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

Although the slave collars have been removed, the marks won't disappear overnight.

"A blonde slave? The last place Saint Charmaco was seen was the slave market!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, the CP0 agent abruptly drew his long sword from his waist. "Take her away for interrogation!"

Two CP agents rushed toward Tesoro in an instant.

Stella cried out in surprise, and Tesoro instinctively shielded her behind him, gold coalescing into spikes in his palm.

In the midst of this tense moment, a dark blade suddenly slashed through the air.

"Whoosh!" Time seemed to freeze for a second.

The leading CP0 agent remained in the gesture of raising his knife to give the order.

But the next second, his head suddenly slid off his neck and slammed onto the wooden planks of the dock with a "thud," and blood gushed out from the severed neck like a fountain.

The headless corpse swayed and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Gern had somehow appeared beside the corpse, a drop of blood dripping from the tip of his Black Blade, Eight Desolations.

He stepped on the fallen head, his leather shoe crushing the fragments of the mask with a sickening crunch.

“Sorry.” Gren smiled at the other CP0 agents who were frozen in place.

"It seems I possess special law enforcement authority over the entire Western Sea." The tip of the knife lightly touched the ground, producing a crisp sound.

"I now believe this guy is a suspect, so I killed him."

Everyone...no objections, right?

The dock was deathly silent.

The cries of seagulls came from afar, sounding particularly jarring.

Seeing CP0 agents beheaded before they could even react, the other ordinary CP agents trembled and took a half-step back.

"You...do you know what you're doing?! That's CP0! Directly under the world's control..."

"Oh!" Gern tilted his head, his smile becoming even more gentle.

"So you mean, you want to accompany him on his journey, or..." He slowly raised his black sword.

"Will you cooperate with me in investigating the Celestial Dragons' disappearances?"

Gern's move almost made Tesoro stop breathing.

He saw those arrogant CP agents cower like lambs under Guern's gaze.

He even saw the frozen terror in the wide-open eyes of the head at Gern's feet.

That was the despair of realizing death was coming but having no time to react.

“A madman…” an agent muttered, “How could there be a madman like you in the Navy…”

Gern suddenly stopped smiling.

He strode forward, his black military boots crunching over the pool of blood, each step causing the CP agents to retreat a step.

“Three days ago, the ‘Bloody Hand Pirates’ landed on Lilicaya Island.” Gern pulled out a crumpled stack of bounty posters from his pocket.

"I received news this morning that they purchased explosives on the black market."

Papers fell like snowflakes, and on the topmost wanted poster, a man with a face full of scars grinned menacingly.

“There are signs of an explosion in the wreckage of Saint Charmaco’s carriage.” Gern’s knife tip picked up a golden button from the ground.

That was something he had just torn from the corpse of Saint Charmaco. "And this was found on a pirate in the pirate crew."

The CP agents looked at each other in bewilderment.

One of them mustered his courage and picked up the button, his voice trembling: "But, but this doesn't prove..."

“Do I need proof?” Gern interrupted softly. “Special enforcement authority, isn’t that…” The black knife suddenly slashed horizontally, and the agent’s mask shattered in two.

"Does saying someone is the murderer mean they are the murderer?"

"In fact, the World Government has already found a reason, hasn't it? Whether they can find one or not, it won't be long before the newspapers report it..."

"Saint Chalmarsh has safely returned to the Holy Land, hasn't he?"

“Yes, yes…” The agent whose mask had been ripped off turned deathly pale.

And Gern leaned close to his ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Tell the higher-ups that the pirates in the West Blue are becoming increasingly rampant; they even dare to touch the Celestial Dragons..."

He straightened up, his voice returning to normal, "And I will personally cleanse this sea area."

The sea breeze picked up again, and Gern turned and walked toward the warship, his black overcoat billowing behind him.

"Tesoro, take Stella with you, we should go back to the 133rd branch to investigate."

Also, remember to thank the agents for providing the warships.

"Oh?! Thank you." Tesoro snapped out of his daze and quickly nodded to the CP agent who was standing there dumbfounded. Then he pulled Stella along and followed.

.........

A few hours later, on a naval warship.

Tesoro stood on the deck, watching the Lilicaya Island gradually disappear into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He never imagined that he would so easily escape suspicion and leave that city filled with painful memories.

Stella, equally relieved, stood beside him and whispered, "A new life begins."

Tesoro nodded and squeezed her hand: "Yes, this time, I won't let anyone take you away from me again."

Gern emerged from the cabin, holding a set of naval uniforms, and tossed them to Tesoro: "From today onwards, you are a member of the Navy."

"Adjust well to your new role; you were too nervous when you were with your partner just now."

Looking at the uniform, Tesoro hesitated for a long time before finally asking in a low voice, "Admiral Gern, those pirates you just mentioned..."

“They were wiped out by Sakazuki’s fleet just a few months ago.” Gern didn’t turn his head. “The bodies should be floating in the calm zone now.”

Stella suddenly covered her mouth, and Tesoro's pupils contracted sharply.

He suddenly understood everything.

This scheme was already in place from the moment Gern killed the Celestial Dragon.

Those pirates were merely scapegoats prepared in advance, and CP0... was nothing more than a pawn manipulated at will on the chessboard.

Anyway, since Saint Charmaco's body can't be found at all, the World Government will investigate secretly, but they will also make an excuse in public.

“Remember, Tesoro.” Gern’s voice, carried on the sea breeze, was cold and clear.

"In this world, true power is not gold, but the 'truth' that compels everyone to believe."

"Major General Nagan, why did you choose to help me?"

Gern glanced at him and said calmly, "Because I see your potential."

"I'll need the power and combat abilities of the Gold-Gold Fruit in the future, and..." He paused.

"I also need a companion who can understand the true meaning of my 'justice'."

"Cultivating his own inner circle?" Having spent his life in the casinos, Tesoro instantly understood Gern's thoughts.

He didn't just want to be a general, he wanted to be a marshal!

Tesoro paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "I won't let you down."

Gern smiled. "I hope so." He then turned his gaze to the clear blue sky.

Based on the timeline, I wonder if our "god" has landed on the Sky Island yet?!

(Enel was not originally a native of the Sky Island in the story; he went to the original Sky Island after destroying his hometown, Birka.)

Therefore, Gern is currently unaware of which sky island he is on at this point in time, or which sky island is Bika.

After all, there are many Skypiea clouds in the One Piece world.

Chapter 120 I, Kizaru, am a corporate slave who dislikes trouble.

Meanwhile, a few days later, on an open space on Egghead Island that served as a training ground.

With his hands in his pockets, Kizaru leaned lazily against the railing, his gaze behind his dark sunglasses fixed on Sentomaru not far away.

The little guy was waving a wooden axe, sweat dripping down his round cheeks, muttering boastful words like "the world's number one man with a tight tongue."

"You're really working hard~" Kizaru's lips curled up slightly, his tone still flippant, but his eyes flickered subtly.

Just now, he heard some rumors from Vegapunk about the investigation into the disappearance of Charles Marco, a Celestial Dragon from the West Blue.

As the head of the naval science unit, he naturally had access to some inside information.

When he saw the keywords "Lyricaya Island" and "Tezoro", the image of Gern's ambiguous smile instantly flashed into his mind.

"Tesoro, West Blue, Lilicaya Island..." Kizaru murmured softly, unconsciously leaning against the tree trunk behind him.

He remembered clearly that a few months ago, Gern had contacted him through a private channel, asking him to help retrieve Tesoro's personal information.

Even when Gern came to Egghead Island, he didn't think much of it.

After all, Guern was the kind of guy who would occasionally make some strange requests, and Guern was used to it, so he readily helped him out.

But now it seems that all of this was premeditated.

"This is really troublesome~" Kizaru pushed up his sunglasses, the cold light reflected from the lenses obscuring his eyes.

Gern's intentions are not hard to guess.

He deliberately had Kizaru retrieve Tesoro's information so that, after the incident, Kizaru would be one of the "insiders."

This forced Kizaru to stand at a crossroads: either expose Gern or remain silent.

What Kizaru hates most is troublesome multiple-choice questions.

"Uncle!" Little Sentomaru ran over breathlessly, looking up at him. "Today's training is done!"

"Oh? Not bad~" Kizaru smiled and ruffled his hair, his tone still lazy, but his thoughts drifted into the distance.

Gern played this move very cleverly.

He exploited Kizaru's "corporate slave" mentality. What is a "corporate slave"?

A person who is lazy and finds troublesome is unlikely to take the initiative to break the ice.

"These young people nowadays are really bold," Kizaru murmured, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

He can simply pretend that nothing happened.

After all, Tesoro's intelligence was obtained privately and was not officially recorded.

Unless he says anything, no one will know that he was involved.

And Gern clearly anticipated this as well.

"Never mind~" Kizaru stretched and turned to walk towards the laboratory.

"Anyway, I'm just a salaried office worker~"

"But you have to pay me for dragging me into this, don't you, Gern."

.........

Meanwhile, in the office of the West Sea 133 branch, Gern was sitting on the sofa, toying with a gold coin in his hand.

The coin twirled between his fingers, reflecting a cold light.

"Major Admiral Gern." Tesoro pushed open the door and entered, his expression serious. "The CP0 investigation fleet has withdrawn."

"Hmm." Gern didn't turn his head, but simply flicked the coin, sending it flying towards Tesoro.

Tesoro instinctively caught it, looked down, and found it was a gold coin with a naval emblem.

“Tesoro.” Gern turned his head, a slight smile playing on his lips. “From today onward, your past will be completely erased.”

“Completely erased?!” Tesoro was stunned.

“That’s right!” Asahi stood by the office window, holding a newly signed officer’s file in his hand, a meaningful smile on his lips.

“Gild Tesoro…” he murmured the name from the file, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips. “Not bad, sounds like a proper navy officer.”