The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Luffy's voice cracked from shouting, and he looked like a child in disbelief.

In his simple worldview, the images of the "strange uncle" who treated them to meat and the "arresting the Pirate King" were difficult to reconcile at first glance.

However, unlike Luffy's straightforward shock... Ace, standing beside him, was completely stunned.

Sabo's words were like a key, instantly unlocking the box in his heart that he had never dared to touch.

The occasional complex look in old man Garp's eyes, the vague rumors circulating among the villagers.

And the increasingly clear resemblance between myself and the portrait of that legendary man...

At this moment, I was completely connected by Sabo's words!

“My father… is Gol D. Roger…”

This identity, which he had always resisted, loathed, and even felt ashamed of, surfaced in his mind with unparalleled clarity at this moment.

The man who had just treated them to dinner, joked and played around with them, and was even called "not bad weird uncle" by Luffy...

Gern Reginald Sigmar.

He was the man who personally ended the life of the "Pirate King" who had given him life but also brought him endless curses, and sent him to the execution platform!

In an instant, a chilling coldness spread throughout Ace's body.

Then, what Guern had said in the bar exploded in his mind once again.

So strong...that he could beat me.

It might have sounded like a joke at the time, but at this moment, considering his status as a "Naval Admiral" and the "arrestor of Roger," it carries significant weight.

The meaning of that sentence has completely changed; it's so heavy it's suffocating.

He wasn't joking!

He is the biggest, most solid, and most insurmountable mountain on the road to the throne of "Pirate King"!

It is one of the ultimate barriers that all pirates aspiring to the top must face and even overcome!

Want to achieve your dream of becoming the Pirate King?

Want to prove your worth and transcend that man's shadow?

So, Gern... the man who personally ended the previous era, is one of the most powerful enemies that the three of them must overcome in the future!

Ace bit his lower lip so hard it almost drew blood.

"Sabo!!!" Ace suddenly looked up, almost shouting it out, his voice filled with complex emotions he couldn't suppress.

This roar startled both Sabo and Luffy.

“Ace…” Sabo looked at him with some concern.

“Tell me… about that man…” Ace slowly turned his head, staring intently at Sabo, and asked, word by word.

Just how strong is he?!

Faced with Ace's questioning, Sabo opened his mouth but couldn't answer.

All he knew was that Gern was a Marine Admiral, the legendary figure who captured the Pirate King.

But just how strong he was was beyond the comprehension of a young nobleman from the East Sea.

Just as Sabo was speechless, a helpless laugh came from beside the three brothers: "Heh, pirates, huh..."

Ultimately, it will only bring trouble and shame to the village.

Up Slabu, the village chief of Windmill Village, was wearing a fisherman's hat and carrying a watering can.

I don't know when they came out of the yard, but they were obviously attracted by the commotion earlier.

"Grandpa Village Chief!" Luffy called out immediately upon seeing a familiar face.

Village Chief Up affectionately patted Luffy's head, then turned his gaze to Ace, whose mood was clearly off, and smiled, "So it's noisy because that kid Gern is here!"

This feels exactly like when Garp first brought him to our village! It was a complete mess, haha.

"Grandpa Village Chief!" Luffy, as if grasping the key point, immediately asked, "Uncle Gern really came here before? Is he really Chicken Sauce's friend?!"

Upon hearing Luffy's naive question, Up Slub couldn't help but laugh heartily, his wrinkles smoothing out.

"Friends?" He shook his head, his tone tinged with a wistful reminiscence: "They're more than just friends, Luffy."

He looked at the three boys and dropped an even more astonishing piece of information: "That kid Gern, he's also considered a disciple of your grandfather Garp!"

Then, as if recalling an amusing scene, the old village chief gestured and said, "Back then, Garp took him around like he was some rare animal on display."

I took him around our windmill village countless times, telling everyone I met, "Look! This is my apprentice! Isn't he amazing! He killed the golden lion with a single stroke!"

That smug look on his face, tsk tsk... I can't forget it even if I wanted to!

"So, just how strong is he?!" Ace asked again, almost through gritted teeth.

Luffy and Sabo also held their breath, looking at the village chief with great curiosity.

Seeing the curious looks in the three boys' eyes, Up Slab smiled but didn't answer directly.

Instead, he turned and walked toward his own hut, gesturing for them to follow: "Come in with me, children."

The three brothers exchanged a glance and immediately followed him inside.

In this charming little house, Chief Up stopped in front of an old wooden desk, opened a drawer, and carefully searched through it.

A moment later, he took out an old newspaper that was slightly yellowed but well-preserved, and carefully spread it out on the table.

“Look,” the village chief said, his tone carrying a distant, reminiscent quality. “This is the first report of Gern’s first real fame when he was young.”

At the time, it shook the entire Grand Line! It was also the battle that made his name 'Tenku' resound throughout the seas!

At that time, the East China Sea might have been relatively calm, but in that sea teeming with powerful figures, his name was known to everyone!

Listening to the village chief's emotional introduction, the three brothers' hearts began to pound.

He couldn't wait to turn his gaze to the newspaper on the table that carried history.

The yellowed front page of the newspaper featured a striking, bold font that seemed to still bear the marks of the ink from years past.

[World Economic Herald - Front Page Headline]

A shocking strike! The Navy "shatters the sky"!!

"Heaven-Shock" Gern severely injures the Flying Pirates' captain, Pirate Admiral Shiki the Golden Lion! A new era has begun!

Subtitle: "The sky, which no one dared to approach, was shattered; the Sky Admiral's blood was spilled across the heavens!"

What caught their eye the most was the news photo that took up almost half the page!

In the picture, the young Gern (although his face is still a bit green, his sharp eyes and cold smile are no different from now) grips a black longsword tightly in both hands and swings it upwards with an indomitable spirit!

Wherever the blade pointed, the sky seemed to be truly torn apart, revealing countless spiderweb-like white cracks. Dark purple Conqueror's Haki lightning coiled around the blade like an angry dragon, exuding a destructive aura!

His opponent, the man known as "Golden Lion" Shiki, with his signature long golden hair like a lion's mane, was just about to be struck by the slash!

His eyes rolled back, his face filled with disbelief, horror, and pain, and a horrific wound on his chest gushed blood, as if he were about to be cleaved in two by the blade!

Below the photo, a bold caption struck the hearts of the three boys like a war drum.

"This strike will change the world!"

silence.

A deathly silence fell over the cabin.

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo all stared wide-eyed at the picture and report, their breaths seemingly stopped.

Slicing through the sky...

He severely damaged a legendary pirate who was on par with Roger and Whitebeard...

A single strike that changed the world...

The still images on the newspaper seemed to transform into a deafening roar, branding the unimaginable power of "Skyquake" Gern deep into their young souls.

Luffy's mouth dropped open, and after a long pause, he murmured, "Wow...so amazing..."

Sabo's forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

Ace clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling slightly with excitement and an indescribable thrill.

"I must defeat him."

At this moment, the image of the "strange uncle" who treated them to meat completely overlapped with the earth-shattering figure of "Tianzhen" in the newspaper.

This also confirms a saying...

You never go to sea, and you see me as a frog in a well looking up at the moon.

If you go out to sea, you will see me as a mayfly seeing the blue sky!

Chapter 374 Misjudgment of the Timeline

Gurn was unaware of the profound emotional impact and educational lessons that his departure from Windmill Village had on the three boys.

His next destination wasn't far, so he casually rented a small fishing boat at the Windmill Village pier, paid enough Berries, declined the boatman's offer to come along, and sailed off alone to his destination.

Four days later, the fishing boat slowly docked at the fish merchant port of Cocosia Village in the East China Sea.

Gurn easily jumped onto the dock plank. He had just stepped onto solid ground and hadn't even had a chance to properly examine the seemingly peaceful village when the Den Den Mushi in his arms started ringing "blur blur blur".

Gern pulled out the Den Den Mushi wearing a miniature navy hat, answered it skillfully, and spoke in his characteristic tone, which carried a hint of laziness and narcissism.

"Moshi moshi~ This is the handsome, strong, and powerful Gern. May I ask who is looking for me..."

"Gern!!! You bastard!!!" Before he could even finish his self-introduction, the Den Den Mushi instantly displayed a furious, distorted face.

Immediately afterwards, Sengoku's all-too-familiar roar erupted from the receiver like a volcanic eruption, making the Den Den Mushi tremble three times.

"Where have you run off to again?! Huh?!"

"As the chief strategist of the new world and the highest-ranking official of G-10, instead of staying put in your own territory and overseeing things, you've gone missing again!!"

Do you even know what kind of trouble those lawless pirates will cause if you're not keeping an eye on things in the New World?! You brat!!

Faced with Sengoku's roar, Gern casually picked at his ear and said, "Relax, relax, it won't be a problem."

I've left people to watch the house; Tezzolo and Barrett are both here, nothing serious will happen.

Besides, Marshal, I'm here to observe the people's conditions and gain a thorough understanding of the situation across the land—this is very important work.

"I..." Sengoku was clearly furious at this twisted logic and wanted to continue his attack, but Gern didn't give him the chance at all.

"The signal is bad, I'll hang up now, talk to you later!" With that, he abruptly cut off the communication and stuffed the Den Den Mushi, which was still in simulated roaring mode, back into his pocket.

Putting this little incident out of his mind, Guern finally had time to look around carefully, and quickly frowned: "It's too quiet."

It was not the fishing moratorium, but the fishing port was unusually deserted. There were hardly any busy fishermen or merchants coming and going, and an unusual silence permeated the air.

After wandering around for a while, Gern stopped a villager who was hurrying by and asked, "Excuse me, do you know how to get to Orange Town?"

He deliberately took a detour to the East China Sea this time, one of his main purposes being to find Bellemere.

In fact, four years ago, before the Holy Land incident broke out, he had just arrived on the Grand Line and planned to bring Mihawk along to visit the two children she had adopted.

However, a sudden upheaval occurred at the Holy Land, forcing the plan to be shelved, a delay that lasted four years.

Now that he finally had some free time, he put this matter on his agenda.

I didn't expect that as soon as I arrived, I would feel an uneasy atmosphere.

The undisguised sorrow and fear on the villagers' faces, in particular, sent a chill down Gren's spine, and a bad premonition instantly surfaced.

"That guy Ah Long... he couldn't have arrived already, could he?!"

He carefully reviewed the timeline.

Compared to the Arlong Pirates, who might have rushed off Fishman Island with their crew after being expelled by Jinbe, their destination was much clearer.

He traveled from the New World to the East China Sea almost like a tourist, stopping frequently along the way, so his pace was not particularly fast.

"If you think about it that way... it's entirely possible that Ah Long and his group arrived in the East China Sea earlier than me, and have even already established themselves here, starting to act like tyrants!"

Upon realizing this, Guern's expression instantly turned serious.

After all, he is not an omniscient and omnipotent god. His memory of the original plot is only a general framework and key points. It is impossible for him to remember the exact dates of all the events.

But now, comparing Luffy's age (which is already comparable to Ace and Sabo's) with Nami's age (which should theoretically be similar to Luffy's)...