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

"I will do it after that 'battle of the generals' between Gern and Kuzan..." Kong slowly began, his voice firm.

"Using the last remaining authority of my term, I made a major decision."

"A major decision?!" Sengoku leaned forward slightly, his fingers silently gripping the edge of the table.

But Steelbone's next sentence was like a heavy hammer blow.

"Gern Reginald Sigmar is officially granted 'Independent Autonomy for His Subordinates'!"

"Bang!!!" Sengoku's palm slammed heavily onto the desk, and the solid wood tabletop instantly shattered, cracks spreading like a spider web, and wood chips flying everywhere!

"Are you crazy?! Steel Bone Kong!" Sengoku's roar echoed in the marshal's office, making the window frames vibrate.

It's no wonder that Sengoku was so polite now. He suddenly stood up, his righteous coat billowing behind him without any wind, like an enraged lion.

"Do you know what this means?!" His fingers almost pierced through Steelbone Hollow's chest.

"Subordinate autonomy? What does that represent? It includes an independent fleet, independent decision-making, independent appointment, independent sorties, and independent execution!"

If this happens, Guern's power will be amplified like never before!

In other words, during my time in office, Guern was a complete ticking time bomb!

That kid will become a runaway beast within the Navy!

Kong silently watched the enraged Sengoku, his gaze as hard as an anvil.

"Warring States Period," he spoke slowly, his voice as deep and resonant as the undercurrents of the ocean, "Do you think our navy still has any so-called Swordholders of 'Absolute Justice'?"

(Not Akainu's absolute concept of justice, but rather the absolute recognition of the independent authority of justice.)

The air suddenly froze, and the Warring States period fell silent.

Steel Bones stood up, walked to the window, his back looking particularly old in the backlight, yet carrying a certain resolute sharpness.

"The World Government has been secretly cutting off the elite naval forces from the four seas branches, and CP0's tentacles have even reached into the elite recruit training camp."

As he spoke, Steel Bone Kong clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracking. "Now, during this power vacuum of the exchange..."

Not only are factions within the Navy vying for power, but the World Government is also taking action!

Those five old men don't just want obedient dogs anymore; they want guard dogs with all their teeth pulled out!

Sengoku's face was ashen, but Kong's words continued to pierce like sharp knives.

"Gern is a bomb? Absolutely! But what the Navy needs right now is a bomb that can shatter any conspiracy!"

He turned to face Sengoku, his eyes burning with a desperate, all-or-nothing glint.

"Rather than watching your power being eroded, you should take up the sword yourself!"

"But this sword is not easy to hold at all?!" Sengoku interrupted sharply.

Steelbone Kong suddenly laughed.

That smile sent chills down the spine of the Warring States period.

"That depends on how the next marshal uses them." He gently patted Sengoku's shoulder.

"After all, even the worst-case scenario..."

But the navy is still the navy!

Chapter 237 "The Struggle for Generals" Begins

Late autumn, October of the 1499th year of the Haiyuan calendar

Spandam, who fled in disarray after his mission to eradicate Roger's bloodline failed, is currently huddled in a remote island port in the first half of the Grand Line.

He lived in constant fear, too afraid to return to Mary Geoise to report, and frantically used all sorts of excuses to delay.

However, fate is always full of irony.

Just as Spandam was racking his brains trying to figure out how to explain things to the World Government, a dilapidated adventure ship came into his view.

Ironically, the flag flying on that ship was none other than that of Ohara.

Spandam also learned a tremendous secret from a scholar on the ship, a secret that would allow him to atone for his crimes.

These Ohara scholars are still secretly researching the "Void Century," a period of history explicitly prohibited by the World Government.

......

Meanwhile, the New World Seas

This isolated island of Sakapachi, which doesn't even have a name marked on a world map, is now home to the highest levels of naval power.

Steel Skeleton stood at the bow of the warship, his cloak fluttering in the salty sea breeze.

Behind him, Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr, three figures symbolizing the highest combat power of the old era of the Navy, were all gazing at the distant desert island.

"The weather today... is so nice it's almost unbelievable." Libo's snow-white rabbit ears trembled slightly as she looked up at the clear blue sky.

"Yes, all is calm." Tesoro's lips curled into a faint smile.

His gaze swept over the surveillance Den Den Mushi hovering in the sky, while he thought to himself, "Heh... the Five Elders are really looking forward to this 'performance'."

"Hey, is that guy named Kuzan strong?" Enel turned his head and stared at the snake princess as he asked.

“Strong.” The Snake Princess parted her red lips slightly, her tone calm, yet carrying an undeniable certainty.

"In this era, the combat power of a general is almost unshakeable."

At this point, Snake Princess paused, then looked down at the black sword, Eight Desolations, that Gern had given her before she came to the island.

"Unless it is someone of 'that level' (Lox), anyone who fights an admiral is destined for a fierce battle."

"A fierce battle?"

"Anyway, just watch closely, because of this battle..."

Boa Hancock tilted her head slightly, looking at Enel, a meaningful smile curving her lips.

"It will completely shatter your ridiculous 'divine arrogance'."

"Tch!" Enel snorted coldly, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the black sword Hachisaku in the Snake Princess's hand, and he whispered: "No one... can be stronger than 'God'."

No one knows whether the "god" he refers to is himself or Gern.

......

"What was bound to happen has finally happened," Steelbone Kong sighed as he stood on the upper deck.

"Hmph." Sengoku crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "The 'performance' that the World Government wants to see may not turn out as they wish."

“I’m afraid…” Steelbone Kong frowned, “those two kids can’t act at all.”

"You mean..." Sengoku's expression froze, and he turned to look at him, "They'll really fight?"

Just as Kong was about to reply, Tsuru's voice came slowly from the Den Den Mushi in front of them, tinged with a sigh: "Does it matter if it's a real fight or not?"

Her tone was low, but every word was like a needle, "The ones who suffered the most from this battle are Garp and Zephyr!"

After all, both Gern and Kuzan were their personal disciples, and at the same time, they were each other's students....."

Upon hearing Tsuru's voice from the Den Den Mushi, Sora and Sengoku fell silent and turned to look at the ship's side.

In the sunlight, Garp and Zephyr stood side by side, their shadows stretched long.

The shadows cast on the deck seemed to be slightly hunched over, as if weighed down by some heavy past.

……

On the other side, on Sakapatch Island, two figures stood facing each other in the center of the island.

“I never thought this day would come, Kuzan.” Gern raised his eyes and smiled lightly, the sea breeze ruffling the hem of his black shirt.

Kuzan, with his hands in his pockets, stared at Gern's empty waist.

Seeing this, he raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly amusement: "Hey, you... are you looking down on me?"

The chill condensed into white mist as he spoke, slowly dissipating into the air.

"For such an important battle, they didn't even bring weapons."

Upon hearing this, Gern's lips curled up slightly, revealing a familiar smile.

“Kuzan…” He raised his left hand, his knuckles moving slightly, and jet-black Armament Haki coiled around him like a living thing, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster in the sunlight.

"Back in the day, we fought alongside Vice Admiral Garp in the wreck yard!"

Kuzan's eyes flickered slightly as images from his memory surfaced.

Decades ago, two young naval recruits, amidst Garp's roar, pounded their fists against the steel hull, their fists stained with blood, yet they still refused to stop.

“So…” Gern clenched his fist, black flashes erupted, and the air seemed to be compressed by an invisible force, producing a faint popping sound.

"Compared to a knife, fighting you..."

"I'd rather use my fists!"

Kuzan paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, the ground beneath his feet instantly freezing into ice.

A chill spread like a tide. Ice crystals climbed the ruins, turning everything frosty white.

“If that’s the case…” Kuzan’s smile gradually faded, but his eyes became increasingly sharp.

"Then I'll do it just like I did during training back in the day..." The ice suddenly shattered, and the cold air condensed into a powerful aura.

"I've frozen you into an ice sculpture, Gern!"

In an instant, the extreme cold energy emanating from Kuzan swept over like a raging torrent!

The moisture in the air instantly condensed into billions of ice crystals, turning into a pale, frigid wave that rushed straight towards Gern.

Wherever it passed, even the drifting dust was frozen into tiny ice particles, which fell down in a soft rustling sound.

Gern's pupils contracted sharply, and a smirk appeared on his face. "Then let's give it a try, Kuzan!"

"Boom!!" A visible white energy shockwave exploded from beneath his feet, and the ground cracked like fragile glass.

The invisible force of vibration collided violently with the incoming cold wave, unleashing a deafening roar!

For a moment, a sickening cracking sound rang out continuously.

Kuzan's chill spread wildly, freezing everything it touched.

Meanwhile, Gern's vibrational power continued to pulverize, shattering the frozen ice layer inch by inch.

The space between the two people formed a strange equilibrium zone.

On the left is a world of ever-expanding ice crystals, and on the right is a continuously shattering, oscillating field.

"Haha..." Kuzan's lips curled into an excited smile. "That's more like it!"

"Burst Thorns!!" As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of sharp ice thorns suddenly burst forth from the ice beneath his feet, piercing towards Gern as if they were alive.

Gern's right fist, wreathed in jet-black Armament Haki, slammed into the ground: "Heavenly Tremor - Earth Shake!"

"Bang—Crack!!" Centered on him, the ground within a radius of a hundred meters undulated violently like ocean waves.

The incoming ice spikes shattered into a cloud of ice mist upon contact with the shockwave, refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.

But the next second, the ice mist suddenly re-condensed, turning into countless tiny ice needles that shot towards Gern from all directions!

"Clang clang clang!!" Gern crossed his arms, his Armament Haki hardened to its limit, and the ice needles struck his body with a metallic clang.

Immediately after unleashing his power to shatter all the ice needles, he looked up abruptly and discovered that Kuzan's figure had already vanished from the spot.

"Up there!" The instant his Observation Haki detected it, Gern looked up and saw Kuzan descending from the sky, along with a massive ice blade slashing down!

Gern neither dodged nor evaded, his left fist gathering high-frequency vibrations, and he fiercely slammed it into the ice blade.

"BOOM!!!" The shockwave from the collision of the two Devil Fruit abilities sent the two figures flying backward amidst the exploding ice crystal storm and spatial rifts.

In the next instant, it tore through the air like a mirror image and rebounded, the azure trajectory carrying frost and the shocking white light piercing through each other again in a fraction of a second!

Kuzan's left hand suddenly turned pitch black, and the extreme cold condensed into crystalline ice armor at his fist.

Armament Haki wrapped around it like thorns, and the image of Gern was reflected in its pupils.

A smile crept across Gern's lips, and his right fist was already brimming with high-frequency vibrational particles.

Spiderweb-like pale cracks appeared on the jet-black Armament Haki surface.

In an instant, the two threw punches simultaneously, growling...