On the eastern docks of Ashen Harbor, a pirate ship lay moored against the pier.The banner of the Bloodspear Pirates fluttered violently in the wind.
The emblem upon it depicted a blood-dripping spear piercing straight through a skull, the crimson background looking as though it had been dyed with real blood.
On the open ground of the port, pirates sat gathered around a bonfire. Unknown cuts of meat roasted over the flames, grease dripping down into the fire with sharp sizzling sounds.
The air was thick with a nauseating mixture of scorched flesh and blood.
"Captain, this haul wasn't bad at all!" one pirate laughed, bits of meat clinging to his teeth."Those Marines will probably show up soon—might as well make this one even bigger!"
"Hmph."A tall, skeletal figure sat atop a reef, his gaunt frame resembling a steel tower. Old scars crisscrossed his pale skin, standing out grotesquely under the firelight.
He slowly raised a hand and caressed the modular spear beside him—Bloodbeak, its hooked blade glinting with cold menace.
"They're nothing but trash."
"Bloodspear" Lugart wore a cloak stitched together from looted Marine officer uniforms. The insignias sewn onto it gleamed beneath the firelight.
A cruel smile twisted his lips."When they arrive, I'll mount their leader's head on Bloodbeak… and remind the West Blue that I'm back."
"Hahahaha—!"
The laughter died abruptly.
The sea wind stilled.
The pirates around the fire stiffened, instinctively looking up.
At the harbor's entrance, a lone figure was approaching.
A Marine—young, clad in uniform, a long blade wrapped in white bandages slung across his back.
…
When Lugart saw the approaching figure, a feral grin split his face.
"Heh… finally here."
But when his eyes landed on the insignia on Gern's shoulder, the grin froze.
"A—A second lieutenant?! From a branch?!"
His expression darkened instantly, veins bulging across his forehead.
"You've got to be kidding me!" He stomped down, cracking the rock beneath his foot."I'm Bloodspear Lugart! A pirate who fought his way back from the Grand Line! A man worth sixty-nine million Beli!"
He jabbed Bloodbeak forward, rage spilling from his voice.
"The Marines send this to deal with me?!"
His one eye burned with fury.
"Or are you saying…" His lips curled into a snarl."…that I'm not even worth more than a damn second lieutenant?!"
The pirates burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Looks like the Marines don't respect you at all, Captain!"
"A second lieutenant? That's not even enough to fill the gaps in our teeth!"
"Oi, Marine brat! You lost? This ain't boot camp!"
Gern didn't answer.He simply kept walking.
As he drew closer, a tall, thin pirate suddenly froze, eyes widening in horror.
"H-Hey… wait…" He grabbed his companion's arm, voice trembling."That guy… the blade on his back… it's wrapped in white bandages!"
Lugart shot him an annoyed glance. "So what? You scared already?"
The pirate swallowed hard. "C-Captain… that's him… the 'Pirate Hunter'… Gern!"
"What?" Lugart frowned.
The pirate leaned in, whispering urgently, "Even though he's low-ranking, he wiped out sixteen pirate crews in the West Blue this year alone—by himself!"
"Last month, the Golden Fang Pirates—twenty-three million bounty—were completely erased by him!"
"And I heard… he trained at Marine Headquarters, but got suppressed because his methods were 'too extreme'!"
Lugart narrowed his eyes, reevaluating Gern.
"Oh?"A grin slowly returned—but this one was sharp, predatory.
"Pirate Hunter Gern, huh?"
He laughed softly, eyeing the insignia on Gern's shoulder.
"In the first half of the Grand Line, there are plenty like you."
He stood, casting a long shadow.
"So tell me, brat… are the Marines really so desperate that they sent a kid to die?"
Gern didn't reply.
His gaze swept across the pirates, over the blood-soaked docks, and finally settled on Lugart.
"You're Bloodspear Lugart," he said calmly.
Lugart snorted and raised his weapon."Heard of me, have you?"
"Then that means…" he rolled his wrist, spear tip glinting,"…they think you alone are enough to kill me."
The pirates burst into laughter again, mocking and loud.
…
Gern raised one hand slowly, palm open.
"You slaughtered Ashen Harbor," he said quietly, as if stating a simple fact.
Lugart paused—then burst into laughter, swinging Bloodbeak in a red arc.
"Hahaha! Slaughter? Those vermin?"His lone eye gleamed with madness."I was teaching them a lesson!"
He slammed the spear down, pointing it directly at Gern.
"On the sea… the weak don't deserve to live!"
Gern's gaze turned glacial.
"Then your life…"The air around his palm warped.
HUM—!!!
A sphere of pure white vibration condensed in his hand—compressing, collapsing, screaming with power like a dying star.
Lugart's laughter died instantly.
"And how much is it worth?"
Gern's arm tensed—
BOOM!!!
The air shattered.
Cracks spiderwebbed outward as if space itself had fractured. A monstrous shockwave erupted, tearing through everything in its path.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!
The Bloodspear's ship disintegrated in an instant—planks, masts, iron nails, sails—reduced to dust.
Even the sea beneath collapsed inward, forming a massive vacuum crater before water rushed back in with a deafening roar.
Silence followed.
Absolute silence.
Lugart's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
His ship… his fortune… gone in a single strike.
Gern lifted his head, black hair stirred by the fading shockwave, eyes cold enough to freeze blood.
"There's something else you got wrong," he said quietly.
He reached back and gripped the hilt of Black Blade · Bahuang.
The moment his fingers closed around it—
The blade screamed.
A high-frequency vibration tore through the air as the wrappings unraveled on their own, spiraling outward into pale fragments that hovered, crackling with energy.
The blade was fully revealed.
Dark crimson fissures lit its surface, pulsing like a living beast awakened from slumber.
"I'm not the one who thinks you're worth killing…"
Gern's voice dropped to a whisper that crushed the soul.
"You're the one who isn't worth sparing."