Cocoyasi Village — the tangerine grove, in front of Bellemere's house.
The Fish-Men of the Arlong Pirates had already surrounded the area.
At their head stood Arlong. His serrated, sawtoothed nose twitched as a mocking grin spread across his face.In the next instant, he bit down—crunch!—and snapped the rifle that Bellemere had jammed into his mouth clean in half. Then, with a savage twist of his body, he flung her violently to the ground.
"Ugh—!"Bellemere slammed hard into the muddy earth. Before she could even push herself up—
Arlong's massive, webbed foot came crashing down on the hand that had been holding the gun, grinding down mercilessly!
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
The sound of bones shattering sent a scream of pure agony ripping through the air, echoing above the village.
In the crowd, Genzo and the other villagers squeezed their eyes shut in pain and despair.
How they wished—how desperately—that Bellemere would lie.That she would say, just once, "I have no family," if only to live.
But Bellemere's gaze passed over the brutal Arlong and fell instead on two small figures not far away—Nami and Nojiko, clinging to each other, sobbing uncontrollably, their bodies shaking with terror.
She couldn't say such heartless words.
Enduring the pain, Bellemere braced herself on the ground with her uninjured hand and forced herself back to her feet, trembling. She looked Arlong straight in the eyes, her voice shaking—yet unmistakably clear.
"That one hundred thousand Beli…was for my two daughters."
"Bellemere!!" Genzo shouted in disbelief, despair flooding his eyes."You'll die!!!"
Bellemere turned toward him and forced a crooked, painful smile, her voice breaking.
"I'm sorry, Genzo… I can't say it…I can't say that I have no family."
"Even if we don't share blood… even so…I—I'm their mother!"
"Even if it's just words… I really… really wanted to be their mother!"
Her eyes softened as she looked back at Nami and Nojiko, tears finally spilling over.
"So… they are my children!!"
In that moment, a mother's love transcended blood, transcended life and death itself.
"Ughahaha!!"Arlong let out a grotesque, chilling laugh at her "foolish" declaration.
"How touching! Such a moving mother–daughter bond!Since you've chosen to be their mother, then pay the price for that choice!"
"I've already killed plenty on the way here anyway.I'll just use you as the final warning!"
"So—"
He raised his gun, the cold barrel pressing toward Bellemere's forehead.
"Die for your pointless love!!"
"Is that so?"
Bellemere showed no fear. Instead, she shoved Nami and Nojiko into the house behind her.
"Bellemere—!! Don't!!"
Their cries tore through the air.
"Nami. Nojiko.""I love you."
Around them, the villagers closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight any longer.
Just as everyone believed the gunshot was about to ring out—
A voice cut through everything.
"Hey.You long-nosed, saw-toothed shark."
A male voice—calm, utterly devoid of emotion—sounded abruptly across the grove.
"Bullying women and children…Is that the 'pride' you brought with you from Fish-Man Island?"
The villagers instinctively opened their eyes and looked toward the source.
There—
A tall figure stood quietly, draped in a pure white coat of 'Justice'.
Sunlight filtered through the tangerine trees, casting dappled shadows across his body.The bold characters for JUSTICE on his back stood out starkly in the blood-soaked air—
Blinding.And yet… overwhelmingly reassuring.
Gern had arrived.
The moment that calm voice reached his ears, Arlong's expression shuddered violently.
His body trembled.The finger resting on the trigger stiffened, completely refusing to move.Cold sweat poured down his forehead in an instant.
"Impossible…! That man… that monster—how could he be in the East Blue?! In a place like this?!"
"It's an illusion! It has to be!He should be at Marine Headquarters! In the New World! There's no way he's here!!"
Arlong didn't dare turn around. He could only scream reassurances to himself in his mind, desperately trying to suppress the terror clawing up from the depths of his soul.
Meanwhile, Bellemere—collapsed on the ground—looked up.
Behind Arlong, standing against the light, was a towering figure whose shadow completely swallowed him whole.
Her lips trembled.
She could hardly believe her eyes.
"…Gern…Major General…"
Gern's gaze lowered slightly and fell upon Bellemere. Seeing her battered state, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
"The 'Rose of Cocoyasi' wouldn't wither so easily in a place like this," he said warmly."Bellemere."
At the same time, when Arlong clearly heard the name "Gern" leave Bellemere's lips, the final shred of hope in his heart was utterly extinguished.
Extreme fear instantly twisted into the madness of a cornered beast.
"UGHHHH—!!"
With a distorted roar, Arlong spun around, ready to strike—
But Gern gave him no chance at all.
The instant Arlong's body turned even a fraction—
Gern's left hand shot out, pitch-black Armament Haki coating it in an instant.
Like a steel vise, it clamped down on Arlong's iconic sawtoothed nose!
"AAAH!!"
The pain shattered Arlong's movement completely.
"You bastard…"Gern's voice was icy cold, his eyes utterly devoid of mercy as he looked down at Arlong's pain-twisted face.
"You've truly…defiled Fisher Tiger's name."
Before the words had even finished falling—
Gern clenched his right fist. Muscles bulged.He didn't use any Devil Fruit ability.
This was nothing but pure physical power, fused with Armament Haki—
And he drove it straight into Arlong's face.
"BOOM——!!!"
A deafening, bone-crushing impact!
The teeth Arlong took such pride in—strong enough to bite through steel—shattered like glass before that absolute force, exploding outward!
His entire face visibly collapsed inward from the point of impact.
He didn't even manage a complete scream before his body was launched into the air like a rag doll hurled at full strength—
Arcing through the sky before slamming into the distant ground with a thunderous crash.
"AAAAH!!"
Arlong twitched on the ground, clutching his face, screaming in agony.
Silence.
A deathly, absolute silence.
Everyone stood frozen, stunned by what had just happened in the blink of an eye—By that utter, overwhelming domination.
The monster they had believed to be invincible—
Couldn't even withstand a single punch from that man.
Gern slowly drew his fist back, giving his wrist a casual shake—
As if he had done nothing more than something utterly trivial.