Chapter Summaries

Gern remained unconscious in the Marine Headquarters Hospital after his battle with Roger, while his friends confronted the cost of his actions and the fame he had gained. Sakazuki framed Gern's stand as a declaration to pirates, and Borsalino revealed that he had brought Vegapunk back.

• Lipo worried over Gern's severe injuries, but Gion reminded her that Gern had knowingly paid the price for fame, status, and a future.
• Lipo began to use her Heal-Heal Fruit to heal Gern at the cost of her life, but Gion stopped her and Gern's words persuaded her to lower her hand.
• Zephyr told Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino that Gern had endured agony to escort Roger across the South Blue and return to Headquarters.
• Sakazuki declared that Gern's fight against Roger had shown the New World that Marine justice would not be driven into a corner.
• Borsalino admitted he had not acted like Gern's senior and said he had brought Vegapunk back.

Golden Lion Shiki attacked Marineford after learning that Roger had been captured and scheduled for execution, demanding that the Marines hand him over. Sengoku and Garp confronted Shiki as he declared that Gern had no right to decide when the old era ended.

• Shiki learned Roger had been captured by Gern and would be publicly executed in Loguetown, so he set out to challenge the Marines.
• Shiki destroyed G-14 Marine Base and other Marine outposts and patrol fleets on his way to Marineford.
• Shiki reached Marineford and sent Marine warships crashing into the headquarters, breaching its defenses.
• Kong ordered a Level One Alert and sent Sengoku and Garp to stop Shiki from reaching Impel Down.
• Shiki confronted Sengoku and Garp, condemning Gern for trying to end the era of legends.

Golden Lion Shiki attacked Marineford to prevent Roger’s humiliating public execution, but the Marines defeated and captured him. One week later, Roger’s execution took place as scheduled.

• Sakazuki provoked Shiki by accusing him of fearing Gern Reginald Sigma, and Shiki attacked him with sword strikes.
• Sakazuki countered Shiki’s assault with Great Eruption, and the two exchanged blows until Shiki unleashed Lion: Might: Sea-Cleave.
• Garp blocked Shiki’s powerful slash with Fist Bone: Conflict, and Sengoku warned Shiki that he would be captured if he interfered with Roger’s execution.
• Shiki challenged the Marines to fight him, and the battle destroyed Marineford before ending with Shiki captured alive.
• One week later, Gol D. Roger’s public execution took place as scheduled.

Gern and Roger discussed Roger’s coming execution and the new era his death would spark as the warship carried him to Loguetown. Roger’s public execution ignited a worldwide rush to find the One Piece, and Garp realized the Great Pirate Era had begun.

• Gern joined Roger aboard the warship and discussed his awakened Logia powers, Roger’s future, and the coming upheaval at sea.
• Roger asked Gern whether he had always known Roger would become Pirate King, then reflected that he had only lit a spark for those who came after him.
• As the warship reached Loguetown, Roger told Garp he had no regrets about his magnificent life.
• At the execution platform, Roger recognized Shanks in the crowd before a bystander asked about the One Piece.
• Roger announced that his treasure was out there for anyone to find, then the executioners killed him as the crowd erupted and surged toward the harbor.
• Garp watched the chaos spread through Loguetown and understood that Roger’s death had begun the Great Pirate Era.

As the Great Pirate Era overwhelmed the Marines, Kong’s officers debated new measures, including recognizing the Shichibukai, while Gern prepared to pursue Bullet. Gern left Marineford intent on building influence and expanding his own faction amid the coming turmoil.

• Kong, Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, and Gern discussed the rising pirate threat and the New World’s expansion as the Marines struggled to cover the seas.
• Kong proposed recognizing the Shichibukai system and allowing the pirates to plunder legally, and Sengoku supported considering the proposal despite Zephyr’s objections.
• An intelligence officer reported that a red-nosed apprentice from the Roger Pirates had attacked Loguetown, prompting Kong and Sengoku to call for action against Roger’s remnants.
• Gern volunteered to deal with Bullet, and Garp questioned whether Gern had foreseen the upheaval before they departed Marineford together.
• On the warship, Gern told Tesoro and Lipo that influence within the Marines mattered more than an Admiral promotion, and he resolved to strengthen his faction.

The Five Elders plotted to make Gern compete with Kuzan for an Admiral position, hoping to limit Gern’s rise. Meanwhile, Gern confronted Douglas Bullet on Lulutak Island, and their battle began with both fighters revealing their strength.

• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter and the Five Elders discussed Sengoku becoming Fleet Admiral and debated how to handle Gern’s promotion.
• Jaygarcia Saturn Saint proposed setting Kuzan and Gern against each other for an Admiral position, with the Five Elders retaining the final say.
• Douglas Bullet attacked the Marines on Lulutak Island until Gern arrived and struck at him with a particle beam.
• Gern and Bullet clashed their Conqueror’s Haki, then exchanged a rapid punch and sword strike.
• Bullet claimed he was much stronger than before and launched Heavenquake at Gern.

Gern, Lipo, and Tesoro fought Bullet together on Lulutak Island, using coordinated attacks to wound and restrain him. After Bullet injured Tesoro and nearly seized Lipo, Gern struck him with Black Quake: Bone Breaker and announced that the trial lesson was over.

• Gern withdrew from Bullet and sent Lipo and Tesoro to attack him.
• Lipo used her speed, Electro, and daggers while Tesoro bound Bullet with golden chains and reshaped the ground into a trap.
• Lipo and Tesoro coordinated a strike that drove Bullet back, but he broke free and blasted Tesoro into a wrecked warship.
• Bullet appeared behind Lipo and prepared to grab her while Tesoro lay injured.
• Gern kicked Bullet through three ruined structures with Black Quake: Bone Breaker and declared the trial lesson over.

Bullet unleashed his Devil Form and fought Gern in a fierce battle that tested their strength and Haki. After they traded powerful attacks, Gern declared that Bullet was a promising candidate for his “Calamity,” and their Conqueror’s Haki clashed again.

• Bullet lamented Roger’s death and the loss of his goal, then unleashed his Armament Haki in Devil Form.
• Lipo, Tesoro, and Gern reacted to Bullet’s transformation as Gern used Eight Desolations’ vibrations to split apart Bullet’s Haki.
• Gern and Bullet traded attacks, with Gern using vibration techniques and precise Observation Haki to counter Bullet’s brute force.
• Gern met Bullet’s punch head-on, and the collision sent a shock wave across the battlefield.
• Gern used Vibration Step: Flash Step to attack Bullet, but Bullet repelled him with Conqueror’s Haki and blasted him away.
• Gern rose from the dust and called Bullet a candidate for his “Calamity,” while the two men clashed with Conqueror’s Haki.

Gern and Bullet traded devastating attacks as Bullet revealed his awakened fused Armament Haki and pushed Gern to the brink. Gern feigned defeat, then struck with a space-cutting slash that opened a savage wound in Bullet’s chest.

• Bullet assembled a giant steel fist from the island’s wreckage and attacked Gern, who dodged and countered with Black Blade: Eight Desolations.
• Bullet revealed that his fused Armament Haki could adapt to attacks, then overwhelmed Gern with a punch and a barrage of blows.
• Gern used Instant Hell and a series of quake techniques to damage Bullet, while Bullet broke free of Gern’s Void Shackles and intensified his Armament Haki.
• Bullet’s enhanced punch sent Gern crashing through rocky peaks, and Gern appeared battered as he knelt with his blade planted in the ground.
• Gern revealed his apparent defeat was a feint, vanished, and cut Bullet across the chest with a slash that split space.

Gern defeated Douglas Bullet after shattering his giant armored form and offered to become the goal that would give Bullet’s life meaning. He invited Bullet to follow him and see the summit of the world.

• Bullet used his awakened Combine-Combine Fruit to form a steel giant and attacked Gern with a massive war hammer.
• Gern stopped Bullet’s punch with Void Shackles, cut through the steel armor, and struck Bullet with a fifty-meter blade.
• Gern unleashed Divine Mind Slash, destroying Bullet’s steel giant and leaving Bullet wounded on the ground.
• Gern sheathed his sword instead of killing Bullet and challenged him to make Gern his new goal.
• Gern declared that Douglas Bullet would become the demon among his Calamities and invited him to follow him toward the summit of the world.

Gern Reginald Sigma persuaded Bullet to accept his challenge and join him, then put him in seastone cuffs and sent him to Impel Down. As Marines escorted Bullet away, Gern told Tesoro he intended to wear down Bullet’s defiance and eventually give him a place to belong.

• Gern offered Bullet a chance to pursue strength beyond his old limits, then unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki to demonstrate his power.
• Bullet accepted Gern’s hand and warned that he would tear Gern apart if he ever proved unworthy.
• Gern revealed the seastone handcuffs on Bullet and said he had to send him to Impel Down while he secured influence during the coming shift in power.
• Bullet agreed to wait for Gern to return, and Marines hauled him away toward Impel Down.
• Tesoro questioned whether Bullet would obey, and Gern said Impel Down would wear down his resistance until Gern could give him a place to belong.

On the warship returning from Lulutak Island, Lipo healed Bullet and tried to reassure him that comrades did not betray one another, stirring painful memories of his past. Gern planned to use Bullet as an ally while seeking greater authority during the Navy’s coming leadership transition.

• Lipo offered Bullet a carrot, and he recalled being betrayed by his former commander and feeling abandoned by Roger.
• Lipo used the Heal-Heal Fruit to treat Bullet’s injuries, and Bullet silently wondered why her kindness unsettled him.
• Tesoro told Gern that Bullet could be a powerful asset, and Gern said he did not need to tame him because he wanted Bullet to trust that he would not be betrayed again.
• Gern explained that he planned to use the Navy’s leadership transition to secure practical authority as Sengoku, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino vied for positions.
• Gern, Tesoro, and Lipo bantered on deck as the warship approached Marine Headquarters, and Gern said their power game had begun.

Gern brought Bullet to Impel Down, where Shiryu taunted them and provoked Bullet into breaking free and attacking him. Gern stopped Magellan from intervening, and Bullet willingly let Lipo cuff him again before Gern and the others proceeded to Level Six.

• Gern arrived at Impel Down with Bullet, where Magellan and Shiryu came to receive them.
• Shiryu mocked Gern and taunted Bullet, who broke his Seastone handcuffs and struck Shiryu through a stone wall.
• Gern blocked Magellan from attacking Bullet, and Bullet seized Shiryu and nearly punched him again before Gern ordered him to stop.
• Bullet voluntarily presented his wrists to Lipo, who put the Seastone handcuffs back on him.
• Magellan ordered Shiryu to the infirmary and escorted Gern, Bullet, Lipo, and Tesoro toward Level Six.

Kong learned that the World Government had rejected Gern’s promotion to Admiral and set him against Kuzan for the final position. He decided the Marines had to resist the Government’s interference and protect Gern’s authority, then summoned Gern or Kuzan to meet him upon their return.

• Sengoku confronted Kong with Magellan’s complaint that Gern had removed Bullet’s Seastone restraints and let him injure Shiryu.
• Kong told Sengoku that the World Government had rejected adding an Admiral position and made Gern and Kuzan candidates for the remaining spot.
• Sengoku and Kong realized the World Government’s decision could pit Gern against Kuzan and give it grounds to interfere in Marine affairs.
• Kong declared that he would not let the World Government treat the Marines as puppets and said he had been waiting for Gern to shoulder the Marines’ future.
• Kong ordered Sengoku to send word that Gern or Kuzan should see him as soon as either returned, then resolved to preserve Gern’s authority.

Gern learned that the World Government had rejected his promotion to Admiral and proposed promoting Kuzan instead. He used the decision to negotiate with Kong for autonomy over his subordinates, leaving Kong to suspect that Gern had been steering the power game all along.

• Kong told Gern that the World Government had rejected his promotion and proposed promoting Kuzan.
• Gern calmly said he had expected the World Government to block him and argued that power had to be seized through strength and leverage.
• Gern explained that Kong needed him to protect Marine authority from the World Government and suggested using his denied promotion to demand autonomy over his subordinates.
• Gern struck a deal with Kong, then told him he was on the side of justice.
• After Gern left, Kong realized that Gern might have been moving the power game to his own rhythm from the beginning.

Gern trained Lipo and Tesoro to improve their Observation Haki, then confronted Kuzan after he launched a surprise attack. Kuzan’s arrival suggested Fleet Admiral Kong had passed the World Government’s notice on to him.

• Gern made blindfolded Lipo and Tesoro dodge low-energy particle beams across a vibration grid to sharpen their Observation Haki.
• Gern intensified his attacks to teach them to sense killing intent, and Lipo and Tesoro dodged a powerful beam at the last moment.
• Gern reassured Tesoro that he could become strong enough to face the crueler era ahead, while privately thinking of the future Yonko Commanders.
• Kuzan attacked Gern from behind with a ball of ice, but Gern blocked it without turning and shattered it with Armament Haki.
• Gern greeted Kuzan and inferred that Fleet Admiral Kong had already delivered the World Government’s notice to him.

Gern and Kuzan discussed the Admiral position over drinks, realizing the World Government had staged their rivalry to protect its own interests. They agreed to fight for appearances, and Gern left to seek Sky Island while Kuzan looked forward to facing him at full strength.

• Gern and Kuzan reunited at a Marineford tavern and reminisced about their friendship and past drinks.
• Kuzan told Gern he would not compete with him for the Admiral position because he believed Gern deserved it.
• Gern explained that the World Government had rejected Kong's proposal for another Admiral and would never appoint Gern because of the threat he posed to the Celestial Dragons.
• Gern insisted they still had to fight so the World Government could save face, and teased Kuzan over old rumors and training pranks.
• Kuzan told Gern that Torch Lily had become empress and that the Snake Princess had fallen ill, then said he was eager to fight him seriously.
• Gern left the tavern, joking that he would turn Kuzan into a Want Want ice pop.

Gern learned that Sky Island might be reachable through a shifting entrance and decided to search for the self-proclaimed god there. He planned to set out with Tesoro and Lipo once the application was approved, and left Tesoro with the name Enel.

• After being kept late by Sengoku, Gern returned home and found Lipo asleep in his bed, then spent the night beside her.
• The next morning, Tesoro gave Gern intelligence about Sky Island, including reports of Knock Up Stream, Shandora, and sightings of enormous shadows in the sky.
• Gern concluded that Sky Island existed and told Tesoro he intended to find the person who called himself a god.
• Gern said Tesoro, Lipo, and he would make the journey after their application was approved.
• Gern congratulated Tesoro on Stella's pregnancy and told him that he had changed his own fate.
• After Tesoro left to prepare, Gern looked toward the sky and declared that Enel was next.

Gern departed Sabaody aboard the White Gull and announced that he was heading to Amazon Lily to recruit its warriors into the Shichibukai system, despite having claimed he was searching for Sky Island. He defended the detour as a matter of justice while Tesoro doubted his motives.

• Gern said goodbye to Dalmatian and sailed from the G-33 Marine Base aboard the White Gull.
• Gern told Lipo and Tesoro that they would search for Sky Island near Jaya.
• Gern overruled Tesoro's planned course and ordered him to head for Amazon Lily instead.
• Tesoro realized Gern's mission application was to recruit the Shichibukai and suspected his real motive was to visit the Snake Princess.
• Gern insisted that recruiting Amazon Lily's warriors would serve justice, while Tesoro tried not to laugh and Lipo asked what was funny.

Torch Lily and Gloriosa faced the Snake Princess’s worsening lovesickness and decided she might have to leave Amazon Lily to survive. When Gern’s warship arrived, Torch Lily recognized the man her sister loved and ordered the Kuja to hold their defenses against him.

• Torch Lily accused Gloriosa of abandoning the Kuja and learned that the Snake Princess might not survive another week unless she left the island.
• Gern sailed toward Amazon Lily aboard the White Gull with Tesoro and Lipo, while the Kuja raised the alarm and mobilized their defenses.
• Torch Lily ordered the warriors to sink the approaching Marine ship if its crew made any rash moves.
• A lookout identified the man aboard the ship as Heavenquake Gern, the Marine who had arrested Roger and the man the Snake Princess loved.
• Torch Lily ordered the Kuja to keep Gern from setting foot on the island, while Gloriosa tried to stop her from provoking him.