After listening to Ace's account of Teach's betrayal, Jerry fell into thoughtful silence.
He couldn't help but think that the bastard Teach had successfully obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit. Even Ace, who was significantly more powerful than in the original timeline, hadn't been able to stop him completely.
Of course, Jerry's warning to Ace wasn't because he feared the Dark-Dark Fruit's power specifically. He simply hoped Ace would avoid blaming himself too much for this incident and falling into an impulsive, reckless state of mind.
Currently, although Ace was still choosing to pursue Teach alone, the situation was clearly different from what it might have been.
First was the difference in Ace's strength. He was no longer the young man with only rudimentary Conqueror's Haki who relied heavily on his Devil Fruit ability. Instead, he'd grown into a more well-rounded and formidable fighter.
Second, besides the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace also had Jerry and his crew—trustworthy friends with fewer restrictions on their actions.
Third, and most importantly, Thatch hadn't died in the sneak attack.
Although Ace was furious, it stemmed primarily from anger at seeing his friend injured and self-blame over crimes committed by someone under his watch.
"Listen carefully—don't get careless. If you find any leads, contact us first. Teach is far from simple," Jerry said gravely, warning Ace earnestly through the Den Den Mushi.
"Teach has been hiding for decades and finally revealed his true nature for that fruit. Obviously, the Dark-Dark Fruit can't be underestimated."
"Plus, given Teach's treacherous and cunning personality, I guarantee he'll never face you in direct confrontation unless he's completely confident of victory."
"And people like him would never choose to fight alone when they could gang up on you instead."
After saying all this, Jerry simply wanted Ace to take the threat seriously and prevent history from repeating itself. Even though Ace was stronger now, Jerry still couldn't guarantee victory when facing an opponent like Teach, especially with the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to nullify other Devil Fruit powers.
What's more, Teach would undoubtedly seek allies to act alongside him, further increasing the difficulty of any confrontation.
"Yeah, I understand. I won't underestimate him. Keep me posted if you learn anything, especially information from Skull's network," Ace nodded with a determined grin.
Then the Den Den Mushi mimicked Ace's expression as if he'd just remembered something wonderful, and his voice filled with joy: "Oh, by the way! My little brother Luffy should have set sail recently!"
Hearing this, Jerry scratched his head as something suddenly came to mind.
Some time ago, when they'd docked at a small island and entered a port restaurant, they'd encountered a young man with short green hair, a bandana, and three swords at his waist.
It had been around noon, and everyone was about to enter the restaurant when the green-haired man happened to walk out. The two groups nearly collided in the doorway.
Jerry had been stunned at the time, confusion in his eyes as he looked carefully at the swordsman before him. He'd finally confirmed this was indeed the Roronoa Zoro who would become famous in the future.
Zoro had naturally noticed Jerry's intense stare and immediately asked, "What? Need directions somewhere?"
Jerry had been speechless at those words and could only shake his head helplessly.
Zoro had nodded calmly and said, "If you don't need directions, please don't block my path. I still need to get to Orange Town."
As soon as he'd finished speaking, Zoro quickly walked through the passage Deuce and the others cleared for him, strode to a small boat nearby, set sail without hesitation, and headed east.
"Hey! You're going the wrong way! That's not the direction to Orange Town!" Deuce, who hadn't yet entered the restaurant, had reflexively called out loudly. But Zoro seemed not to hear him and continued sailing determinedly in his chosen direction.
Thinking back on this encounter, Jerry gently stroked his chin and muttered absently, "So that's how he ended up getting lost and arriving at Shells Town instead..."
"Jerry, what did you say? I didn't catch that!" Ace's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, interrupting Jerry's reminiscence.
He quickly refocused and replied hurriedly, "Oh! Nothing important. Your brother's going to sea—so what? Why are you so excited about it?"
"Ha ha! Of course I'm happy! Let me tell you about my brother..." Ace then launched into a lengthy recounting of childhood stories about Luffy that everyone had heard multiple times before.
Carrot and Bonney looked at Jerry holding the Den Den Mushi with expressions of amused despair, barely suppressing their snickers.
For little Bonney, this was still relatively fresh information, but for Jerry and Deuce, these were old stories they'd heard so many times their ears had grown callused. Skull and the others had heard some of it before, but not nearly as extensively as Jerry's group.
However, as Ace continued his narrative, Bonney suddenly froze and whispered to herself, "Rubber?"
This reminded her of Nika, the liberation warrior her father Kuma admired most and mentioned frequently—who also possessed rubber-like properties.
Little Bonney paid close attention, thinking she might ask Ace directly about this when she had the chance in the future.
However, when Bonney heard Ace mention that his younger brother had never won a single fight against him and was always the one getting beaten, she couldn't help but shake her head slightly, doubting this could be the legendary Nika.
After Ace finished his lengthy speech, Jerry interrupted: "Ace, where are you in the pursuit now?"
"Ah... he's still somewhere in the New World. I just got some leads and heard about your recent activities from others, so I decided to contact you first. My guess is he'll eventually retreat to Paradise," Ace said, casually picking his nose.
Jerry nodded seriously. "Well, it just so happens we've already decided to return directly to the Grand Line. We can stay in contact from there."
"If he does escape back to Paradise, we can adjust our route accordingly—or even turn around mid-journey—to help keep watch for him or assist in the chase," Deuce added thoughtfully.
"Perfect. I'll continue the pursuit then."
After saying that, Ace bid farewell to everyone and ended the call.
The crew looked at each other before turning their attention to Jerry and Deuce.
"Stay calm. We'll proceed as planned, just be more careful in the days ahead," Jerry waved his hand, telling everyone not to worry excessively.
Then he turned to look at little Bonney: "Weren't we also searching for Kuma? Most of the recent reports about his appearances were along the Grand Line. Maybe you'll see him soon."
Hearing this, little Bonney's eyes sparkled like stars as she said excitedly, "Really?! Then let's get going quickly!"
Everyone looked at her with fond smiles and responded in unison: "Let's go!"
Under little Bonney's urgent encouragement, the crew didn't linger except for necessary resupply. Jerry controlled the ocean currents and sailed directly across the open sea, passing smoothly through Loguetown and arriving at Reverse Mountain without incident.
"Yohohoho! Laboon! I've returned again!"
As they once more sailed down from the Reverse Mountain current, Brook was the first to cheer before anyone else could speak.
"Booooooooo!" The one who responded was the island whale Laboon, who had been eagerly waiting for their return.
Jerry had previously asked whether Laboon wanted to return to his birthplace in West Blue, and he was fully capable of making that journey happen. But Laboon had rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
Having lived at Twin Capes for many years, the whale had developed deep emotional bonds with Crocus and had no intention of leaving.
That night, the celebration became as lively as expected, with Brook presenting all the songs he'd composed during his travels around the world.
Accompanied by one of Brook's more melancholy pieces, Jerry gazed at the boundless sea stretching before them and said with dramatic flair, "Though I haven't been in this world very long, the world already holds legends of me."
"Pfft!" Deuce and the others couldn't help but spit out their drinks in response to his shameless self-aggrandizement.
After the Black Star Pirates enjoyed a brief but joyful stay at Twin Capes for two days and one night, they bid farewell to Laboon and Crocus and set out on their journey once again.