World Economic News – Front Page
Headline: "Pirate King" Roger Captured! Marine 'Heavenquake' Gern Ends a Legend!Subheadline: Epic Battle in the South Blue, Shinning Death Ruins Revealed! The Navy Sounds the Dawn of a New Era!
The world's most notorious pirate crew—the Roger Pirates—and their captain, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, were officially brought to justice yesterday in Log Town of the East Blue, personally escorted by Navy Vice Admiral Gern Reginald Sigmar, "Heavenquake."
The news swept across the seas like a hurricane, shaking the world to its core. In countless hands, newspapers trembled, rustling loudly as readers struggled to comprehend what had happened.
"No… that's impossible! That's the Pirate King! The strongest 'King' since Rocks… the very top of the seas!"
"The Navy… actually did it? The Pirate King was captured?!"
"That 'Heavenquake'… who the hell is he?!"
Across streets and taverns, along docks and in hidden corners, civilians, pirates, and underground factions alike were all abuzz with disbelief, dissecting the explosive story.
Epic Battle! South Blue Shinning Death Ruins!
Exclusive reports from our paper, supported with photographic evidence, reveal that Vice Admiral Gern Reginald Sigmar and Roger clashed in the South Blue, in the waters near Biakusu, in a battle that lasted three days and three nights!
The consequences were catastrophic:
Three islands completely sunk.
The sea itself distorted, creating a 10,000-meter-wide "Seismic Zone."
Ocean currents stopped flowing entirely, irreparable to this day.
That battlefield is now known as the Shinning Death Ruins, a phenomenon even scientists cannot explain. Eyewitnesses claim that the final clash's light seemed to rip the sky itself, as though "a god had fallen."
Roger's Surrender—or Gern's Victory?
Though the Navy officially claims that Vice Admiral Gern "successfully captured" Roger, insider reports reveal an unsettling image: the Pirate King's hands were bound in Seastone cuffs, yet he remained calm, even laughing across the distance with Vice Admiral Garp.
"What… happened between them?""Why was Roger laughing?""Did the Navy… really defeat the Pirate King?"
The circumstances of this "capture" only deepen the mystery.
The Horn of a New Era!
With Roger now escorted to Marineford, the World Government has officially announced that in one month—January 1498—the Pirate King will face public execution in Log Town.
The Navy's prestige will reach its apex.
At the center of this storm, the name Gern Reginald Sigmar now echoes across the world.
Morgans, president of the World Economic News, personally annotated:
"This photograph—Roger laughing, Garp gone mad, Gern sitting calmly at the bow—will be forever remembered. The era of kings has ended, but the tides of the new era… will be wilder than anyone imagines."
Shabody Archipelago – Dusk, aboard the All Jackson
The fading light spilled over the empty deck. Empty bottles and crumpled newspapers lay scattered, their bold headlines screaming:
"The King Falls, a Legend is Reborn!"
Shanks gripped the edge of the paper until his knuckles whitened.
Buggy paced impatiently, muttering curses under his breath: "Damn the Navy… damn that despicable Gern…"
Jabba silently polished his axe, eyes colder than ice.
Rayleigh, the former "Dark King," sat alone at the stern, cup after cup of strong liquor disappearing down his throat.
"Rayleigh…" Shanks rasped, suddenly lifting his head, "are we really just going to… watch? Captain Roger…"
"Shut up." Rayleigh's voice was quiet but landed like a hammer, freezing the air.
Buggy opened his mouth, only to be stopped by Jabba's hand on his shoulder. The old sailor shook his head, eyes dark.
Rayleigh slowly set down his cup. The liquid rippled, reflecting the shadowed lines of his face.
"The Roger Pirates have disbanded," he said softly. "That was the captain's final order."
"But…" Shanks ground his teeth. "How could Gern possibly defeat Captain Roger? He—"
"Shanks." Rayleigh finally looked up. His eyes held the quiet storm of a suppressed hurricane."The path Roger chose… isn't ours to intervene in."
A stillness fell over them.
In the distance, a few bubbles rose from the waters around Shabody, carried by the sea breeze over the deck.
Buggy kicked over a barrel, shouting, "Then at least tell me! Why did Captain Roger lose?! That Gern… what the hell is he?! How could he possibly—"
"Because he is Heavenquake." Rayleigh's cold voice cut him off.
The three froze.
Rayleigh rose, walking to the ship's railing, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"You've underestimated this man," he said quietly. "Gern Reginald Sigmar… from the start, he came for the 'Era of Kings.'"
Shanks' eyes widened.
Jabba's axe bit into the deck with a sharp crack.
Rayleigh drained the last of his cup, swallowing hard, as if downing bitter reality itself.
"Even Roger… might not have expected this," he murmured. "So… don't let him down. The captain would never want us to witness his execution… not truly. And he said… he would never die."
The sea wind whined as the blood-red sunset sank.
"Going for the 'Era of Kings'…" Shanks murmured, clenching his fists, nails digging into his palms. "Then I will inherit Captain Roger's will… and become the next king of this new era!"
The straw hat Roger had given him weighed heavily on his head.
Nearby, Buggy's shoulders shook as he bowed his head. Jabba silently returned to the cabin, axe in hand.
Rayleigh poured himself another drink and raised his cup toward the distant horizon.
"To you, Roger. To this coming age that will turn the world upside down."
New World – Moby Dick
Newspapers rustled violently across the deck as Whitebeard's crew formed a circle, eyes locked on the blaring headline:
"The King Falls, a Legend is Reborn!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Diamond Joz snapped. "Roger… captured by the Navy? Impossible!"
"That 'Heavenquake' Gern…" Young Blackbeard's eyes were icy. "What underhanded method did he use? A Devil Fruit…?"
"Heh, isn't this good?" Satch grinned, spreading his hands. "Roger's gone. Now the strongest pirate crew at sea is… us, the Whitebeard Pirates…"
"Silence!"
A low voice, heavy as thunder, silenced the deck instantly. All heads turned to the bow.
Edward Newgate, the world's strongest man, Whitebeard himself, tilted back a barrel of liquor, swallowing it in one go. Dribbles ran down his chest. His gaze pierced beyond the newspaper, into the distance.
"Old man…" Marco hesitated beside him.
Whitebeard remained silent for a long moment, then suddenly laughed, a roar that stirred waves into towering swells.
"Gulalala! Roger… you bastard… in the end, you couldn't even exit on your own terms!"
Once more, he lifted the barrel high, pouring amber liquid over his chest. Eyes closed, throat working with each swallow, as if he were drinking in the weight of a complex emotion.
When the barrel emptied, he opened his eyes, staring through sky, time, and sea. He saw Roger laughing under the sunset at Laugh Tale, raising a cup in the last feast, proclaiming, "The new era is yours to shape."
And he saw, decades ago in the West Blue, a young boy with a black blade descending from the sky, cleaving the heavens, delivering a world-shaking strike at his younger self.
"Capturing the Pirate King…" Whitebeard's knuckles cracked against the barrel.
"Gern… that kid…"
The wooden barrel shattered beneath his grip.
Marco watched his father's lips tremble—not in anger, but in awe.
The West Blue boy they once looked up to had… truly done it.
"Done something everyone will know about!"
Marco whispered, "Old man… do you think Gern's next target… will be—"
Whitebeard's laughter cut him off abruptly.
He rose, boots striking the deck with weight, Conqueror's Haki radiating like a tidal wave over the seas.
"Then let him come!" Whitebeard's gaze pierced the horizon, filled with indomitable spirit. "I am Whitebeard! No one decides my end on this ocean!"
The waves bowed at his feet; clouds tore themselves apart above him.
Marco stared, realization dawning. This wasn't provocation—it was acknowledgment.
Acknowledgment for the man who dared to end the Pirate King's era… the highest form of respect.
The sea wind stilled.
All crew held their breath, exchanging glances.
Never had they seen Whitebeard react like this—neither anger nor joy, but the weight of destiny itself.
And never had they heard him speak of a Marine this way—like Roger, like Rocks, like those who truly reshaped the seas.