Boss, the world is about to change

The Golden Lion's figure vanished completely beyond the distant horizon, leaving only the howling wind and lingering smoke over the Marines' G-3 Base.

Sakazuki and Zephyr stood where they were, their eyes fixed on Gern's back.

Gern still stood upright, Black Blade: Eight Desolations angled toward the ground. The purple-black lightning along its edge had completely dissipated.

"Gern..." Zephyr called softly, his brow tightly furrowed.

He sensed something wrong... Gern's posture was too rigid, like a statue.

Seeing this, Sakazuki also spoke in a low voice. "Hey, Gern. The Golden Lion's already escaped."

Gern gave neither of them a response.

Zephyr's heart sank. He hurried forward and placed a hand on Gern's shoulder.

"Gern, you..." The instant Zephyr touched him, Gern toppled straight backward like a puppet with its strings cut.

Zephyr reacted quickly and caught him, only then discovering that Gern's eyes were shut and his breathing was faint.

"He... passed out?" A rare trace of uncertainty entered Sakazuki's voice.

Zephyr lowered his head to examine Gern's injuries, his expression complicated.

The webbing between Gern's thumbs and forefingers had split open, and the muscles in both arms had torn under the excessive strain.

That single strike, Godfall, had drained almost all his strength.

Yet even so, his body had maintained its fighting stance, and even the edge of Black Blade: Eight Desolations had not wavered in the slightest.

"He lost consciousness after unleashing that strike," Zephyr said slowly.

"Just now... his body was holding itself up on instinct alone."

At Zephyr's words, Sakazuki's pupils contracted slightly.

Instinctively, he looked at Black Blade: Eight Desolations, still clenched tightly in Gern's hand. The purple-black patterns on the blade were slowly fading, but that heart-stopping sense of pressure had yet to disappear entirely.

"Just... an unconscious body and the slightest movement of his blade scared off the Golden Lion..." Sakazuki murmured, an indescribable emotion flickering in his eyes.

"Then just how terrifying was that strike?"

He had never imagined that this man he admired, who usually loved joking around, could unleash such terrifying power in a life-or-death moment.

"Reinforcements from Headquarters will be here soon." Zephyr hoisted Gern onto his back and turned toward the interior of the base.

"Contact the medical team that withdrew to the safe zone first."

Sakazuki followed silently, the scene from moments ago replaying over and over in his mind.

The moment Gern swung his blade, the fear in the Golden Lion's eyes, and that purple-black slash that tore through the sky.

"Instructor Zephyr," Sakazuki suddenly said. "That blade... where exactly did it come from?"

Zephyr's steps paused briefly, but he did not turn around.

Only then did he reply quietly, "What are you thinking? Isn't it just Gern's blade?"

"And..." Seeing Sakazuki hesitate, Zephyr sternly rebuked him in a cold voice. "Sakazuki, why have you gotten weaker since obtaining the Magma-Magma Fruit?"

The sea breeze suddenly turned biting, sweeping up the dust covering the ground.

"Instructor Zephyr, I..." Sakazuki had just begun to argue when Zephyr spoke again.

"Don't let the tremendous power granted by your Devil Fruit blind you.

Look at your Armament Haki! Your Observation Haki! Before I arrived...

Even if you were no match for the Golden Lion, with Gern helping you suppress his Devil Fruit powers...

You shouldn't have been defeated so quickly, you fool!"

Sakazuki's pupils contracted sharply.

Memories surged like a tide-his sixteen-year-old self kneeling in the dojo, a newly sharpened saber resting across his knees.

At his graduation ceremony, he had split a test reef with a blade coated in Haki.

Those images overlapped with the scorched marks left by his Magma Fist before him, bringing fine beads of sweat to his forehead.

Sakazuki slowly raised his palm and stared at the swordsman's calluses he had neglected for so long.

"If you've abandoned your weapon, you should forge a new path, not stagnate here.

I remember teaching you that lesson, Sakazuki."

Watching Zephyr's retreating back as he carried Gern away, Sakazuki fell silent...

During his time stationed at G-3 Base, he had indeed grown somewhat dependent on his Devil Fruit powers and neglected his Haki training.

Meanwhile, in a safe area of G-3 Base.

A man in a gray trench coat slowly lowered the camera in his hands. His fingers trembled slightly, and cold sweat covered his forehead.

As a veteran reporter for the World Economy News Paper, he had witnessed countless major events, but everything that had just happened still left him struggling to breathe.

He had originally come here only to be the first to report on whatever famous pirate G-3 Base arrested next, essentially staking the place out for stories like a paparazzo.

But what had happened instead?! At first, he had thought it was a routine little story about the capture of "Island-Splitter" Doger.

Then the Golden Lion attacked the Marine Base, making his eyes light up.

After all, a legendary pirate launching a surprise attack on a key Marine stronghold was enough to make the headlines.

Then Zephyr appeared to save the day, another excellent hook, but...

When he witnessed Gern drive back the Golden Lion with a single slash, he realized that what he had photographed was far more astonishing than he had imagined.

The reporter looked down at the photographs in his camera.

The image captured the instant Gern swung his blade. Purple-black sword light pierced heaven and earth, while the Golden Lion's eyes rolled back and his expression twisted, as though he were facing death itself.

"Is this... really something I could have photographed?" he murmured, his throat dry.

Then he slowly took a golden Den Den Mushi from inside his coat and dialed the direct line to his boss, Big News Morgans.

"Well? Did you get any good stories at the G-3 Marine Base?" The moment the line connected, Big News Morgans's sleepy voice came through, mingled with the sound of chewing.

"A routine report from G-3 Base? You'd better not tell me you wasted film taking another pile of pictures of the Marine cafeteria's menu."

The reporter did not answer immediately, still staring at the photograph.

"Hello? Say something!" A wineglass slammed heavily onto a table on the other end of the line as Big News Morgans urged him impatiently.

"I believe I told you not to contact me unless you've got some explosive news.

You should know the price of wasting my time as president of the World Economy News Paper-"

"Shut up!!"

"You..." After a brief, deathly silence, the Den Den Mushi's expression changed, and a leather chair creaked under shifting weight-Big News Morgans had clearly sat up straight.

"Boss... get ready to rewrite journalism history." The reporter was not worried about having shouted at Big News Morgans.

Instead, he drew a deep breath and slowly spoke, his voice trembling.

"This time, the stars aren't pirates anymore... they're Marines."

"Boss, the world is about to change."