"You're… little Yunquē?!"
Staring at the bright, lively girl before him, dust-covered memories long sealed away were suddenly pried open in Gern Reginald Sigmar's mind.
Vaguely, he remembered—many years ago—after a fierce, marathon conference revolving around the establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system—
He had been invited to visit Akainu's residence in Marineford.
It was there, in that slightly austere yet impeccably spotless home, that Gern had seen the infant for the very first time.
Back then, Sakazuki's attitude had been characteristically blunt, almost awkwardly so. He had only said flatly,
"My daughter. Yunquē."
And then—without giving Gern even the slightest chance to pinch the baby's cheeks—he'd had her mother carry her away.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
That tiny bundle who could only babble incoherently had grown into a vibrant, energetic少女.
Gern couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Time… really doesn't spare anyone.
At that moment, Lipo, standing beside him, finally recognized her as well. She blinked her beautiful eyes, surprise lighting up her face.
"She's little Yunquē? She's grown so big already!"
Before her words even finished, Lipo's usual gentle, composed big-sister demeanor vanished entirely—as if she'd reverted to the girl from years ago who once shouted about being a "partner of justice." With a delighted cry, she hurried toward Yunquē.
"Big Sister Lipo!" Yunquē called out happily in return.
The two girls—whose ages couldn't have been more mismatched—immediately threw their arms around each other, laughing and bouncing in place.
Watching the scene, Gern couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
By then, Akainu had already walked up to him.
His gaze swept over Gern from head to toe.
From the young officer stationed at G-3, whom he had occasionally needed to "knock into shape," yet whose sharp edge and latent potential he couldn't help but admire—
To the present-day supreme Marine strategist who stood alone in the New World, capable of gravely injuring even the Four Emperors.
Akainu took a deep breath, as though something heavy was lodged in his chest.
He seemed ready to say something—but in the end, he merely raised his broad, powerful hand and placed it firmly on Gern's shoulder, giving it a solid pat.
"You did well, Gern."
No embellishment.No grand rhetoric.Just those simple, direct words.
Yet spoken by Sakazuki, they carried a weight heavier than mountains.
Feeling the pressure and warmth on his shoulder, Gern's smile grew unmistakably genuine.
"Of course I did. After all… I've received plenty of your education, Admiral Sakazuki."
...
Inside G-10, in Gern's office, the atmosphere was completely different from what he had expected.
There was no harsh inspection.No questioning of G-10's independent operating style.Not even much in the way of formal, bureaucratic small talk.
Sakazuki simply walked silently to the window, gazing out at the orderly base below—a port and town that bore both discipline and the unmistakable character of the New World.
Then he turned around, opened the briefcase he'd brought with him, and took out two bottles of sake along with a pair of small ceramic cups.
With steady hands, he filled both cups and slid one across the desk toward Gern.
Gern stared at the cup in front of him, then at Akainu's still-severe face, confusion stirring in his chest.
This was completely out of character for Sakazuki.
To be honest… it scared him just a little.
Akainu didn't explain right away. He lifted his own cup instead, his eyes locked firmly onto Gern.
"Gern," he said, his voice lower than usual."Back then… I misunderstood you."
Gern's hand paused mid-air, sake cup trembling slightly. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
Akainu didn't wait for a response. It was as though these words had been bottled up inside him for far too long.
"Back at G-3, you once said to me…"
'When weak soldiers and civilians are slaughtered by powerful pirates…''When the iron fist of justice hesitates, and the Buddha of wisdom falls silent before bureaucracy…''Then only burning, absolute magma will stand and move forward.'
Akainu recited Gern's youthful, impassioned words, a long-dormant heat flickering in his tone.
"At that time, I was convinced you were the same as me.That the justice we believed in could tolerate no compromise—no contamination whatsoever."
"Later, at Headquarters, you faced the World Government itself.You stood before power as immense as the Holy Knights—and still dared to draw your blade for your convictions."
A glint of admiration flashed through Akainu's eyes.
"I was even more reassured. Even… proud."
"And then later, you nearly gave your life to personally capture Gol D. Roger…"
His voice carried a crushing gravity.
"At that point, in my heart, you were no longer just an outstanding junior or a like-minded comrade.I saw you as… my only friend.Someone who truly understood the weight of my Absolute Justice."
Here, Akainu paused.
He lifted his cup and drained it in one motion.
When he looked at Gern again, there was a trace of self-mockery in his eyes.
"But ever since you were transferred to the New World and took command of G-10…"
He shook his head.
"You promoted the former pirate Bullet. You maneuvered between multiple factions. You even…I heard you took in subordinates with complicated backgrounds."
"I felt… betrayed."
"I couldn't understand it. I refused to understand why you would abandon that pure path."
"So I stubbornly convinced myself that the righteous youth who once spoke so passionately to me at G-3—the man with the backbone to say 'no' to the World Government—had changed."
"That you'd been tainted.Or worse… that you'd compromised with reality."
Akainu turned his gaze back to the window, looking at the Marine flag fluttering over G-10, and at the vast sea beyond—now drawn into order under Gern's rule.
"That thought haunted me for years."
"Until… before this visit, I personally conducted a thorough inspection of your sphere of influence here at G-10."
He turned back around.
His eyes were now exceptionally clear—there was even a faint look of relief, something almost like a smile, painfully rare on his hardened face.
"I saw shipping routes once ravaged by pirates now bustling with orderly trade."
"I saw civilians under your protection—no longer wearing fear on their faces, but peace."
"I saw how this base stands like a nail driven straight into the heart of the New World,pinning it down so firmly that those so-called 'Emperors' dare not act rashly…"
Akainu took a deep breath, refilled both cups, and raised his own solemnly.
"Gern—you never forgot justice."
"In the most chaotic, darkest sea of all, you forged Marine order and authority in your own way."
His voice carried an honesty and respect unlike anything before.
"Instead… I was the one who forgot."
"That justice does not exist in only one 'absolute' form."
"Different battlefields. Different enemies.They demand different methods—and wisdom—to carry justice through."
"I clung too rigidly to my own beliefs… and nearly lost the only person who truly understood the weight of those beliefs."
"So…"
Akainu pushed his cup forward.
"This drink is an apology—for my years of misunderstanding."
Looking at Sakazuki, actually apologizing to him, Gern pressed his lips together and sighed inwardly.
Damn… thank god Tesoro made preparations in advance. I never expected Akainu to pull an undercover inspection like this. If he'd dug any deeper and found that port trading with the Four Emperors…
Still, relief aside, being told sorry by Akainu genuinely stirred something in Gern.
In his long-held impression, Sakazuki was a man who never compromised—unyielding, absolute.
Yet after hearing all this, Gern suddenly realized—
They weren't just characters frozen on a manga page anymore.They had their own judgments. Their own paths.
And himself?
Looking back now, his own journey seemed almost inevitable—as though the timeline itself had locked him into place, the former anomaly finally finding where he belonged.
His current position.His identity as a Marine.The one who ended the era of the previous Pirate King.The man who alone held back the Four Emperors in the New World.
From Luffy's perspective—from the road toward fulfilling a dream—
Wasn't he… the ultimate final boss?
But how it would all truly turn out—
Perhaps only when the true child of destiny finally set sail…would the answer become clear.