East Blue, Loguetown.
This port, hailed as the “Town of Beginnings and Endings,” was currently surrounded by countless Marine warships.
Dark cannons were aimed at the sea, and the decks were filled with fully armed Marines, the air thick with suffocating oppression.
Garp, who had arrived first, stood at the very front of the pier, arms crossed, silently gazing at the distant horizon.
Behind him, Kong, Sengoku, and Zephyr, who had arrived later with their warships, stood side by side, equally silent.
The sea breeze, carrying a damp, salty tang, swept across the port, ruffling their cloaks, but it could not disperse the gloom that hung heavy in everyone's hearts.
No one spoke.
No one dared to speak.
The entire port seemed to have been muted, with only the sound of waves lapping against the shore, again and again, like some kind of countdown.
They had stood there for three days, waiting for just one thing to be confirmed!
“Tesoro…” Libo, standing in the back row, clutched the corner of her clothes, bit her lip, and finally couldn't help but whisper, “You tell me, Gern… he’ll be alright, right?”
Libo’s voice was very soft, yet it was like a pebble dropped into a dead silent lake, stirring invisible ripples.
Tesoro did not answer immediately.
His gaze swept over the figures standing like sculptures in front of him.
These powerhouses, standing at the pinnacle of the world, were now terrifyingly silent.
No one could approach that sea area now, so no one could know the outcome of all this.
They only knew that whether it was Gern or Roger…
Their ultimate destination would be Loguetown!!
So, facing Libo’s words, he couldn't answer, and thus took a deep breath, slowly exhaling: “Sorry, Libo, I don’t know.”
This was the most honest answer, and also the most cruel.
Libo’s eyes were slightly red, but she stubbornly raised her head, not letting the tears fall.
Just then, “They’re here!” a soldier in the lookout tower suddenly shouted.
Everyone’s heart tightened abruptly.
They saw a battered pirate ship slowly approaching from the misty horizon.
The ship was listing, its deck covered in charred scorch marks and cracks from sword slashes, and the wreckage of a broken mast hung over the side, swaying gently with the waves.
For a moment, everyone’s breathing stopped.
Because at the bow of the ship, Gern, holding the Black Blade Eight Desolations in his arms, was sitting quietly cross-legged with his head bowed.
At this time, most of the grayish-white bandages acting as the scabbard for Eight Desolations had already been shattered, revealing the dark blade beneath.
He wore no shirt, only a coat draped over him, which was soaked in blood, the dried blood coagulated into dark red scabs on the fabric.
At the port, Libo covered her mouth, her eyes red, her voice trembling, “Ger… Gern… he’s back.”
“Vice Admiral Gern…” Tesoro stared fixedly at the ship, his throat tight.
Garp’s fists cracked as he clenched them, then he slammed a fist into the ground, causing the entire pier to instantly crack and send debris flying.
Sengoku closed his eyes.
Zephyr, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief and slowly took off his sunglasses.
Only Kong’s lips moved, and he took a step forward, just about to question where Roger was.
Suddenly, the sea breeze carried the mist, and the latter half of the ship slowly passed through the hazy morning light.
Under the shadow of the sail, another figure gradually became clear.
It was none other than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!!!
At this moment, his hands were locked by Sea Stone handcuffs, and he leaned against the broken mast.
He was loosely draped in the coat of the pirate ship’s original Captain, and his chest was covered in unhealed wounds.
As if sensing everyone’s gaze, Roger slowly raised his head, his eyes piercing through the mist, and at the moment he met Garp’s stunned gaze,
There was no explanation, no farewell, not even a hint of regret.
“Heh… heh heh heh…” Roger’s lips spread wider and wider, finally erupting in an earth-shattering laugh: “Hahahahahahaha!!!”
This laughter seemed to possess some kind of magic, shattering the oppression that hung over the port and startling flocks of seagulls.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a golden halo over this scene.
Garp’s expression froze.
The two arch-rivals looked at each other across the distance, decades of pursuit, battles, and mutual respect transforming into a silent exchange at this moment.
Suddenly, Garp’s shoulders began to shake.
“Ha… hahahaha… hahahaha!” The Marine hero’s laughter went from low to frantic, finally turning into a heart-wrenching roar.
He laughed so hard he bent over, laughed so hard tears streamed down his face, “Roger!!! You damn bastard!!!”
The moment the words fell, the bells of Loguetown Square rang out leisurely.
The deep sound of the bells echoed between the sea and sky, and at the same time, the cries of seagulls pierced the air.
The cries of the seagulls echoed the bells, tracing a path of freedom in the morning sun of Loguetown.
As if bidding farewell to an era.
They all knew that from this moment on, the sea would usher in a brand new chapter.
And no one noticed that on the tallest lighthouse in the port, a bird-man wearing a top hat was holding a camera.
Morgans, the president of the World Economic News Agency, trembled as he personally pressed the shutter, forever capturing this scene.
In the photo, the laughing Roger and the frenzied Garp looked at each other across the distance, the broken pirate ship and the standing Marines forming a wonderful contrast.
And Gern, sitting quietly at the bow, was like a witness… and also the terminator of this epochal handover.
This photo, along with the photo of Roger’s execution, was later collectively known as “The King’s Demise,” becoming a historic moment that changed the world’s landscape.
However, from an angle unseen by everyone, Gern’s lips curved slightly, revealing a fleeting smile, yet without any hint of happiness.
“It’s over.”
…
Actually, in the final strike of that three-day and three-night peak duel, the one who was defeated was him!
Facing Roger at full power, the true top powerhouse of this world, even with a terminal illness, Gern, despite his best efforts, still couldn't win!
But, just as it was said at the beginning,
Whether it was despicable or insidious…
His future needed this heavy stroke of ink!
So, at the moment the victor was about to be decided, Gern’s lips trembled slightly, speaking a word no one heard clearly.
And it was this sentence that caused Roger’s blade to suddenly freeze, and the Pirate King’s eyes flashed with an indescribable complexity, then… he smiled.
Like relief, and like anticipation.
Immediately after, Roger, in a situation Gern hadn't anticipated, voluntarily let go of his grip on his blade, allowing Ace to fall into the deep sea.
Allowing God's Fall to complete “The King’s Demise” at that moment!!
And turning that sea area into a forbidden zone.
The aftermath of their battle completely distorted the spatial laws there, turning the sea area within ten thousand meters into an “Earthquake Zone” that no one dared to approach.
The seawater no longer flowed, fragmented island remnants floated in mid-air, and even light produced strange refractions.
Later generations called this place the “God's Fall Ruins”—where the Pirate King’s weapon and his end were buried.
…
【Idle Fish’s message: This era belongs to Roger. Even though Idle Fish is Gern’s creator, I have to admit that without external aids like systems…
In this era, Roger is the true pinnacle. No one can fully defeat him in a one-on-one deathmatch!
Because he is Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King who conquered the sea!!!】