By the middle of Sea Circle Calendar Year 1519, the gears of fate—though momentarily slowed by certain unforeseen variables—still ground stubbornly forward along their predetermined track.
Not long after regaining his freedom, Fire Fist Ace, driven by the stubbornness etched deep into his bones and an unrelenting desire to uncover the truth of his origins, made a choice strikingly similar to that of the original timeline.
First, he stepped into the isolationist land of Wano, intending to challenge the Four Emperor entrenched there—Kaido of the Beasts.
Unfortunately, at that exact same time, Kaido had once again gone off to challenge Gern Reginald Sigmar. As a result of this cruel twist of fate, Ace did not directly encounter Kaido.
Instead, he met Tama and Yamato.
After a brief but meaningful period spent with Yamato, Ace departed Wano carrying unfulfilled goals and unresolved determination.
After that, true to his headstrong nature, he barged straight into the territory of another Emperor of the Sea—Whitebeard, the man hailed as the strongest man in the world—seeking to validate his own path by challenging overwhelming strength.
Having already suffered a brutal lesson at Gern's hands, Ace still stubbornly believed:
If I can't beat Gern, surely I can beat you guys, right?
Yet fate, ever indulgent and cruel in equal measure, once again intervened.
Ace did not encounter Whitebeard right away. Instead, he crossed paths with a Warlord of the Sea dispatched on assignment—
"Knight of the Sea" Jinbe.
The two clashed in a titanic battle that shook the seas for five straight days, ultimately ending in a draw.
And just as Ace finally reached his limit, the colossal silhouette of the Moby Dick cut through the waves and appeared before them.
Whitebeard himself emerged, and with an authority that brooked no resistance, forcibly brought this son of an old acquaintance—this hot-headed, thorny young man—aboard his ship.
Yet the true reason behind this intervention lay elsewhere.
Not long after leaving G-10, Akainu, through the Marine intelligence network, had learned of Ace's movements.
A "supernova" brimming with potential operating right under his nose was more than enough to trigger the nerves of his Absolute Justice.
Originally, Akainu had planned to arrest Ace himself.
But Whitebeard's timely appearance, in a sense, ended up protecting Ace ahead of schedule.
Thus, though the process was fraught with twists and detours, Portgas D. Ace ultimately boarded Whitebeard's ship all the same.
Blackbeard's betrayal followed soon after.
And everything returned, inexorably, to the tragic mainline of fate.
Time continued its relentless march.
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1520 arrived right on schedule.
The true dawn of the New Era began from this very moment.
That year—
The world's true protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, officially set sail from Foosha Village in the East Blue!
He defeated Buggy the Clown, foiled Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates' schemes, and at the floating restaurant Baratie, crossed paths with the wandering Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk in a fateful encounter.
Then, in Orange Town and Cocoyasi Village, right under the watchful eyes of former Marine Bell-mère, he "abducted" Nami—a girl who dreamed of drawing a map of the entire world.
In astonishingly short order, he gathered companions and formed the Straw Hat Pirates, unleashing a storm across the weakest sea—the East Blue—that belonged solely to that reckless straw-hatted boy.
Though Gern's existence and the cascading effects it caused subtly altered the structure of the seas and the finer details of certain events—robbing Luffy of some of his originally destined "trials"—
This rubber-bodied boy's adventure remained overwhelmingly forceful.
Swept up in the inevitable hurricane reserved for the chosen protagonist, he surged irresistibly into the Grand Line.
Within that same year, in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, he confronted and defeated one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—"Sir Crocodile" Crocodile—exposed his plot to overthrow the nation, and saved millions of lives.
He ascended to Skypiea, now without Enel's presence, unraveled a four-hundred-year-old historical mystery, and rang the Golden Bell high above the clouds—its chime proclaiming peace and fulfilled promises across heaven and earth.
He endured betrayal and salvation in Water Seven, and to rescue his crewmate Robin, declared war on the World Government itself at Enies Lobby.
There, he defeated CP9 in its entirety and, before the eyes of the whole world, burned the flag of the World Government.
In an instant—
The name Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat resounded across the entire sea.
...…
The New World.G-10 Base.Inside Gern's office.
The afternoon sun streamed through the wide glass windows, illuminating the front page of the newspaper spread across the desk.
Dominating the page was the blazing image of the World Government's flag burning at Enies Lobby—alongside dramatically updated bounty posters of the Straw Hat crew.
Gern propped his chin on one hand, while the fingers of the other idly tapped against Luffy's carefree, idiotically cheerful face on the paper.
A playful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Tsk tsk… way more impressive than his brother who only knows how to smash his head against Four Emperors," he muttered.
"Look at this spectacle—declaring war on Enies Lobby. That's not something a rookie who's been at sea for just one year should be able to pull off."
He tilted his head, half talking to himself, half addressing the other person in the room.
"Still… Alabasta makes me wonder if something was wrong with Crocodile.I've crossed paths with that guy before, you know.
Sure, I kicked him around every time, but his Warlord-level strength and that annoying fifty-fifty nature weren't fake.
So how did he turn into a paper tiger in front of this Straw Hat brat?
Tsk. Protagonist halo is nice, huh… I'm jealous~"
Toward the end, Gern deliberately dragged out the tone of his voice.
Then he shifted his gaze toward the man seated calmly on the sofa opposite him, quietly sipping red tea—
Dracule Mihawk.
Gern pointed at Zoro's newly issued bounty poster and flashed his trademark mischievous grin.
"Hey, Mihawk. You 'ran into' this green-haired swordsman back in the East Blue, didn't you?
So? Using a tiny knife to carve someone up—felt pretty… educational, huh?"
At Gern's words, Mihawk lifted those hawk-like yellow eyes and gave him a flat, unamused glance.
Already accustomed to this man's tone, he set his teacup down and replied calmly:
"A fine sapling.Unshakable conviction. The gaze of a beast that refuses to yield."
He paused briefly, as though recalling the encounter, his voice remaining even.
"Though the three-sword style—biting one blade in his mouth—is something I have never seen in my life."
As he looked at Zoro's bounty poster, it was as if he once again saw that green-haired swordsman—the man who, when facing the world's strongest black blade, refused to retreat,who chose to endure every wound head-on just to carve a scar pointing toward the summit.
"And," Mihawk added quietly,"he said something to me… almost identical to what you said after our battle back then."
His tone betrayed no emotion, yet the content made the grin on Gern's face fade slightly.
Gern's tapping fingers stopped.
His eyes shifted.
Mihawk did not repeat Zoro's exact words—but he didn't need to.
They were surely about dreams.About oaths.About never falling before surpassing one's chosen summit.
Gern let out a soft chuckle and leaned back in his chair, his gaze returning to Zoro's fierce, resolute bounty photo.
"Is that so…Looks like the tides of this era are getting more and more interesting."
He rose smoothly from his chair, casually straightening the slightly wrinkled Justice cloak draped over his shoulders.
Walking past Mihawk, he gave the world's greatest swordsman a light pat on the shoulder.
"Let's go."
There was a clear note of excitement in his voice—the anticipation of watching a good show.
"Kuzan already 'ran into' old man Garp's precious grandson at the gates of Enies Lobby and even threw in an Ice Age as a greeting.
If I, as an elder, don't show my face and make a gesture or two, wouldn't that be terribly impolite?"
"And if I'm not mistaken, they should be around…"
He paused, smacking his lips thoughtfully.
"Yeah—on Gecko Moria's Thriller Bark right about now."
As he spoke, Gern headed for the door, a hint of sympathy crossing his face.
"Tsk tsk tsk… poor Moria.Another Warlord's about to get wrecked.
Seems the title of 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' is basically just a newbie experience pack for the Straw Hat brat."
Watching Gern stroll off on his own, Mihawk let out a quiet sigh.
Slipping the black blade Yoru onto his back, he followed helplessly.
After all—
Even after all these years, the combined record of him and Bullet challenging Gern Reginald Sigmar was still…
Total defeat.
..…
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