Since the start of this war, Jerry couldn't claim he hadn't been fighting seriously—but he certainly hadn't been giving his absolute best effort.
In his earlier confrontation with Kuma, he'd simply been stalling for time after noticing the cyborg's abnormal mental state.
After Kuma seemed to recover his consciousness and Ivankov slipped away to take over the situation, Jerry had been briefly freed from that engagement.
In his subsequent battle with Kizaru, both fighters had tacitly adopted a cautious, probing approach until the execution platform was destroyed. Only then had Jerry and the Admiral truly begun fighting with serious intensity.
Therefore, thanks to the passive high-speed recovery effect of his fused abilities—aside from his clothes being slightly disheveled—Jerry's physical condition was essentially perfect, with negligible energy consumption.
At this moment, with Jerry's sudden explosive release, his Conqueror's Haki swept across the entire front battlefield like a tsunami.
Except for a few members of the Black Star Pirates and Straw Hat Pirates whom he intentionally spared, he didn't have the time or energy to identify everyone else individually.
This resulted in a tremendous wave of overwhelming presence—towering like mountains and surging like ocean tides—that caused countless people across the entire front battlefield to collapse one after another.
Even fighters as powerful as Vice Admirals couldn't avoid being shaken by the pressure of Jerry's extraordinarily potent Conqueror's Haki.
Seeing people falling like dominoes all around them, the attacks of the three Admirals, Dragon, and Ace couldn't help but pause, bringing the battle to a brief standstill.
At the edge of the battlefield, those who were far enough away to escape the effects of the Conqueror's Haki stared in horror at the shocking scene before them.
Most people watching the live broadcast around the world couldn't comprehend this exaggerated spectacle—tens of thousands, perhaps over a hundred thousand people, collapsing simultaneously.
If they hadn't known that Marines, pirates, and Revolutionary Army couldn't possibly be working together, they might have thought this was some elaborate entertainment program staged in advance.
"Oh my, oh my! You're far too frightening, young man," Kizaru commented with his characteristic drawl.
Dragon, Akainu, and Aokiji stared intently at Jerry—who stood holding his fishing rod while crackling with Haki-enhanced energy—remaining ominously silent.
Ace was equally shocked by this overwhelming display. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Jerry address him first: "Ace, go help Luffy and the others. Leave this to me and Uncle Dragon."
Before anyone else could react, Jerry suddenly vanished from his position.
In the blink of an eye, two Jerrys appeared on the battlefield, launching fierce attacks on Akainu and Aokiji respectively.
"Bring it on, you arrogant pirate!" Akainu snarled through gritted teeth, twisting his body to avoid the assault in front of him while delivering a devastating counterattack.
Aokiji looked surprised but immediately waved his hand, releasing an ice projectile toward Ace's direction.
"Ice Pheasant Beak!"
"Water Dragon Fist!"
While the ice bird was still in flight, a rapidly condensing water dragon suddenly surged forward to intercept it.
After the two techniques collided violently, both the water dragon and ice bird dissipated in the air.
The figure rushing toward Aokiji was Jerry's "water clone."
After extensive observation and development, Jerry had discovered that while his water elemental clone lacked his own enhanced physical body and Haki reserves, it could control and perceive water elements exactly as he could.
As long as it remained within Jerry's maintenance range, the "water clone" was essentially indestructible.
The properties of water allowed it to quickly recover through environmental moisture even if completely shattered, and even if totally destroyed or evaporated, Jerry could regenerate it through his abilities.
Additionally, the "water clone" possessed the same properties as seawater, maintaining absolute advantage against Devil Fruit users.
If Jerry weren't restricted to giving conscious life to only one water construct at a time, he would have summoned multiple water clones and led an entire "Jerry army" to sweep through Marine Headquarters.
Therefore, as long as Jerry's mental focus remained sharp and he could manage dual operations without lag, the strength his "water clone" could display shouldn't be underestimated.
Seeing Jerry take the initiative, Dragon—though shocked—reacted without delay.
A gentle breeze stirred as he positioned himself in front of Kizaru, blocking the Admiral's path.
Ace got a crucial moment to catch his breath. He quickly scanned the area and spotted numerous Marine officers staggering back to their feet.
The moment they regained their footing, they immediately targeted Luffy and his group.
Without question, the Marines' primary objective was clearly Luffy and Robin.
Despite the elimination of most low-level combatants, the intensity of Marine attacks on Luffy's group actually increased rather than decreased.
The battle in the plaza instantly transformed into three distinct waves of fierce combat.
The first was an enormous area near the center of the square, where Jerry, Dragon, and the three Admirals competed in devastating exchanges.
The second involved intense assault and defense centered on Luffy's group, with Marine officers led by Vice Admiral Tokikake commanding all remaining capable personnel against middle and upper-tier fighters from the Whitebeard Pirates and Revolutionary Army.
The final confrontation was the legendary duel between Whitebeard and Sengoku in the veteran division, taking place in an area relatively outside the main action, closer to the bay.
"Sengoku! Your Marines' new generation is quite concerning! Gurararara!"
Seeing that Jerry had rescued Ace and the others at the previous critical moment, Whitebeard was in excellent spirits and couldn't resist mocking his old rival.
Having his recent troubles pointed out so bluntly, Sengoku's expression darkened. "Hmph! That's not for a pirate like you to worry about! Don't think you're leaving here safely today!"
As he spoke, he struck out mercilessly with his palm, violent shockwaves pressing hard toward his opponent.
"Don't let your mouth write checks your power can't cash! If you've got the ability, try stopping me!"
Although Whitebeard had been startled by Akainu's attack on Ace and his rescue attempt had been thwarted by Sengoku, the man who'd been strong his entire life refused to yield.
Deep in his heart, he'd already made a resolute decision to fight with everything he had.
Especially after witnessing Ace's rapid growth to his current level, Whitebeard felt tremendous satisfaction.
"Leviathan! This is some alternative application of your ability, isn't it? I've seen through your tricks—that's all there is to it!"
After a brief exchange, Aokiji believed he'd figured out the "Jerry" facing him.
His entire body radiated extremely low temperatures as he moved, closing the distance to the water clone in a flash.
Aokiji released intense freezing aura, attempting to trap the water clone in place with ice.
However, in that instant, Aokiji suddenly heard a whisper. Startled, he tried to turn and evade, but found it was too late.
"Water Release: Riptide Cutter!!"
An ultra-high-pressure water stream—sharp as any blade—erupted rapidly from the water clone's hands before they could be completely frozen.
Aokiji felt sharp pain along his outer thigh. He instinctively threw a punch and leaped away, quickly distancing himself from the water clone.
"It seems I was careless..." Looking at the "Jerry" he'd frozen solid and shattered with his punch, Aokiji waved his hand to freeze his leg wound and muttered to himself.
Under Aokiji's watchful gaze, a water clone "Jerry" stood up again, completely intact, formed from the water that had just sprayed out and landed on the ground.
"Whew... Admiral Aokiji, you were just this close to finishing me off." The water clone held up his thumb and index finger with a tiny gap between them, speaking in a perfectly serious tone.