Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
The moment the public execution was officially announced, the relatively peaceful atmosphere that had long defined Marineford was shattered beyond repair.
The entire base transformed overnight into a war machine forced into sudden motion, its gears grinding at full capacity.
Troops began converging on Marineford at an unprecedented scale and speed.
First came the Navy's highest combat powers.
Aside from "Heavenquake" Gern Reginald Sigmar—already stationed at Headquarters (though whether he would personally take the battlefield had yet to be officially confirmed)—
"Akainu" Sakazuki, "Aokiji" Kuzan, and "Kizaru" Borsalino were all recalled to the core.
The execution itself would be overseen personally by "Buddha" Sengoku, who would command the entire operation and preside over the event.
Marine Hero "Iron Fist" Garp would participate.
Former Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr would also take the field.
More than half of all Vice Admirals from Marine Headquarters were mobilized.
Elite forces from Marine branches across the world poured in without end.
For a time, if one looked across the harbor and plaza of Marineford, every soldier in sight wore the white coat of Justice draped across their shoulders.
At the same time, the World Government issued a mandatory order: every member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was required to participate in the defensive battle for the execution.
And finally—
G-10 of the New World responded to the call, dispatching three of its core combatants:
"White Rabbit" Lipo.
"Golden Emperor" Tesoro.
And "Devil's Heir" Douglas Bullet.
...
Marineford — Residential District.
The once lively area, filled with the warmth of daily life, was now in chaos. Families of Marines were being urgently evacuated under the assistance of naval officers.
In Zephyr's home, his wife had already been escorted away by their son—now a Marine colonel himself, clad in a Justice coat just like his father.
The spacious living room stood empty.
Only Zephyr remained.
Waiting.
Before long, a bright, bell-like voice accompanied by the sound of bouncing footsteps rang through the doorway.
"Zephyr-sensei!! The hero of justice, Z! Lipo, has made her dazzling entrance!!"
Before the words had even fully landed, Lipo struck a pose and hopped directly in front of him, her face radiating with a carefree, innocent grin.
Seeing her—still as adorable as ever, forever brimming with energy—Zephyr couldn't help but smile despite himself. His firm hand caught hers, and with a smooth motion he spun her lightly in a few circles before affectionately ruffling her small head.
"Zephyr-sensei, it's been a while."
Only then did Gern's voice sound from the doorway.
He had been standing there the whole time, draped in his Admiral's Justice coat. He didn't step inside—merely leaned against the frame, eyes resting quietly on Zephyr.
Zephyr stood before him with both arms intact, his striking purple hair cropped short as always. A pair of dark sunglasses concealed part of his gaze.
Looking at his most outstanding student—yet also the one who stirred the most complicated emotions within him—Zephyr's smile faded slightly, though it did not vanish.
He gently set Lipo down. She obediently answered with a soft "Mm!" and trotted over to the sofa, sitting quietly while swinging her legs, wide eyes darting curiously between teacher and disciple.
Zephyr walked toward Gern and stopped a few paces away.
The last trace of warmth drained from his face. His voice was steady.
"This time… Gern."
"In this public execution led by the World Government… carried out by Sengoku…"
"What do you intend to do?"
He did not ask, What will you do?
He asked, What do you want to do?
That subtle distinction revealed just how deeply he understood Gern's nature.
His student had never once been a mere executor. Never a passive cog in someone else's design.
Gern did not dodge.
"I've been sitting in the Admiral's seat… for a little too long."
Zephyr was unsurprised. He simply stated the reality.
"The World Government isn't foolish. They won't allow you to become Fleet Admiral."
He understood too well the threat Gern's uncontrollable destructive force and fierce independence posed to the Five Elders in Mary Geoise.
Gern did not argue.
Instead, he redirected the question.
"Then who, in your opinion, among the other three… is most likely?"
As the shared teacher of the current Admirals—though Gern's tutelage had always been the most unconventional—Zephyr knew Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino inside and out: their temperaments, strengths, and hidden flaws.
"Borsalino…" Zephyr shook his head slightly. "That man plays the fool, drifts through life, acts like nothing concerns him."
"But precisely because of that—when it comes to critical decisions, no one can read him."
"He's too clever. Too adept at self-preservation. Too unpredictable."
"The World Government won't favor a Fleet Admiral they can't calculate."
"And Kuzan…" Zephyr exhaled, regret and disappointment lacing his tone. "There's no need to elaborate."
"That increasingly lazy man. His ideals waver. These days, he even dares to openly defy orders. Lost in his so-called 'burning justice' and his own confusion."
"If he became Fleet Admiral, he might resist the World Government's control… but his indecision and erratic conduct? He wouldn't reform anything."
"He'd struggle to even stabilize the Marines. The situation would only grow more chaotic."
Zephyr let out a cold chuckle.
"By contrast… Sakazuki is different."
"Oh?"
"It's not that he's better," Zephyr sighed. "It's that he's the easiest to see through."
"Of the three, the simplest mind. The most straightforward."
"Just like his 'Absolute Justice'—extreme. Stubborn. Black and white."
"He walks a single path to the end. Direct. Unyielding. Incapable of compromise."
"In a sense… he's a born soldier."
"A perfect machine for carrying out orders."
By the end, Zephyr's tone held both mockery—and a sharp exposure of the World Government's deepest calculation.
"A personality like that… is precisely the Fleet Admiral they desire."
"And me?"
"As for you?" Zephyr burst into laughter.
"Gern, those five old fossils would rather let Sengoku rot in that chair until he dies than ever let you climb into it!"
"They know the difference between 'dying slowly' and 'dying immediately'!"
"Stop dreaming!"
His laughter faded. His voice hardened.
"Now speak plainly. You wouldn't come to visit this retired old man without a reason."
"Very well." Gern met his teacher's scrutiny without hesitation.
"I want Ain."
The moment the name left his lips—
Zephyr's expression froze.
He understood instantly.
Behind the sunglasses, his eyes snapped wide open. He stepped forward.
"You bastard!!! No chance!!"
"I will never—never—let Ain follow you into something like that! Don't even think about it!"
Zephyr's fury erupted like a detonating cannon.
Gern, however, remained perfectly calm—as though he had expected this reaction.
"Zephyr-sensei. You know it as well as I do."
"Even if this all-out war against Whitebeard ends—regardless of victory or defeat…"
"As long as Fleet Admiral Sengoku remains… as long as the World Government has room to choose…"
"They'll most likely let him continue. Maintain that fragile balance."
"But—"
Gern's voice paused.
When he spoke again, it carried suffocating pressure.
"Marineford… should no longer exist."
Zephyr's breathing hitched.
Gern continued.
"I don't need to sit in the Fleet Admiral's chair. I can remain an Admiral."
"But I want the Fleet Admiral's authority."
"I want Marine Headquarters relocated entirely into the New World."
"Under the shadow of my G-10."
He stared directly at Zephyr, tone bordering on obsession.
"A complete military system… yet operating with two power centers? Two administrative seats?"
"Is that not de facto division?"
"Is that not a betrayal of the unified Marine system Fleet Admiral Kong once established?!"
His voice rose sharply.
"This all-out war… is the perfect stage!"
"Under the gaze of the entire world, I will push my power, my will, my justice—to the absolute extreme!"
"With achievements no one can dispute. With deterrence no one can ignore."
"I will force them to choose."
"And to achieve that—"
"I need the user of the 'Retrogression Fruit.' The one who can smooth time and restore what has been broken."
"Ain."
"Gern Reginald Sigmar!!!"
"Zephyr-sensei!!!" Gern roared back.
"You were the one who taught me!"
"You said that living one's life by carrying one's conviction to the very end—that was something admirable! Wasn't it?!"
"Carrying one's conviction to the end…"
"Yes."
Gern's eyes burned with unwavering clarity.
"I have never forgotten my conviction."
"The Marines…"
"…will stand at the pinnacle."