"Is that old man seriously going all-out?"
Jerry's Observation Haki allowed him to foresee Garp's devastating punch from above. He planted his feet and leaped backward just in time.
When Garp swung his legendary fist downward, waves of invisible wind pressure and shockwaves seemed to surge outward from that Haki-charged strike, covering both the Blackbeard Pirates below and Ace, who was preparing to launch his own attack.
Like the detonation of a massive explosive, the ground within the impact zone suddenly erupted in a tremendous blast, its roar echoing across the entire battlefield.
Throughout the plaza, the resumed melee was once again momentarily interrupted by the thunderous noise.
"That's... Vice Admiral Garp?!"
Among the crowd, countless people immediately recognized the legendary Marine hero.
Seeing Garp in action, Marines couldn't help but cheer for his incredible might.
"Hmph! Just an old soldier," Whitebeard muttered quietly.
Sengoku, who had been glaring at him intensely, quickly glanced back with flickering eyes but said nothing more.
"Cough Gramps! You really can't tell friend from foe!" Since the attack had been launched from a distance and the Haki hadn't made direct contact with Ace, he naturally remained unharmed after transforming into his elemental form.
On the other hand, the Blackbeard Pirates were inevitably battered severely by this devastating assault.
Shiryu gently wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, surveyed their surroundings, and spoke grimly: "Our situation has become rather dire."
"Hey, hey! What's going on here? This has to be some kind of joke..." Teach and his remaining crew suddenly sensed the ominous atmosphere surrounding them.
The Blackbeard Pirates found themselves standing amid the rubble, with Ace positioned in front of them, Jerry guarding their rear, the wounded Akainu slowly approaching from their left while clutching his chest, and Garp flexing his hands after landing to their right.
Faced with this unexpected encirclement, even though they still held numerical superiority, Teach couldn't help but feel uncertain—he saw absolutely no path to victory.
However, he quickly devised a way to break this deadly stalemate.
Teach glanced around before fixing his gaze on Akainu. "What's this? Are the Marines going to team up with pirates now? Admiral Akainu?!"
Akainu's personality was well-known, and Teach thought this psychological manipulation might be worth attempting.
Akainu saw through Teach's transparent scheme immediately. He replied with cold indifference: "Hmph! I act solely according to my own convictions."
Even though Akainu was seriously injured, Blackbeard and his crew still felt the crushing pressure of his presence.
This unintentional encirclement surprised not only the Blackbeard Pirates but also Aokiji—who was battling Jerry's water clone—as well as Marco, Kizaru, and Dragon fighting in the sky above. Even countless observers throughout the battlefield showed expressions of shock and amazement.
Regardless of whether they understood the full situation or had clear opinions about the Blackbeard Pirates, everyone present couldn't help but silently mourn for what was about to happen to Teach's crew.
Just at that moment, Kotatsu took flight once again and resumed his live broadcast, presenting this fierce confrontation to viewers worldwide.
Perhaps Kotatsu was curious and wanted to witness the fate of those who had attacked him, because he focused the live camera directly on Jerry and the others.
This caused people around the world—who had been talking excitedly since the previous broadcast was suddenly interrupted—to involuntarily fall silent and stare at the scene before them in confusion and shock.
"Enough talking! Come taste my iron fist first!" Garp shouted as he took the lead in attacking the grim-faced Blackbeard Pirates.
Seeing this, Ace also stepped forward and launched his own relentless assault.
Feeling severe pain in his chest and missing arm, Akainu snorted coldly, glared briefly at Jerry, then turned his burning gaze toward Shiryu.
Perhaps in Akainu's mind, pirates and traitors were equally despicable.
But knowing he couldn't deal with Jerry at the moment, he subconsciously chose to target Shiryu first.
"What the hell are you staring at... a handsome guy?!" Jerry opened his mouth and nearly insulted himself.
Then he ignored Akainu's piercing glare, brandished his fishing rod, and locked his eyes on Van Augur among the enemy ranks.
"Hey, glasses boy! If you've got the guts, step forward so I can smash those specs!"
Aokiji paused when he heard this from the distance, his eyes behind his own lenses quickly glancing over.
"I'm not talking about you, so don't take it personally," the water clone noticed Aokiji's reaction and commented calmly.
Marco couldn't help but hesitate slightly, considering that he sometimes wore glasses too.
Faced with the nearly simultaneous assault launched by four powerful opponents, the Blackbeard Pirates each fought desperately to resist while seeking opportunities to counterattack.
Explosive roars erupted continuously, punctuated by someone's creative cursing.
"Hey! Akainu, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! You @#$%&*..." Jerry used his fishing rod to deliver a devastating strike that sent Jesus Burgess flying, then dodged magma coming from the side while speaking with impressive fluency.
Akainu didn't respond, but after blocking Shiryu's fierce sword strike, he threw another molten punch.
Shiryu swung his blade to defend, immediately causing countless lava droplets to explode outward.
Jerry clicked his tongue in annoyance, deflected the flying magma aimed at him, and fixed his stare on Van Augur again: "Next up—the third one goes down."
"Damn old man! Don't compete with me! I'm going to kill him with my own hands!" Ace twisted his body, brushed past Garp's side, and struck at Teach, who had just dodged Garp's devastating punch.
"Get out of my way! I won't feel satisfied unless I pound him a few times myself!" Garp moved with surprising flexibility, pursuing Teach—who had retreated several steps—and delivered another bone-crushing blow.
The two fighters bantered back and forth, their punches and kicks flowing like water as they advanced and retreated in perfect coordination.
For several moments, Teach was beaten so severely that he cried out in pain while desperately trying to mount any kind of counterattack.
But he wasn't the type to simply accept defeat passively. When he noticed Van Augur also getting knocked sideways by Jerry's strike—blood gushing from his injuries—intense rage surged through Teach's heart.
He stomped his feet hard as deep, dark energy seemed to explode from within his body, spreading rapidly in all directions.
At this moment, Ace and Garp simultaneously dodged and retreated, while Akainu also deliberately engaged Shiryu and leaped backward.
"Hah! Feeling your age yet?" Jerry kicked Lafayette, sending him flying into Doc Q. The two men and their horse immediately tumbled into a chaotic pile.
Then Jerry leaped lightly into the air while quickly reeling in his fishing rod.
Two water whirlpools suddenly materialized in his palms, condensing into javelin shapes within seconds.
"Hydro Spear: Twin Vortex!"
Jerry hung in mid-air, his body wreathed in crackling Haki as he swung both hands and hurled the rapidly spinning projectiles.
At that moment, targeted by his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, both "Corrupt King" Avalo Pizarro and "Crescent Moon Hunter" Catarina Devon found their movements suddenly sluggish and unnaturally stiff.
Their eyes widened, revealing a mixture of viciousness and surprise as they stared intently at Jerry.
When the two javelins struck their targets and the ground, they instantly transformed into massive, majestic water tornadoes that irresistibly swept up Pizarro and Devon despite their attempts to resist and dodge.
The twin water spouts shot skyward and circled on either side of Jerry, their power and range so tremendous that they affected every member of the Blackbeard Pirates.
However, the endless darkness controlled by Teach spread like an enormous net across the ground, constantly devouring the water tornadoes and making them disappear into nothingness.
Not only that, but the thick darkness continued expanding, attracting objects and buildings within hundreds of meters, causing them to gradually sink into the terrifying dark abyss.
The range of this technique was incredibly vast—even the crowds in the distant plaza were affected, swept up by the black mist as it tried to drag them into the void.
Seeing that Teach had temporarily resolved the siege with this move while pulling his surviving accomplices back to his side, the darkness around him had gathered into a massive vortex rising from his body and pointing straight toward the sky.
Jerry had no intention of waiting for Teach to complete his dramatic technique, so he immediately air-stepped and dove from above.
However, before he could reach Teach, a sword suddenly whistled toward him from the side, forcing him to swing out his fishing rod defensively.
"What?!" Jerry looked closely and discovered it was Shiryu of the Rain who had appeared before him, while Akainu—who had been watching him menacingly—had completely vanished.
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