At the same time, on the other side—on the deck of the reconnaissance ship—
Gern Reginald Sigmar's fingers unconsciously rubbed against the hilt of Black Blade: Eight Desolations, his gaze locked tightly onto the distant battlefield.
"Something's… wrong…" he murmured suddenly.
"Hm?"Borsalino leaned lazily against the mast. At some point, a Den Den Mushi recorder had appeared in his hand."What's wrong?"
Gern didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his head and looked up at the sky.
A flawless blue stretched endlessly above them—clear, pristine, not a cloud in sight.Only above the distant battlefield did the air twist and distort, warped by the violent collisions of Haki.
Then he lowered his gaze to the sea around them.
It was calm—so calm it looked like a mirror.Only the faintest ripples appeared now and then, stirred by the faraway shockwaves of battle.
"The weather…"Gern's brow furrowed deeper and deeper."It's too quiet."
"Quiet?"Borsalino followed his line of sight, then shrugged."Isn't that a good thing? At least we won't get soaked."
Gern's pupils shrank slightly.
Fragments of memories from his previous life—scenes he had once seen through manga panels and anime episodes—flashed through his mind.
Before the Battle of Edd War had ever truly begun, the sea had already been raging.Gale-force winds. Towering waves.And then—that supermassive tsunami that had altered the course of history itself.
"No… this is wrong…"His voice dropped lower and lower, almost a whisper to himself."According to 'history'… by now, it should already have—"
On the distant battlefield, Roger was forced back once again by Golden Lion.The deck of the Oro Jackson was littered with wounded.
Rayleigh's golden hair was matted to his face with blood.Cracks had appeared along Gaban's twin axes.Even Bullet was panting heavily, blood seeping steadily from his wounds.
"The Roger Pirates…"Gern's breathing quickened."They're really going to lose."
If that sudden storm and tsunami never arrived…then today, right here, the Roger Pirates would suffer catastrophic defeat—or perhaps even total annihilation.
And if that happened—
History would be completely rewritten.
There would be no Pirate King.No One Piece.No Great Age of Pirates.
"Hey, hey, Gern?"Borsalino finally noticed something was seriously off. His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses as the recorder snail silently clicked off."You've been acting strange for a while now. Don't tell me you're thinking about something dangerous again?"
Gern snapped his head around, complex emotions flickering in his eyes.
"Borsalino-senpai… if—I mean, if the Roger Pirates were wiped out here today, what do you think the world would become?"
Borsalino froze for a moment, then slowly adopted a contemplative expression.
"Hm… Whitebeard doesn't have grand ambitions. If the Roger Pirates fall…""Golden Lion would become unstoppable. The balance of the New World would collapse completely."
He paused.
"And there's an even worse possibility…""Like what you said back in the conference room. Roger might surrender—or be killed—to save his crew, and everything the Roger Pirates had would be absorbed by Golden Lion."
"That would be… terrifying," Borsalino said quietly."Because the Marines would be forced to face an enemy stronger than anything we've ever known."
"Not just that," Gern said, his voice frighteningly low."Golden Lion would find the Ancient Weapons. His ambition would swell—he'd try to dominate the entire world…"
For the first time, Borsalino truly frowned.
"Ancient Weapons? What are you talking about?""Ever since earlier, you've been—"
"So…"Gern took a deep breath, his eyes returning to the battlefield."I've been wondering—where did the storm and tsunami that were supposed to change everything go?"
The moment the words left his mouth, an unnatural sensation surged through his body.
Gern abruptly looked down at his hands.
Wrapped in white cloth, Black Blade: Eight Desolations was trembling—ever so slightly.
The patterns along the blade seemed to come alive, pulsing with a faint, eerie glow.
"This is…"
A ridiculous thought suddenly crashed into his mind.
Could it be that the tsunami that altered history…had become something caused by me?
"No… that's impossible…"He shook his head instinctively—but his thoughts refused to stop spreading.
Because in this world line—in this version of the Battle of Edd War—
Wasn't the only person capable of triggering a large-scale tsunami…him?
"Hey, Gern!"Borsalino's voice suddenly turned sharp."What exactly are you thinking?"
Gern lifted his head. His eyes were now frighteningly clear.
A faint smile curved his lips."Senpai… don't you think we should do something?"
Borsalino's sunglasses slid down to the bridge of his nose, revealing wide, shocked eyes.
"W-wait—don't tell me you're planning to—"
"I'm just thinking…"Gern slowly stood up. The tremor of Eight Desolations grew more violent."If fate needs a push, why can't it be us?"
"And besides…""An unknown future—a future completely rewritten from the ground up—isn't something I want at all."
On the battlefield, Roger was driven back once more.The mast of the Oro Jackson snapped in half, and the ship began to list dangerously.
Rayleigh dropped to one knee, sword planted into the deck for support, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.Gaban, surrounded by three officers, was running out of stamina.Shanks and Buggy stood back-to-back at the rail, eyes filled with frustration and desperation.
The Roger Pirates' defeat was unmistakable.Their collapse was only a matter of time.
"Gern!"Borsalino grabbed his shoulder hard."Have you lost your mind?! That's two legendary pirate crews! Our orders were only to observe!"
"I know."Gern gently shook his hand free."But some things matter more than orders."
"Besides—"He raised Black Blade: Eight Desolations, its tip pointing toward the distant sea."I'm not attacking anyone."
"Borsalino-senpai… tell me—on this vast ocean, if a perfectly timed natural disaster suddenly appeared… could it change the tide of battle?"
Borsalino's pupils shrank violently.
"You're saying—?!"
"I just think…"Gern smiled faintly."This sea is far too quiet."
"How about a tsunami big enough to sweep everything away?""Who knows—maybe we'll both even get a 'capture' out of it."(—purely to deal with Borsalino, of course.)
Before the words fully landed, Gern leapt into the air, Eight Desolations raised high overhead.
The white cloth around the blade unraveled and shattered without any wind, as high-frequency vibration particles began converging wildly around it.
"Wait—Gern!!"Borsalino's shout was swallowed by the wind.
"Heavenquake—Wrath of the Sea God!!!"
The high-frequency vibration particles shot into the sky, disturbing atmospheric water molecules and forcibly manipulating atmospheric oscillations.
At an altitude of ten thousand meters, a colossal vortex formed.Lightning cascaded down in dense, violent arcs, blanketing the entire battlefield.
Then—
Eight Desolations came crashing down.
The instant the blade touched the sea—
BOOOOOOM!!!!
A horrifying shockwave with a diameter of over a kilometer erupted outward in a perfect ring.The calm ocean was smashed as if struck by an invisible divine hammer, collapsing inward instantly!
Next—
Towering walls of water surged outward from the epicenter, waves growing higher and higher—
Until a supermassive tsunami, thousands of meters tall, was born and came roaring toward the battlefield!
"…Insane…"Borsalino stood on the violently rocking reconnaissance ship, staring in utter disbelief."You really are arrogant beyond belief, kid…"
Wherever the tsunami passed, the sea was torn apart.The exposed seabed cracked like a spiderweb.
On the distant battlefield, both exhausted sides felt the abnormal tremor at the same time.
"What the hell?!"Golden Lion spun around, his pupils reflecting the sky-devouring wall of water.
Roger halted mid-attack, the Haki on Ace drawing inward slightly."This is…?"
"A tsunami! It's a tsunami!!"A Flying Pirates lookout screamed."All hands, brace yourselves!!"
It was already too late.
The wave crashed into the battlefield with annihilating force. Smaller ships were swallowed instantly. Even Golden Lion's flagship was thrown into violent turmoil.
"Damn it!!"Golden Lion roared, trying to lift the ship into the air—but the scale of the tsunami far exceeded his expectations.
"Shiki!"Roger seized the opening. The Haki on Ace erupted once more."Looks like even the heavens are on my side today!"
"BASTARD!!!"Golden Lion turned hastily to block—only to be sent flying by the blow, slamming heavily into the rail.
The tsunami completely shattered the Flying Pirates' formation.Their airtight encirclement was ripped open by force.
"Rayleigh! Gaban!"Roger roared."Prepare to break through!!"
Riding the tsunami's residual momentum, the Oro Jackson shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, tearing through the opening!
"No—stop them!!"Golden Lion struggled to rise, but another massive wave crashed down, drowning his command in thunderous waters—
—and at the same time, an enormous ship's rudder descended from the sky.
...
On the reconnaissance ship, Borsalino stared at the chaotic battlefield in the distance, then at the heavily breathing Gern beside him, his expression impossibly complex.
"You…"He opened his mouth—then closed it again, unable to find words.
Gern sheathed Black Blade: Eight Desolations, a faint smile lifting his lips.
"History has returned to the path it was meant to follow."
The tsunami slowly subsided.
At some point, dark clouds had gathered overhead.Heavy raindrops began to fall.
The storm—had finally arrived.
[Salted Fish's Note]History possesses its own internal inevitability.
Although Gern's appearance triggered countless butterfly effects, Roger—being a key driving force of the pirate world's timeline—compelled the world line to self-correct and recalibrate.
What is particularly intriguing is that Gern, originally an "external variable," has now been fully absorbed by the world line itself.
Thus, at this decisive historical turning point, he has transformed—from a butterfly that accidentally strayed into history—into the very driving force that unleashes the tidal wave of an era.
(Becoming, at this fork in history, the most crucial "tsunami" trigger.)
And with that, it also means that all future changes Gern brings forth will be accepted by the world line.
Become the era.Create the era.