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

Breaking free from the castle's constraints, they flew in all directions, returning to their owners' bodies.

However, the price of victory was enormous.

Straw Hat Luffy, having overused his "Nightmare Luffy" form and suffered immense damage, is now lying on the ground covered in blood, in a deep coma.

Chopper transformed back into his reindeer form and was desperately trying to provide emergency treatment with his trembling little hooves.

Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky, Robin, and Brook, whom they met on Thriller Bark...

Everyone, covered in wounds and panting heavily, surrounded Luffy, their faces a mixture of exhaustion from defeating a powerful enemy and relief at seeing his shadow return.

Beside them, the members of the Lola Pirates, who had also regained their power thanks to the return of their shadows,

And Lola, the one with a special identity who came from the Big Mom Pirates but chose to elope with Loki's proposal, was also thankful for surviving the ordeal.

Although the scene was dilapidated, it was filled with a relaxed atmosphere.

But, at that very moment...

"Huff... Huff... Everyone!!! Something terrible has happened!!"

Nami came sprinting from the other end of the castle passage at top speed, her face full of anxiety, and she didn't even have time to catch her breath.

"Nami-san~!" Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts, and he reflexively opened his arms and twisted his body to greet her.

"I'm so glad you're safe and sound! What made you so panicked, that made me..."

"Run!!!" Nami, completely ignoring Sanji's infatuation, interrupted him with a tearful, almost screaming voice.

"A...a super strong guy is coming! He's extremely, extremely terrifying!!"

"what?!"

Nami's words instantly tightened the already slightly relaxed atmosphere to an extreme level again.

Everyone was stunned, their faces showing disbelief.

Moriah has already been defeated, hasn't he? And his shadows have all been returned.

Who else is in this area? Could it be... Moria's other subordinates?

What kind of subordinate could make Nami so afraid?

Zoro gripped his sword tightly, his eyes scanning his surroundings despite his exhaustion.

Sanji also dropped his infatuated expression and frowned.

"Super...super strong?" Usopp's teeth chattered in shock. "Stronger than Moria?!"

While trying to heal Luffy, Chopper cried out in a tearful voice, "Luffy is already like this... he can't fight anymore!"

Even the well-informed Brook felt a chill (though he was just bones): "Yohohoho... The existence that can terrify Miss Nami like this, it seems that the real 'big guy' has arrived."

Lola and her pirate crew members exchanged glances, their nerves tightening again after they had just relaxed.

While everyone was still in shock and confusion, and hadn't yet figured out who this "super strong guy" Nami was talking about was...

A clear, yet somewhat languid voice drifted from above and behind them.

"Oh? It seems my eldest niece came to inform you in advance."

As the sound faded, everyone turned and looked up.

A man wearing a cloak of justice and with a half-smile on his face sat on it.

His gaze first swept over the Straw Hat crew, who were on high alert, and finally landed on the unconscious Luffy.

“Well then, let me see…” A playful smile curved at the corner of Gern’s lips.

"What's the Straw Hat boy like now who 'kidnapped' our little Nami?"

Chapter 410 has called roll!

Atop the ruins, Gern's figure stood out exceptionally tall in the first rays of sunlight.

He simply stood there casually, without even deliberately releasing any imposing aura, yet he was like an invisible mountain, pressing down on everyone's hearts.

The Straw Hat Pirates, including Zoro and Sanji who had just been through a fierce battle and were covered in wounds, froze at that moment.

A profound sense of crisis stemming from biological instinct when facing apex predators.

This caused their muscles to tense and their pupils to contract, and for a moment no one dared to make a move, they could only stare intently at that figure.

At the same time, unlike most of the Straw Hat crew members who believed "ignorance is no excuse,"

Lola from the New World and Nico Robin, a learned woman who had lived in the underworld.

The moment the two men saw Gern's face clearly, their pupils contracted sharply, their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat poured down their backs.

"Uh..." Lola let out a suppressed whimper, her face ashen, and she staggered backward.

As a result, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

She's Charlotte Linlin's daughter!

Former Minister in charge of chocolate on Cocoa Island among all nations

They are people who have survived in the cruel, dog-eat-dog world of the New World!

How could she not know the weight of the man in front of her!

"It's him! It really is him! The man that even my mother... even my most, most, most feared mother, sternly warned me never to mess with!!"

How did he end up here?!

Seeing Lola's intense reaction to fear, and then looking at Robin beside him with an equally grave expression, Usopp and Franky felt a strong sense of unease.

Usopp, trembling, asked in a low voice, "Hey...hey...who...who is he? He looks like someone you don't want to mess with..."

"That's right, there's a... " Franky couldn't maintain his creepy pose anymore, nervously swallowing hard: "A super... bad feeling..."

“He…he is…” Laura slumped to the ground, pointing a trembling finger at Gern, her teeth chattering. The name was stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t finish it. “God…God…”

Just as Lola was stammering with fear, Robin took a deep breath and took over the conversation seriously.

"The strongest fighting force of the Navy Headquarters, Navy Admiral 'White Scale'..."

She paused for a moment, then uttered the full name that would silence any pirate in the New World.

“Gern Reginald Sigmar!”

Finally, he uttered that most impactful title, the one that could explain all fear.

"...He was also the man who personally...ended the previous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger."

"!!!"

"The Pirate King... Roger?!" Usopp's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, his legs went weak, and he turned into a noodle.

"The end...The Pirate King?!" Franky's mouth dropped open, his jaw seemingly about to fall to the ground.

Zoro and Sanji's expressions instantly turned extremely ugly, and Chopper was so frightened that he hid behind Zoro's legs, trembling.

If before they only sensed the other's strength and danger, then at this moment, the words "End the Pirate King" truly resonated with them.

This made them fully realize the terrifying level of the person before them!

That is a living legend standing atop this vast ocean!

Of course, there are exceptions, such as Brooke.

He wasn't afraid; instead, he seemed to have heard the name Gern somewhere before and fell into deep thought.

"What the hell?! How could such a legendary figure... be here?!" Zoro gritted his teeth and growled, enduring the excruciating pain and exhaustion in his body.

"Appearing in the first half of the Grand Line?!"

There was no other way; the level of the enemy before them was completely beyond the scope of the battle they had just experienced!

"Phew~" Sanji lit a cigarette, trying to calm himself down with nicotine, but his slightly trembling fingers betrayed his true feelings.

"Ah...it seems like we're in big trouble."

“I don’t understand either.” Robin, his brow furrowed and face full of confusion, explained to his companions in a low voice, “Logically speaking, this man…”

Admiral "White Scale" Gern, whose duty is to be stationed in the New World, based in G-10, and to act as a Damocles' sword to deter the four Emperors of the Sea.

Therefore, his appearance here at this moment, on the Grand Line, is inherently abnormal...

Just then, Gern, standing atop the ruins, seemed to hear their conversation.

His gaze swept over the crowd and landed precisely on the unconscious Luffy, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears, like a judge reading a verdict.

"Straw Hat Boy, Monkey D. Luffy, bounty 300 million Berries."

His gaze moved slowly, sweeping over the assembled crowd as if it were a tangible object.

"Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, bounty 120 million Berries."

"Navigator, Nami, bounty of 16 million Berries." (The direct causal relationship between the title "Cat Burglar" and Ingen is no longer valid.)

"GOD Usopp, bounty of 30 million Berries."

"Black Leg, Sanji, bounty of 77 million Berries."

"Tony Tony Chopper, a pet who loves cotton candy, has a bounty of fifty Berries."

"The Devil's Child, Nico Robin, bounty of 80 million Berries."

"Cyborg Franky, bounty of 44 million Berries."

With each name he announced and its corresponding bounty, the Straw Hat crew's hearts sank a little deeper.

After announcing the bounties to everyone, Gern leaped lightly and silently descended from the top of the ruins several meters high.

He stood firmly in front of the Straw Hat crew, no more than ten steps away from them.

He patted non-existent dust off his hands, his face still bearing that enigmatic smile, and concluded in a relaxed tone...

"The total bounty of the Straw Hat Pirates is... 667,500,050 Berries."

Am I right?

Chapter 411 One-Sword Style: Lion's Song.

Listening to Gern's tone, which was clearly authoritative yet indifferent...

Within the Straw Hat crew, two figures took a step forward almost simultaneously.

"Crunch..." Zoro didn't hesitate to bite into the Wado Ichimonji.

He gripped Shusui and the newly acquired Sandai Kitetsu tightly in both hands, assuming the signature three-sword style starting stance.

Despite being covered in wounds, his eyes remained sharp and resolute, showing no sign of backing down.

"I'm sorry," Zoro's voice was hoarse, "my foolish captain is still unconscious."

Therefore, I cannot... let you take anyone from here away.

"Don't try to be a hero all by yourself, you idiot." Almost at the same time, Sanji took the cigarette he had just lit from his mouth and elegantly flicked off the ash.

He then retrieved the cigarette from his mouth, exhaled white smoke, slightly turned his body, and lightly touched the ground with the toe of his right foot, assuming a fighting stance.

"A true knight is one who can protect women and companions."

The two figures, one on the left and one on the right, had not yet fully unfurled the king's wings, but their rudiments were already beginning to take shape.

They shielded the unconscious Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and all their companions behind their not-so-broad, even shaky, bodies.

Choose to confront the legend who ended the era of the Pirate King!

Despite knowing the vast difference in strength, they still declared it through their actions and rebuked him in unison.

"So, if you want to harm our comrades, you'll have to step over our dead bodies!!!"

Seeing this exhilarating scene, Gern's face showed not appreciation, but rather an almost fanatical excitement.

"It's here! It's here! This is the atmosphere!"

The will that bursts forth in dire straits, the bonds that are vowed to protect to the death... this is the best stage ever!

Just then, Nami mustered her courage and stepped forward, her eyes pleading, "Uncle Gern! Please, Luffy has already..."