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

At the same time, the sword at his waist was slightly drawn, its cold light flashing, startling the voyeurs who were spying, who immediately lowered their heads and pretended to be busy.

“This is Toritoma, the ‘Snake Princess’ of Amazon Lily,” Gern introduced simply. “She is now my subordinate.”

"Oh?" Garp raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. "I do know Boa Hancock."

After all, she's the only great swordsman on Amazon Lily, but she's a pirate after all, and Admiral Kong...

"A good kid is one who has reformed, and Marshal Kong won't mind!" Gern smiled slightly.

Seeing Gren's smile, Karp's eyes darkened, but then he smiled and waved his hand, "Never mind! Haha."

But I never expected that you could even win back the famous "Snake Princess"!

"Likewise." The Snake Princess's red lips curved slightly, her tone languid yet sharp.

"I've seen plenty of the fists of naval heroes back when I was on Lord Gloriosa's ship!"

"She really has the temper of a woman from Amazon Lily!"

Garp laughed, then turned his gaze to Enel lying on the deck: "And what about this young man?"

Gern smiled slightly: "His name is Enel, and he calls himself 'God'."

"God?" Garp was taken aback, then laughed even louder. "Interesting! Young people these days are getting more and more interesting!"

Just then, Enel's fingers suddenly twitched.

He then suddenly opened his eyes, leaped up from the deck with a somersault, and warily pointed his golden cudgel at Garp.

Before the blackout, he only saw something dark bump into him, and then nothing...

"Old man! Did you just launch a sneak attack? The gods won't forgive you so easily!"

"Oh?" Garp's smile didn't fade; instead, it became even brighter. "Young man, you recover quite quickly!"

“Enel,” Gern said calmly, “This is Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, a naval hero and one of my teachers.”

"Hero?" Enel scoffed. "Before the gods, what mortals call 'heroes' are nothing but the self-comfort of ants!"

"Haha, interesting! Still a chuunibyou kid!" Garp laughed instead of getting angry.

"Gern, where did you find all these weirdos?"

"Stop fooling around." Seeing the situation, Gern sighed and raised his hand to press Enel's shoulder: "You are still far from being as strong as Vice Admiral Garp."

"Hmph!" Enel shook off Gern's hand, his eyes filled with resentment: "Mere mortals, I was just careless just now, this time..."

Before Enel could finish speaking, he heard the words "Iron Fist of Love" ring in his ears.

……

"Hey kid!" Garp crouched down and tapped Enel's forehead with his knuckles. "Are you still alive?"

Enel's eyelids twitched, a weak groan escaped his throat, his earlobes drooped limply, and a large bump appeared on his head.

“Vice Admiral Garp, you went too far.” Gern sighed helplessly and bent down to help Enel up.

"This is a 'god' that I finally managed to summon."

"I was just curious!" Garp raised an eyebrow and picked his nose. "I didn't expect him to not even know Haki!"

At that moment, Enel's pupils contracted sharply. He struggled to his feet, lightning flickering around him: "What just happened...?"

"Enel, I heard that if you black out more than three times a day, you'll lose your memory!" Gern kindly reminded him.

"A naval hero?" Enel's eyes flickered, and the lightning gradually subsided.

He may be arrogant, but he's not stupid.

The punch that had knocked him unconscious just now made him realize that the old man in front of him was no ordinary person.

"Hahaha! Young man, you have guts!" Garp laughed and patted Enel on the back, the force almost sending him crashing back onto the deck. "Come on, let's go get some senbei with this old man!"

Enel was dragged by Garp towards the cabin, looking back at Gern with a blank expression and his eyes full of distress signals.

Gern shrugged and gave him a "good luck" look.

“Lieutenant General Gern.” At this moment, Tesoro walked to Gern’s side and lowered his voice, “Why would Lieutenant General Garp suddenly come to pick us up?”

I remember the message I sent was to have nearby branches come to meet me and help me transfer to a new ship.

“Who knows?” Gern gazed at the distant horizon. “It might be the Air Marshal’s arrangement.”

Just then, a lazy voice came from behind: "Hey, Gern."

The Snake Princess leaned against the ship's railing, her long, orange-red hair fluttering in the wind.

She slightly raised her chin, gesturing for Guern to look in the other direction.

Several naval soldiers were secretly glancing over, their eyes scanning her back and forth.

"Your colleagues seem quite interested in me, this 'new crew member,'" Snake Princess said, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Gern sighed: "Just don't let anyone get killed."

"Don't worry~" Snake Princess chuckled, her fingertips lightly tracing the hilt of the sword at her waist. She walked gracefully toward the group of marines, her high heels clicking crisply on the deck.

The soldiers' expressions quickly shifted from amazement to terror, because they clearly saw...

The murderous aura emanating from this beautiful woman was almost tangible.

“Um… this lady…” a bold soldier was about to speak.

"Hmm?" The Snake Princess tilted her head slightly, her eyes as sharp as knives.

The soldier froze instantly, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He had no doubt that if he uttered another word, he would be beheaded in the next second.

"Alright, Snake Princess," Gern's voice rang out at the right moment, "that should scare them a bit."

The Snake Princess snorted softly, turned around and walked back to Gern's side, leaving the group of soldiers slumped on the ground as if they had been granted a pardon.

"Gern!" At that moment, Ribo skipped out of the cabin, a senbei dangling from her mouth. "Vice Admiral Garp gave it to me! He said..."

She mimicked Garp's gruff voice, "Take some for that brat, don't let him go hungry!"

"Haha." Gern laughed as he took the senbei. "Lieutenant General Garp is still the same as ever."

"Oh, right!" Lipo suddenly remembered something and whispered in Gern's ear.

"Enel was given a lot of strange stuff by Vice Admiral Garp, and now he's completely unwell!"

"Something strange?" Gern was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Could it be...?"

Suddenly, a loud bang came from inside the cabin.

Then came Enel's heart-wrenching roar: "What the hell is that?!"

Guern sighed, "Just as I expected..."

"I'll go check." Gern strode towards the cabin, pushed open the door, and saw Enel slumped in a chair.

His face was deathly pale, and there was a suspicious green liquid left at the corner of his mouth.

Garp, meanwhile, laughed heartily with satisfaction.

Wait... something's not right about this scene, not right at all, not a hundred percent right.

Chapter 233 Lieutenant General Garp, Times Have Changed.

That night, as dark as ink, Gern stood at the bow of the ship.

The black sword, Eight Desolations, was tucked diagonally at his waist, and the gray bandages fluttered in the wind as he gazed at the dark sea in the distance.

Suddenly, steady footsteps sounded behind him. Garp walked from the cabin to Gern's side, holding a bag of senbei in his left hand and shaking it.

"Want something to eat?"

Hearing the sound, Gern turned his head to look, reached out and took a piece, and took a bite.

“Vice Admiral Garp, speak,” Gern said calmly, swallowing a senbei. “Actually, you came to pick me up because of what happened between me and Kuzan, right?”

"Hmm." Garp nodded, unusually not laughing out loud, but instead leaning against the railing with a rare seriousness.

"I was on vacation in the Tokai region not long ago and didn't turn on my Den Den Mushi. I only found out recently."

After saying that, he looked at Gern's profile, his brows furrowing slightly: "Gern, are you and Kuzan really... going to fight?"

Gern did not answer immediately, but simply chewed on his rice cracker, his gaze still fixed on the distance.

Garp, unaware of the true situation, only knows one thing right now.

His personal disciple and another disciple are about to fight to the death for the position of general!

Thinking of this, Garp clenched his fist slightly, his knuckles turning white.

He had experienced too many battles and seen too many comrades-in-arms turn against each other because of their different stances.

But this time, it was his two most valued juniors...

"Can we not fight?" Garp asked in a low voice, his tone unusually pleading.

After a moment of silence, Gern decided not to tell Karp the truth and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Can we not fight? Isn't this exactly what the World Government wants to see?"

"With the Air Marshal stepping down and the Warring States General taking office, shouldn't opponents like me be suppressed?"

“Gern,” Karp frowned, “You could be like me! How comfortable is it to be a lieutenant general? Even a general…”

“Lieutenant General Garp,” Gern interrupted him, his voice low, “we are different.”

Karp was taken aback.

“Vice Admiral Garp.” Gren turned his head and looked directly into Garp’s eyes: “You can be willful, but besides strength and avoiding trouble, what’s more important is…”

In your era, you had powerful figures like the Warring States generals (the doves) standing behind you; you were all pillars of the navy in that era.

Back then, with Rocks and Roger on the high seas, the World Government dared not touch you, nor did it have any reason to.

Karp remained silent, admitting that while he disliked politics, he was also a beneficiary of it.

“But I’m different!” Gern’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.

"Not only have I humiliated Grimm in front of all the Marines, but now I have also arrested Roger. I am a Marine legend, and my reputation has reached its peak."

What will the outside world think if I don't get promoted to admiral? What will the Navy think?

“Gern…”

"What the world government fears has never been my military rank, but my influence."

"They can tolerate a disobedient naval hero, Vice Admiral Garp, because they know you will never truly shake their rule."

“But they will not tolerate an unruly ‘naval legend’ like Gern Reginald Sigmar.”

"because……"

“I know better than they do what true ‘justice’ is.”

Gern's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the sea breeze, as if even the waves had fallen silent.

Garp stared at the young man before him, whom he and Zeff had personally trained.

In the blink of an eye, it has grown into an existence that even the world government has to be wary of.

“So you never join any faction…” Karp whispered, “Is it because you’re afraid of betrayal? Is that why you’re preparing to form your own faction?”

From the earliest Ribo and Tesoro, to the current Boa Hancock and Enel, whose potential rivals Borsalino's.

Karp's voice carried a hint of realization, as if he had finally seen through Gern's schemes over the years.

"Gern, did you realize this a long time ago?"

“That’s right.” Gern nodded, his gaze resolute. “From the moment I gained this power…”

He raised his left hand, palm up, and pale vibrating particles slowly condensed, causing the surrounding air to distort and even space to tremble slightly under his control.

"I've decided... I'll never be limited by others!"

"Because of 'natural disaster'... no one can stop it!"

"Boom!!" The moment the words fell, Gern clenched his fist, and vibrating particles suddenly erupted!

The entire sea area seemed to be torn apart by an invisible force, and the surface of the sea surged violently.

The waves around the warship were instantly shaken into a fine mist, which reflected a silvery-white light under the moonlight.