The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

“I am Nico Olbia of Ohara.” Her voice trembled slightly in the sea breeze. “I have a request to see Major General Gern.”

"Meet with Major General Gern..." A deep voice came from the shadows as the soldiers on duty exchanged glances.

"Let her come over." Tesoro emerged from behind the house, his gold ring gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "The Major General is waiting for you."

Olbia's pupils contracted sharply; he had anticipated her arrival.

When she was led into a fairly intact room, Gern was wiping the Black Blade Eight Desolations by the light of an oil lamp.

The unbandaged blade of the knife reflected the firelight, while Libo curled up beside her, her head resting on Guern's lap as she dozed off, her rabbit ears rising and falling gently with her breath.

"Major General Gern, I..."

"The Poneglyphs are in the Sea Forest of Fishman Island, the Whale Forest of Zou, beneath Wano Country," Guern said without looking up, his blade shifting at a sharp angle.

"The rubbings you have, are they from Sky Island?"

Olbia staggered back half a step, her back hitting the table.

This navy officer not only knew of the existence of the Poneglyphs, but even knew their exact locations!

Her voice was so dry it sounded unlike her own: "Why...why are you telling me all this?"

The "click" of the black knife being placed aside was particularly clear in the silence.

Gern finally looked up; the oil lamp gilded his silhouette, but cast his eyes into even deeper shadows.

"Because the Roger Pirates have collected all four Road Poneglyphs, they will soon reach the so-called 'truth'."

"This is impossible!" Olbia exclaimed in shock, then covered her mouth and looked at the sleeping Lipo.

Dr. Clover spent half his life deciphering just a few words; how could those pirates possibly...?

"The Kozuki family of Wano Country, Kozuki Oden, could read ancient scripts."

He's now been borrowed from Whitebeard's crew to Roger's crew. Gern's words shattered all her remaining hope like a hammer blow.

"And Ohara... the World Government began monitoring it three years ago."

"Then why..." Her nails dug deeply into her palms, "...are you going to let us go?"

"Sigh." Gern sighed and touched Libo's ear.

"If I were you, I would take everyone away from the New World after the ship is repaired and never touch the Poneglyphs again."

"No way, this is my husband's..."

“But he’s dead, isn’t he? This should be considered his last wish, right?” Gern narrowed his eyes.

"Moreover, even if it is the absolute truth, pretend it never happened until you have the power to do so!"

The scholars of Ohara are not the Roger Pirates!

"Shouldn't you think about your daughter too?"

“Robin!” Olbia froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

She never mentioned little Robin, who stayed in Ohara, to anyone else!

Gern ignored her expression and slowly got up to reposition Lipo, the rabbit with the awful sleeping posture.

He then poured himself a glass of water and remained silent.

Because this group of scholars would never give up, since everyone's persistence is different.

Gern simply offered a few appropriate reminders upon encountering the situation.

Besides, he had already given Olbia all the answers she wanted to know.

Olbia remained silent for a long time before slowly raising her eyes to look at Gern, saying a few words, and then leaving...

"Major General Gern, is this woman insane?" Tesoro entered after Olbia left.

"She knew perfectly well that this would lead to the destruction of the entire Ohara! The World Government would never leave anyone alive!"

"Scholars are selfish, arrogant, and disregard others for their so-called ideals...aren't they?" Gern gazed into the distance.

"The wheels of history... are ultimately unstoppable."

I let you go this time, but will the next group let you go?!

Chapter 177: Promoted to Lieutenant General

At the beginning of the year 1496 in the Sea Calendar, the Naval Headquarters once again underwent a major personnel reshuffle.

At the beginning of the year, "Black Wrist" Zephyr officially stepped down from his position as admiral and became the chief instructor of the Naval Academy and head of the elite training camp!

Meanwhile, General Sengoku began to systematically take over the affairs of the marshal, and under Kong's guidance, the two sides began a slow power transition.

Furthermore, with the position of admiral at the Navy Headquarters becoming vacant, new generation admirals such as Gern and Sakazuki began to assume core combat missions.

Also in the latter half of that year, in July, Guern held a commissioning ceremony at Marineford and was officially promoted to Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters!

In the same month, Second Lieutenant "White Rabbit" Lippo Hope was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at headquarters for her outstanding performance in the defense of Fort G-7.

Navy Warrant Officer "Gold" Gild Tesoro and Stella hold their wedding and pledge their vows under the banner of justice.

Not long after his marriage, Tesoro began to pursue his achievements and finally led his troops to wipe out the pirate fleet in the last month of 1496, earning him the rank of major and successfully being promoted to major in the main force.

In the realm of One Piece, some of the more notable newcomers this year include:

With a single sword, he sank the pirate fleet of Marlon, the "leader" of the West Blue Mafia, and also single-handedly killed Marlon, the former "leader" of the Rocks Pirates.

Dracule Mihawk, whose name as the "Hawkeye" swordsman resounds throughout the Grand Line.

Donquixote Doflamingo, who manipulated the "String-String Fruit" to massacre the North Blue Noble Council and begin building his family.

And Gecko Moria, who is preparing to form the Thriller Bark fleet in order to challenge Kaido.

In the same year, the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was launched: Crocodile and Hanafuda became the first members of the Seven Warlords.

That same year, Bartholomew Bear, at the age of 22, rejected Ginny's marriage proposal because of his Bakania bloodline.

At the same time, the Great Bear overthrew the original king of the Kingdom of Sorbe and was elected by the people as the new king (a king who did not live in the palace).

Meanwhile, Shiki the Golden Lion finally began to reappear after the Battle of Eddwall.

At the same time, Kozuki Oden completely earned the title of "invincible under heaven"!

Then, in the year 1497 of the Sea Calendar, a legend was born!!

The Roger Pirates reached the final island of the Grand Line, completing their circumnavigation of the world and learning all about it.

He himself named this last island Ravdru

The Roger Pirates became the undisputed world's number one pirate crew.

Meanwhile, newspapers publicized it extensively, and people began calling him the "Pirate King"!

But what everyone knows is that on his return voyage to Valerilla Island in the South Blue... Roger suddenly disbanded his pirate crew.

It was on this island that I started flirting with young girls and successfully began a relationship with Portgas D. Rouge!

In the first half of the same year, the remaining members of the Roger Pirates, led by Rayleigh, sent Kozuki Oden back to Wano Country.

However, at this time, the position of Shogun of Wano Country had been completely seized by Kurozumi Orochi, and Kaido's Beasts Pirates were backing him up, establishing weapons factories in the country.

Oden clashed with Orochi, but ultimately the conflict ended due to the hostage situation.

In a moment of madness, he chose to believe and accept the five-year agreement proposed by Orochi, thus beginning his five-year career as a clown!

……

Marineford, Naval Headquarters, Vice Admiral's Office.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the spacious room. Guern leaned back lazily in his chair, a latest newspaper in his hand.

The front page of the newspaper prominently featured Roger's bounty poster, with the bold headline below reading:

"Gol D. Roger's bounty has surpassed 55 billion Berries! The world's strongest pirate crew, having circled the entire world, truly deserves the title of Pirate King!!"

"Tsk, 55 billion Berries..." Gern clicked his tongue, his gaze sweeping over Roger's triumphant face in the newspaper.

"This guy is really living the high life."

"Mmm." Garp, chewing on a senbei (rice cracker) with crumbs scattered all over the table, mumbled indistinctly.

"That bastard Roger actually became the 'Pirate King'! The seas are going to be in turmoil from now on!"

Look, the number of pirates across the four seas is skyrocketing, all because of this guy's reputation.

“There’s nothing we can do about it!” Gern put down his newspaper, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"If all else fails, how about we create a 'Naval King'? We can't let the pirates steal all the limelight, can we?"

"Hahaha!" Garp was taken aback at first, then slammed his fist on the table and burst into laughter, making the documents on the table jump.

"That's a great idea, 'Navy King'!"

I'll mention it to Sengoku and the Air Marshal later.

"Let them print a 55 billion Berry bounty poster for you too, but it's for capturing pirates!"

“Then let’s forget it.” Gern shrugged and laughed. “I don’t want to be a target.”

“Oh, right, Gern, there’s one more thing.” Karp stuffed another handful of senbei into his mouth, then suddenly sighed, his tone unusually low: “That kid Dragon… got married.”

"What?!" Gern sat up straight instantly, his eyes gleaming with gossip.

"Who is the bride? Please tell me!!"

He was genuinely curious about who Luffy's mother was! She couldn't possibly be a Celestial Dragon, could she?!

Seeing Gern's excited expression, Garp waved his hand, looking sullen.

"I don't know either. That guy just called me to let me know, and he didn't even let me attend the wedding."

As he spoke, Garp grabbed his teacup, took a sip, and muttered, "Looks like I'll never have the chance to experience being a father giving a speech at my son's wedding."

Seeing Karp's rare expression of melancholy, Gern couldn't help but laugh.

“Mr. Garp, your son even kept his marriage a secret from you. It seems you haven’t been beating him hard enough.”

"You brat!" Garp glared at him, but couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes.

"But then again, that guy Dragon has been stubborn since he was a child, and now he's even more mysterious. Even I, his old man, can't figure out what he's thinking."

Gern leaned back in his chair, gazing thoughtfully at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window: "Perhaps... he's planning something big."

After all, this guy's Self-Defense Army has caused quite a stir.

Of course, this wouldn't be possible without your indulgence, Vice Admiral Garp! After all, you were the one who accepted every mission involving him.

Or Kuzan then transferred it to you for some strange reason.

"I didn't want to either!" Garp sighed deeply, silently chewing on his senbei, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Well, he's my son, after all!" Gern said.

The office fell silent for a moment, with only the crunching sound of Karp chewing on a senbei and the cries of seagulls coming from afar.

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) rang, breaking the silence.

Gern reached out and answered the phone. The Den Den Mushi immediately mimicked Sengoku's serious expression: "Gern, come to the conference room immediately, it's an emergency meeting!"

And Garp might be slacking off at your place too! Bring him along!

"Understood." Gern hung up the phone, stood up, and straightened his Justice Cloak.

"Mr. Garp, the Sengoku General has summoned you. Looks like I'm in for another busy day! I really envy Professor Zeff's retirement life."

"You'll retire eventually too," Garp said, brushing the crumbs off his hands and standing up.

"Let's go, I'll go listen too. Maybe Roger's up to something again."

Having just become the world's number one pirate crew, they're unlikely to be quiet.

"It'll definitely be quiet, since the pirate crew has disbanded," Gern thought to himself.

But now, he's the only one who knows that Roger disbanded his pirate crew to go and date younger women.

A short while later, the two walked out of the office side by side. When the naval soldiers in the corridor saw them, they immediately straightened their backs and saluted.

Gern nodded slightly in response, while Karp waved casually, "Hey, does the cafeteria have senbei today?"

The soldiers shook their heads, suppressing their laughter, while Garp looked utterly disappointed: "Tsk, the Marine Headquarters' logistics are getting worse and worse..."