority.

"Gern Reginald Sigma." Gern slowly raised his head. At the sight of Zephyr's face, he couldn't help marveling inwardly.

So this is Zephyr at the height of his integrity? What an aura of power!

Still, thoughts were one thing, and keeping up the act was another. After all, Zephyr was his target this time!

So Gern let exhaustion fill his eyes. His lips were cracked, and his voice was so hoarse it was barely audible.

"Warrant Officer Derrick... to cover my escape, he was attacked by Whitebeard, one of the remnants of the Rocks Pirates..."

Zephyr didn't doubt this seaman apprentice's words in the slightest. Instead, his brows drew even tighter.

"So carrying him was what delayed you?"

Gern fell silent for a moment, then dropped to one knee. He bowed his head to conceal the downward tug of his lips, his voice choking.

"I... I promised Derrick... I'd bring him home..."

Gern frantically recalled all the suffering he had endured in the years since coming to this world. The despair he had genuinely experienced made him sob his heart out.

For a moment, the deck fell utterly silent. Only the waves lapping against the hull could be heard.

Zephyr looked down at the list in his hand and immediately found Gern's and Derrick's names.

When he saw that Gern was merely a seaman apprentice from a West Blue branch, he paused in surprise.

"You're a seaman apprentice from a West Blue branch?!"

"Yes." Gern nodded. "I begged Warrant Officer Derrick to bring me along.

"I said a real man should see a wider world and greater battlefields!

"But I never thought... never thought... if it hadn't been for me!"

Zephyr believed every word Gern said.

Because, to make it easier to collect Gern's death benefits,

Derrick's name was indeed written in the designated recipient field, while Gern's was written in Derrick's.

Among Marines, only those who trusted each other like family would put one another's names in that field before heading into battle.

Zephyr stared at Gern for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

That hand was as heavy as a mountain, yet held a trace of warmth.

"Gern, you did the right thing." Zephyr's voice softened, a rare occurrence. "Marines never abandon their comrades."

Gern's shoulders trembled slightly, but soon steadied.

He kept his head lowered, so no one could see the mockery in his eyes. "Yes, Vice Admiral."

The soldiers who had just survived the deadly battle at God Valley were moved by the scene as well. Some even had tears in their eyes.

They murmured about Gern's "bravery," as though he were some tragic hero.

Soon, Derrick's body was covered with a white sheet, and the ship's doctor stepped forward to examine him.

When he pulled open Derrick's uniform, his expression changed sharply.

"This... his internal organs have been completely pulverized, but there are almost no external injuries!" He looked up at Zephyr, his voice trembling.

"Injuries like these... it's as though some kind of vibrational force attacked him directly from within."

At those words, Zephyr's gaze abruptly sharpened.

"Vibrational force?"

"Yes. It matches the characteristics of the Devil Fruit ability used by Whitebeard of the Rocks Pirates," the doctor added quietly.

Zephyr was silent for a moment before his gaze returned to Gern.

Gern still kept his head bowed, as though lost in "grief."

"Sigh. How many more young lives have we lost to another game played by the Celestial Dragons?

"A child his mother spent more than twenty years raising couldn't even survive five seconds in front of those monsters."

Zephyr slammed his fist into the ship's railing, then turned and ordered his adjutant, "Record our losses. Prepare to return."

Night fell, and the Marine warship slowly sailed away from God's Island. It cut through the pitch-black sea, leaving a silver wake beneath the moonlight.

Gern stood alone at the stern, watching the dark sea.

Moonlight fell across the side of his face, outlining its cold, hard contours.

"Crack..." A faint splintering sound came from beneath his feet.

Spiderweb cracks quietly spread through the wooden deck, centered on his military boots.

Gern stared at those uncontrolled vibration particles, a cold smile tugging at his lips. A moment later, the tiny cracks in the air vanished.

I've achieved my goal, but merely having a Devil Fruit is nowhere near enough in this world!

Without cheats or a system, I, Gern, will have to proceed carefully in this world, starting as a "triple-zero product" with no fruit, no Haki, and no talent.

Step by step, I'll reach the top!

The Devil Fruit is the first step. Next, I need to develop its powers and master Haki!

Gern's fingertips unconsciously rubbed the bandage-wrapped hilt of Eight Desolations as his thoughts raced.

Without a doubt, Zephyr is the best choice!

Among this era's senior Marines, Sengoku is pouring everything into becoming an admiral, while Garp is chasing Roger all over the world.

Only Zephyr-the future chief instructor of the Marines, who will soon rise to admiral under the name "Black Arm"-would spare any thought for an ordinary soldier and his training.

And if I've got the timeline right... after this God Valley Incident, Zephyr will be promoted from Marine Headquarters vice admiral to headquarters admiral.

Besides, once I return to West Blue and reveal my fruit ability, I'll work my way up and back to Marine Headquarters.

Whether for factional ties or plans for the future, leaving a good impression on Zephyr can only benefit me!

"Heh. The mastery of Armament Haki that earned him the name 'Black Arm' is no weaker than Garp's right now!"

Gern chuckled and raised his hand, gathering a cluster of white vibration particles in his palm.

"So 'justice'..." He abruptly clenched his fist, and the cluster burst with dazzling white light between his fingers. "Is nothing special after all."

The waves surged, and the warship's silhouette gradually vanished into the distant darkness.

P.S. Note: Zephyr died at age seventy-four. The God Valley Incident took place thirty-eight years ago, calculated using the manga's current timeline as the reference point.

His birth can therefore be placed thirty-six years before the incident (74 years old at death − 38 years = 36 years old).

Thus, Zephyr would have been thirty-six when the God Valley Incident occurred.

Zephyr, Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru were Marine cadets in the same class. He entered the Marineford Naval Academy at fourteen and first saw combat at eighteen.

At twenty-eight, he was promoted to headquarters corporal and mastered the Six Powers. At thirty-four, his mastery of Armament Haki earned him the name "Black Arm." At thirty-eight, he was officially promoted to Marine admiral.

At the time of the God Valley Incident, when he was thirty-six, Zephyr had not yet attained the rank of admiral.