The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

"Also, I only shattered the surface mycelium; do not approach the deeper parts of the ship."

"Yes, sir!" The naval soldiers sprang into action, dividing into several small teams to begin looting the ship's treasure.

Gurn walked alone into the depths, through the dark cabin corridors.

The captain's cabin door was tightly shut, with wisps of fungus seeping from the cracks, as if resisting the intrusion of outsiders.

"Heh, it's well hidden." Gern sneered, raising his left hand and a faint vibration wave condensing in his palm.

"Resonance·Shatter".

"Crack!" The lock shattered instantly, and the entire door was shaken into pieces.

Inside the captain's cabin, the mycelium wriggled like living things, but Gern's Armament Haki kept them at bay.

Gern's gaze swept across the room and quickly settled on a heavy oak table.

Under the table, two exquisite wooden treasure chests were entangled in mycelium, seemingly deliberately hidden.

"There really is something." Gern narrowed his eyes, gathered a shockwave in his left hand again, and waved it gently.

"Bang!" The treasure chest shattered, and its contents tumbled out.

They are two strangely shaped fruits.

One is entirely golden yellow, shaped like a gourd, and its surface is covered with spiral patterns.

The other was a fluorescent green cherry, its skin shimmering with a faint light.

"A Devil Fruit?!" Gern's pupils dilated in surprise, then a smile crept onto his lips.

"This curse doctor actually has something like this hidden away... Haha, it seems he's planning to make his move in the Sabaody Archipelago."

After all, Samuel Kronos is already a user of the Fungus-Fungus Fruit and cannot eat a second Devil Fruit.

For him, these two fruits were merely bargaining chips to exchange for profit.

Thinking of this, Gern did not hesitate and reached out to collect the two fruits.

"I can't tell what kind of fruit it is. I'll have to go back to the warship and check the encyclopedia."

"Brigadier General Gern!" Sergeant's voice came from outside the door.

"The treasure has all been loaded onto the warships. Shall we evacuate?"

“Okay, let’s go.” Gern turned and left the captain’s cabin, striding toward the deck.

The soldiers had completed their mission, and the treasure in the ship's hold had been completely looted.

Standing at the bow, Gern glanced at the "ship" corroded by mycelium and said calmly, "Burn it."

"Yes, sir!" The sailors quickly lit torches and threw them onto the ship.

The flames spread instantly, and the mycelium sizzled under the high temperature, as if it were moaning.

Gern leaped lightly back onto the warship's deck, where a mountain of spoils came into view.

There were gleaming gold bars, dazzling jewelry, priceless works of art, and even several cases of well-sealed vintage rum.

Bathed in sunlight, these treasures shimmered with an alluring light.

"Brigadier General Gern, these treasures..." The sergeant hesitated, his eyes darting between Gern and the spoils of war.

"I remember in the mission report..." Gern crossed his arms, his tone indifferent, "Didn't I shatter 'The Cursed Doctor' Samuel Kronos's pirate ship, along with the crew?"

“No, that’s right!” The sergeant was taken aback at first, then straightened his back knowingly: “All of us officers and soldiers can testify!”

He then turned and looked around, saying, "Everyone saw it with their own eyes, didn't they?"

"Yes!" the sailors on deck replied in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized.

"Oh dear, you guys are putting me in a difficult position..." Gern said, looking embarrassed.

“Brigadier General Guern, we are all your most loyal subordinates!” the sergeant said solemnly.

These words came from the bottom of their hearts—following this officer was the luckiest thing in their naval career.

In every battle, Gern always charged ahead and took on the danger alone, leaving the rest to handle the cleanup.

Such a superior is someone they should follow to the death.

"Alright, alright," Gern waved his hand helplessly. "Everyone pick one you like."

"But Brigadier General Gern, this..."

"If you don't take it and I don't take it either, is this thing safe?"

“And…” Gern raised an eyebrow, “Are we going to let these treasures of dubious origin continue to harm the sea?”

The sergeant suddenly understood, and a joyful smile spread across his face: "Understood!"

The remainder will all be used for military expenses, and we'll improve everyone's meals during the next resupply!

.......

Next, Gern ignored the soldiers' assignments and went straight to his own cabin.

He walked back to his office, then took out two Devil Fruits from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Then he pulled out a thick illustrated book from the bookshelf—"The Complete Book of Devil Fruits".

“Let’s see what kind of fruit it is…” Gern flipped through the pages quickly, his eyes scanning each one.

"A golden gourd... a fluorescent green cherry..."

Suddenly, his finger stopped on a page where the illustration perfectly matched the fruit in front of him.

[Paramecia Type - Gold-Gold Fruit: After consumption, one gains a highly adaptable physique that is one with gold, and can control any gold they touch in any state...]

[Paramecia-type Heal-Heal Fruit: It can heal the injured after consumption, but using its strongest ability, "Complete Recovery," will reduce the user's lifespan...]

"Two Paramecia-type..." Gern's pupils contracted slightly, then a playful smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, Cursed Doctor, you've really given me a great gift." Gern closed the encyclopedia, leaned back in his chair, and stared into a deep gaze.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Golden Fruit was stolen from Doflamingo's auction house by the Golden Emperor Tesoro in the future."

And the healing fruit was eaten by the Lilliputian princess...

“But now that it’s mine, how should I arrange it?” Thinking this, Guern’s lips curled up slightly.

The Golden Emperor is probably still a gambling addict right now. It won't be until two years later, after he meets Stella in front of the human slave shop, that he starts to change for the sake of his beloved...

If I want to completely break away from the World Government in the future, it will require many steps, and money is an important part of that.

As for the powerful healing fruit, it will definitely be assigned to my adjutant, someone who is always by my side...

"Hahahaha!" Looking at the Devil Fruit in his hand, Gern couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What a wonderful gift and unexpected bonus!!"

Chapter 73: Meeting 'Deathstroke' David Again

On the azure sea, Gern's warships sailed slowly.

For weeks, they had been following the cruise route set by the Navy, while also searching for traces of the elephant spirit.

"Brigadier General Gern!" the observer on the lookout suddenly shouted, "Anomaly detected ahead!"

"What's wrong?" Gern raised an eyebrow and strode to the bow of the ship.

Meanwhile, through the binoculars of the observers on the lookout tower, a ship flying a pirate flag slowly emerged on the distant horizon.

"This standard...this flag..." the naval soldier on the lookout tower exclaimed in shock, nearly dropping his binoculars.

"Alert! All hands on alert!" His voice trembled with barely concealed tremor. "We've spotted...we've spotted the Golden Lion Flying Pirates' ship!"

After he finished speaking, the deck fell silent instantly.

All the naval soldiers froze, and someone slammed an ammunition box onto the deck with a "thud".

Several new recruits' legs began to tremble uncontrollably, while the veterans instinctively reached for their weapons at their waists.

"The Golden Lion...is that the Golden Lion?" a young soldier asked in a trembling voice.

"Shut up! They're just a pirate crew under the Golden Lion's banner!" the sergeant snapped, then quickly ran to Gern's side, his voice barely audible.

"Commander Gern, the lookout tower confirms it's the Flying Pirates' flag, we..." The sergeant was interrupted by Gern before he could finish speaking.

"Besides the pirate ship, have you seen anything else?"

"Something else?" Hearing Gern's words, the observer picked up his binoculars again, and sure enough, there it was.

Not far away, there was a large... seemingly moving but actually motionless dark shadow.

He then reported the truth. Upon hearing this, Gern was even more excited than if he had heard about a pirate ship and took the binoculars handed to him by the sergeant.

Not far from the pirate ship, a huge black shadow was slowly moving.

The silhouette of the shadow clearly resembles an elephant from afar.

“Finally found it, Zunesha…” Gern murmured. Only after confirming that the shadowy figure was Zunesha did Gern slightly move the telescope.

“They really are the Flying Pirates…” Gern’s lips curled up slightly. “What a small world.”

Just then, a familiar figure appeared on the deck of the pirate ship in the field of view of the telescope.

The man wore a black top hat and a dark red coat, and carried a long, gold spear engraved with intricate patterns on his shoulder.

With his other hand, he fiddled with a small pocket watch.

"Who do we have here? Oh, it's you..." Gern lowered his binoculars and sneered.

"The current bounty is 1.09 billion Berries. The third division captain of the Golden Lion Flying Pirates... 'Deathstroke' David."

.........

Meanwhile, on the pirate ship.

David seemed to sense something, slowly raising his head and letting his gaze pierce through the sea, his Observation Haki locking onto Gern on the warship.

He adjusted his top hat, revealing a gloomy face with a chilling smile playing on his lips.

“Hehe…” David gently shook the pocket watch in his hand, making a crisp “click” sound. “Looks like we’ve run into an old acquaintance.”

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the pirates beside him.

"Captain David, that's..." a pirate swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly, "...the Navy's Heavenly Tremor..."

“That’s right.” David’s lips curled into a sinister smile as he gracefully twirled the golden spear in his hand.

"That brat who only hid behind Zephyr and launched sneak attacks when the Admiral attacked the Navy G-3 base."

David slowly adjusted his grip, each movement exuding the composure of a cat playing with a mouse.

“We let him get away back then, but this time…” David suddenly lowered his voice, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes, “it won’t be that easy.”

In David's mind, Gern was just a newcomer who got lucky.

Admiral Golden Lion had personally told him that the injuries sustained that day were clearly inflicted by "Black Wrist" Zephyr.

This young navy kid is at best an opportunist who takes advantage of the chaos to finish off his opponent.

So even though Shiki was being very stubborn, the members of the Shiki Pirates all believed that their boss was injured because of Black Arm Zephyr.

In particular, the bounty that Golden Lion gave to Gern back then has remained within the Flying Pirates.

That's why David doesn't take Gern seriously at all now.

.........

On the deck of the warship, the air seemed to freeze.

"Brigadier General Guern!" The sergeant's voice trembled noticeably, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and the documents in his hand were crumpled from gripping them tightly.

"The lookout tower has confirmed that it is the Flying Pirates' ship. They... they have locked onto us."

He quickly stepped forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Furthermore, according to the latest instructions from headquarters, we must not engage in direct conflict with the Flying Pirates when no admiral is present."

"Should we... give way for now?"

"Heh." Gern's fingers lightly traced the hilt of the knife, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.

"You want me to..." His voice suddenly turned cold, "...avoid him?"

His cloak rustled in the sea breeze, and Gern's slow turn carried a suffocating sense of oppression.