Night had fallen, and the dormitory building at West Blue 133rd Branch was silent.
After his promotion to petty officer first class, Gern finally had a room of his own.
Now, he sat quietly by the window. Silvery moonlight spilled through the glass onto the desk, illuminating the Black Blade wrapped in layers of white bandages-Eight Desolations.
"One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades..." Gern murmured. He raised his left hand slightly, and vibrating particles in the air slowly gathered into an invisible tremor wave.
"And this Logia Tremor-Tremor Fruit..." He gazed at the Black Blade, his eyes deep and unreadable.
With his current position and strength, he could not casually let anyone see this blade.
After all, it had been Rocks's weapon.
Until he had enough power, he had to act cautiously.
Gern understood his situation very well now.
No system, no cheat abilities. Every step was like walking on thin ice.
And so, his plans for the future were clear.
Develop the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's powers to their fullest and increase his combat strength.
Wipe out the pirates of West Blue, earning military merit and a reputation.
Use the passage of time to fabricate a new account of how he had acquired the fruit.
Blur "obtained at God Valley" into "found by chance in West Blue" to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Most importantly, corruption ran rampant in the West Blue branches. In this era, the region was known as the Marines' "place of exile."
He had to escape the branch's marginal position and earn a promotion to Marine Headquarters!
Only then would he have a chance to learn Haki. The good impression he had previously made on Zephyr would also become a crucial asset in the future.
"Rocks's era is over. What comes next..." After a long stretch of contemplation, Gern let out a deep sigh and looked up at the night sky, moonlight reflected in his eyes.
"...will be the legendary era when Whitebeard, Roger, and Golden Lion stand as the three great powers."
No cheats. No shortcuts.
Gern lowered his gaze and gently brushed his fingertips over the Black Blade: Eight Desolations, as the power of tremors flowed through his palm.
"From now on, I have to take every step with care."
Time flew. A year later, it was the year 1485 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Somewhere in the waters of West Blue, aboard a pirate ship.
Barrels rolled across the deck, and the smoky aroma of roasted meat mingled with the smell of cheap rum.
The pirates raised their mugs and roared with laughter, celebrating another successful raid.
"Hahaha! Those damn Marine Branches? Not a single Marine in sight!
"Those Marines only know how to take bribes. Pay them enough, and they'll turn a blind eye."
Captain Hawk of the Golden Blade Pirates laughed with his mouth wide open, his gold tooth gleaming greasily in the firelight. "West Blue belongs to me!"
"That's right! Those useless Marines aren't even fit to polish our boots!" His lackeys cheered in agreement and drank deeply.
But just as the revelry reached its peak...
"Aren't you celebrating a little too soon?"
An icy voice suddenly rang out, slicing through the noise of the revelry like a blade.
The pirates froze, then whipped their heads toward the source of the voice.
A tall figure was crouching on the crossbeam of their ship's mast.
The glaring sunlight outlined his silhouette, and a long sword wrapped in white bandages hung diagonally across his back.
"Who's there?!" Captain Hawk barked, much of his drunkenness vanishing in an instant.
A sharp-eyed pirate suddenly widened his eyes, his voice trembling. "Th-that sword... the white bandages...
"Are you... 'Pirate Hunter' Gern?!"
Dead silence.
The name exploded across the deck like a bomb.
The smiles froze on the faces of the Golden Blade Pirates.
"You've got to be kidding..." Cold sweat beaded on Captain Hawk's forehead as he forced a vicious grin.
"That Marine monster who wiped out fifteen pirate crews single-handedly in a year... How could he have come after us?!"
"Pirate Hunter..." Gern covered his face. Roger had yet to usher in the Great Pirate Era, so the term "pirate hunter" did not even exist yet.
Yet somehow, he had ended up being given that title...
"Isn't catching pirates what Marines are supposed to do? Why call me a hunter?"
At Gern's words, Hawk swallowed, drew his large cutlass, and snarled, "Damn it! We're the famous Golden Blade Pirates of West Blue!
"I've got a bounty of twenty-three million Beli!
"He's just one man! Get him, boys!!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
In an instant, muzzle flashes erupted across the deck. Dozens of lead bullets tore through the air, pouring toward the figure on the mast!
Gern merely smiled, his figure blurring slightly amid the hail of bullets.
Bullets passed through his chest, forehead, and throat, but it was like shooting a phantom. They only stirred rings of transparent tremor ripples in the air.
"L-Logia?!" Captain Hawk's gold tooth clicked as he trembled.
"Hey!! You've got to be kidding! How could a place like West Blue have..."
Before he could finish, Gern slowly stood. The instant he stepped forward, a track of densely packed Vibration Particles formed beneath his foot.
He stepped onto it, and the reverse shock wave from those Vibration Particles propelled him forward. His figure vanished!
"Tremor Flash: Glide Rail!"
Bzzzt! A shrill blast tore through the sea breeze. The pirates on deck saw only a warped, transparent track suddenly appear in the air.
Then, like waves cleaved apart by an invisible blade, the pirates on both sides were sent flying by the sonic boom's shock wave!
"Where'd he go?!" Hawk had only just raised his cutlass when he suddenly felt a cold touch behind him.
"Sorry, but it's time to deliver some earth-shaking justice!"
"'Gold Tooth' Hawk. Bounty: twenty-three million Beli," Gern said flatly. "I'll be taking your head."
As he spoke, the pure-white tremor wave gathered around Gern's left foot, like a stellar core compressed to its limit, was already pressed against the side of Hawk's head.
Crack! The instant his foot swept sideways, a dull thud tearing through flesh erupted alongside a sharp sound like shattering glass!
Hawk's pupils suddenly dilated. In his field of vision,
all he could see was the surrounding air splitting into spiderweb cracks, as though space itself had been shattered!
"Pfft!" Hawk's head twisted, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs before dropping to his knees.
Though the blow had struck his head, the tremor wave had pulverized the inside of his body.
The deck fell deathly silent.
The remaining pirates stood frozen, their swords and guns clattering from their hands.
"Captain Hawk... a bounty of twenty-three million Beli... and one hit... just one hit..."
They stared at the figure before them in terror.
Gern slowly lowered his raised foot. The vibrating particles had not even dissipated yet.
"M-monster..." One pirate collapsed, a foul-smelling liquid seeping through the crotch of his trousers.
"Tch. The technique I developed by copying Kizaru's light-speed kick still isn't quite right," Gern muttered. "It lets me glide in a straight line at the speed of sound over short distances, but...
"I still can't move as freely as real 'light.'"
Before he finished speaking, his left hand had already lifted Hawk's cooling corpse. He turned his right palm upward, and a pure-white glowing sphere of Vibration Particles quietly formed.
"Still... this is good enough."
He abruptly flung the glowing sphere into the air.
"Tremor Step: Sky Tread."
Boom! The Vibration Particles, compressed to their limit, exploded the instant he stepped on them. The shock wave burst outward in a ring, launching Gern into the sky.
Below him, violent tremor waves spread like ripples. Hull planks, masts, gun emplacements-everything they touched disintegrated into dust in an instant!
Before the pirates could even scream, the entire ship collapsed like a fragile glass ornament. The churning waves instantly swallowed the broken timber and wreckage.
Gern was already high in the sky. Tremor waves burst beneath his feet one after another, the air warping and shuddering each time he pushed off, as though invisible stairs were carrying him into the distance.
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