As Jerry's battle with Redfield reached its conclusion, the familiar chime of his system sounded in his mind—a notification that his Observation Haki had activated some kind of breakthrough restriction. However, Jerry could only watch helplessly as the opportunity slipped away, unable to act on it without the necessary Wall-breaking Beads.
Pushing aside his frustration, he stopped hesitating and rushed toward the coastline where new challenges awaited.
Jerry's fierce duel with the legendary Redfield, while spectacular in its own right, hadn't attracted nearly as much global attention as one might expect. The primary reason was that during most of their confrontation, Kotatsu had focused his camera on Cavendish's more visually dramatic battles. Additionally, Redfield's past glory and legendary reputation seemed to have been gradually forgotten by the passage of time, with only a select few forces and figures—such as the Whitebeard Pirates and high-ranking Marines—still paying close attention to the Red Earl's movements.
"This brat is spreading wild stories about Pops again!" Marco complained aboard the Moby Dick, clenching his fists as he watched the live broadcast with the other division commanders. "Next time I see him, I'm definitely going to make him pay for all this nonsense!"
"Gurararara! That's absolutely right!" Whitebeard himself watched the broadcast with obvious amusement, unconsciously licking his lips as if savoring some phantom taste. "Next time he visits, he'd better bring plenty of good sake to make up for all this entertainment!"
At that moment, Ace suddenly spoke up with quiet determination. "I want to go over there."
Deuce, who had been standing nearby, was visibly startled by the declaration. He placed a firm hand on Ace's shoulder and said in a serious tone, "Ace, don't be impulsive. Jerry specifically told me to keep you here... I think you should trust his judgment."
Not long before, when Deuce and the other former Spade Pirates had first arrived to join the Whitebeard Pirates, they had initially considered whether they should return to Treasure Island or perhaps seek refuge on some uninhabited island to avoid the growing chaos.
However, after encountering numerous opportunistic pirates who attempted to capture or ransom them during their journey—hoping to use former Spade Pirates as bargaining chips—Deuce and his companions had ultimately decided that seeking Ace's protection was their safest option.
After all, none of them wanted to be overwhelmed by superior numbers or captured to become hostages in someone else's schemes.
"This isn't about whether or not I trust Jerry," Ace replied firmly, his voice carrying the weight of absolute conviction. "I can't just stand by and watch while my best friend faces the entire world alone!"
Hearing Ace's passionate declaration, Deuce realized that despite days of careful reasoning and persuasion, Ace still couldn't suppress his desire to help his sworn brother.
After a moment of thoughtful silence, Deuce noticed the expectant, hopeful expressions on the faces of Carrot, Brook, Skull, and the others who had gathered around them. He took a deep breath, his eyes immediately becoming resolute as he nodded decisively. "Alright! If we're going to do this, then we'll all go together!"
"Woohoo! Yes!" Carrot cheered enthusiastically, pumping her fists in the air with obvious excitement. "I'm going to help Big Brother Jerry beat up all those troublemakers!"
"I can feel it—my blood is boiling with anticipation!" Brook declared dramatically, adjusting his signature sunglasses. "Oh wait, I don't actually have any blood left to boil! Yohohoho!"
Skull cracked his knuckles with obvious satisfaction and grinned widely. "Awesome! Let's go show them what we're made of! There's nothing we can't handle when we work together!"
"That's exactly right, isn't it, Farul?" Carina added with a warm smile, gently patting the magnificent white horse's neck.
In response to her question, Farul nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement, clearly ready for action.
Seeing everyone's unanimous enthusiasm and determination, Ace and Deuce exchanged meaningful looks and smiled at each other. Then they both turned toward Whitebeard, their expressions becoming appropriately serious and respectful.
"Pops, would that be alright with you?" Ace asked formally.
"Go ahead and do what your hearts tell you is right," Whitebeard replied with paternal warmth. Ace's face immediately lit up with a brilliant smile, and he was about to express his gratitude when the Emperor continued speaking. "We'll be following along shortly afterward."
Ace blinked in surprise and immediately protested, "Eh?! Pops, you don't need to—"
Whitebeard raised one massive hand to interrupt him gently. "Ace, this entire situation is unfolding within our territory. It's become a major event that will affect the entire world. Of course we need to be involved."
Ace stared in amazement, exchanging shocked glances with Deuce and the others who were equally surprised by this unexpected development. He wanted to argue, but found himself completely unable to refute such logical reasoning.
"Ace, try to relax about this," Marco added with his characteristic calm demeanor. "If we don't even show our faces for something this significant, how could the Whitebeard Pirates maintain our reputation and dignity in the future? We simply cannot allow random troublemakers to run wild in our territory without consequences."
Marco's words received immediate agreement from all the other division commanders present, though they also made Deuce and his companions scratch their heads in embarrassment.
Indeed, Jerry and his crew hadn't given proper consideration to factors like the Four Emperors' territorial boundaries and political authority when they had first established their challenge.
Simply because their climactic battle with Bullet had happened to take place on that particular island, and because they had obtained Festa's Laugh Tale pointer there, and because Treasure Island had become a devastated ruin anyway—they had decided to use it as their broadcast location, thereby attracting global attention to Whitebeard's waters.
Most of the pirates and other factions that had been drawn to the scene had completely ignored the crucial information that this sea area belonged to one of the Four Emperors. In their single-minded focus on claiming Roger's treasure, everyone saw themselves as legitimate participants and competitors, regardless of whose territory they were invading.
Meanwhile, back on Treasure Island itself, Jerry descended from the sky with the authority of a vengeful deity. Without bothering with any preliminary conversation, he immediately launched a devastating attack on the alliance of three Supernovas who had been coordinating their approach.
"Leviathan Jerry! Wait just a moment—please listen to what we have to say!" Scratchmen Apoo called out desperately, extending his characteristically long arms in a pleading gesture. "We've developed a mutually beneficial plan!"
Jerry's raised foot suddenly froze in mid-strike as he glanced down at the Long Arm Tribe member with obvious skepticism. "What's the price for this so-called plan?"
"There is no price! We simply want to—" Apoo began earnestly.
Before the Supernova could finish his explanation, Jerry's expression shifted to one of amused disdain. "Oh, I see. You're trying to offer me something for free, are you?"
His muscular leg, which had been suspended in the air, suddenly shot forward with tremendous force.
WHAM!
Apoo was kicked without warning and crashed heavily into the rocky ground, creating a small crater from the impact.
"You should know better than to try pulling a fast one on someone," Jerry said calmly, slowly withdrawing his foot. "Nothing worthwhile in this world comes without a cost, and I'm not in the mood for whatever scheme you've cooked up."
He then turned his attention toward X Drake, who had transformed into his fearsome Allosaurus form, and Capone Bege, who was cautiously backing away with both hands raised in a gesture of surrender.
Drake noticed his supposed ally's retreat and couldn't help but shout angrily, "What the hell are you doing, Capone?!"
"Sorry about this!" Bege called back without shame, continuing his strategic withdrawal. "I believe that since our original plan clearly isn't going to work, we should know when to cut our losses and retreat!"
He then turned toward Jerry with obvious respect and said formally, "Leviathan Jerry, I officially surrender and withdraw my challenge. Would you permit me to leave peacefully?"
"Sure, go ahead," Jerry replied with a casual shrug, genuinely unconcerned about letting him depart. "I've got plenty of other enemies to deal with anyway."
Jerry understood that countless hostile forces were gathered in the surrounding waters, all watching and waiting for their chance to strike. In such circumstances, it made little difference whether he had one more or one fewer immediate opponent.
"In that case, I also choose to surrender!" Drake declared, his years of experience as an undercover Marine having taught him the value of tactical flexibility when facing overwhelming odds.
"Fine, fine. Just get out of here and don't bother me again," Jerry said dismissively. "However, this Long Arm friend is going to stay and keep me company for a little while longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jerry's figure blurred with incredible speed as he launched another fierce assault on the still-recovering Apoo.
Seeing the incoming attack, Apoo frantically waved his arms and shouted, "No! I want to surrender too—"
"I know exactly what you want," Jerry interrupted with a predatory grin, throwing a devastating punch that sent Apoo flying backward once again. Blood sprayed from the Supernova's mouth as he crashed into another pile of rubble.
Jerry continued his relentless advance, preparing to deliver another crushing blow, when Apoo desperately cried out, "I give up! I officially surrender!"
"Really now?" Jerry replied with mock sympathy. "You haven't forgotten about that explosive welcome gift you gave me, have you? You think you can just surrender now and walk away?"
He flexed his knuckles ominously before continuing, "Fine, I'll accept your surrender—but first you're going to take a nice, long swim in the ocean to cool off and think about your poor life choices."
With that declaration, Jerry bent his fingers into claw-like shapes and grabbed the battered Supernova by his shirt. With a powerful heave, he hurled Apoo far out into the churning sea beyond the island's rocky shore.
A tremendous splash echoed across the water as the On Air Pirates' captain disappeared beneath the waves. The other members of his crew, who had been knocked unconscious earlier in Jerry's initial assault, struggled desperately to regain their footing and rushed toward the shoreline to rescue their drowning captain.
Jerry glanced dismissively at the retreating forms of Drake and Bege, then raised one foot meaningfully. "Feel free to leave whenever you want, but if you come back to bother me again, I won't be nearly so generous. My slippers have been itching for some real action."
Without waiting for their responses, Jerry launched himself into the air and shot toward the coastal area where Cavendish was undoubtedly dealing with yet another wave of ambitious treasure hunters, ready to face whatever new challenges the day might bring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~