Chapter Summaries

Gern persuaded Akainu to accept command over the first half of the Grand Line by promising to step down as Fleet Admiral in five years and endorse him as successor. After arranging Akainu’s new independent headquarters, Gern seized an invitation to Big Mom’s tea party and escaped his paperwork, leaving Sengoku to face the backlog.

• Gern promised Akainu the Fleet Admiral position in five years and offered him full authority over defenses in the first half of the Grand Line from an independent G-2 headquarters.
• Akainu accepted Gern’s promise and agreed to take command of the first half of the Grand Line.
• Four days later, Gern found an invitation to Big Mom’s tea party and decided to attend.
• Gern sailed away from G-10, leaving Sengoku a note that read, “Life is an open wilderness!!”
• Sengoku arrived to find Tesoro and carts piled with paperwork blocking the office, and realized Gern had left the work for him.

Gern visited Sphinx Island and declared that Whitebeard’s hometown was now under his protection. Marco attacked him, and after Gern easily overwhelmed him, Marco transformed and vowed that the Whitebeard Pirates would carry on Whitebeard’s era.

• Gern arrived alone on Sphinx Island, reflected on Whitebeard’s different way of protecting the sea, and said he would protect the island too.
• Marco swooped down and attacked Gern, mistaking him for Weevil as a joke before recognizing him.
• Gern countered Marco’s attacks with overwhelming speed and strength, then stopped his foot just short of Marco’s face.
• Gern taunted Marco about Whitebeard’s defeat and the Whitebeard Pirates’ remaining pride.
• Marco entered his stronger human-beast form and declared that the Whitebeard Pirates would carry on Whitebeard’s era.

Gern reunited with Marco, learned that the Whitebeard Pirates had been defeated and scattered, and heard how Weevil was hunting Whitebeard’s former allies and Murakumogiri. Marco led Gern to the graves of Ace, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion, where Gern sat alone with his memories and grief.

• Gern stopped Marco’s attack and learned that Marco had returned four months earlier.
• Marco told Gern that the Whitebeard Pirates had lost to Blackbeard, many had died, and the crew had fallen apart.
• Marco explained that Buckin had brought Weevil, who claimed to be Whitebeard’s son and sought Murakumogiri after defeating sixteen former Whitebeard captains.
• Gern asked Marco to take him to the graves of Ace, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion on Sphinx Island.
• Marco led Gern to the graves and stayed back as Gern approached them alone.
• Gern sat beside the three graves, apologized for being away, and struggled with grief over his fallen friends.

Gern visited Candy Island, where he reflected on Totto Land’s bargain of lifespan for protection and comfort. After Perospero recognized him and questioned why he had come alone, Gern said he wanted to see Big Mom, leaving Perospero stunned.

• Gern sat in a Candy Island dessert shop and observed the residents’ seemingly happy lives under Totto Land’s system.
• Gern considered how residents traded portions of their lifespan for safety, food, housing, and pleasure.
• Perospero recognized Gern and explained that Totto Land’s close population controls made outsiders easy to spot.
• Perospero cautiously asked why Gern, a powerful Marine commander, had come to Candy Island alone.
• Gern told Perospero he had come to see Big Mom, shocking him.

Gern Reginald Sigma confronted Charlotte Perospero on Candy Island, stopping his attack with a blade at his neck. Perospero asked whether Gern had come to declare war on Totto Land, and Gern denied it while calling himself the Navy’s most peace-loving man.

• Charlotte Perospero tried to trap Gern with his Lick-Lick Fruit power, but Gern drew Eight Desolations and held its blade to Perospero’s neck.
• Perospero realized Gern had spared him deliberately and tried to calm him with flattery.
• Gern warned Perospero not to say he had defeated Whitebeard, explaining that Edward Newgate had died after exhausting his strength.
• Perospero asked whether Gern had come on behalf of the Navy to declare war on Totto Land and Big Mom.
• Gern denied coming to start a war and claimed he was the gentlest, most peace-loving man in the Navy.

Perospero recalled how Gern’s subordinates Enel and Bartholomew Kuma had brutally beaten the Big Mom Pirates’ Sweet Commanders, then forced himself to endure Gern’s teasing while asking why he had come to Totto Land. He knelt to demand a straight answer, but Gern mistook the desperate move for a clever dodge, leaving Perospero exhausted and still without an answer.

• Perospero remembered Enel and Bartholomew Kuma defeating the Big Mom Pirates’ Sweet Commanders and Gern threatening Big Mom to keep the fight secret.
• Perospero sarcastically thanked Gern for the Navy’s past “care” of Totto Land while Gern pretended he had forgotten the incident.
• Perospero checked that the street was deserted, then knelt before Gern and begged him to state his purpose plainly.
• Gern praised Perospero for supposedly using his sudden kneeling to evade the blade at his throat, leaving Perospero speechless and exhausted.

Gern revealed that Big Mom had invited him to the tea party and announced that Perospero would be his first-visit gift. After Perospero attacked, Gern defeated him with a single Air Quake and stood over him, intent on taking him to Big Mom.

• Gern showed Perospero his tea-party invitation, confirming that Big Mom had invited him to Candy Island.
• Gern said he would bring a prudent first-visit gift and chose Perospero, calling him candy.
• Perospero used his Lick-Lick Fruit to make a bow and fired a Haki-coated Candy Arrow Rain at Gern.
• Gern shattered Perospero's arrows and candy shields with Air Quake, then sent Perospero flying and left him badly injured.
• Gern walked toward Perospero and said he would be the first-visit gift whether he liked it or not.

Gern confronted Perospero on Candy Island, uncovered his concern about Blackbeard’s plans with Big Mom, and learned that Perospero feared Blackbeard would eventually devour the Big Mom Pirates. Gern knocked Perospero unconscious and headed toward Whole Cake Chateau to question Charlotte Linlin himself.

• Perospero praised Gern’s power and revealed that Blackbeard had met with Big Mom after recovering from his injuries.
• Gern deduced that Perospero had kept the encounter secret and had raised Blackbeard to draw Gern into the matter.
• Perospero admitted he had met Blackbeard and feared that Big Mom’s cooperation with him would bring disaster to the Big Mom Pirates.
• Perospero said he did not know the details of the agreement between Big Mom and Blackbeard.
• Gern knocked Perospero unconscious, dragged him along, and set off toward Whole Cake Chateau to question Big Mom.

Gern entered Whole Cake Island’s harbor carrying the defeated Perospero and overwhelmed the Charlotte brothers with his Conqueror’s Haki. At the tea party, Big Mom sensed the hostile Haki and turned her attention toward the harbor, asking who had arrived.

• Gern approached Whole Cake Island’s harbor, dragging the unconscious Perospero past the fallen guards.
• Nousterdi and Basscardi tried to stop Gern, but his Conqueror’s Haki forced them to their knees and knocked them unconscious.
• Big Mom sensed unfamiliar, hostile Haki from the harbor during her tea party and rose to ask who it belonged to.

Gern Reginald Sigma invaded Big Mom’s tea party and revealed his overwhelming power by destroying Cracker’s Biscuit Soldiers and breaking his armor. He confronted Big Mom while bringing the unconscious Perospero to her feet as a mocking gift.

• The intruder’s Conqueror’s Haki knocked out guards and weaker Charlotte Family members, and Cracker sent seven reinforced Biscuit Soldiers to meet him.
• Gern fired a particle beam that destroyed the Biscuit Soldiers and blasted through Cracker’s armor, forcing Cracker to reveal himself after escaping inside a biscuit double.
• Big Mom stepped in front of Cracker and identified the intruder as Marine Admiral “White Kirin” Gern Reginald Sigma, also known as “Heavenquake.”
• Gern entered the hall carrying the unconscious Perospero and greeted Big Mom by name.
• Gern threw Perospero at Big Mom’s feet and jokingly presented him as a “Candy Man” worth seven hundred million Beli.

Gern confronted Big Mom at her tea party and challenged her strongest battle form, eager to test his strength against a true monster. Big Mom’s overwhelming physical power sent him crashing through the castle, but Gern emerged ready to continue fighting.

• Gern provoked Big Mom by presenting her eldest son as a gift and withstood her Conqueror’s Haki with his own.
• Big Mom transformed Napoleon, Zeus, and Prometheus into her three-in-one Maser Saber battle form and attacked Gern.
• Gern met Big Mom’s sword with his Haki- and vibration-coated fist, stopping its blade from advancing.
• Big Mom unleashed her raw strength, broke through Gern’s defense, and hurled him through several castle walls.
• Gern brushed off the rubble, explained that he had sought Big Mom as a worthy opponent, and declared the warm-up over.

Gern fought Big Mom in Totto Land, using Tremor Flash and his other powers against her tightly coordinated Homies and formidable defenses. After he asked what Blackbeard had approached her to cooperate on, Big Mom realized his attack was really about the “hyena” lurking in the shadows.

• Big Mom countered Gern's Tremor Flash twice with help from Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon, whose shared vision let her detect him.
• Gern identified the Homies' shared senses as the reason Big Mom could react to his near-untraceable movements.
• Gern attacked with Air Quake and clashed with Prometheus's flames, then turned the attack back on Big Mom with Heavenquake: Tremor Reversal.
• Big Mom withstood Gern's combined tremor-and-flame blast without injury and recalled Prometheus.
• Gern asked what Blackbeard had approached Big Mom to cooperate on, and she connected his raid on the tea party to the “hyena” lurking in the shadows.

Gern learned that Big Mom despised Blackbeard and had rejected his attempt to trade an unspecified Devil Fruit for a rubbing of her Road Poneglyph. Big Mom then offered to exchange rubbings with Gern, who already had Zou’s Road Poneglyph, and the chapter left everyone waiting for his answer.

• Big Mom called Blackbeard a treacherous “Hyena” and condemned his betrayal of Whitebeard and his underhanded rise to power.
• Gern realized Blackbeard’s supposed partnership with Big Mom was an attempt to obtain her Road Poneglyph rubbing.
• Big Mom said she had refused Blackbeard’s offer of a possibly nonexistent, unspecified Devil Fruit in exchange for the key to Laugh Tale.
• Big Mom reminded Gern that he had access to Zou’s Road Poneglyph through his ties to the Mink Tribe.
• Big Mom proposed that she and Gern exchange Road Poneglyph rubbings, while the Charlotte Family and others watched for Gern’s response.

Katakuri arrived after Gern defeated Perospero and demanded to know who had done it. Gern’s killing intent triggered Katakuri’s future sight, showing him his own death, and Katakuri realized Gern could have killed him instantly.

• Katakuri emerged before the Charlotte Family and asked who had defeated Perospero.
• Cracker withheld Gern’s identity while Big Mom welcomed Katakuri and warned Gern that her officers could surround him.
• Gern recognized Katakuri and challenged him to use his future sight to look at him.
• Gern unleashed killing intent that showed Katakuri visions of Gern decapitating him.
• Katakuri leaped back, took up Mogura, and told himself that Gern could have killed him at that distance.

Gern rejected Big Mom’s proposed deal and demanded a Road Poneglyph rubbing as a return gift, declaring that he was the king of the era. His overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki knocked out the Charlotte children, leaving Big Mom to face his ultimatum.

• Katakuri ordered his siblings to leave and warned Cracker that Gern considered him as weak as the wedding priest.
• Gern said he was interested in Big Mom’s deal but demanded a Road Poneglyph rubbing instead, citing the seven-hundred-million-Beli candy gift he had brought.
• Big Mom erupted in anger and challenged Gern’s right to speak to her that way.
• Gern dismissed Big Mom as an old hag clinging to past glory and proclaimed that the era belonged to him.
• Gern unleashed his full Conqueror’s Haki, forcing Katakuri to one knee and knocking out Cracker and the other Charlotte children.

Gern's declaration of kingship and Conqueror's Haki briefly shook Big Mom's resolve, but Katakuri roused her and fled with the unconscious siblings. Big Mom attacked Gern, who countered with a combination of sword strikes and internal vibrations that sent her crashing to the ground.

• Gern's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki made Big Mom stagger and confront memories of her old ambition to become a king.
• Katakuri gathered his unconscious siblings with his mochi arms, roused Big Mom, and retreated with the family.
• Big Mom recovered her resolve and attacked Gern with Ikoku Sovereignty and Emperor's Sword: Cracker Blade.
• Gern blocked Big Mom's attacks with Eight Desolations and launched the blade into her abdomen, where her muscles and Haki stopped it.
• Gern planted Micro-Vibration Cores throughout Big Mom with a barrage of punches, then activated them with Black Quake: Dragon-Binding Lock, making her convulse and crash to the ground.

Gern fought Big Mom at Whole Cake Island, shattering her strongest attacks and ultimately striking her down with Heavenquake: Sky Rend. Big Mom fell toward the shattered earth as the sky split open above them.

• Big Mom broke free of the rubble and unleashed Ikoku Sovereignty at Gern.
• Gern shattered the attack with a punch, then struck Big Mom with Heavenquake: Hegemon's Fall.
• Big Mom and her Homies countered with a combined fire-and-thunder attack, but Gern and Big Mom vanished in the resulting blast.
• Gern overtook the battered Big Mom in the air as she fired her ultimate Maser Cannon attack.
• Gern's Heavenquake: Sky Rend shattered the Maser Cannon, pierced Big Mom's defenses, and split the sky before she fell toward the earth.

After defeating Big Mom, Gern prepared to approach her, but Katakuri stopped him and offered a rubbing of Totto Land’s Road Poneglyph in exchange for mercy. Gern accepted the implied bargain and waited, while Katakuri realized the battle had devastated Whole Cake Island and feared Blackbeard’s growing power would further destabilize the seas.

• Gern confirmed that Big Mom was alive but unconscious, then sheathed Eight Desolations after their clash.
• Katakuri confronted Gern and offered him a rubbing of Totto Land’s Road Poneglyph, pleading for him to spare Big Mom and her family.
• Gern let his killing intent fade and waited for the promised rubbing, impressed by Katakuri’s resolve to protect his family.
• Katakuri saw that Whole Cake Chateau lay in ruins and Whole Cake Island remained unstable from Gern’s tremors.
• Katakuri worried that Blackbeard could master the Dark-Dark and Tremor-Tremor Fruits and become a weaker version of Gern.

After Gern’s assault on Totto Land and the Rocky Port Incident reshaped the balance of power, Gern and Kizaru discussed the Navy’s latest developments at G-10 Base. Their attention turned to the worldwide military draft as a potential threat to their positions.

• Gern’s attack left Big Mom gravely injured and Whole Cake Chateau and Whole Cake Island devastated, marking a major Navy strike against the New World Emperors.
• Blackbeard defeated Ochoku at Hachinosu and took over his territory, becoming a new Emperor, while Trafalgar Law earned a Shichibukai position and Koby was promoted to colonel and hailed as a hero after the Rocky Port Incident.
• After Kuzan resigned, the World Government launched a worldwide military draft.
• At G-10 Base, Kizaru teased Gern about his clash with Big Mom and asked about Koby joining SWORD.
• Gern and Kizaru became concerned that the worldwide military draft could threaten their jobs.

Gern explained to Kizaru why he had to accept the World Military Draft: the Marines were short on manpower after the Paramount War and needed the recruits. He also described how taking command had left him carrying the strategic risks Sengoku no longer had to bear.

• Kizaru questioned whether the World Military Draft was simply taking talent from the armies and royal guards of World Government Member States.
• Gern explained that the Marines had lost more than half their forces in the Paramount War and still faced shortages across several defense zones.
• Gern admitted he could not refuse the draft's recruits because they would help replenish the Marines' rank-and-file troops.
• Kizaru teased Gern about his workload and described Sengoku enjoying a relaxed routine in the Fleet Admiral's Office.
• Gern told Kizaru that Sengoku handled routine paperwork while Gern bore the major decisions, strategic risks, and responsibility for the Marines' future.
• Kizaru stopped teasing Gern and remarked that power was strange.