Rocks called me a monster

"Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"

A fanatical grin curled Gern's lips as he gave his fruit a ridiculously badass name.

Then he lowered his gaze to his palm and slowly spread his fingers.

Hum! In an instant, countless tiny vibration particles gathered in his palm, condensing into a pure white ball of energy.

Shock waves that warped the air kept bursting from its surface, as though it were a miniature seismic source compressed to its absolute limit!

"Whitebeard's is a Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He uses his body as a medium to generate vibrations, but the price is that his own body has to bear the backlash..."

Gern sneered and abruptly closed his fingers. The sphere collapsed instantly, becoming countless streams of vibrating particles that coiled around his arm.

"But my Tremor-Tremor Fruit lets me become the very source of vibration!"

He sharply raised his left fist, mimicking Whitebeard's stance from his memories, and the vibration particles instantly gathered over his fist.

The air around his knuckles twisted violently, as though a devastating impact might erupt at any moment.

But Gern did not throw the punch. Instead, he slowly reined in his power.

He had no need to imitate anyone, because his ability already stood above the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

"Whatever Whitebeard can do, I can do..." Gern murmured, his gaze sharp as a blade. "And whatever he can't do... I can do that too!"

Among all known Devil Fruits across the three types, it possessed the greatest destructive power and attack range, earning it the title of the "strongest Paramecia."

Now, with the characteristics of a Logia added to it, Gern could do more than strike the world itself and shake space like the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

In his Logia form, he could directly command the tremors of the sky, the atmosphere, and the ocean.

He would not merely shake the world... he would turn vibration itself into a weapon in his hands.

While Gern marveled at his newfound ability, the western side of God's Island burned with the flames of battle in the distance.

The remnants of the Rocks Pirates were retreating in panic, with Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and the others flickering in and out of sight through the smoke.

But Gern only gave them a cold glance before looking away and turning his attention to the very center of the island.

That was where Rocks had fought his decisive battle against Roger and Garp!

"Now..." A smile curved Gern's lips as invisible vibration particles began to appear around him.

"It's time to take home some real 'spoils.'"

In the center of God Valley, the luxurious viewing platform where the Celestial Dragons had once watched their hunting games had long since been reduced to rubble.

At the bottom of an enormous crater in the center, Rocks D. Zebek lay on his back, his blood pooling into a dark red lake beneath him.

The king who had dominated the seas now gasped for breath, coughing up fragments of his organs with every breath he took.

After Roger and Garp had gravely wounded Rocks, the Holy Knights had escorted the Celestial Dragons away.

The World Government had simply left him alone to face the coming Buster Call that would destroy the island, leaving him to his fate...

"Pirates and Marines joining forces..." His bloodstained lips parted in a mocking sneer.

"How... utterly ironic..."

"Roger, Garp..." Just as he was about to close his eyes and welcome death-

Boom! The ground suddenly trembled, and tiny stones bounced with the vibrations.

Rocks's clouded pupils contracted slightly. That familiar pattern of vibration...

Footsteps drew closer, and a boy in a Marine uniform stepped into this forbidden zone of death.

Sunlight shone from behind him, casting a long shadow in front of him.

"Is that Newgate? No, there's no way that bastard would come."

Rocks struggled to move his eyes. When his Observation Haki revealed that the newcomer was merely a short-haired boy of about fourteen with black hair, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

But then he noticed the peculiar ripples of vibration surrounding the boy... that was not Newgate's ability!

Meanwhile, Gern was using his ability to shatter sections of the ruins with precision, hoping to find some valuables to take back and sell. Yet after searching for ages, he had found nothing.

"That's strange. Surely the Celestial Dragons' hunting game had more prizes than this!" Gern could not help grumbling.

"Still, Rocks and Roger's Conqueror's Haki really was terrifying!

If their Conqueror's Haki hadn't knocked me out more than fifty times... oh well, you win some, you lose some!"

Inside the crater, Rocks heard Gern muttering nearby, and his pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.

This fourteen-year-old Marine boy had been knocked unconscious more than fifty times during his clash of Conqueror's Haki with Roger?!

Even an ordinary Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters would have remained unconscious for at least an entire day under the full pressure of their Haki.

Yet this boy had awakened at an astonishing speed after every blackout.

What did that mean?! It meant that during that earthshaking clash of Conqueror's Haki, he had regained consciousness an average of once every two minutes!

"An ignorant monster..." At that thought, something suddenly occurred to Rocks.

He opened his mouth and shouted with what little strength he had left, "Hey! Marine brat!"

His shout was not loud, but it rang out clearly. "Stop looking. What you want isn't here. Hahaha!"

"No way!" Hearing that laughter, Gern swallowed and slowly turned toward its source.

Then he walked over on trembling legs, finally stopping three meters from the enormous crater.

"You're still alive..." Gern looked down at the true overlord who had ruled this era, the strongest man of his time.

Rocks D. Zebek!!!

"Rocks..." Gern murmured.

Rocks struggled to focus his gaze. When he saw the boy clearly, he became even more certain of his suspicions.

Especially those eyes of Gern's. They held neither pity for a dying man nor the reverence one should feel when facing the overlord of the seas.

His gaze was far too clear, so clear that he seemed to be... looking at an exhibit in a museum?

Looking at the dying Rocks, Gern merely marveled at the sight.

After all, in his mind, there was a gulf between himself and Rocks much like the divide between reality and a fictional character, so he felt nothing else.

"Hey, Marine brat..." Rocks's voice was hoarse. "Did you come... to witness the changing of an era?"

"I just came to find some things worth money," Gern said evenly.

"Hahaha! Things worth money..." Rocks suddenly burst out laughing, blood pouring from his mouth with each laugh.

"Marine brat... you're interesting." His gaze suddenly sharpened. "Your ability... isn't like Newgate's..."

"It's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit." Gern slowly raised his right hand, palm upward.

As he moved, the surrounding air began to warp, and a purer vibration energy, different from that of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, gathered in his hand.

In an instant, the surrounding air began to twist, and vibration energy of the utmost purity flowed around his fingertips.

Unlike Whitebeard's vibrations, these did not fracture space. They were closer to... some kind of primal force.

A flicker of understanding crossed Rocks's eyes. "I see... the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, huh... more terrifying than Newgate!"

"Didn't you want something worth money?" Rocks continued. "How about making a deal with a dying man?"

"A deal?" Gern frowned.

"That's right." Rocks turned his gaze elsewhere. "Something worth money."

Gern followed his gaze. A pitch-black sword stood embedded at an angle in the scorched earth, its blade reflecting a cold gleam.

Seeing it, Gern walked straight over and pulled it free. It was not a traditional katana, but a straight, double-edged Black Blade.

It was roughly a meter and a half long, with an ornate hilt and no scabbard. Its blade was black as the abyss, its surface covered in dark red cracks with a faint luster flowing within them.

"This sword is..."

"One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades."

"Use your ability... to give me a dignified burial. I don't want to die under the Buster Call cannon fire of those World Government scumbags..." Rocks's voice grew weaker and weaker.

"Once it's done, this sword... will be yours..."

"What's its name?"

"You'll give it a name." Rocks coughed up blood again.

"All right." Gern silently studied the Black Blade in his hand for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "As you wish. I accept the deal."

Hum! Vibration particles gathered in Gern's palm, compressing furiously.

"Hahaha..." Rocks suddenly let out a rasping laugh. "Interesting... so interesting... brat, what's your name?"

"Gern," he answered calmly. "Gern Reginald Sigma."

Hearing no "D." in his middle name, an unusual light flashed in Rocks's eyes.

"Not a D., huh!" Rocks remarked.

At the same time, the image of Roger and Garp attacking him together surfaced in his mind, and he turned his gaze toward Gern.

Pirates and Marines, huh... then I'll indulge myself just this once too!

Take my sword and make its name known throughout the world once more!

You terrifying, ignorant monster... Gern Reginald Sigma!!

The sphere of vibration particles slowly descended. Its powerful vibrations utterly shattered Rocks's body along with the air, burying him on this God's Island!!