Just moments later, Jerry's voice called out from above Cavendish's position.
"You're moving pretty slowly today, aren't you, Cavendish?"
Cavendish glanced down at the various pirates lying unconscious on the ground around him, smoothly sheathing his sword with characteristic flair before responding, "Well... this guy said he wanted to come here specifically to thank us, and he also mentioned wanting to meet you in person."
As he spoke, he pointed toward Trafalgar Law, who stood nearby looking like he hadn't slept properly in weeks, with epic dark circles under his eyes that made him appear almost zombie-like.
"Hello there, Leviathan Jerry!" Law raised his head and waved in greeting, his voice carrying its usual dry tone.
"Oh, hey there, Master of the Spotted Hat!" Jerry replied cheerfully, deliberately imitating Law's formal speaking style.
Hearing Jerry mirror his manner of speech so precisely, Law felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly in irritation.
Cavendish stared at Law's distinctive headwear and raised a confused question that had been bothering him. "Jerry, shouldn't his nickname be something about those dark circles under his eyes instead?"
"The hat is his most defining feature!" Jerry insisted as he landed gracefully on the ground. "Look, isn't Ace's little brother called the Straw Hat? So this guy should obviously be the Spotted Hat. It's basic logic."
Cavendish stroked his chin thoughtfully and recalled, "But didn't he change his hat at some point?"
"Doesn't matter, as long as the general style is similar," Jerry maintained stubbornly, refusing to back down from his position.
As the two pirates in front of him continued their debate as if he weren't even present, visible veins began appearing on Law's forehead. He was starting to seriously regret his decision to come here in the first place.
"Hey! Don't just ignore me like I'm invisible!" Law took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure as he decided to interrupt this seemingly endless argument.
He quickly continued before they could start up again, "I came here to thank you for defeating Doflamingo, and also to share some important information with you..."
As he spoke, Law glanced meaningfully up at Kotatsu, who was flying overhead with the broadcast equipment.
"Meow!" Kotatsu immediately understood the implication, turning around to fly a bit further away before redirecting the live camera toward another section of the island where someone was currently attempting to break through Jerry's defensive barriers.
Law nodded with satisfaction at the privacy this provided. "Since you've been focused on island defense these past few days, I wasn't sure if you've been keeping track of the outside situation, so I'll fill you in on everything I know."
Jerry looked at Cavendish and gestured for Law to continue with his report.
"First of all, ever since you left Dressrosa, there have been reports that Kaido sent people to attempt rescuing Doflamingo. There were even rumors that the Beast Emperor himself was planning to get involved personally."
"However, Admiral Kizaru was escorting the prisoner and moved too quickly for any rescue attempt. He threw Doflamingo directly into Impel Down before anyone could interfere, which effectively ended that particular threat."
After listening to Law's account, Jerry blinked thoughtfully. Although this was basically information he already possessed, he still politely expressed his gratitude to the Heart Pirates captain for taking the time to share it.
After all, Jerry and his companions had Kotatsu providing internet access, and Skull regularly shared various intelligence reports with them through Den Den Mushi communications every evening, keeping them well-informed about global developments.
Beyond the Dressrosa aftermath, Law primarily focused on describing the current situation in the broader world.
The first major point concerned Marine activities. They were employing classic misdirection tactics—publicly appearing to avoid the area while secretly making other arrangements behind the scenes. On the surface, no warships had been spotted in the vicinity, but there were clear signs of covert operations being prepared.
The second major development involved the massive number of pirates who had gathered in the waters surrounding Treasure Island. They were scattered across multiple locations and included notable figures like Crocodile—the former Seven Warlord who had escaped during the prison breaks—as well as powerful criminals from places like Hachinosu Island in the New World.
Surprisingly, the Four Emperors' crews hadn't made any obvious moves yet, making it difficult for outsiders to understand their true intentions.
Other significant developments included the Revolutionary Army taking advantage of the chaos to gain momentum in various regions, CP organization agents infiltrating pirate crews to disrupt operations and stir up additional trouble, making the entire sea area even more volatile than usual.
What surprised Jerry the most was learning that the NEO Marines had returned and were heading directly toward Treasure Island.
What shocked Jerry wasn't the NEO Marines' intention to attack pirates—that was completely expected. Rather, it was the fact that aboard Zephyr's modified warship, not only was the former Admiral present, but Vice Admiral Garp had also joined their expedition.
Overall, the appearance of the Laugh Tale permanent pointer had been like dropping a massive boulder into a previously calm lake, creating ripples that continued spreading outward. The events surrounding the legendary navigation device in Jerry's possession had driven countless people to desperate measures.
Since Treasure Island was located deep in the New World, countless pirates from all Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line had flocked to Sabaody Archipelago, hoping to reach their destination via the Fishman Island route.
This massive migration reminded many observers of the chaotic period immediately following Roger's execution, when the Great Pirate Era had first begun.
However, because Jerry had established a strict one-month time limit from the beginning, most pirates who were determined to claim the pointer had no time to waste stopping at islands along their route. Instead, they rushed straight toward their destination without pause.
Taking advantage of this predictable behavior, the World Government and Marines had set up numerous checkpoints at strategic locations along the most common travel routes, successfully capturing or eliminating large numbers of pirates who were too focused on speed to properly scout ahead.
In addition to these distant developments, the area immediately surrounding Treasure Island had been experiencing constant combat between different pirate factions day and night.
However, as more and more challengers arrived, although the overall chaos was definitely getting worse, the number of people who successfully passed through the outer defenses and reached the island itself was also increasing steadily.
This escalation was basically exactly what Jerry had expected would happen.
"So, Master of the Spotted Hat, is that everything you came here to tell us? Don't you want to try grabbing the pointer yourself?" Jerry asked with genuine curiosity.
Hearing this direct question, Law took a deep breath and shook his head calmly. "I'll wait until someone manages to take the pointer away from you, then I'll go after whoever has it next."
With that pragmatic declaration, he turned around and waved casually over his shoulder. "Also, I've heard rumors that certain people in the World Government may be planning to take direct action soon, so you'd better be prepared for that possibility."
Before his words had fully faded, he began walking toward his submarine, which was floating on the ocean surface not far from the shoreline, showing no signs of reluctance to leave.
"Fair enough. Well, goodbye then," Jerry replied, his eyes flashing with understanding as he waved farewell. He then turned to Cavendish and said, "Let's get back to our cleanup duties."
"Absolutely! Kotatsu, make sure you follow me closely and remember to give me plenty of close-up shots!" Cavendish showed no reluctance whatsoever about continuing to eliminate the pirates who kept landing on their island. As long as there was a live broadcast involved, he actually enjoyed the work immensely.
In the days that followed, pirates continued attempting to land on Treasure Island at all hours of the day and night, but they were all swiftly dealt with by Jerry and Cavendish with lightning efficiency.
It was only during this extended period that viewers around the world began to realize something remarkable: compared to Cavendish, who took regular breaks and maintained normal sleep schedules, Jerry—who had been steadfastly guarding the island—appeared to require virtually no rest time whatsoever, yet always seemed completely energetic and alert.
Even Kotatsu had established regular break periods for himself, but Jerry apparently didn't need any.
No matter what time pirates attempted their landing in the middle of the night, they would invariably be easily swept away by his seemingly supernatural vigilance and overwhelming combat abilities.
Time passed quickly. It had been more than two weeks since Jerry had begun his live broadcast from Treasure Island.
"This is strange, Jerry," Cavendish said, looking around with obvious confusion. "Why hasn't anyone shown up today? Did you secretly increase the difficulty of our outer defenses or something?"
It was already noon, and despite being fully prepared for combat, he hadn't sensed anyone attempting to approach the island. This was in stark contrast to the continuous stream of challengers they had been dealing with over the past several days.
Jerry turned his attention away from the ocean waters and replied thoughtfully, "Maybe it's because Ace and the others are finally on their way over? Let me check."
After speaking, Jerry immediately expanded his perception across an extraordinarily wide range, using his advanced Observation Haki to scan the surrounding area.
Two seconds later, he stood up and waved enthusiastically to Cavendish. "Let's go—they're here!"
Seeing Jerry take flight, Cavendish quickly transformed his lower body into pure lightning and followed close behind.
At the coastline, their old ship emerged from beneath the ocean surface, protected by one of Jerry's signature water barriers. Like an agile fish suddenly breaching the surface, it leaped up from the depths and landed somewhat unsteadily on the waves above.
"Hehe! Big Brother Jerry! I knew you'd be able to sense us coming!" Without waiting for the ship to properly dock, Carrot jumped up excitedly and waved both hands with obvious enthusiasm.
Jerry flew over and quickly landed on the familiar deck, smiling warmly as he nodded at Carrot before looking around at all the assembled faces. "You guys really went through a lot of trouble to get in here despite being chased and blocked by who knows how many enemies."