3:00 PM, outside the Marineford Naval Academy.
Gern stood at the entrance of the training grounds—and froze.
Training Ground No. 1 was completely packed.
Marines filled the perimeter, from ordinary soldiers to field-grade officers, and even several figures at general rank stood watching from afar.
At the very front, he recognized several familiar faces—
Momonga, Onigumo, Doberman…
Future Vice Admirals, still bearing the youthful air of students.
"Gern! You've got this!
Show the same spirit you used against Whitebeard!
Don't hold back!!"
Garp's booming voice stood out unmistakably.
"So many people…" Gern muttered.
"Nervous?" Zephyr's voice came from behind.
Gern turned to see Zephyr already changed into training attire, his purple hair striking under the sunlight.
"Just didn't expect Vice Admiral Zephyr to be this popular," Gern said dryly.
"Hmph." Zephyr snorted. "They're not here to see me."
He strode toward the center of the field.
"Come. Show me what you can do."
The moment they stepped onto the field, cheers erupted.
Gern took a deep breath, unstrapped Eight Desolations from his back, handed it to a guard, and walked forward to face Zephyr.
Sunlight blazed across the vast sandy ground.
Standing there, Gern could clearly feel countless gazes locked onto him—some especially intense.
Kuzan leaned casually against a distant tree, eyes sharp despite his relaxed posture.
Dragon stood at the edge of the crowd, expression unreadable.
And from the academy windows above, a few familiar heads peeked out.
"Focus." Zephyr's voice snapped Gern back.
"Today, don't worry about me—and don't hold back.
You can fully unleash your Devil Fruit."
Zephyr's eyes gleamed.
"I'm curious too… about a Logia-type Quake."
"In that case…"
Gern nodded, raising his left hand.
"May I call you Teacher Zephyr?"
The moment the words left his mouth—
Quake particles condensed instantly, a white energy mass floating in his palm as the air trembled.
"You should've called me that long ago, you idiot disciple."
Zephyr didn't move—only slowly raised his right fist.
Jet-black Armament Haki coated his entire arm like solid steel.
"Remember this, Gern."
Zephyr's voice, amplified by Haki, echoed across the entire field.
"Haki comes from presence, willpower, and spirit.
You must experience it to awaken your true potential.
You've already felt peak Conqueror's Haki from Whitebeard.
Now—
I'll show you the pinnacle of Armament… and the application of Observation."
Before the last word landed—
Zephyr vanished.
"So fast—!"
Gern's pupils shrank. He instinctively dodged left—
Too late.
A simple, unadorned straight punch slammed into his abdomen.
BOOM!
Air exploded.
Gern was launched like a cannonball, smashing into the training ground wall.
Cracks spider-webbed instantly as rubble flew.
Dead silence.
Gern slid from the crater, dropped to one knee, blood at the corner of his mouth, staring up in shock.
That punch hadn't just hit his body—
It forcibly dispersed his elemental form.
"So this is… top-tier Armament Haki?"
Gern wiped the blood and stood.
"Completely different from half-baked stuff like Loguetown…"
"Now do you understand?"
Zephyr stood where he was, fist still extended.
"In the New World, people who can injure Logia users are everywhere.
Without Haki—
you're nothing but a paper tiger."
"And—"
Zephyr's lips curved upward as he shouted:
"With this level, I can't imagine how you even challenged Whitebeard!!"
"Heh."
Gern laughed—this time genuinely.
He rolled his shoulders.
The air trembled more violently.
"In that case…"
Eight white quake spheres formed around him.
"Prepare yourself, Teacher Zephyr!!"
"Heavenly Quake · Eight Extremes Orbs!"
The spheres fired and detonated in front of Zephyr.
Space twisted. Shockwaves rippled outward.
The ground collapsed into spider-web fractures.
Yet Zephyr crossed his arms.
Jet-black Armament Haki formed an indestructible armor—
and tore the shockwaves apart.
BOOM!
Sandstorms erupted. Marines staggered back.
"To block that head-on—!"
"As expected of Vice Admiral Zephyr!"
"Quake Flash · Rail Glide!"
Gern's body blurred.
Air compressed beneath his feet into a high-density track.
He shot forward in a straight line—near sonic speed.
At the same time, his left foot gathered a white vortex.
"Execution of 'Quake Justice' begins!"
"Good choice. But—"
Zephyr snapped, Observation already predicting the path.
"Straight-line dash into a side kick?
Just like Borsalino—too naive!"
Zephyr sidestepped and fired an Armament-coated uppercut!
BOOM!
The punch passed through an afterimage.
At the last instant, Gern used Quake Blink, shifting position mid-elementalization—
reappearing behind Zephyr.
"I'm not an idiot, Teacher!!"
Both fists vibrated at extreme frequency, hammering Zephyr's back.
"Heavenly Quake · Shatterstar Fist!"
Air cracked like glass—each strike capable of pulverizing steel.
"Only a year of development, and you're already this refined?"
Zephyr countered without turning, elbow slamming back.
KRA-BOOOOM!!
Forces collided.
A spherical shockwave erupted—the ground collapsed entirely.
Onigumo had to stab his blade into the earth to stay upright.
Momonga's eyes widened.
"Even the terrain—!"
"Not bad at all!"
From the dust, Zephyr stepped back half a pace, tearing off his shredded sleeve.
Above—
Gern flipped midair, hands slicing down.
"Heavenly Quake · Thousand Light Wheels!"
Hundreds of white discs rained down.
Zephyr covered his entire body in Armament—
and tanked them with raw flesh.
The ground layered into powder; Zephyr stood unmoved, feet sunk deep.
"Then how about this!"
Gern air-stepped upward, arms spread.
The sky filled with violently condensing quake particles.
"Sky Cry · Quake Starfall!"
Basketball-sized compressed orbs fell like meteors.
"Everyone, retreat!!" Garp roared.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The training ground became a boiling furnace.
Shockwaves shattered academy windows.
"Frozen Capsule!"
Kuzan raised a hand, instantly freezing all flying debris.
"…This Devil Fruit…"
Dragon stared as space itself fractured from vibration.
"It's more terrifying than Whitebeard's.
A disaster with no side effects…
A true natural calamity."