After witnessing the shocking turn of events on the execution platform, Akainu in the plaza suddenly launched himself skyward, intending to reach the stage and completely eliminate the escaping criminals.
"Stay right where you are, Marine!"
Whitebeard roared as he threw a devastating space-cracking punch directly at Akainu from a distance.
Akainu's expression darkened. He turned his head to glare at Whitebeard with burning hatred. "You old relic!"
Although he knew that Whitebeard's long-range Tremor-Tremor attack couldn't directly harm his Logia form, if he ignored it completely, that punch would surely obliterate the execution platform with tremendous force—and might even affect the town and other buildings at Marine Headquarters behind them.
Considering this, Akainu had to temporarily abandon his original plan and instead turn to face Whitebeard's devastating shockwave.
Seeing this opening, Ace rushed forward with determination, ready to join the battle.
The situation in the plaza was changing rapidly.
After witnessing Skull and Sabo's actions, those Marine officers who wanted to return and provide assistance found themselves completely tied up by their opponents, unable to break free.
On the crumbling execution platform, Sengoku watched Kizaru get knocked away and snarled through gritted teeth: "Don't think I'll let you escape so easily!"
After speaking, he closed his fist and opened his palm, bringing it down like a mountain trying to crush Jerry and the others from above.
Faced with this thunderous blow, Jerry flicked his wrist, and his fishing line snaked out like a living thing to wrap around Skull and the other three.
He looked up with a confident smile. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, without proper preparation, how could I dare attempt such a bold rescue?"
Before he finished speaking, he stomped down hard with his foot.
The entire execution platform suddenly collapsed into countless falling pieces.
This unexpected destruction caused Sengoku's massive Buddha form to lose its footing and tilt precariously. The devastating attack he'd been preparing therefore missed its target completely, striking empty air above them.
At that moment, Kizaru's distinctively casual voice suddenly rang out: "Oh my, oh my... making me look incompetent just won't do at all."
As his words echoed, two brilliant laser beams shot directly toward Luffy and Robin, who were being pulled through the air by Jerry's fishing line.
"Aqua Mirage!"
Jerry pulled the four people into the air with him. Without even looking back, he manipulated moisture in the atmosphere to create two crystal-clear, curved water barriers.
The laser beams struck the water shields and passed through them unimpeded—but they completely missed their intended targets.
Instead, the redirected beams shot directly toward Akainu, who had just finished blocking Whitebeard's attack and was preparing to continue his assault.
"Borsalino! What the hell are you doing?!" Akainu demanded in shock.
Caught completely off-guard, he was mercilessly bombarded by his colleague's own laser attacks. The violent explosions instantly turned his body into scattered magma, leaving him in tatters.
From the distance came Kizaru's characteristically insincere apology: "Ah, my sincere apologies, Sakazuki. That really wasn't intentional."
"Study your physics properly and you won't fear traveling the world! Light is still light, so refraction principles still apply," Jerry thought to himself, giving a mental thumbs-up to his barely remembered science education.
Without waiting for the enemy to regroup, Jerry waved his left hand and condensed a winding water pathway beneath their feet, leading directly toward the plaza below.
This aqueous slide not only deflected the hail of bullets from Marines below but also carried them forward at tremendous speed.
Throughout their descent, Jerry—surrounded by swirling water defenses—easily deflected the fierce attacks launched by countless Marines.
The Marine officers were desperately anxious, trying everything they could to break free from their opponents and intercept Jerry's group, but their adversaries were fighting with equal desperation.
As a result, very few attacks could pose any effective threat to Jerry's team during their escape.
Halfway through their rapid descent, Jerry's keen senses detected movement behind them.
He decisively swung his fishing rod and skillfully controlled the line to release all four people, allowing them to slide forward along the rushing water current like they were riding the world's most dangerous waterslide.
"Sphere of Protection!"
The water flow instantly coiled upward, forming a perfect sphere around Jerry as he leaped into the air.
Just as Jerry completed this defensive technique, numerous laser beams fired by Pacifistas that had converged from all sides of the plaza arrived with perfect timing.
However, the lasers caused no harm to Jerry whatsoever.
Instead, they were deflected in all directions by his spinning water barrier, striking numerous Marine officers throughout the plaza.
After witnessing this scene, the Marine Science Unit realized with horror that the Pacifistas they'd developed at enormous expense had been cleverly manipulated by the detestable pirates and turned into weapons against their own forces.
"This is really giving me a headache. Why would a monster like you appear among the new generation of pirates?" A golden flash suddenly materialized as Kizaru's weary sigh filled the air, his lanky leg cutting through the sky like a meteor.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
Taking advantage of the moment when Jerry was retracting his water defenses, Kizaru's devastating attack struck him without any interference.
After a dull impact, "Jerry" shattered into countless crystal water droplets that scattered in all directions.
"Oh? This seems awfully familiar..."
The overwhelming sense of déjà vu made Kizaru recall their past encounters.
He remembered that first meeting at Sabaody Archipelago, when Jerry had still been that young pirate who could casually disappear into the ocean under the setting sun, but now...
Kizaru instinctively drew his Ama-no-Murakumo sword and spun around to defend himself.
Sure enough, Jerry materialized silently behind him and delivered a lightning-fast strike.
The two powerhouses immediately engaged in fierce aerial combat once again.
As the water current continued flowing rapidly, Skull, Luffy, Sabo, and Robin slid swiftly through the air away from the plaza.
Seeing this successful escape, pirates and Revolutionary Army soldiers couldn't help but cheer loudly.
Skull, feeling momentarily safe, couldn't resist boasting: "I infiltrated deep into Marine territory, rescued the prisoners, and escaped without a scratch! I'm absolutely incredible! Gahahaha!"
"Thank you for the rescue, brother," Sabo said with genuine gratitude.
Seeing Skull just wave dismissively while still lost in his own excitement, Sabo turned his attention elsewhere. "Luffy... it's been far too long. And you too, Ace!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Luffy—who had been confused and struggling to remember something—suddenly became animated: "You! You can't possibly be...?!"
His words and expression aroused the curiosity of both Robin and Skull.
With his encyclopedic memory, Skull had already identified Sabo, but he remained unaware of the deep relationship between Luffy, Ace, and this Revolutionary Army officer.
Sabo simply nodded with a warm smile, saying nothing.
At that moment, Luffy finally confirmed his incredible realization. Tears welled up in his eyes as he burst into uncontrollable sobs: "Sabo! You're really alive! This is amazing!"
Before Sabo could respond, a urgent voice suddenly rang out from the plaza below: "Luffy, look out!"
They watched a massive, razor-sharp sword energy surge upward, heading straight for Luffy and the others.
Feeling the deadly wind from the approaching attack, Sabo grabbed Luffy while Luffy pulled both Skull and Robin. All four immediately rolled and jumped to avoid the sudden assault.
Just as they were falling toward the plaza below, the enormous slash cut through Jerry's condensed water pathway with unstoppable force, completely destroying their aerial escape route.
The group crashed to the ground in moments. Luffy wiped his tears and looked at the green-haired man in Marine clothing standing before them with obvious confusion. "Zoro? What are you doing here?"
It turned out the warning voice had come from Zoro himself.
"Cough It's a long story," Zoro responded with his characteristic seriousness.
Robin blinked and couldn't resist a sarcastic comment: "You didn't get lost again, did you, Mr. Swordsman?"
"Who said I got lost?! I just changed clothes and planned to take a detour through the town behind us to reach the execution platform and rescue you! How was I supposed to know this plaza was so huge? You guys came down before I even reached my planned route—it was completely unexpected!" Zoro protested with typical stubbornness.
Then he waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about those minor details. We need to escape first!"