Abandoned Marine warship anchorage.
Gern and Kuzan stood together in front of the armor plating of a decommissioned warship, their fists already wrapped in bandages.
Garp leaned against a nearby turret, leisurely sipping a drink.
"20,000 times, full power," he said indistinctly, "You two remember, if your knuckle bones aren't hard enough, you won't even be able to take one of my punches."
Gern took a deep breath and assumed his stance.
The first punch landed.
"Thud!" A dull thud echoed, leaving a shallow dent in the armor plate.
Excruciating pain shot through his finger bones, but he didn't pause, immediately following with the second punch, the third punch...
By the 300th punch, the bandages were soaked with blood.
By the 500th punch, Gern's knuckles were a bloody mess, and each impact made his arm tremble uncontrollably.
"Don't use Haki!" Garp suddenly roared, "Your Haki right now is a roar! Roar for this old man!!"
By the 800th punch, the dent in the armor plate was already two inches deep.
"Bleeding? That means you're still alive! As long as you're alive, you can keep hitting!"
By the 9500th punch, the entire armor plate began to deform.
"Roger stood much steadier than you when he took this punch back then!"
The 20,000th punch...
"Boom!" Gern's last punch directly pierced and blasted through the entire ship!
Looking at Gern, who had finished before him, a hint of surprise flashed in Kuzan's eyes; he had trained with Garp for much longer, after all.
Gern, panting, retracted his fist. Garp walked over, examined his fist, and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, you're finally starting to look like something."
"Remember, a true 'Iron Fist' isn't about brute force, but a combination of Haki and will."
Gern looked at his scarred yet revitalized hands and suddenly understood something.
"Tomorrow," Garp said as he turned to leave, "we'll try real sparring."
Gern's smile froze on his face.
........
The cold wind howled, the training ground was covered in a thick layer of frost, and a biting cold mist permeated the air.
Gern stood in the center of the field, wearing only a thin black tank top training uniform, his exhaled breath condensing into frost in front of him.
Across from him, Kuzan stood lazily with his hands in his pockets, a faint smile on his lips.
"So... this is the 'Nature Type Defense Special Training'?" Gern chuckled, "Or rather... you're just letting me enjoy it purely?!"
"Ara la, don't be nervous, Gern," Kuzan waved his hand, "I'm just letting you experience it."
Zephyr stood outside the field, arms crossed, and said in a deep voice:
"The rules are simple: Kuzan will use his freezing ability to control you.
And you must use Armament Haki to defend against everything, even nullifying his ability."
"Use Armament Haki to nullify Kuzan's ability?" Gern's eyes widened.
"Can't do it?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow, "Then if you encounter opponents like Kuzan or Sakazuki in the future, you won't even have a chance to struggle."
"I understand, Teacher Zephyr." Gern took a deep breath, his gaze gradually firming.
"It's starting, Gern," Kuzan raised his hand, a crystalline ice crystal condensed at his fingertips, and he flicked it gently.
"Whoosh!" The ice crystal exploded in mid-air, turning into countless tiny ice needles that shot towards Gern like a downpour!
Gern let out a low growl, and dark Haki instantly covered his entire body. The ice needles struck his skin, making crisp "clinking" sounds, but they couldn't penetrate.
Kuzan smiled slightly: "Not bad, but this is just the beginning."
He clapped his hands together, and the cold air spread wildly. The ice layer beneath Gern's feet rapidly rose, attempting to freeze him.
"Can't stop!" Gern gritted his teeth, his Haki continuously outputting, resisting the extreme cold's erosion.
But soon, he discovered a problem: when Armament Haki defended against Nature Type abilities, the consumption rate far exceeded his imagination!
"Armament Haki isn't simply covering the skin," Zephyr's voice came from outside the field, "but letting Haki flow within the body, forming a 'defensive cycle'."
Gern tried to adjust his breathing, allowing Haki to no longer rigidly cover his body surface, but to circulate like blood between his muscles and bones.
Seeing this, Kuzan's eyes flickered slightly.
"Oh? Learning quite fast, aren't you?" He chuckled lightly, then suddenly raised his hand.
"Ice Ball!"
"Boom!" Countless hail-like frozen air bullets smashed towards Gern, each carrying an extremely cold erosive force!
"Ugh!" Gern grunted, his Haki slightly shaken by the impact, and the cold began to seep into his skin.
"Don't let the cold invade!" Zephyr roared.
Gern gritted his teeth fiercely, his Armament Haki erupted again, and the dark Haki flickered, forcefully shattering the ice on his body!
Time passed by minute by minute. Gern's breathing became heavier and heavier. The consumption of Haki made him feel hot all over, but the extreme cold from outside made him feel like he was in an ice cave.
Kuzan's attacks did not stop. Ice cones, frozen air, and cold currents came in turns, forcing Gern to constantly adjust the flow of his Haki.
15 minutes... 20 minutes... 25 minutes...
Gern's arms began to tremble, and slight fluctuations appeared in his Haki's coverage.
"Can't hold on much longer?" Kuzan tilted his head, "Want to give up?"
"Heh..." Gern forced a smile, then let out a low growl.
"Keep going! You freezing bastard who likes to steal food!!"
As he spoke, his Haki erupted again, and the dark Armament Haki actually faintly glowed with a dark red luster!
"Oh-ho?" Seeing the situation, Kuzan's eyes narrowed: "Interesting. Has he already grasped the prototype of 'Ryuo' so quickly?"
(I don't know what the Marine calls "Ryuo", so let's just use this universally!)
Zephyr, outside the training ground, also had a slight smile on his lips: "Has he finally touched the threshold...?"
"Last 30 seconds!" Zephyr shouted.
Hearing Zephyr's countdown, Kuzan no longer held back. He pressed his hands to the ground, "Ice Age!"
"Crack!" Terrifying cold air instantly swept across the entire field. A thick layer of ice condensed beneath Gern's feet, attempting to completely freeze him!
"Ah ah ah!" Gern roared, his Haki surging wildly, constantly repeating freezing, shattering, freezing, shattering.
"Time's up!" As Zephyr gave the order, Kuzan withdrew his hands, and the frost slowly receded.
Gern was steaming all over, his Haki slowly faded, and he collapsed to the ground as if exhausted, panting heavily.
Zephyr walked forward, nodding in satisfaction: "Pass."
"Kuzan, you absolutely held a grudge!" Gern sprawled on the ground, grinning.
"Don't you dare let me find an opportunity...
Otherwise, I'll definitely hit you back."
"Tsk tsk tsk." Kuzan heard this, sat down on the ground, and waved his hand with a smile: "Then I'll just wait."