"Water Dragon Fist!"
At the absolute last second, Jerry launched himself forward. Infected by Ace's own reckless bravery, he met the Admiral's attack head-on, roaring as he unleashed his own desperate counter.
Light and water collided. For a breathtaking moment, fist and foot met in a stalemate, a blinding flash erupting at the point of impact. Then, a spiraling dragon of pure, high-pressure water erupted from the clash, overwhelming the golden light. The kick, which had been a guaranteed finishing blow just a moment ago, was blocked and violently repelled by Jerry's sudden interception.
Perhaps the Admiral hadn't expected anyone to be capable of blocking his light-speed attack, as the force of his kick seemed intended to simply knock down an already exhausted opponent. Caught completely off guard by the sheer power of Jerry's counter, Kizaru form dissolving into a shower of golden particles that scattered high into the air.
Jerry, however, had taken the full brunt of the Admiral's momentum. He was blasted back from the mid-air collision, hitting the ground hard and rolling several times before coming to a stop.
"Ooooh myyy… Are all the young people these days such mooonsters?"
Less than a second after dispersing, the golden particles reconvened about ten meters away, slowly condensing back into a human form. As the tall, lanky figure solidified, the words oozed out in a strange, incredibly lazy tone.
With a soft thud, Jerry landed on his feet next to Ace, his eyes locked on the man materializing from light and shadow. His expression was grim. "Ace," he whispered, his voice low and urgent. "That's Marine Admiral Kizaru. The situation is critical. You have to escape, now. Get back to the ship and submerge immediately. I'll cover you."
"What? But—"
"No buts," Jerry cut him off. "Don't worry about me. I have my own ways. I'll catch up with you later."
Ahem… Hoo… Ace took a ragged breath, the exhaustion and pain clear on his face. Hearing the rare, deadly serious tone in Jerry's voice, he didn't argue. He trusted his friend's judgment completely. "Jerry… you better catch up. We're not getting to the New World without our Vice-Captain."
The fires Draw had started were now mostly extinguished, leaving behind a devastated landscape of smoldering, skeletal ruins that crackled softly, whispering their accusations to the sky. Wasting no more time, Ace linked up with Deuce, and together they walked toward Isuka, who was still sitting on the ground, staring into space with hollow eyes.
After the initial, soul-crushing shock, her expression had calmed, though the scars on her heart were far from healed.
"Come with us," Ace said softly, walking up to her and extending his left hand.
Isuka slowly raised her head. A flicker of light, small but present, had returned to her eyes. "Get on my ship," Ace continued. "If you decide you still don't like being a pirate, you can quit and become a bounty hunter. You can make me your first target. It's all fine by me."
A ghost of her old self returned. "You're such an idiot," she scoffed, though it lacked its usual bite. "Whether I'm a Marine or a bounty hunter, I shouldn't be holding hands with a pirate, should I?" Despite her words, she took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet.
"Ahaha! I guess you're right," Ace smiled, his usual carefree nature returning for a moment. "Let's just focus on escaping first." The three of them broke into a run, heading for the coast without a second look back.
"Oooh, now where do you think you're going?" Kizaru drawled. He had finally finished reforming himself and, seeing Ace and the others fleeing, moved to intercept them. He placed his hands together in front of his chest, and a mirror-like light began to accumulate between his palms. A moment later, a brilliant laser beam shot forth, aimed at the path in front of the escaping pirates.
"Water Mirror: Reflection!"
Jerry wasn't about to let that happen. He appeared once more in the path of the laser, his hands moving in slow, deliberate circles. He gathered the moisture in the air with impossible speed, forming a shimmering, perfectly polished mirror of solid water. The laser from Kizaru's Yata Mirror struck the surface and was instantly reflected at a harmless angle into a distant, empty building, completely foiling the Admiral's attempt to stop them.
Seeing his attack so easily deflected, Kizaru frowned slightly, but his lazy pout remained. "Huuuh? It seems you're very familiar with my abilities."
"I've done my homework, Admiral," Jerry replied, deliberately imitating Kizaru's slow, drawn-out tone. "I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to stop you. If I go bald from all this stress, do you think I can file for a work-related injury?"
Jerry knew very well that with his current strength, he posed no real threat to a Marine Admiral in a direct fight. His only goal was to delay, to buy time for his friends to escape. He had no illusions about actually defeating Kizaru.
"Cooome to think of it," Kizaru mused, not seeming to be in any hurry to chase Ace. "I've never heard of such a scary young man hiding in 'Fire Fist' Ace's crew."
"You're too kind. I'm just a nobody," Jerry said, patting his chest in a mock-frightened manner. "Besides, didn't my captain only turn down a Warlord position? Isn't sending an Admiral after him a bit of an overreaction?" He couldn't figure out why Kizaru had shown up out of nowhere, so he decided to fish for information.
"Todaaay," Kizaru began slowly, "two Celestial Dragons heard about a mermaid auction and wanted to come buy some souvenirs." He sighed. "But before we could get there, we heard the auction house had been smashed to pieces and the mermaids had escaped. Aaaand since I was already on the island for my vacation, my superiors asked me to come take a look… So, it turns out you were the one who crashed the party, brother. Hoooow scary."
"Ah… is that so?" Realizing the mess he was in, Jerry scratched his head and gave a nervous chuckle. "Haha… well, since you've seen everything, I won't keep you for dinner. We can all just go home, right? Call it a day?"
"My, my, you're quite the joker," Kizaru said, a weary expression on his face. "Although I'm not very happy about being asked to work overtime during my vacation, I still need to put on a little performance for my bosses." He sighed again, his words shattering Jerry's faint hope.
Jerry's demeanor turned cautious. "So… your target today isn't Ace… it's me?"
"Biiingo," Kizaru confirmed, stretching out his right hand, clenching it into a fist, then opening it again in a small flourish. "For answering correctly, I can offer you a complimentary Yakiniku bowl."
"Well…" Jerry mumbled, stalling while his mind raced, trying to formulate an escape plan. He knew Ace and the others must be getting close to the ship by now. "How about this? I rough myself up a bit, splash some blood on my face, you take a few pictures, and we submit that as your report?"
Kizaru actually looked tempted for a moment. "That's a very appealing offer… but I can't. It would hurt my year-end bonus."
"That does give me a headache," Jerry sighed dramatically. Then, his eyes went wide. He looked past Kizaru, pointed a trembling finger, and shouted with an expression of pure shock and terror. "Hey!? Is that a Celestial Dragon over there!?"
"Hmm? Where?" Kizaru had no reason to doubt him; after all, his mission was Celestial Dragon-related. He turned around, his gaze sweeping the area. But he saw nothing except for a few birds perched on the trees.
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