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

They seemed to be eagerly anticipating Kizaru's next move.

The three figures stood in a triangular formation, their auras perfectly intertwined, forming a flawless and ruthless triangular formation!

Kizaru's almost imperceptible movement just now stopped instantly.

"Ouch~" Seeing this, Kizaru's facial muscles twitched almost imperceptibly.

Then, with remarkable speed and fluidity, he slowly raised his hands, assuming a standard surrender posture, as if the dangerous aura he had just exuded had never existed.

He even had the leisure to tilt his head slightly, his tone returning to its lazy, languid manner.

This time, however, the teasing seemed to carry a hint of genuine helplessness and amazement.

"That's...so scary!"

"Gern's men are so vigilant it's chilling," he said, his gaze sweeping over the three men.

"I had only just let out a faint breath..."

"It can't be that bad, they'd gang up on an old man like me, can they?"

Chapter 265 Reminder

Faced with the encirclement of Boa Hancock and her two companions, Kizaru raised his hands.

His face still wore that exaggerated expression of fear of death, but his tone carried a hint of condescending mockery:

"Using this kind of entourage to treat a senior like this is very impolite, Gen-kun~"

The voice hasn't fallen

"Whoosh!" Without warning, Kizaru's figure completely transformed into a dazzling array of golden light particles!

It wasn't a simple elemental evasion, but rather a precise maneuver executed at the moment when the three individuals' auras locked onto each other and their attack intentions reached their peak.

By utilizing the property of light particles to almost ignore spatial obstacles, a microscopic displacement of exquisite precision was achieved!

Its speed was so fast that it even exceeded the limits of everyone's nerve reaction and the detection limit of their Observation Haki!

"Whoosh!" Like sunlight piercing through a tiny crack, golden light streamed out in an incredible way.

It "flowed" out of the three people's locked cage, and in the next moment, it had already reformed on the other side of the office.

"Tsk tsk tsk, that was dangerous just now!" Kizaru maintained his lazy stance with his hands in his pockets, as if he had never moved, only his position had changed.

He even had time to straighten the collar of his striped suit.

"!!!"

Seeing this, a look of disbelief and astonishment flashed in the Snake Princess's eyes. At the same time, her sword was still pointing forward, but the target had already disappeared.

Enel and Barrett, needless to say, didn't even see how the other escaped his Haki's sealing range just now!

They were extremely confident in their speed and strength, especially under the combined lock of their three auras.

Those who can escape so easily on the high seas must be very few and far between!

The speed of light... is simply bizarre to the extreme!

(The speed of light is actually quite exaggerated; it can be said to be an unobservable speed.)

At this moment, only Gern, sitting behind his desk, seemed completely unsurprised.

He didn't even raise an eyebrow, merely glancing indifferently at Kizaru, who was reforming his form to the side.

He spoke calmly, as if stating a simple fact: "Put away your weapons."

If Borsalino really wanted to leave, or really wanted to fight, his speed alone would leave almost no one on this vast ocean with him.

After saying that, Gern turned his gaze to Kizaru, whose face had once again displayed a playful smile, and continued...

"Also, I call him 'senior' not just because he is the oldest among the four of us."

Gern's eyes became somewhat profound.

He knew all too well that the man before him, who always appeared sleazy, lazy, and ambiguous, possessed unfathomable true strength.

Beneath that seemingly unconventional exterior lies a terrifying power developed to the extreme by the Glint-Glint Fruit, and an almost monstrous understanding of combat.

"That seemingly lazy exterior has fooled quite a few people." Gern's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the room.

"But at least at this point in time, when it comes to pure speed, explosive power, and the finesse of control over Devil Fruit abilities..."

Gern paused, then gave an assessment that once again shocked Enel and the others:

"Borsalino is probably even stronger than Sakazuki and Kuzan."

This is not meant to belittle Akainu and Aokiji, but rather to objectively acknowledge Kizaru's unique and almost unbeatable light-speed ability.

Absolute speed is itself an overwhelming force.

When Kizaru heard Gern's evaluation, he neither confirmed nor denied it. He just pouted and exclaimed in his signature tone, "Yay~ Gern-kun is praising me so much, I'm going to be embarrassed!"

But compared to fighting and killing, I still prefer leaving get off work on time and having some tea~

Although he spoke casually, the atmosphere in the office had already changed.

Gern waved his hand: "Everyone, get out. I have important business to discuss with Admiral Kizaru."

The three exchanged glances, but ultimately obeyed the order, disappearing in a flash from outside the dilapidated office.

Kizaru watched them leave, adjusted his sunglasses, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Truly... a formidable group of subordinates."

"Gern, your days seem anything but boring!"

Ignoring his slightly sarcastic comment, Gern sat back in his large office chair, calmly looked at Kizaru, and directly steered the conversation back to the core issue:

"Senior Borsalino, I can tell you clearly that I have no intention of fighting you." His tone was calm yet firm.

"And I have absolutely no interest in that so-called heavenly gold."

He leaned forward slightly, crossed his hands on the table again, and his gaze sharpened, as if trying to pierce through Kizaru's dark sunglasses.

"However, the premise is..."

"You need to tell me, what exactly is Marineford's attitude right now?"

Gern's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight.

"As for attitude..." Kizaru's nonchalant expression softened slightly.

He paused for a few seconds, seemingly considering his words, before slowly speaking:

"Actually, it's quite simple~" He shrugged. "In short, it's... 'love-hate relationship'?"

"Marshal Zhan Guo and Lady He certainly acknowledge your formidable strength and the 'achievements' you have made in guarding the frontier of the new world."

After all, not everyone can defeat the Whitebeard Pirates head-on.

This greatly deterred other troublemakers in this sea area. Kizaru's tone sounded like he was repeating the official assessment from headquarters.

But then he changed the subject, his tone becoming subtle: "However, what I 'love' is your ability and achievements, and what I 'hate'... is naturally your completely uncontrollable 'autonomy' and your potential to cause trouble."

"This conflict with Whitebeard, although it had its reasons, was too large in scale and had too much impact."

"Someone from the World Government has already expressed 'concern'." Kizaru extended his index finger and pointed upwards.

"They dislike things that are not planned, and especially dislike 'powerful forces' that they cannot fully control."

“So…” Kizaru concluded, his gaze fixed on Gern through his glasses.

"The headquarters' attitude is: continue to use you, the sharpest blade, to guard the new world, but we will also... well... pay closer attention to your every move."

Just like when they sent me here this time.

"To put it simply," Kizaru grinned, revealing his signature smile, "as long as you, Gern-kun, keep fighting pirates and don't cause a major upheaval..."

The headquarters will continue to support you; after all, not just any guy can restrain Whitebeard…”

Kizaru didn't say anything more, but just smiled meaningfully, the meaning of which was self-evident.

After hearing this, Gern showed no surprise on his face, as if he had expected it to be like this.

He slowly leaned back in his chair, a cold smile curving his lips:

"Heh... As long as they don't block my way or cross my bottom line, I have no interest in messing with their 'sky'."

“That would be perfect!” Kizaru replied with a grin. “Then my mission will be much simpler.”

We can relax and enjoy our vacation here, just waiting for the golden celestial bodies to pass safely across the sky~

"Is that all you reminded me of, senior?" Gern frowned, staring at Kizaru.

After all, seasoned veterans like this are highly sensitive to certain things.

"Since you, Gen, have allowed me to slack off, then I'll say something too!" Kizaru looked at Gen, his eyes narrowing behind his brown sunglasses, and said in a calm tone.

"If possible, as your disciple, you should still go back and visit Master Zefa!"

Chapter 266 "Thoughtful" Companionship and "Ingratitude"

Gern understood the deeper meaning behind Kizaru's seemingly casual reminder.

His occasional return to Marineford to "show his face" was not solely due to Professor Zephyr.

(At this point in time, Zephyr had not yet suffered any major changes and was still a mainstay of the Navy, with the training camp in full swing.)

The deeper reason is probably that the Warring States Marshal had begun, intentionally or unintentionally, to weaken him, a man who had long been away from the center of power.

However, the admirals, who possess terrifying strength and the ability to act independently, have influence within the Navy Headquarters system.

Staying on the front lines of the New World may lead to outstanding military achievements, but it will also gradually distance one from the decision-making circle and network of contacts at headquarters.

This move by the Warring States period served both as a reminder and as a subtle form of checks and balances.

Guern understood and nodded, indicating that he accepted the suggestion: "I understand. Once the situation on G-10 stabilizes a bit, I will take some time to go back to Marineford."

Upon hearing this, Kizaru showed a pleased expression, as if pleased that Gern had grasped the meaning so quickly.

However, what Gern said next instantly dispelled Kizaru's slight relief.

“So, before ‘Heavenly Gold’ arrives and safely passes through this area…” Gern said in a calm tone.

"Let Enel accompany Borsalino on this escort mission."

He also needs to experience more formal tasks.

"Pfft—cough cough!" Kizaru almost choked on his own saliva, and for the first time, a noticeable crack appeared on his lazy and calm expression.

With a hint of fear in his voice, he pointed to the door and raised his voice: "Wait, wait! Mr. Gern! Who did you say you wanted to 'accompany' me?"

That… that guy who’s constantly crackling with electricity, claims to be a god, and seems a bit off his mind… uh, Thunder Boy?!

"Uh-huh."

"You're still humming?" Kizaru's expression was as if he had heard the most terrible news.

His face scrunched up in a contorted grimace, contorting into an exaggerated "you're so ungrateful" expression: "Gern! This is revenge! Absolutely revenge!"

I'm just an old man who wants to retire peacefully, but with that troublesome kid around, my vacation...

No, my mission is going to become super, super difficult! I'll die, I really will die!

Seeing Kizaru's tense and resolute expression, Gern laughed instead, a laugh that carried an undeniable air of defiance:

"That's why we need to trouble you, senior, to 'take care' of him." Gern emphasized the word "take care".

"Enel has great potential, but his mentality and control over his abilities still need to be honed."

Here, although Barrett was there to spar with him, it was mostly head-on combat.

Gern's gaze deepened as he looked at Kizaru and said meaningfully, "Actually, within the entire naval system..."

If we're talking about who's most qualified and capable of 'guiding' a Devil Fruit user like Enel... it has to be Borsalino-senpai.

“After all,” Guern said with a slight smile, “the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Glint-Glint Fruit share many similarities in terms of speed, energy concentration, and elementalization.”

Let him follow you; he might learn something different, which is better than him constantly yelling about 'divine punishment' but only knowing how to violently flirt.

Gurn's words were not entirely untrue.

Kizaru has reached the pinnacle of mastery over the Glint-Glint Fruit, enabling him to move at the speed of light and unleash energy beams (such as the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi and the Yasakani no Magatama).

And the ingenious use of elementalization certainly offers many things that Enel can learn from.