Two months later, on the shore of an island.
"The Elite Training Camp?" Kuzan, who had just finished a mission, glanced at the document delivered by a messenger and frowned.
"Isn't this just asking me to go back and put on an exhibition match for the recruits? I'm a busy man..."
Before he could finish, he spotted Gern's name on the document and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Oh? Looks like it won't be such a boring exhibition after all!"
Inside an upscale restaurant in the Sabaody Archipelago, Borsalino sat wearing a hat, leisurely cutting his steak with an amused smile on his lips.
"Oh~ How frightening~" he drawled, looking at the summons beside his plate.
"Surely they aren't asking me to fight someone who could cut even Golden Lion? Teacher Zephyr is so cruel!"
In the New World, the ruins of G-3 Base had yet to be fully repaired. Sakazuki stood on high ground, gazing out at the distant sea.
"Pointless nonsense. Nothing but a waste of time."
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters' abandoned shipyard.
Beneath the blazing sun, Black Blade: Eight Desolations became a streak of black lightning in Gern's hand. Its razor-sharp gleam sliced through the air with a piercing whistle.
Sweat slid down the taut contours of his muscles, falling to the ground and leaving dark spots.
"The training camp?" Gern sheathed his blade and accepted the document handed to him, his brows slowly knitting into a tight knot.
The names on the list were plain to see: Kuzan, Borsalino, Sakazuki... and himself.
"They want us to put on exhibition matches for the Elite Training Camp?" Gern tapped the document with his knuckles, an amused smile tugging at his lips.
He wasn't an idiot. The deeper intent behind the document was obvious.
They were going to use this