Three days later — Marine Headquarters training grounds.
The blazing sun hung high overhead, the air thick with searing heat.At the center of the training field, Li Po and Tesoro staggered left and right in disarray, their eyes covered by pitch-black blindfolds.
Beneath their feet lay a specially designed vibration grid. Every step they took triggered faint shockwaves that rippled outward, subtly disrupting their balance.
"Left! No—right!"
Li Po's fluffy ears stood straight up, fine beads of sweat forming across her forehead. The carrot-shaped hair ornament bobbed slightly with her rapid breathing as she strained to catch even the faintest sounds in the air through her hearing alone.
Bang!
A pale particle beam grazed past her shoulder, exploding against the ground and leaving behind a tiny crater.
"That was close!"Li Po cried out, instinctively clutching her chest in alarm.
But before she could relax, another beam shot in from the exact opposite direction, striking her knee with pinpoint precision.
"Aya!"
She stumbled, nearly losing her footing, but grit her teeth, forced herself steady, and continued leaping across the grid.
Not far away, beneath a sunshade, Gern Reginald Sigmar lay lazily on a reclining chair. In one hand, he held an ice-cold glass of watermelon juice, taking an unhurried sip.
His other hand lifted casually. Low-energy vibration particles gathered at his fingertips, and with a light flick—
Another beam shot out.
Compared to high-energy output, the destructive force of these low-energy vibration particles had been suppressed by Gern to the point where being hit felt no worse than being flicked by a small pebble.
After his Devil Fruit awakening, Gern had discovered that his control over vibrations had become far more intuitive and precise.
Unlike Zoan awakenings that focused on overwhelming physical reinforcement, or Paramecia awakenings that altered or assimilated abilities, Logia awakenings were mostly reflected in refined, everyday control.
Of course, [Domain Expansion] was the true manifestation of awakening in its complete form—but unless it came down to a life-or-death struggle, there was rarely any need to use it.
"Tesoro, your movements are too stiff."Gern sucked down another mouthful of juice, let out a sigh, and shook his head.
"Observation Haki doesn't rely on your eyes. It relies on perception.When you got blasted away by Bullet's punch back then, if you'd managed to predict even half a second ahead, you wouldn't have been lying there for so long."
"Me? Predicting Bullet's movements half a second in advance?!"Tesoro's mouth twitched.
"Vice Admiral Gern… when you were trained by Vice Admiral Garp…"He barely dodged another beam as he spoke, breathing heavily."Was it this intense too?"
"Huh? This intense?"Gern snorted, set the watermelon juice aside, and sat up straight."Garp was far worse than this."
As he spoke, Gern's gaze drifted slightly, as if memories had surfaced—those hellish days when Zephyr and Garp had taken turns putting him through brutal training.
Especially Garp's Haki-coated cannonball punches—each strike powerful enough to shatter mountains.
It was under that pure, overwhelming Haki pressure that Gern had forcibly honed his Observation Haki into sheer instinct.
"Back then, nobody told me where to dodge. Garp was trying to kill me for real!You two have it easy. At least I didn't make you train Armament Haki by chaining you up and throwing you into the sea."
"Th-throw you into the sea… while chained up…?"
As Devil Fruit users themselves, Li Po and Tesoro instinctively swallowed, recalling Garp's usually easygoing demeanor.
"Vice Admiral Garp was terrifying in his youth…No—no, surviving him makes you the real monster, Gern."
"So…"Gern shrugged, vibration particles gathering at his fingertips once more."Stop complaining. Keep going."
Shoo!
Another beam fired—this time aimed straight at Tesoro's chest.
Tesoro twisted sharply to the side, the beam grazing the edge of his coat. But in the very next instant, another beam attacked from an impossible angle, slamming directly into his back.
"Ugh!"
He dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth."Damn it! How is anyone supposed to dodge that?!"
"How is it impossible?"Gern raised an eyebrow."The essence of Observation Haki is 'listening to the voices of all things.'"
"Not just your enemy's attacks, but the flow of air, the vibrations in the ground—and even…"
He suddenly paused.
The vibration particles at his fingertips surged violently, and a beam ten times faster than before erupted forth.
"…your opponent's killing intent!"
Li Po and Tesoro felt every hair on their bodies stand on end. Instinctively, they dove in opposite directions.
BOOM!
The beam detonated where they'd been standing moments earlier, the shockwave blasting sand and dust into the air.
"Not bad. You've finally made some progress."Gern nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and stretched lazily."That's enough for today."
Li Po tore off her blindfold and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Her rabbit ears drooped limply.
"Gern… isn't this a bit too harsh…?"
"Harsh?"Gern walked over, crouched down, and flicked her forehead lightly.
"If you can't endure training at this level, how do you expect to face the monsters of the New World?Those people won't show you any mercy."
Tesoro silently removed his blindfold, a flash of unwillingness and frustration flickering in his eyes.
"Vice Admiral Gern… can we really become that strong?"
Gern looked at him—and suddenly smiled.
"Of course."
"Because the era that's coming… will be far more brutal than the present."
I don't expect you to reach Admiral level, he added silently, but you'll at least need the strength to deal with that group of Emperor commanders…
The final thought remained unspoken.
Just as Gern stood up, ready to send the two of them off to rest, his steps suddenly halted.
The temperature of the air plummeted.
Through vibration perception, he sensed moisture in the atmosphere crystallizing into delicate ice flowers.
At the same moment, a chill brushed silently across the back of his neck—and almost simultaneously—
A fist-sized sphere of ice tore through the air at near sonic speed, aimed straight at the center of his back!
"Heh."
Gern's lips curved upward. Without even turning his head, he casually raised his left hand behind him.
BOOM!!!
The ice sphere exploded in his palm. The terrifying impact burst outward as a visible shockwave, and the ground beneath his feet cracked open with a sharp crack, spiderweb fissures spreading in all directions.
Freezing air surged outward. Ice crystals crawled up his arm—only to shatter instantly upon touching Armament-Haki-hardened muscle, clinking to the ground in shards.
Gern slowly withdrew his hand, shook off the remaining frost, and then turned around with an amused, knowing smile toward the entrance of the training grounds.
"A sneak attack?"He raised an eyebrow."Kuzan—since when did you start playing tricks like that?"
From the shadows, a tall figure stepped forward.
Kuzan emerged with his hands in his pockets, a faint smile on his face. The white mist of his breath froze into frost as it left his lips.
"Ara ara… so you noticed."He scratched his head, his tone as lazy as ever, yet his eyes were unusually sharp."Still, taking my 'attack' that easily… figures it'd only be you, Gern."
Li Po and Tesoro, still sprawled on the ground, felt their pupils shrink.
That attack just now—if it had been aimed at them, they wouldn't have even had time to react.
Gern merely chuckled, vibrating his fingertips slightly to disperse the last traces of cold.
"Hahaha."He looked straight at Kuzan, smiling.
"Looks like Fleet Admiral Kong has already delivered the World Government's 'notice'… to you as well, huh?"
"Kuzan."