At 3:50 a.m., the harbor of Marineford still lay shrouded in deep darkness.
Gern stood on the deck of a warship, his hands and feet bound by heavy chains, the icy metal pressed tight against his skin. The sea breeze carried a sharp, briny chill as faint light shimmered along the distant horizon—the boundary of the Calm Belt.
"Kid, scared?"Garp's voice came from beside him, muffled slightly by the meat bun stuffed in his mouth.
"Scared?" Gern tugged at the corner of his lips. "I'm just worried you won't be able to keep up with me later."
"Hahaha!" Garp roared with laughter and slapped Gern on the back, nearly sending him flying into the sea. "Got some guts! Then let's crank things up right away!"
"I'm used to intense training," Gern grumbled, "but why do I have to wear chains just to run? This is completely—"
"Because now we're getting to the real point!"Before he could finish, Garp yanked the chain and hurled him like a sack of sand straight into the ocean.
Splash!
Freezing seawater swallowed Gern whole.
The pressure instantly crushed down on him, his Devil Fruit power nearly unusable. His limbs felt like they'd been filled with molten lead.
"Didn't you say we were running?!" he gasped as he struggled back to the surface.
From the deck, Garp shouted, "I don't like wasting time! You've trained enough already. If you can use Armament Haki, I'll pull you up—if not… we'll feed you to the Sea Kings!"
"Tch—damn it!" Gern cursed, paddling desperately.
But Devil Fruit users were helpless in the sea.
Ten minutes passed. His muscles burned, his breathing grew ragged.
Then—
A massive shadow emerged beneath the surface.
Gern's pupils shrank.
A Sea King—its colossal body rivaling a warship—was swimming straight toward him.
"H-Hey! Vice Admiral Garp!" he shouted toward the ship—
Only to see Garp calmly pouring something into the sea.
Blood.
The scent spread instantly.
The Sea King's eyes flared crimson as it surged forward.
"Shit!!" Gern cursed as the massive jaws opened, fangs glistening, death rushing toward him.
In that instant—
A burning force exploded from within him.
Dark crimson Armament Haki ignited around his legs like living flame.
The Sea King bit down—
CLANG!
Its teeth screeched against hardened steel.
"Oh?" Garp raised an eyebrow, grinning. "So you can use it!"
With a single leap, Garp descended from the ship and smashed the Sea King aside with one punch. Then he grabbed the half-conscious Gern and laughed toward the record officer.
"Write it down! Armament Haki awakened in seventeen days—two hours faster than Kuzan!"
Sprawled on the deck, soaked and gasping, Gern shouted weakly,"Throwing Devil Fruit users into the sea is illegal, you know! I'm reporting you to Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"Heh." Garp squatted beside him and patted his face. "You've awakened Armament now. No time to waste."
Gern: "..."
Later — Volcano Island Training Grounds
The scorching sun beat down upon the volcanic terrain.
Bare-chested, muscles taut, Gern braced himself against a ten-ton slab of granite, trying to push it up a steep slope. Sweat streamed down his back, evaporating instantly against the heated stone.
"Too slow!" Garp barked from the peak, chewing on a blade of grass. "Where's your Haki?! Use it!"
Gern clenched his teeth, trying to coat his arms in Armament. The power flickered—unstable, uneven.
The weight crushed down on him. His knees trembled.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A cannonball smashed into the boulder, blasting Gern away.
"Gah!" He slammed into the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Unacceptable!" Garp appeared instantly, his fist coated in jet-black Armament. "Your bones aren't even cracked—what kind of training is that?! Again!"
BAM!
Another punch sent Gern crashing into the rock wall, debris exploding outward.
He coughed blood… then laughed.
"Again… let's go again."
Marine Special Training Facility
Gern gripped a wooden sword with both hands, facing a massive steel shield. His palms were raw, torn from endless repetition.
"Your breathing is off."
Zephyr's voice came from behind him.
"Instructor Zephyr—!" Gern turned, startled. Zephyr stood there silently, his gaze sharp behind his sunglasses.
"Haki isn't brute force," Zephyr said, placing a finger on Gern's trembling wrist. "It is precision of will."
He guided Gern's grip. Black Armament Haki flowed like ink across the wooden blade.
"Feel it," Zephyr said quietly. "Not 'cutting'—but slipping between matter itself."
Gern focused. His breath steadied.
The blade moved.
Shhk.
No clang. No resistance.
The steel shield split cleanly, its surface smooth as glass.
"…I see." Gern murmured.
"Twenty thousand more repetitions tomorrow," Zephyr said, turning away. "One millimeter of error means you start over."
"Armament is the will to protect—not a tool for slaughter. Control outweighs brute force."
Several Months Later
Gern stood blindfolded at the entrance of a narrow metal corridor. Spikes lined both walls. At the far end, the open sea roared—and Garp stood on the deck, casually weighing a cannonball in his hand.
"The rules are simple," Garp called. "Cross the corridor blindfolded. Don't get hit. Every scratch earns ten extra rounds."
Gern swallowed.
This wasn't training.This was torture.
"Ready?" Garp grinned. "Begin!"
BOOM!
The first cannonball screamed through the air, trailing flames.
Gern ducked just in time—the blast hurled him into the spikes.
"Too slow!" Garp roared. "Where's your Armament?! Your Observation?! Use them!"
Gritting his teeth, Gern forced himself to calm down. Armament coated his arms as he sharpened his awareness.
The second shot came.
He dodged—but the shockwave slammed him into the wall.
Rip!A spike tore into his shoulder, blood soaking his sleeve.
"Ten more rounds!" Garp declared.
Panting, Gern nodded.
The third shot came.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He punched.
BOOM!
His Haki-coated fist collided with the burning shell midair, detonating it in a storm of sparks.
Garp's eyebrows shot up. Then he laughed."That's more like it! But don't get cocky!"
Days passed in a blur of fire, steel, and pain.
Gern's body was battered and convincing scars mapped his skin—but his movements grew sharper, faster. His Armament spread more smoothly, and his Observation sharpened with every near miss.
When he finally knocked aside the last cannonball with his knee, Garp lowered his arm.
"Barely passable," he said, approaching the exhausted boy. "You know why we train like this?"
Gern wiped blood from his forehead and shook his head.
"In the New World," Garp said solemnly, "sometimes you move forward knowing you'll get hurt. Pain slows you down—"
He pointed at Gern's healing wounds.
"—and Haki is what lets you ignore it… and see the danger before it ever touches you."