Aokiji glanced at his frozen leg wound, then shifted his gaze toward Jerry, who was engaged in fierce combat with Akainu. He muttered to himself, "The most effective approach would be to target the main body directly. This thing obviously isn't human."
Hearing this, the water clone's eyes widened indignantly. "That's blatant discrimination! How am I not human?!"
Although the water clone protested vigorously, Aokiji clearly had no intention of responding. He'd already concluded that the entity before him wasn't human at all.
Sensing Aokiji's subtle movement, the water clone instantly brought his hands together and launched another water assault.
While Aokiji could freeze water rapidly, Jerry had gained considerable experience in breaking through ice techniques during their previous battle in the South Blue.
Aokiji couldn't completely restrict the water clone's performance by relying solely on long-range Devil Fruit manipulation.
If he engaged in close combat, he wouldn't be able to permanently destroy his opponent, which put Aokiji in a frustrating dilemma.
He could naturally choose to abandon this fight and pursue Ace and the others, but this water clone could follow closely behind, turn to assist against Akainu, or even directly attack ordinary Marines.
Such consequences were definitely not what Aokiji wanted to see.
Despite disagreeing with Akainu's methods and being incompatible with him in many aspects, Aokiji had never considered harming his colleagues.
Therefore, he glanced toward Akainu's battle situation and decided to wait and observe before making his next move.
On the other side, unlike the water clone who focused primarily on elemental water attacks, the battle between Jerry and Akainu appeared particularly vicious.
Both fighters' assaults were fierce and evenly matched, with Akainu becoming increasingly irritated as the conflict continued.
The reason was simple: Jerry hadn't stopped his psychological warfare since the battle began, and he dared to attack any part of Akainu's body except vital points, aggressively trading injury for injury.
Even while exchanging wounds, Jerry wasn't foolish enough to absorb damage blindly.
He maintained full-power Observation Haki while skillfully using Armament Haki for timely defense.
He could keenly predict and seize every opportunity, relying on his enhanced recovery abilities to exchange minor injuries for optimal chances to strike his opponent.
Throughout this process, he maintained a calm, strategic mindset that contradicted his provocative appearance, making him difficult for Akainu to predict.
After an extended exchange, Jerry wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, stepped forward, and shouted angrily:
"Come on! You so-called champion of Marine justice! Aren't you supposed to be so capable? If your justice is truly absolute and thorough, then why don't you launch a few Meteor Volcanos at the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois?!"
After this prolonged verbal assault, Jerry seemed to be gaining momentum. His unrestrained, razor-sharp words left not only Akainu speechless, but caused Sengoku and many Marine officers present to darken their expressions.
"You claim to uphold justice and complete your missions, but you turn a blind eye to innocent civilian lives and your own subordinates' safety. Why do you suddenly become deaf and selectively ignore everything when it comes to the World Nobles?"
Akainu's face twisted with rage as his body suddenly accelerated in deadly silence.
He swung his left fist to block the fishing rod's attack while his right hand erupted with a terrifyingly fast strike, as if trying to silence the persistent voice before him in one decisive blow.
Jerry, who had deliberately initiated this verbal provocation, naturally wasn't unprepared for his enemy's retaliation.
"Maelstorm Abyss Breaker!"
He twisted his waist with fluid flexibility and rapidly gathered all his strength. Crackling Haki burst forth like lightning serpents, wrapping tightly around his left fist and dancing through the air with terrifying momentum.
A deafening explosion erupted as a searing shockwave burst from the collision point, spreading rapidly in all directions like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake.
Where they clashed, the solid plaza ground instantly formed a deep circular crater while tremendous amounts of steam and smoke rose slowly skyward.
Simultaneously, both Jerry and Akainu were launched backward dozens of meters before crashing to the ground, raising clouds of dust and debris.
Although the central figures of this execution-triggered war were Luffy and his group, and a large-scale melee involving massive numbers was taking place elsewhere—with sounds of combat and battle cries echoing continuously in shocking fashion—the confrontation between the three Marine Admirals against Jerry and Dragon captured most people's attention at this critical moment.
After all, the chaotic battle between Luffy's pirates, the Revolutionary Army, and Marines was still dragging on with unclear results.
Even with Ace's participation, they couldn't easily break through the Marine encirclement that kept reinforcing itself.
The three Admirals represented the Marines' nominally highest combat force, and now there was an incredible scene of Jerry fighting two Admirals simultaneously without being defeated.
Regardless of the final outcome, countless people both present and watching the live broadcast felt deeply that a monstrous powerhouse was emerging to shock the entire world.
Naturally, they harbored no doubts about the combat effectiveness of these Admirals who had withstood years of trials, possessed extensive experience, and achieved various outstanding accomplishments.
At this moment, Sengoku also noticed the pirates maintained high morale.
The battlefield feedback showed Luffy's group was breaking through rapidly, dragging the chaotic main battlefield while gradually advancing toward the bay's coastline.
"Ptui!" Jerry spat out saliva mixed with dust and stared directly at Akainu, who was also getting back to his feet.
He extended his fist, crooked his fingers in a taunting gesture, and raised a mocking smile. "Come on, you hypocritical dog!"
Jerry truly had nothing but contempt for Akainu's actions and supposedly firm stance.
Jerry couldn't agree with Akainu's excessively ruthless methods—especially his willingness to harm innocent people.
If Akainu truly insisted on his so-called "absolute justice" and refused to tolerate even a trace of "evil," then the Celestial Dragons were undoubtedly a stain he could never erase.
Given his status and position, it was impossible for him not to be aware of the World Nobles' true nature and countless misdeeds.
Perhaps some people believed Akainu chose to swallow his anger toward the Celestial Dragons to gain higher status and power, hoping to overthrow them someday.
Jerry could only say he was sorry—he couldn't understand or figure out any deeper meaning behind Akainu's actions for the time being.
Jerry didn't think himself qualified to define true justice, but his intuition told him it should never come at innocent people's expense.
Moreover, Jerry now only knew that this man had nearly killed Ace right in front of him moments ago.
Even though Ace and he were no longer on the same crew, they'd spent years sailing together from the very beginning...
As a partner who'd known each other and adventured together from the start, Jerry wouldn't sit idly by while his former captain fell into mortal danger.
Faced with Jerry's mockery, Akainu naturally couldn't ignore it—he wouldn't tolerate such direct provocation from a pirate.
"You're asking for death!" Akainu roared furiously as terrifyingly high-temperature magma emerged from his arms, as if seeking to burn everything to ash.
He launched himself forward with thick smoke billowing behind him, rushing toward Jerry like a falling meteor.
He delivered a devastating punch, and the air seemed filled with the suffocating scent of molten rock.
Jerry's mouth curved upward as he prepared to launch his counterattack and continue his verbal assault, but suddenly he heard a piercing scream from behind.
As the cry rang out, Kotatsu's live broadcast—which had been maintained normally throughout the battle—immediately cut off, and the image stopped abruptly.
Jerry's movement to swing his fishing rod paused slightly. Even though he reacted immediately, he'd still lost the optimal opportunity to counterattack.
In that fleeting moment, Jerry could only grip his fishing rod tightly, gather his formidable power, and strike out with everything he had.
After a muffled impact, Jerry's hastily swung fishing rod not only failed to resist Akainu's fierce assault but was pushed back by his opponent, pressed directly against his own chest.
Then tremendous force struck him, launching him through the air.
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