New World — deep within Marineford G-1 Base.The coated passageway leading to the underground secret harbor slowly began to open.
A bone-chilling cold surged outward as if it had substance, instantly freezing the moisture in the air into drifting ice crystals.
Gern Reginald Sigmar stepped out first. The icy air brushed against his slightly weary yet still razor-sharp features. As he took in the sight before him, the corner of his mouth twitched into a helpless, almost amused curve.
What greeted him was not the familiar interior of G-1 Base—
—but a frozen world that looked like the polar extremes themselves.
The vast reception plaza was almost entirely buried beneath thick layers of ice. Translucent icicles hung from the ceiling like crystal spears, frigid mist curling through the air.
And more striking than the environment itself were the figures sealed within towering ice sculptures—figures frozen mid-motion, yet still radiating vivid presence.
They were the core officers of G-10 under his command.The members of "Heavenly Calamity."
The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, was frozen in the very instant of a slashing strike, the black blade Yoru suspended in midair, his gaze still as sharp and piercing as ever.
Bartholomew Kuma, the Tyrant, stood like an immovable mountain, his massive frame locked in a forward-pushing stance, palm extended.
God Enel was encased with faint arcs of lightning still clinging to his body, disbelief frozen onto his face.
Douglas Bullet, the Devil's Heir, was caught mid-laugh, fist drawn back for a punch, his ferocious aura seeming as though it might shatter the ice at any moment.
Golden Emperor Tesoro, Snake Queen Toritoma, Lipo, and the others were all preserved in different battle or defensive postures—each expression distinct, each presence unmistakable.
From their positions alone, it was clear that Hawk-Eye and Bullet had fought until the very end.
They were farthest from the exit, surrounded by the thickest, most violently shattered ice—evidence that whoever had frozen them had paid the highest price to do so.
"Heh… Kuzan, you really are something," Gern muttered, shaking his head, his tone caught somewhere between understanding and exasperated amusement.
Before he could finish—
Not far away, a man sitting atop a sheet of ice slowly raised his head. Half his body was still elementalized into frost, and as he exhaled, white breath laced with ice fragments drifted into the air.
Kuzan rubbed his slightly messy curls and lazily stood up."Ara~ ara… couldn't be helped."
"These two…" He gestured toward the frozen figures of Hawk-Eye and Bullet. "Especially Bullet. If Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Kizaru hadn't been backing me up, there's no way I could've gotten them to 'cool down' on my own."
"So scary~~" Kizaru chimed in dramatically, leaning against a relatively intact wall, hands tucked casually into his pockets.
Compared to Garp and Kuzan—whose uniforms were scuffed, torn, and even dusted with frost—
Kizaru's yellow-striped suit was still immaculate. Spotless. As if untouched by the chaos.
At that moment, a booming laugh shattered the icy stillness.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Garp strode forward, laughing heartily. His Marine coat was torn, the lining ripped open in several places, yet the man himself looked more energetic than ever.
Without warning, he threw an arm around Sengoku's shoulders and slapped him hard on the back."Oi! Sengoku! This mission's finally over, right?!"
"I already said it—I'm taking leave this time to see my grandson! Don't you dare make excuses to stop me again!"
"Get off me, Garp! Don't touch me with your filthy hands!" Sengoku snapped, trying to shove him away.
Useless.
Garp's arm was like a steel clamp.
Ignoring Sengoku's struggle entirely, Garp stretched out his other arm and dragged Gern into the hold as well—forming an absurd three-man shoulder-lock.
Then, his grin faded slightly as he looked at Gern and asked in a more serious tone:
"It's over, right?"
The moment those words were spoken, the previously relaxed atmosphere tightened instantly.
Kuzan straightened up.Kizaru dropped his playful demeanor.
Every gaze in the chamber converged on Gern and Sengoku.
Sengoku looked at them all—
At the frozen "Heavenly Calamity" officers under Gern's command,At the battle scars visible on the three greatest fighting forces of the Marines—
He drew in a deep breath of freezing air.
Then, slowly, solemnly, and with absolute clarity, he spoke:
"It's over."
Those three words fell like a gavel, placing a temporary full stop on the storm that had engulfed the Holy Land itself.
...
At the same moment Sengoku's declaration echoed through the chamber—
Ginny, who had been silently following behind Gern and Sengoku, her heart filled with confusion and guarded fear, let her gaze drift across the overwhelming forest of ice sculptures.
Suddenly—
Her pupils shrank violently.
Her entire body froze as if struck by lightning.
Her eyes locked onto a massive, mountain-like figure sealed completely within crystalline ice—a figure frozen in the act of pushing forward with his palm.
Bartholomew Kuma.
"Ku… Kuma… dear…?" she whispered, her voice trembling to the point of breaking.
In the very next second, emotions she had held back for far too long burst through her composure like a collapsed dam.
"KUMA!!!"
A heart-rending scream tore through the frozen silence.
Ginny no longer cared about Marine Admirals.Didn't care about the so-called Heaven-Shaking Admiral.Didn't care where she was or what surrounded her.
Like a wounded bird that had finally found its way home, she ran—recklessly, desperately—straight toward Kuma's ice sculpture.
She stumbled along the way, nearly falling, tears pouring uncontrollably from her eyes, blurring her vision.
Ever since Sengoku had dragged her out of that hellish Holy Land, her heart had been drowning in unease and confusion.
She couldn't understand why the Marines—an arm of the World Government—would rescue a Revolutionary Army officer like her from the hands of the Celestial Dragons.
She had already prepared herself for the worst.
No matter what methods the Marines used, no matter how they interrogated her, she had sworn she would never reveal anything—about the Revolutionary Army, about Dragon.
But now—
Now, seeing Kuma frozen here in the posture of battle,Seeing the powerful figures around him—fighters who had clearly resisted with everything they had before being sealed—
She understood everything.
There was no Marine conspiracy.No trap laid by the World Government.
It was her Kuma.
Her beloved.The man she loved.
He had come to save her.
He had called upon the one man bold enough to confront the World Government head-on—the Heaven-Shaking Admiral himself.
He had even risked igniting a catastrophe that shook the Holy Land to its core—
—all to pull her out of that demon's nest.
"Kuma… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… this is all my fault… I made you worry… I made you…"
Ginny collapsed at the foot of Kuma's frozen form, her hands beating uselessly against the unyielding ice.
She tried desperately to feel even a trace of her lover's warmth.
Her sobs were raw and broken—filled with despair, relief, grief, and the overwhelming pain of reunion nearly lost.
Her entire body shook as she cried, all the fear and hopelessness she had endured these past days finally pouring out in a single, unstoppable flood.
...…
Want to unlock up to 90+ early-access chapters and exclusive novels ? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon.com/denji21