Chapter Summaries

Gern’s warship came under fire from Death Knell Davy of the Flying Pirates, and Gern fought him off with a powerful Spiral Pale Ray. Davy withdrew when ordered to return to face the Whitebeard Pirates, while Gern continued toward Marineford and reflected on the Golden Lion’s formidable strength.

• Davy fired Armament Haki-coated bullets at Gern from the island, but Gern evaded them and identified the Flying Pirates commander.
• Gern struck back with a Spiral Pale Ray, destroying Davy’s treetop and injuring him with its vibrations.
• Davy prepared to attack again, but a Den Den Mushi relayed orders to return because the Flying Pirates had encountered the Whitebeard Pirates.
• Davy withdrew after warning Gern that they would meet again, and Gern ordered the warship to report the encounter to Marine Headquarters.
• As the warship headed for Marineford, Gern considered the Golden Lion’s power and the coming confrontation with the Roger Pirates.

Gern was redirected to G-3 Base, where Sakazuki welcomed him and praised his aggressive approach to fighting pirates. Sakazuki tried to recruit Gern to the base, but Gern left the offer unanswered.

• Marine Headquarters ordered Gern to take Doger to G-3 Base, where Sakazuki was stationed.
• Gern arrived at G-3 Base, and Sakazuki personally received him and approved of his methods against pirates.
• Sakazuki had Doger taken away for interrogation about the Golden Lion and asked Gern about his fight with him.
• Sakazuki criticized Zephyr's no-killing principle and praised Gern's direct approach to dealing with pirates.
• Sakazuki offered Gern a place at G-3 Base, but Gern neither accepted nor refused.

Sakazuki tried to recruit Gern to G-3 Base by praising its strict training and efficiency, but Gern remained wary. Meanwhile, Golden Lion Shiki learned that Gern had captured Doger and possessed power resembling Whitebeard’s, and he reacted with murderous interest after hearing Gern had fought Whitebeard three years earlier.

• Sakazuki described G-3 Base’s high mission success rate, rigorous training, and freedom to kill pirates, while Gern insisted he had only come to deliver a prisoner.
• Sakazuki gave Gern a booklet of his combat reports and efficiency analyses, and Gern privately wished Sakazuki would stop trying to win him over.
• Golden Lion Shiki brooded over his recent defeat by Whitebeard while his crew stayed silent around him.
• Davy returned and reported that the Marines had captured Island-Splitter Doger, prompting Shiki to berate him.
• Davy told Shiki that the Marine who captured Doger could create tremors and shatter space like Whitebeard, then identified him as Gern Reginald Sigma, Zephyr’s student.
• Davy revealed that Gern had fought Whitebeard in the West Blue three years earlier, and Shiki became eager to know more about him.

Golden Lion learned that Gern had clashed with Whitebeard and ordered an attack on G-3 Base. When Gern sensed a threat overhead, he rushed into the sky and found Golden Lion’s fleet dropping ships and debris toward the base.

• Davy told Golden Lion that Gern had blocked one of Whitebeard’s attacks and earned the name “Air Quake.”
• Golden Lion ordered his forces to attack G-3 Base, where Sakazuki was stationed.
• Three days later, Gern sensed a huge disturbance above G-3 Base while Sakazuki discussed the base’s plans with him.
• Gern rushed to the watchtower, released Black Blade: Eight Desolations, and shot through the clouds.
• Gern spotted Golden Lion’s three warships and the rocks and debris falling toward G-3 Base.

Gern destroyed the falling wreckage from the three ships, then sensed Golden Lion Shiki approaching G-3 Base. Shiki demanded Doger’s release and an apology, but Gern and Sakazuki stood their ground as Shiki prepared to attack.

• Gern used Heavenquake: Cross Slash and Heavenquake: Starfall to destroy the three ships and pulverize their falling wreckage.
• Gern sensed Golden Lion Shiki above the clouds, and Shiki’s Conqueror’s Haki knocked out every Marine at G-3 Base except Gern and Sakazuki.
• Shiki said Gern had the same ability as someone he knew and demanded that he release Doger, kneel, and apologize.
• Shiki tore a watchtower from the ground and crushed it into scrap to threaten the base.
• Gern refused Shiki’s demand, and Sakazuki joined him in defiance as Shiki aimed Oto and Kogarashi at them.

Gern and Sakazuki fought the Golden Lion at G-3 Base, combining their abilities against his overwhelming swordsmanship and Devil Fruit power. After Gern wounded him, the Golden Lion escalated the battle and launched a stone-lion attack at them.

• Sakazuki and Gern attacked the Golden Lion together, but he redirected their strikes and knocked Gern through several walls.
• Gern recovered and clashed with the Golden Lion while Sakazuki pressed him with magma attacks.
• Gern struck the Golden Lion with Black Quake: God-Slaying Nail, drawing blood and forcing him to take the fight seriously.
• The Golden Lion unleashed Lion: Thousand-Cut Valley, while Sakazuki and Gern countered and continued their coordinated assault.
• The Golden Lion warped the ground and summoned dozens of roaring stone lions to attack Gern and Sakazuki.

Gern and Sakazuki were on the verge of defeat against the Golden Lion when Zephyr arrived and took over the fight. Zephyr struck Shiki hard enough to injure him, leaving the battle unresolved.

• The Golden Lion prepared to kill Gern and Sakazuki after they had exhausted themselves fighting him.
• Zephyr intercepted the Golden Lion’s slash and ordered Gern and Sakazuki to fall back.
• Zephyr fought Shiki, forcing him back with powerful punches before enduring Shiki’s Conqueror’s Haki-infused barrage.
• The Golden Lion noticed Gern and Sakazuki recovering and weighed retreating before Zephyr caught him distracted.
• Zephyr landed a heavy punch on Shiki, sending him through ruined buildings into a mountainside and injuring his chest.

Golden Lion humiliated Gern and prepared to leave, but the insult drove Gern to awaken Conqueror’s Haki and challenge him. The chapter ended with Gern’s Black Blade, Eight Desolations, resonating with his awakened power.

• Golden Lion ended his fight with Zephyr and mocked Gern, calling him weak and telling him to crawl away like a dog.
• Zephyr stopped Sakazuki from intervening as Gern struggled with the humiliation and remembered his difficult life before joining the Marines.
• Gern defied Golden Lion and unleashed a torrent of Conqueror’s Haki, cracking the earth and tearing through the clouds.
• Gern challenged Golden Lion to see which of them would kneel and combined his Haki with vibration particles.
• Eight Desolations awakened in response to Gern’s power, marking the emergence of the monster Rocks had spoken of.

Gern awakened Conqueror’s Haki during his battle with Golden Lion, and Black Blade: Eight Desolations guided him to wield Rocks D. Zebek’s power. After Zephyr and Sakazuki helped pressure Golden Lion, Gern struck him with God-fall and left him gravely wounded; Golden Lion fled, promising to return for the sword.

• Gern’s newly awakened Conqueror’s Haki clashed with Golden Lion’s, and Golden Lion attacked him with Lion: Thousand-Cut Valley before striking from behind.
• Zephyr stopped Golden Lion’s attack on Gern and fought beside his student, but Golden Lion’s pressure grew until Sakazuki joined them with Hell Hound and Great Eruption.
• As the three Marines attacked together, Eight Desolations stirred with Rocks D. Zebek’s lingering Haki, restrained Golden Lion, and guided Gern to master Conqueror’s Coating.
• Gern used Flash Step to reach Golden Lion and unleashed God-fall, cutting a deep wound across his chest and nearly defeating him.
• Golden Lion recovered his Float-Float Fruit ability, retreated from Gern, and vowed to take Eight Desolations from his corpse.

After Gern drove off the Golden Lion with Godfall, he collapsed from his injuries, and Zephyr carried him to safety while rebuking Sakazuki for neglecting his Haki. A World Economy News Paper reporter photographed Gern’s strike and told Big News Morgans that Marines would soon become the stars of the news.

• Gern remained standing after unleashing Godfall, but Zephyr discovered he had passed out and was badly injured.
• Zephyr carried Gern toward the base’s safe area and told Sakazuki that he had grown dependent on his Devil Fruit and neglected his Haki.
• Sakazuki recalled his earlier sword training and recognized that he had let his skills stagnate.
• A World Economy News Paper reporter reviewed his photographs of Gern driving off the Golden Lion and called Big News Morgans.
• The reporter told Big News Morgans that Marines, not pirates, would become the next stars and that the world was about to change.

Gern’s slash gravely wounded Golden Lion Shiki, and the news made “Heavenquake” famous across the world. Whitebeard and Roger recognized the threat and significance of Gern’s blade, Shiki swore revenge, and Gern awoke aboard a warship as Zephyr told him his new title had shaken the age.

• The World Economy News spread the story of Gern nearly killing Shiki with a single slash, making “Heavenquake” famous across the Grand Line.
• Whitebeard praised Gern’s strength to Marco and the other young pirates, then warned that Gern could become their most troublesome enemy.
• Buggy and Shanks showed the report to Roger’s crew, and Roger recognized Gern’s blade as Rocks’s proudest creation and wanted to fight its new wielder.
• Shiki erupted in fury aboard the Flying Lion and ordered the Flying Pirates to hunt Gern down and kill him.
• Gern woke in a warship’s infirmary, where Zephyr told him that his slash had shaken the age and earned him the name “Heavenquake.”

Gern learned that Eight Desolations was Rocks's black blade, forged with Conqueror's Haki, and that it had chosen him. Zephyr warned Gern that his powerful slash against Golden Lion depended on several unusual factors, then planned to keep him at Marine headquarters to train his newly awakened Haki.

• Zephyr recognized Eight Desolations as Rocks's blade and explained that Rocks had been left behind at God Valley after Roger and Garp wounded him.
• Zephyr's Armament Haki was repelled when he tried to coat the blade, and he explained that it was a black blade forged with Rocks's Conqueror's Haki.
• Gern could not reproduce his Conqueror's Coating or Godfall, and Zephyr concluded that Gern was still a rookie at using Conqueror's Haki.
• Zephyr explained that the blade's remnants of Rocks's Haki, Golden Lion's fear, and Gern's awakened max-level state had enabled the slash that wounded Golden Lion.
• Zephyr warned Gern that Golden Lion would seek revenge and said he would request leave so Gern could train at Marine headquarters and grow accustomed to his Haki.

Gern returned to Marineford after wounding Golden Lion, where young Marines questioned him about the feat. At headquarters, Marine leaders discussed Shiki’s likely retaliation and the World Government’s interest in Gern, then assigned defenses and patrols.

• Gern arrived at Marineford and told Gion and the other young Marines that the newspaper’s report about his slash was accurate.
• Gern sent the officers to ask Sakazuki for confirmation and continued on to Marine Headquarters.
• Zephyr joined Kong, Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, and other senior officers to discuss the G-3 Base incident and the threat of the Flying Pirates’ retaliation.
• Zephyr said Gern was severely exhausted but recovering, and swore that Gern’s slash had gravely wounded Golden Lion and changed the battle.
• Sengoku warned that the World Government might scrutinize or conscript Gern, while Zephyr insisted that Gern’s future belonged to the Marines.
• Kong ordered Sengoku to coordinate base defenses, Tsuru to handle intelligence, and Garp to patrol the New World.

Zephyr and Sengoku discussed Gern’s newly awakened Conqueror’s Haki and Zephyr’s plan to step down as an admiral to train young Marines. Kong approved Zephyr’s Elite Training Camp proposal, opening a new promotion path for talented branch Marines and launching a major reform at Marine Headquarters.

• Zephyr asked Garp and Sengoku whether Conqueror’s Haki could lock onto and suppress an enemy at a distance, and they explained that it varied from person to person.
• Garp joked about Sengoku becoming Fleet Admiral, while Sengoku said he wanted the position to put his justice into practice.
• Zephyr told Sengoku that his strength was declining and that he planned to become Marine Chief Instructor after Lina gave birth, so he could train the next generation.
• Sengoku supported Zephyr’s plan and urged him to pass his compassion and refusal to kill on to young Marines.
• Kong reviewed Zephyr’s Elite Training Camp proposal and approved it, citing Gern’s rise from the branches as proof that the Marines needed a broader path for finding talent.
• Kong signed the proposal, officially launching a training camp that let outstanding branch Marines compete for advancement alongside Headquarters’ elite.

Gern received orders to stage an exhibition match against Borsalino at the Elite Training Camp, but Garp interrupted his training and invited him to the East Blue. Gern agreed to travel with him and planned to stop in the South Blue, while Garp proposed introducing him to Dadan.

• Kuzan, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Gern received orders to take part in exhibition matches for the Elite Training Camp.
• Gern realized the matches were intended to pave the way for all four men to become Admirals and saw that he had been paired against Borsalino.
• Garp surprised Gern with a punch, praised his Observation Haki, and offered to teach him Haki tricks on a trip to the East Blue.
• Gern accepted Garp's invitation and planned to visit the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue along the way.
• Garp complained that Dragon had transferred to an East Blue branch and offered to introduce Gern to Dadan in Foosha Village.

Gern sailed to the East Blue with Garp, who warned him about the Roger Pirates, and then met Dragon at the 33rd Marine Branch. Dragon questioned whether Marine justice could change the world, but Gern mistook his concern for an excuse to skip work.

• Garp told Gern that the Roger Pirates, especially Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban, were dangerous, and advised him to call for backup if they met.
• Garp and Gern arrived at the East Blue's 33rd Marine Branch, where Dragon was waiting in his office.
• Dragon praised Gern for driving back the Golden Lion, while Garp claimed he was taking Gern to train with Dadan.
• Dragon offered to speak with Gern alone and asked whether Marine justice could change the world.
• Gern challenged Dragon about the civilians oppressed by the Celestial Dragons, then asked if Dragon was skipping work to travel and slack off.

Garp brought Gern to Foosha Village and proudly showed him off to the locals before revealing his concern about Dragon. That night, Gern reflected on how Garp’s loyalty to Marine duty conflicted with his protection of loved ones who challenged the system.

• Garp dragged Gern around Foosha Village, introducing him as the Marine star who had wounded Golden Lion.
• Garp exaggerated Gern’s battle at G-3 Base for the villagers, embarrassing Gern with a dramatic account.
• On the walk to Garp’s hillside home, Garp asked what Dragon had said to Gern, and Gern replied that they had only caught up.
• Gern refused Garp’s invitation to meet Dadan, saying he needed to travel to the South Blue.
• That night, Gern considered how Garp had tolerated Dragon’s revolutionary activities and struggled to act against Ace and Luffy while serving as a Marine.

Gern found Kuma caring for the poor and injured in an abandoned church in Sorbet Kingdom and questioned his choice to keep bearing their suffering. The chapter ended with Gern asking where Kuma would want to travel if he went on a trip.

• Gern arrived in Sorbet Kingdom and learned from an elderly fruit seller where Kuma and Ginny were caring for people.
• Gern found Kuma gently treating an old woman's wound outside the abandoned church.
• Kuma brought Gern inside and explained that he used his power to ease the suffering of people who needed help.
• Gern challenged Kuma about staying in a place where hunger, sickness, and oppression continued, but Kuma said he would keep helping as long as he could.
• As Kuma examined Gern, Gern asked him where he would want to go on a trip.

Gern visited Kuma and asked where he would like to travel, while considering recruiting him for his future Marine faction. Ginny recognized Gern as the Marine who had wounded the Golden Lion and feared he had come for them, but Gern stopped Kuma’s attack and challenged them to consider how they would face their real enemies.

• Gern asked Kuma where he would want to travel, and Kuma said he was content with his life.
• Ginny returned with bread, saw Gern, and warned Kuma that he was the Marine known as “Heavenquake.”
• Ginny stepped between Gern and Kuma, accusing Gern of hunting escaped slaves.
• Gern identified Kuma and Ginny by name and said he was on vacation.
• Kuma attacked Gern with his Paw-Paw Fruit power to protect Ginny, but Gern stopped his palm with a Haki-coated finger.
• Gern explained that Haki could counter Devil Fruits and asked how Kuma and Ginny would face their real enemies if Kuma could not get past one finger.

Gern tried to recruit Kuma to his side, but Kuma refused because he was happy living with Ginny in the Sorbet Kingdom. Gern left Kuma a Den Den Mushi in case he ever lost something precious, while Kuma hoped he would never need to use it.

• Ginny confronted Gern, and he revealed that he wanted Kuma to join his side rather than simply join the Marines.
• Kuma refused Gern's offer and used his Paw-Paw Fruit to absorb Gern's slight pain.
• Gern asked Kuma and Ginny where they would go if they were free to travel, and Kuma said he wanted to see the other side of the sea.
• Gern asked whether Kuma would sacrifice himself to spare Ginny from suffering, and Kuma said he would accept any fate for her.
• Gern gave Kuma a miniature Den Den Mushi and urged him not to let himself become shackled, then departed.
• Kuma put away the Den Den Mushi and hoped he would never need to contact Gern because he was truly happy with Ginny.