"You little bastard… you really did lay out an offer that I… simply can't refuse!"
"Of course." Gern snorted softly. "If I didn't come to you fully prepared…then you'd really need to start worrying about how much funding your so-called 'legendary head' could still fetch from the Marines these days."
"Ze hahahahaha!!!"
Golden Lion burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter.Using the twin blades attached to his legs, clang, clang, he pushed himself upright. His movements still relied on those sword-prosthetics, but—
The spine that straightened once more, and the light rekindled in his eyes, were clearly different from before.
He deftly pulled out a perfectly preserved cigar from his inner coat, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick, white plume of smoke.
"So then," he asked, his voice brimming with impatience,"that 'Operation Fruit' you mentioned—do you have concrete information on it now?"
"If you do, then the two of us can just go and snatch it outright!""Me plus you… wouldn't that make us invincible under heaven?!"
Watching Golden Lion instantly regain confidence—already fantasizing about being "invincible"—Gern couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.
Damn it. If I pooled my assets with the richest man in the world, I'd still technically be the richest man in the world too.With your condition, old man, it's questionable whether you could even catch up to a Yonko's right-hand man—yet you're talking about invincibility…
But grumbling aside, Gern kept his expression calm. He raised a hand, cutting off Golden Lion's enthusiastic daydreaming.
"Searching the vast sea aimlessly for a specific Devil Fruit is no different from looking for a needle in the ocean. It's not that simple."
Golden Lion frowned slightly, disappointment flashing through his eyes.
But then Gern smoothly shifted gears, a calculating curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"However…"
"Finding someone who has already eaten the Operation Fruit?""That's a much easier task."
Golden Lion froze for a moment—then instantly understood.
His mouth stretched wide into a grin, his tone dragging out knowingly.
"Ooooooh~~~~"
He got it.
There was no need to chase an illusory Devil Fruit.All they had to do was lock onto the person who possessed that "miracle" power.
Capture him. Force him.Make him perform that long-dreamed-of "rebirth" surgery.
Simple. Direct. Efficient.This was exactly the style of the old-era titans of the sea!
Who would've thought the brat who once cut down his reputation would be so… compatible with his tastes?
Watching Golden Lion grin ear to ear, as if he could already see himself regaining his legs and returning to his peak,Gern remained outwardly composed—but inwardly, he gently shook his head and chuckled.
The Operation Fruit… is indeed a perfect piece of bait.For an old, crippled lion like you, its appeal is downright fatal.
The Operation Fruit could certainly fix Golden Lion's physical disabilities.But in Gern's hands, there was an even more concealed card—one with potentially far greater power.
Ain.
One of Zephyr's disciples.
A girl who possessed the Paramecia-type Return-Return Fruit.
At present, she could revert the state of anything she touched by ten years.
If that power continued to develop—twenty years… thirty years… or even more?
That wouldn't just be healing injuries.It would be something terrifyingly close to reversing time itself—returning someone to their youth.
That was the true power Gern valued.A hidden force capable of stirring up far greater waves in the future.
The Operation Fruit was the bait in plain sight.The Return-Return Fruit was the trump card hidden up his sleeve.
(For now, it's unclear whether it only reverts age or also reverts strength along with age.But let's just set it as reverting age.Sigh… though honestly, if fully developed, even restricting it to reverting strength would still be within Paramecia logic.)
"By the way!" Golden Lion suddenly wiped away his grin, cigar in mouth, his tone tinged with urgency."That guy you mentioned—the one who ate the Operation Fruit. Who is he? And where is he now?"
Hearing that, Gern actually paused, looking at Golden Lion with mild confusion.
You don't know?Trafalgar Law is already one of the Supernovas—his name's pretty well known.
Supernova meant the strongest rookie pirates of this era.Was this old guy's intelligence network really that outdated?
Seeing the look of faint disdain on Gern's face, Golden Lion felt slighted. He snorted unhappily and blew out a smoke ring.
"Hmph! Who do you think I am? Watching small fry all day?"
"What I collect is real intelligence—information that can actually affect the big picture!"
He even struck a pose that screamed my status is impeccable.
"Oh?" Gern raised an eyebrow, playing along. "Then whose intel have you been collecting?"
"Obviously—" Golden Lion pointed at Gern with the hand holding his cigar, speaking without hesitation."You."
Gern blinked. "Just me?"
Golden Lion lifted his chin, his golden mane swaying in the wind, his tone carrying an odd sense of pride.
"That's right! I've been hiding in the East Blue all these years, and most of my attention's been on you, brat!"
"From your transfer to G-3… to capturing Roger… even when I was locked up, I only read your articles… and then you taking charge of G-10 in the New World…"
"In short—every move you make, I've been watching!"
Gern stared at Golden Lion's 'my eyes are only on you' attitude.
Then he thought about how this old man had endured in silence for twenty years—yet seemed utterly fixated on him.
Combined with the emotional turbulence earlier… and this eerie "single-mindedness" now…
Eugh—don't tell me…This guy's hatred ran so deep that after watching me for decades… it turned into love?!
The thought struck him like lightning.
Almost instinctively—very naturally—Gern took five… six… seven… eight steps backward.
His face twisted into an extremely subtle expression, blending suspicion, vigilance, and a faint chill down his spine.
Golden Lion might be old, but he wasn't blind!
Was that half-step back serious?!Such a tiny movement—and yet it nearly made him explode!
"BASTARD!!!"
Golden Lion roared in fury, his cigar almost falling from his mouth as he waved his arms wildly.
"What the hell is that look on your face?!"
"I see you as the opponent I must surpass and guard against after Roger—an opponent, you hear me?!"
"Who the hell would have those disgusting thoughts about a Marine brat like you?!!!"
Watching Golden Lion jump up and down, desperately clarifying himself, Gern finally relaxed. He patted his chest and let that infuriating grin return to his face.
"Oh, an opponent, huh… you should've said so earlier. That weirdly gay vibe scared the hell out of me."
"For a second there, I thought my nowhere-to-put charm had even old legendary pirates falling for it."
Golden Lion: "...(╬￣皿￣)"
...
[Salted Fish's Author Note]Everyone's comments matched exactly what I was thinking, and that really resonated with me.
This man is Golden Lion!
A great pirate who ushered in the Legendary Era.A supreme overlord of the seas.The only man who inherited the dream of ruling the world.The most powerful force of that era—its pride incarnate!
He's also the man who, despite having everything, cast it all aside for the sake of acknowledgment—storming Marineford alone!
So why is it that Roger and Whitebeard get perfect finales?Why can't Golden Lion have a grand, heroic ending?!
He is the man who, in this book, truly awakens Gern's title of "Heaven-Shaking."His end should not be flat.It should not come at his weakest.
He is a warlord, a tyrant, a schemer—He should plan, plot, and stop at nothing.
He should do everything possible to ensure that he ends the Legendary Era in the most spectacular, blazing fashion imaginable!!!
Not as this pitiful old lion.
That—that—is the ending I want for the Three Heroes of the Old Era.
(So no matter how well he's written… please, don't trust Golden Lion.)