On the deck of the returning warship, Lipo hopped and skipped her way toward the cage holding Barret, a freshly picked carrot clutched in her hand.
Tilting her head, her fluffy ears twitching lightly, she slipped the carrot through the gaps between the iron bars.
"Hey, big guy—wanna eat?" she asked with a cheerful grin.
Barret slowly lifted his head, his pupils fixing on the rabbit-eared girl who, not long ago, he had blasted away with a single punch. His brows knitted tightly.
"I tried to kill you earlier," he said, his voice low and rough, carrying a hoarse chill. "And this is your attitude now?"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Lipo waved her hand dismissively, the carrot bobbing between her fingers."I heard Gern say it—you're a partner of justice now! Partners don't hurt partners anymore!"
"Partners… don't hurt partners?" Barret repeated, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smirk. "Heh."
For a fleeting instant, his gaze drifted.
"Partner."
What a ridiculous word.
Douglas Barret had once believed—naively—that as long as he became strong enough, he would be acknowledged, that he would earn real companions.
And what was the result?
Betrayal. Betrayal. And more damn betrayal.
Back when he was still a child soldier, he had been brutally branded with the mark "No. 9." In the mouths of those lofty officers, he was nothing more than"Bullet No. 9 of the Douglas Unit."
A disposable weapon. A killing tool to be fired at will.
And yet—even so—he had stupidly regarded the man who gave him his surname as a father.
What happened in the end?
When he rampaged across the battlefield, invincible; when his growing strength began to make that man feel threatened—the blade that should have guarded his back was plunged into his heart from the angle he trusted most.
Even now, he could still remember that rainy night, blood mingling with rainwater, spreading across the mud.
That man's cold, indifferent eyes were deadlier than every bullet on the battlefield.
If fate hadn't played its cruel joke—if he hadn't, at death's door, accidentally obtained the power of the Combine-Combine Fruit—he would have been buried forever on that battlefield soaked in betrayal, carrying nothing but rage and unanswered questions.
Later, when he joined the Roger Pirates, he finally found a new goal.
Sea winds. Strong liquor. Laughter. The bonfire on deck that never went out.
He thought—this time—he had found a captain worth following.
To say the journey left him untouched?
Impossible.
He was simply used to silence, used to letting his fists speak for him.
But when Rayleigh laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, when everyone dragged him into wild drinking contests, when Roger stood at the bow and reached out a hand toward him…
In those moments, he truly believed he was one of them.
And then—what happened?
That night, the sea was so calm it felt suffocating.
Roger leaned against the railing, moonlight stretching his shadow long across the deck.
"I'm going to die."A single sentence, spoken lightly.
"If you want to leave, then leave."
What the hell was that supposed to mean?!
He had boarded that ship, fought every battle with everything he had—he had even been willing to die for that man.
And yet, in Roger's eyes, he had always been nothing more than a "challenger"?
A passerby who could be dismissed at any time?
Wasn't that betrayal sharper than any blade?!
"Hey, big guy?" Lipo's voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.
Barret snapped back to the present, realizing she was still holding out that carrot, her gaze so clear it almost hurt to look at.
"..."After a moment of silence, he turned his head away coldly. "I don't eat carrots."
"Is that so?" Lipo blinked. Then, suddenly, a green glow bloomed from her left hand.
Before Barret's stunned eyes, she activated the power of the Heal-Heal Fruit, restoring the wounds across his body.
"You— …forget it." Barret opened his mouth, about to spit out something harsh.But seeing the earnest concentration on her face, he let out a low sigh, closed his eyes, and said nothing more.
A moment later—
"Eeh—?" Lipo pouted, then quickly smiled again."Then come find me when you feel like eating!"
She hopped away, her retreating figure light as the wind.
Barret stared at her back, then glanced down at the healed wounds on his chest, his expression complicated.
Partners don't hurt partners…
Ridiculous.
And yet… why was it that when those words came from her mouth, they stirred such inexplicable irritation in his chest?
Not far away, Gern Reginald Sigmar leaned against the railing, the Black Blade Eight Desolations resting diagonally on his shoulder, a faint, unreadable smile at his lips.
Tesoro stepped up beside him and murmured, "Looks like Barret won't be easy to 'tame.'"
"Tame?" Gern chuckled softly. "No. I don't need to tame him."
His gaze deepened as he looked out toward the distant horizon.
"I just need him to understand—this time, he won't be betrayed."
…
The warship slowly departed the waters around Lulutak Island, the sea wind carrying traces of gunpowder across the deck.
Standing by the railing, Tesoro watched Barret, bound by Seastone chains. Locked inside a specially made cage, the man still held his head high, arrogance unbroken.
"Vice Admiral Gern, this guy really is a formidable asset," Tesoro said calmly, his voice kept low so only Gern could hear."If we can truly absorb him into our faction, even if he's not much for words, just having him stand behind us would be an immense deterrent."
Gern smiled faintly, the sheath of Eight Desolations tapping the deck with a dull thud.
"That's true," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked toward the far-off horizon."But sending him to Impel Down isn't exactly my main goal—more like… a convenient move."
He paused, then continued evenly,"With the Navy's upcoming power transition, I need leverage. Real leverage."
"Power transition?" Tesoro raised an eyebrow, thoughtfully rubbing his ring."You mean Fleet Admiral Kong's promotion to Commander-in-Chief of the entire military?"
"Exactly." Gern's voice was light, yet utterly resolute."Sengoku becoming Fleet Admiral is almost a certainty. But the Admiral seats—those are still in flux."
"Sakazuki. Kuzan. Borsalino… and me." He paused, a meaningful curve forming at the corner of his mouth."I'm not naïve enough to think the World Government will happily let me take that seat."
"So I intend to make full use of this moment—and trade it for authority I can actually use."
For a brief moment, silence settled over the deck, broken only by the sound of waves striking the hull.
Lipo poked her head out of the cabin once more, her fluffy ears twitching."Vice Admiral Gern, Tesoro—what are you talking about?"
"Nothing important," Gern said as he turned around, ruffling her hair with a relaxed smile."Just thinking about how many carrots I should buy you when we get back."
Lipo's eyes lit up, but she quickly narrowed them suspiciously."You're lying! You both looked super serious just now!"
Tesoro couldn't help but laugh. "Caught us." He shrugged."We were talking about how to make a certain stubborn guy behave." He shot a pointed glance toward Barret.
Barret snorted and turned his head away, though the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.
Gern smiled, his gaze drifting toward the steadily sharpening outline of Marineford in the distance. His voice dropped to a murmur.
"The game of power has already begun.And we… can't afford to fall behind."