Gern returned to the G-10 main headquarters at top speed, accompanied by Hawk-Eye Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma.
At the entrance to the base, Tesoro and Toritoma were already waiting, having received the news in advance.
When they saw Gern return safely, both of them visibly relaxed—but their gazes were immediately drawn past him, locking onto the silent new figure behind him.
That towering presence was even taller than Bullet—massive beyond reason. (Kuma stood at a staggering 6.92 meters.)
Silent. Expressionless. Like a walking monument.
"The Revolutionary Army's 'Tyrant,' Bartholomew Kuma…? Why is he here? And why did he come back with Admiral Gern?"
Tesoro, who oversaw much of G-10's daily operations, clearly recognized Kuma's identity.
After all, intelligence gathering was never something any major force could afford to neglect.
Despite the storm of questions surging through their minds, both Tesoro and Toritoma keenly sensed the lingering aura surrounding Gern—an oppressive presence that had yet to fully dissipate.
They immediately understood.
Without asking anything unnecessary, they stepped forward at once.
"Admiral Gern!"
"Gern!"
Gern gave them a brief nod, but his pace never slowed. He didn't exchange a single word of pleasantry.
Instead, he strode straight past them, leading Hawk-Eye and Kuma deeper into the base, heading directly for the medical wing.
Tesoro and Toritoma exchanged a glance, then followed without hesitation.
The group moved silently through the corridors, the atmosphere so heavy it was almost suffocating.
When the metal doors of the medical room slid open, a sharp scent of disinfectant rushed out, mingled with the faint, shimmering glow of life energy.
Lipo was fully focused on maintaining Enel's treatment, her small face etched with exhaustion.
When she saw Gern enter, she still forced out a relieved smile.
"Gern… you're back…"
"I'm back," Gern replied, quickly stepping to her side. He gently rubbed her head, his voice unusually soft. "You've done well, Lipo. Go get some rest. I'll take over from here."
Lipo nodded obediently, withdrew the steady stream of healing green light, and stepped aside.
The moment the life energy infusion stopped, Enel's face seemed to pale slightly, his breathing growing weaker once more.
Gern's gaze snapped to Enel on the bed. Then he turned to the towering, silent Kuma beside him and asked succinctly:
"Can you do it?"
Kuma swept his eyes over Enel. Thanks to the prior healing from Lipo's Devil Fruit, the condition was no longer as critical as before.
He nodded.
"No problem."
Under the slightly astonished gazes of Tesoro, Toritoma, Lipo—and even Hawk-Eye—
Kuma stepped forward to the bedside. He carefully lifted Enel's unconscious body with his massive hands, then raised his left arm.
The thick, paw-like pads on his palm pressed toward Enel's chest.
In the quiet medical room, Kuma's deep voice resonated, carrying a strange, rhythmic cadence.
"Pain… injuries… fatigue…"
"Repel." (Ursus Shock)
Buzz—!
A bizarre energy fluctuation burst from the pads of Kuma's palm.
The next instant, a shocking scene unfolded.
Dark red energy—representing pain, injuries, and exhaustion—was forcibly drawn out from Enel's body, pouring from every pore, every wound, as if extracted by an invisible force.
The energy surged and gathered before Kuma's palm, compressing rapidly until it formed an enormous, dark red, bear-paw-shaped bubble.
As this "injury bear paw" was expelled—
Enel's deathly pale complexion visibly regained color at astonishing speed.
The horrifying hole that had pierced his chest began healing rapidly. His once-feeble breathing stabilized, growing strong and steady, and he even let out an unconscious groan.
It was as if all pain and damage had been wiped away in an instant.
After finishing, Kuma slowly withdrew his hand and gently placed Enel—now in a deep sleep but no longer in danger—back onto the bed.
He turned to Gern and explained calmly:
"The injuries and pain that are repelled must be borne and resolved by someone else. Otherwise, after a period of time, they will return to the original host."
With that, Kuma raised his hand without the slightest hesitation and reached toward the distorted, floating dark red pain bubble—clearly intending to bear the price himself.
But just as his wrist was about to touch the dangerous mass—
A hand shot out faster and firmly grabbed his arm.
It was Gern.
"I'll do it," Gern said, his voice leaving no room for argument.
He couldn't allow Kuma—who had already helped so much—to shoulder this pain as well.
But in the brief pause caused by Gern seizing Kuma's wrist—
Another, even more massive, steel-like figure suddenly charged in through the medical room door!
Moving faster than the eye could follow, the newcomer thrust a gigantic fist straight into the dark red pain bear paw!
PFF—!!
As if a dam had burst, the compressed pain energy found an outlet, surging violently into the intruder's arm!
It was Bullet.
He let out a muffled grunt. Veins bulged violently across his forehead, and even his monstrous frame trembled slightly under the impact.
Yet instead of pain, a savage, disdainful grin spread across his face.
His beast-like eyes locked onto Enel, whose vitality was clearly returning, and he sneered:
"Hmph! Let me see…"
"Just how weak this noisy little lightning brat really is."
"This much pain… it's not even enough to scratch an itch!!"
Bullet had willingly taken on all of Enel's expelled injuries and suffering.
The moment the dark red bear-paw energy—containing every ounce of Enel's severe wounds and agony—fully flooded into Bullet's body—
Even his monstrously tempered physique let out a silent scream of strain.
His bulging muscles tightened to their absolute limit. Countless capillaries ruptured across his skin, fine beads of blood seeping from every pore until his entire body was drenched crimson.
Phantom wounds—deep enough to expose bone—briefly flashed across his surface, manifestations of the lethal injuries Enel had suffered now raging inside him.
The pain was enough to make any hardened warrior lose consciousness instantly.
Yet Bullet merely clenched his teeth, not letting out so much as a single groan.
He stood there like an unyielding boulder, enduring and digesting all the surging pain energy in the most brutal, direct way imaginable.
Watching this, Gern's eyes flickered with complex emotion—but he ultimately did not intervene.
He understood.
This was Bullet's choice.
Gern gestured lightly to the others in the room, then quietly led Kuma, Hawk-Eye, Tesoro, and the rest out of the medical room.
The door closed softly behind them, leaving the space to Enel on the bed—and the blood-soaked man silently bearing everything alone.
The room fell into dead silence, broken only by Bullet's heavy, tightly suppressed breathing and the faint metallic scent of blood in the air…
...
No one knew how much time passed.
As the sun sank toward the horizon, warm orange light poured through the medical room window, bathing the space in a gentle glow.
On the bed, Enel's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Then his eyes slowly opened.
Confusion and daze filled his gaze as he instinctively raised a hand to his chest—where he should have been pierced straight through…
His fingers met smooth skin.
Not even a scar remained.
"Eh…?" A puzzled sound escaped his dry throat. "I'm… still alive?"
He clearly remembered being torn apart under the assault of those two monster-like enemies—his lightning shattered, his consciousness sinking into endless darkness.
With injuries like that, how could he possibly…
As confusion gripped him, something at the edge of his vision caught his attention.
Against the blood-red brilliance of the setting sun, a towering, iron-tower-like figure stood by the window, back turned to him, arms crossed over his chest, completely motionless.
The man's entire body was drenched in blood. His solid back was covered in layers of dried and fresh scabs intertwined.
Some wounds were still faintly bleeding, making him look like an asura returned from hell itself.
Enel's expression shook violently. His pupils contracted, and he blurted out almost without thinking:
"B-Bullet?! You… why are you…?"
At the sound of Enel's voice, Bullet slowly turned around.
His blood-smeared face was devoid of expression, his eyes still filled with the same garbage-like coldness and disdain.
Looking down at Enel from above, he let out an extremely contemptuous snort.
"Hmph…"
"So-called 'gods'…"
"…are nothing special after all."