"Thank God! That tsunami actually stopped!"
"Don't be an idiot—waves that massive don't just disappear on their own. Someone with incredible power must have intervened."
The patrons and staff of Baratie, who had been watching the sea with bated breath, couldn't help but rush back onto the deck and burst into jubilant celebration when the tsunami miraculously halted and subsided.
They didn't understand why the ocean had suddenly returned to calm—it all felt like some impossible dream. Even when they noticed that the Black Nova and Jerry had completely vanished, they barely registered it. In their hearts, nothing was more important, more thrilling, or more worthy of gratitude than being saved from the brink of disaster.
"You old geezer, did you see that technique?! What the hell kind of move was that?!" Sanji's jaw nearly hit the deck, though his cigarette somehow remained perfectly balanced on his lips.
Zeff looked at him like he was brain-dead and replied with a dismissive snort. "Even if you haven't been paying attention to his bounty reports, you should've seen those water dragons at the beginning of the fight, right? Can't you figure out that he controls seawater?"
Sanji's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Then... then when he's at sea, he's..."
"Exactly. It's common knowledge among anyone with half a brain—you never pick a fight with that pirate crew when you're on the ocean." Zeff's expression turned deadly serious. "Though it doesn't make the newspapers, plenty of small-time pirates who tangled with them without knowing better have paid a heavy price."
He paused dramatically before adding with grim finality: "A price so heavy it sent them straight to the bottom of the sea."
Sanji fell silent for a long moment, then raised his hand to stroke his chin thoughtfully. Finally, he turned and walked toward the door behind him, waving dismissively. "Whatever, none of my business. I haven't crossed them, and I've got ladies to attend to."
In the distance, the approaching warship cut through the waves as Gion leaped gracefully from her ship onto Garp's distinctive dog-headed ship.
"Garp, are you alright?"
Gion asked with genuine concern as she observed the Marine Hero, who had just finished getting his wounds treated and changed into clean clothes before reappearing on deck.
Seeing that Garp was still munching on senbei and shaking his head despite his injuries, she continued with a soft sigh. "Has he really grown to this level already? But at least..."
Since the battle at Baterilla in the South Blue, Gion had stopped pursuing the Black Star Pirates and returned to the Grand Line. Her original hunt for Jerry's crew had been the Marines' response to a series of complaints the World Government received from various establishments on Sabaody Archipelago.
During the South Blue operations, the Marines had demonstrated their unwavering determination and operational capabilities. Although the Black Star Pirates proved extremely cunning and repeatedly escaped capture, subsequent media coverage helped the World Government ease public pressure and indirectly provided them with political cover.
Additionally, Marine high command realized that Gion's single warship would have difficulty effectively hunting down Jerry and his crew, so they decided to have her return to headquarters alongside Aokiji.
A few days ago, Gion had been crossing the Calm Belt en route to East Blue for a mission when she learned about the incident at Tequila Wolf and news of Garp's presence in the area. She'd planned to rendezvous with Garp to collect mission-related documents from his warship, but unexpectedly arrived just in time to witness the Marine battle between the Marine Hero and Jerry.
"Bwahahaha! That kid even cleaned up the aftermath of our fight before leaving. He's definitely an interesting one... cough cough!"
Garp laughed heartily, though it triggered another coughing fit. He grabbed his senbei and teacup to continue enjoying his snacks despite his condition.
Seeing this, the ship's doctor whispered nervously, "Vice Admiral Garp, at your age, you really don't need to be on the front lines like this anymore..."
Before the medic could finish his sentence, Garp seemed to understand exactly what he was trying to say. The legendary Marine gently waved his senbei, and the smile gradually faded from his weathered face.
With a serious expression and speaking in a firm, calm tone that carried the weight of decades of experience, Garp said solemnly: "Old soldiers never die—they just fade away."
Gion stared at him intently, saying nothing, but understanding everything.
The Black Nova raced beyond the horizon as Jerry lay sprawled on the deck, letting Deuce tend to his relatively minor injuries.
"How are you feeling? Everything okay?" his crewmates asked with obvious concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm definitely not some nobody anymore—that's for sure." Jerry gave them a thumbs up and tapped his chest lightly with his knuckles as he responded to Deuce and the others.
"Meow!" Kotatsu rubbed against him and meowed indignantly.
"Kotatsu, don't forget you're a lynx, not a house cat," Jerry said, casually scratching behind the mythical creature's ears.
When everyone confirmed he was truly unharmed, they finally relaxed, and an irrepressible excitement and elation surged through their hearts. Their captain had just fought the Marine Hero Garp to a standstill! Even though they hadn't been directly involved, the mere thought was enough to make them feel electrified with pride.
The smiles on his friends' faces reminded Jerry of the fierce battle that had just concluded. He began carefully reviewing every detail in his mind, analyzing his performance and identifying areas for improvement.
From an Armament Haki perspective alone, I'm still slightly inferior to Garp, but I'm very close.
If I factor in my Conqueror's Haki coating, I can definitely break through his defenses.
Even with my Observation Haki, I still can't clearly read the inner thoughts of someone at his level.
Even when he's injured, it's nearly impossible. At most, I catch occasional flashes of surface thoughts. But in actual combat, it's better to rely on the enhanced perception and brief future sight that Observation Haki provides naturally—except when I'm overwhelming weaker opponents.
Then there's my water control ability. It's still not easy to manipulate the water inside other people's bodies. I need to get close to their body to combine attacks and increase damage effectively.
It doesn't seem very useful in high-level battles, but for dominating weaker opponents? I need to think about that more.
Jerry opened his five fingers, then gently clenched them into a fist, an excited smile spreading across his face as he thought to himself: But it feels like I haven't reached my limit yet.
After this battle, Jerry reached a clear conclusion about his current abilities. He realized his strength now ranked among the world's elite. Although he couldn't fully explain exactly what level he'd achieved, his heart was filled with anticipation and confidence for the future.
The next day, as News Coo scattered newspapers across the world, countless readers reacted with either shock or sneering disbelief.
The front page featured extensive coverage of the fierce confrontation between Jerry and Garp, and boldly presented a startling conclusion at the end of the main article.
The report claimed that given Jerry's performance in fighting the Marine Hero to a draw, he had become the greatest challenger capable of threatening the Four Emperors' thrones—or even the Pirate King's crown—since "Red-Haired" Shanks rose to prominence at the beginning of the Great Pirate Era.
Big News Morgans had initially wanted to bestow upon Jerry the prestigious title of "Fifth Emperor."
However, after the bird-man thought it through carefully, he realized this particular pirate had been at sea for several years but still hadn't established a foothold in the New World—hadn't even set foot there in recent years, for that matter.
Morgans immediately abandoned the idea, knowing he'd be crucified by Marines, pirates, and ordinary citizens alike for such a premature declaration.
Even without the "Fifth Emperor" title, however, Morgans' final commentary and analysis in the newspaper proved more than sufficient to ignite heated debates across the world.
These provocative opinions not only attracted widespread attention but also struck the sensitive nerves of certain powerful individuals, earning Morgans their displeasure and even outright hostility.
At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku crushed his coffee cup while reading the morning paper. "That damn bird... always stirring up trouble with his sensationalist reporting."
In the New World, the actual Four Emperors had varied reactions to seeing their positions potentially threatened by this upstart from Paradise.
"Gurararara! So the brat is making waves in the blues too," Whitebeard chuckled, though his eyes held genuine interest.