Chapter Summaries

Gern, a transmigrator serving as a low-ranking Marine, woke after the battle of God Valley and believed the Devil Fruits he had hoped to claim were gone. He found and ate a strange fruit, awakening the ability to become and control vibrations, and realized it was a Logia Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

• Gern recalled joining the Marines and risking everything to accompany the Celestial Dragons, hoping to obtain one of the Devil Fruits at God Valley.
• After waking near the shore, Gern recognized that the battle was over and feared the fruits had already been claimed.
• Gern struck an oak tree in rage, and a white, crack-patterned Devil Fruit fell onto his head.
• Gern ate the fruit and discovered that he could turn his body into vibration particles and unleash destructive shock waves.
• Gern transformed into a shock wave and passed through a tree, then realized his Tremor-Tremor Fruit was a Logia rather than a Paramecia.

Gern tested his newly awakened Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit and went to search God Valley’s ruins for valuable loot. He found the dying Rocks D. Zebek, accepted his Supreme Grade Blade in exchange for giving him a dignified burial, and used his vibrations to destroy and bury Rocks before the Buster Call.

• Gern demonstrated that his Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit let him become and command vibrations, then headed toward the center of God Valley for spoils.
• Gern searched the ruins and found Rocks D. Zebek gravely wounded after his battle with Roger and Garp.
• Rocks recognized Gern’s unusual power and offered him his Black Blade, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, in exchange for a dignified burial.
• Gern gave Rocks his name and accepted the deal, while Rocks urged him to make the sword famous again.
• Gern used his vibration power to shatter Rocks’s body and bury him on God Valley.

Gern tested his newly acquired Black Blade, named it Eight Desolations, and returned to the coast as the Marines evacuated God Valley. Warrant Officer Derrick’s greed and suspicion surfaced when he tried to take the blade, leaving Gern wary as they headed for the warship.

• Gern used vibration particles with the Black Blade, confirmed it handled his power smoothly, and wrapped it in bandages to conceal its identity.
• Gern named the blade Eight Desolations, discarded his Marine rifle, and carried the blade on his back.
• Gern reunited with Derrick on the coast, and Derrick pretended to be overjoyed that he had survived.
• Derrick noticed the blade and tried to take it, but Gern evaded him and refused his help.
• Derrick watched Gern leave and revealed that he had sent him to God Valley expecting him to die so he could claim his death benefits.

After Derrick tried to kill him for his death benefits, Gern discovered his Logia powers made the bullets harmless and killed Derrick with a vibration attack. Hearing Marines approach, Gern put Derrick’s body on his back and prepared to act before the officer overseeing the withdrawal, Zephyr.

• As the withdrawal deadline neared, Derrick drew his pistol and shot Gern twice, but the bullets passed through Gern’s body.
• Derrick repeatedly fired at Gern, then dropped his gun when he realized Gern was a Logia user.
• Gern advanced on Derrick, who admitted he wanted Gern dead to claim his death benefits and fund a promotion.
• Gern killed Derrick with a vibration attack that shattered the reef behind him and fatally damaged Derrick’s organs.
• Hearing Marines approach from the warships, Gern put Derrick’s corpse on his back and planned to put on an act for Zephyr, the officer leading the western withdrawal.

After escaping God Valley with Derrick’s body, Gern convinced Zephyr that Derrick had died protecting him and earned the Vice Admiral’s sympathy. As the Marines sailed away, Gern revealed his vibration powers and decided to seek Zephyr’s guidance to grow stronger.

• Gern carried Derrick’s apparently dead body to the Marine evacuation ship, where Zephyr asked what had happened.
• Gern claimed Whitebeard had killed Derrick while he covered Gern’s escape, and Zephyr praised Gern for refusing to abandon a comrade.
• The ship’s doctor found Derrick’s internal organs pulverized by a vibration attack, confirming the likely use of Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit ability.
• Zephyr mourned the Marines lost at God Valley and ordered his forces to record their losses and return.
• Alone at the stern, Gern briefly released uncontrolled vibration particles and resolved to develop his Devil Fruit powers and learn Haki with Zephyr’s help.

Zephyr suspected Gern had used the events at God Valley to advance himself, but promoted him to branch chief petty officer anyway, hoping to use his cleverness to reform the West Blue. At the 133rd Branch, Gern met its corrupt commander, Asahi, and agreed to give him Derrick’s death benefit in exchange for support on future missions.

• Zephyr questioned whether Gern had staged his heroic return with Derrick’s body, but decided Gern’s grief had been genuine.
• Zephyr changed Gern’s promotion from petty officer third class to chief petty officer, intending to use him as a blade against corruption in the West Blue.
• Gern received his promotion order aboard the warship and thanked Zephyr for his recognition as the ship neared the 133rd Branch.
• Asahi recognized Gern’s new rank and asked whether he had collected Derrick’s death benefit.
• Gern offered Asahi the benefit, and Asahi promised to make Gern’s missions go smoothly while openly admitting he was corrupt.

A year after planning to build his strength and rise through the Marines, Gern hunted pirates in West Blue with his Tremor-Tremor Fruit. After defeating Captain Hawk and destroying his crew’s ship, Gern left the wreckage behind and continued into the sky.

• Gern planned to develop his Devil Fruit, earn a reputation by defeating West Blue pirates, conceal how he obtained the fruit, and secure a transfer to Marine Headquarters.
• In 1485, Captain Hawk and the Golden Blade Pirates celebrated their raids and mocked the corrupt Marines of West Blue.
• Gern appeared aboard their ship, and the pirates recognized him as the Marine known as Pirate Hunter Gern.
• Gern used Tremor Flash: Glide Rail to reach Hawk and killed him with a tremor-powered kick.
• Gern destroyed the Golden Blade Pirates’ ship with a tremor sphere, then used Tremor Step: Sky Tread to propel himself into the sky.

Gern returned to West Blue Branch 133 with the corpse of the 23-million-Beli pirate Gold Tooth Hawk and received intelligence from Branch Commander Asahi about a powerful pirate from the Grand Line. He saw the lead as a chance to earn a major achievement and advance toward Marine Headquarters.

• Gern returned to his warship with Hawk's corpse, and the Marines praised him as the rising star of the West Blue.
• Gern read reports about Whitebeard and Golden Lion's escalating battles in the New World and resolved to seek a major achievement.
• A communications officer told Gern that Branch Commander Asahi had found the intelligence he requested, and Gern said he intended to head to Marine Headquarters.
• Asahi welcomed Gern back to Branch 133 and presented a wanted poster for Blood Spear Logot, captain of the Blood Spear Pirates, whose bounty was sixty-nine million Beli.

Gern reaffirmed his ties to West Blue while reflecting on the limits of his growth and setting his sights on Marine Headquarters. Asahi secretly witnessed Gern’s Tremor-Tremor powers and began planning to help him earn a transfer by targeting the Blood Spear Pirates.

• Gern assured Asahi that West Blue was where he had started, easing the branch commander’s worry that he would abandon Branch 133.
• Gern went alone to a cliff, reviewed his year of pirate hunts and his progress with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and decided to seek Zephyr’s Haki guidance at Headquarters after dealing with the Blood Spear Pirates.
• Asahi secretly watched Gern demonstrate his vibration powers and compared them to the power that had shattered an island during the Marines’ attack on the Rocks Pirates.
• Asahi imagined Gern rising to Admiral and planned to gather intelligence on the Blood Spear Pirates so Gern could be sent to Headquarters.

Gern learned that the Blood Spear Pirates had attacked Ashport and set out to stop them, aiming to defeat their captain, Bloodspear Carlos, to earn a promotion to Marine Headquarters. His warship was expected to reach Ashport in two hours, and he ordered his squad to prepare for battle.

• Branch Commander Asahi gave Gern intelligence about Logot and the Blood Spear Pirates, warning that their captain was more dangerous than his bounty suggested.
• Asahi's adjutant reported that the pirates were attacking Ashport in the Ashti Kingdom and that the local militia had requested help.
• Gern left to reinforce Ashport, assuring Asahi that the pirates should be the ones worried about their lives.
• Gern ordered Marines to assemble a squad and ready a warship, then took the Black Blade Eight Desolations with him.
• Gern sailed toward Ashport, ordered his squad to prepare for battle, and identified Bloodspear Carlos as the target he needed to defeat for promotion.

Gern and the Marines arrived at Ashport and found the town slaughtered by the Blood Spear Pirates, who had stayed behind to ambush their rescuers. Gern went alone to confront them, ordering the Marines to lower their flags because justice that came too late did not deserve to be called justice.

• Gern led the Marines ashore at Ashport and found its residents murdered, its homes burned, and its harbor destroyed.
• Gern found a dying militiaman, who revealed that the pirates had deliberately let the town send a distress call to lure the Marines into a trap.
• A Marine reported that the Blood Spear Pirates were still waiting in the eastern harbor, and Gern realized the Marines had been hunted.
• Gern ordered the Marines to take the warship out and kill any pirates who escaped, then said he would face the pirates alone.
• After seeing a girl's body wrapped in a Marine flag, Gern ordered every flag on the warship torn down, and the young Marines shouted, "Lower the flags!!!"

Gern confronted “Blood Spear” Logot and the Blood Spear Pirates at Ashport after Logot’s massacre of the town. Gern destroyed their ship with a shockwave and drew Black Blade: Eight Desolations, leaving Logot facing a fight he might not survive.

• Logot mocked Gern’s warrant officer rank until a pirate recognized Gern as the “Pirate Hunter” who had defeated sixteen crews, including the Golden Blade Pirates.
• Gern calmly confirmed Logot’s identity and accused him of massacring Ashport.
• Logot dismissed the victims as weak and declared their lives worthless.
• Gern formed a sphere of vibration particles and shattered the pirates’ ship with a single punch.
• Gern drew Black Blade: Eight Desolations and unleashed the blade as he told Logot that Logot alone was not enough to kill him.

Gern fought Logot at the harbor, using his Devil Fruit powers and Black Blade: Eight Desolations against the Blood Spear Pirates captain. Logot’s Armament Haki wounded Gern and revealed his lack of Haki and combat experience as the battle continued.

• Logot mistook Gern’s ability for a Paramecia, but Gern evaded his spear and revealed that he had a Logia power.
• Gern blocked Logot’s twin-spear attack with Quake Wall, then used Tremor Flash: Glide Rail to launch a powerful strike.
• Logot met Gern’s attack with his Armament Haki-coated spear, and their clash wounded Logot while the spear grazed Gern’s chest.
• Logot realized Gern did not know Armament Haki and attacked with a barrage of Haki-coated thrusts.
• As Gern blocked Logot’s attacks, Logot noticed that Gern’s swordsmanship lacked structure and relied on brute force and his Devil Fruit.

Gern defeated 'Blood Spear' Logot with a devastating slash that combined the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Black Blade: Eight Desolations, but the attack left him severely weakened. As Marines arrived to celebrate his victory, Gern reflected that he still needed to grow stronger and master Haki.

• Logot exposed Gern's lack of swordsmanship and nearly struck his throat, but Gern realized Logot's Armament Haki was only basic.
• Gern compressed vibration particles around the Black Blade: Eight Desolations and unleashed Heavenquake: Sky Rend, destroying much of the harbor and breaking through Logot's Haki.
• Gern pinned Logot beneath his own flag with the Blood Beak spear, killing the pirate with a bounty of sixty-nine million.
• After collapsing from the effort, Gern recovered enough to bandage his blade as a warship arrived and the Marines cheered his victory.
• Gern ignored the celebration and thought that Haki was the true mark of the strong.

After his victory over Logot made him a celebrated Marine in the West Blue, Gern focused on his ambition to reach Marine Headquarters and gain Zephyr’s guidance. He agreed to an interview and insisted the reporter ask hard questions about his suspiciously Whitebeard-like fruit, ready to use the controversy to build his reputation.

• Asahi showed Gern a newspaper praising him for killing Logot and said he had submitted a promotion request and arranged a reporter’s interview.
• Gern reflected that Logot’s Armament Haki had exposed his lack of Haki, and told Asahi he had killed the pirate to earn a place at Headquarters, not for justice.
• Asahi revealed a special recruitment order and said Zephyr had noticed Gern, while warning that the World Government had questions about his Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
• Gern accepted Asahi’s plan to promote his reputation and agreed to the interview, but demanded that the reporter ask especially sharp questions about his fruit.

Zephyr reviewed Gern’s report from the Battle of Ashport and decided to bring the rising Marine to headquarters for personal training. Garp and Sengoku recognized Gern’s strength and unusual sense of justice, while Sengoku noted the World Government’s reservations about his Devil Fruit.

• Asahi’s headlines and Gern’s interview answers made Gern a sensation across West Blue and drew attention from the World Economy News Paper.
• Zephyr read Gern’s Ashport report and approved of his decision to lower the Marine flag after arriving too late to save the town’s people.
• Garp and Sengoku discussed Roger’s escape and Whitebeard’s whereabouts before Sengoku examined Gern’s report.
• Zephyr explained that Gern had joined the Marines at ten, risen rapidly after God’s Island, and possessed a Logia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
• Zephyr revealed that he had signed Gern’s transfer orders and planned to train him personally at Marine Headquarters.

Zephyr asked Fleet Admiral Kong to transfer Gern Reginald Sigma from the West Blue branch to Marine Headquarters as his adjutant. Kong objected to Gern’s defiance of Marine discipline, but Zephyr defended his commitment to justice and left after promising to teach him to respect the system.

• Sengoku warned Zephyr that Kong might refuse to transfer Gern, while Garp argued with Sengoku about becoming an Admiral.
• Zephyr went to Kong’s office and requested Gern Reginald Sigma as his adjutant.
• Kong condemned Gern for taking down the Marine flag and questioned whether he could follow orders.
• Zephyr defended Gern’s actions at Ashport and compared Kong’s past promotion of Garp with Gern’s rise from a chore boy.
• Zephyr explained that he saw justice taking root in Gern and promised Kong he would make sure Gern understood the importance of the system.

Gern received a transfer to Marine Headquarters as a Warrant Officer under Vice Admiral Zephyr and left the West Blue for Marineford. Two days into the voyage, he recognized Edward Newgate aboard an unidentified ship approaching the Marine warship.

• Gern demonstrated his vibration powers to the recruits at the West Blue 133rd Branch training ground.
• Asahi gave Gern the transfer order signed by Fleet Admiral Kong, confirming his Headquarters rank and assignment under Vice Admiral Zephyr.
• Three days later, Gern departed the branch harbor for Marineford as Asahi and the Marines saw him off.
• Two days into the voyage, Gern and the Headquarters ensign spotted an unidentified, unflagged vessel approaching their route.
• Gern recognized Edward Newgate standing aboard the ship with a slender young man.

Gern encountered Whitebeard at his peak while aboard a Marine warship and excitedly challenged him. Whitebeard’s Air Quake collided with Gern’s vibration attack, leaving Marco stunned that a Marine could wield the same power.

• The Marines spotted Whitebeard near their ship, and the Ensign ordered the crew to prepare for combat and contact Headquarters.
• Gern drew the Black Blade: Eight Desolations and, despite the Ensign’s warnings, answered Whitebeard’s presence with excitement.
• Whitebeard sensed Gern’s fighting spirit, turned toward the warship, and challenged him to stop holding back.
• Gern roared at Whitebeard and unleashed vibration particles as Whitebeard sent an Air Quake toward the warship.
• Gern matched Whitebeard’s arm sweep, and their shockwaves collided above the sea, creating a vast vacuum explosion.
• Whitebeard recognized Gern’s vibration power, while Marco was shocked that a Marine appeared to possess the same power as his father.

Gern Reginald Sigma launched his strongest vibration attack at Whitebeard, who recognized the danger and met him head-on. Their weapons collided, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Gern blocked Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor attack, stunning the Marines aboard the warship.
• Gern used Tremor Step: Sky Tread to launch himself into the sky and concentrate vibrations around Black Blade: Eight Desolations.
• Whitebeard sensed the danger of Gern’s approaching strike, warned Marco to get behind him, and prepared Murakumogiri.
• Gern gave Whitebeard his name and unleashed Heavenquake: Sky Rend, cutting a rift through the air.
• Whitebeard and Gern swung at the same time, and their weapons collided in a destructive clash.