After their earth-shaking clash that seemed to change the very color of heaven and earth, both Jerry and Shanks were obscured by swirling clouds of dust and debris, but the impact of their confrontation continued reverberating across the battlefield.
Many of the Red Hair Pirates' officers seemed genuinely surprised that the two fighters had decisively launched such a devastating attack without even exchanging preliminary words.
In their shock, they instinctively wanted to step forward and move to Shanks' side for support.
But a second later, every member of the Red Hair Pirates found their path completely blocked.
The Whitebeard Pirates division commanders—led by Whitebeard and Ace—along with Revolutionary Army executives led by Dragon and Sabo, had already positioned themselves as human barriers.
On the Black Star Pirates' side, Deuce and Carina (who had been nearby), Carrot and Bonney (who had recently returned), Skull, the bandaged Cavendish, Brook (who had just finished his own battle), and even several Straw Hat Pirates members all stood ready for action.
Amid the many calculating looks from Marines throughout the area, the atmosphere suddenly grew incredibly tense as a new large-scale confrontation seemed to be brewing.
"Easy now, everyone! Stay calm!"
Suddenly, Shanks' composed voice carried clearly from the distance, and the increasingly volatile atmosphere regained a measure of peace.
"Jerry! You're not seriously planning to fight all of us, are you?"
Facing Shanks' reasonable question, Jerry took a deep breath and replied with surprising calm after several moments:
"Let's do this! Whitebeard, come help me deal with him! Uncle Dragon, keep an eye on that Beckman guy! Usopp, go have some quality time with that sniper who looks just like your dad..."
Jerry's mouth worked like a machine gun, words spilling out rapidly and decisively.
Within moments, he had quickly assigned opponents to everyone present. Those who had been named by him remained speechless but visibly tensed their muscles, preparing themselves in case a real war actually erupted.
Only Usopp stared at Yasopp standing across from him with bulging eyes, clearly overwhelmed by the implications.
Seeing that his opponents seemed to be losing their composure entirely, Akainu couldn't help but let a satisfied smirk cross his face, as if he were enjoying a particularly entertaining drama.
Then he cracked his neck and spoke with stern authority: "If you want to fight, then let's fight! Stop wasting time with pointless talk!"
Hearing Akainu's aggressive words, Sengoku gently rubbed his temples and sighed quietly. He didn't intervene immediately, preferring to observe the situation before making any decisive moves.
He understood that from the moment this execution had been publicly announced, the Marines would have no viable retreat options.
If the Red Hair Pirates hadn't intervened, he might not have found himself in such an indecisive strategic position.
Even if they had to fight to the last soldier, the Marines absolutely must achieve victory.
Otherwise, Marine authority would suffer an unprecedented devastating blow to its credibility and power.
If the Red Hair Pirates could genuinely help them temporarily contain a significant portion of enemy middle and high-tier combat forces, then the Marines' chances of ultimate victory would increase dramatically.
Although Sengoku also recognized that such a scenario would probably only happen in his most optimistic dreams.
However, reality could sometimes prove surprisingly dreamlike in its developments.
Just as Sengoku remained trapped in his state of strategic confusion, Jerry glared at Akainu from across the distance and shouted: "Oh really?! You actually want to start another war, don't you?"
After that declaration, he turned toward little Bonney, who was standing not far from Whitebeard, and raised his chin in her direction: "Little Bonney! Give Whitebeard some assistance!"
Amid countless confused stares from observers throughout the battlefield, little Bonney nodded enthusiastically, ran directly to Whitebeard, whispered something urgently in his ear, then quickly climbed onto the World's Strongest Man's massive shoulder.
The next second, the entire world was left in absolute shock while Whitebeard Pirates members cheered with tremendous excitement.
The elderly, white-bearded titan suddenly transformed back to his youthful prime appearance.
"Gurararara! It's been decades since I've felt this kind of power coursing through my body!"
He laughed with tremendous heroic spirit, suddenly brandishing the massive naginata Murakumogiri in his right hand before slamming its handle heavily against the ground.
A thunderous crash shook the entire battlefield in all directions, not only stunning countless people watching the live broadcast around the world but also making every Marine present feel their hearts skip several beats.
Everyone's attention shifted between the calm little Bonney and the dramatically transformed Whitebeard before finally settling on the rejuvenated Emperor.
This sudden, incredible transformation made the faces of Marines—including Akainu himself—grow visibly grim with concern.
They could reasonably guess that this was the effect of some Devil Fruit power, but they couldn't determine whether Whitebeard—who now appeared decades younger—had actually recovered his legendary peak physical condition.
After all, in this world, Devil Fruit abilities varied tremendously, and some of their effects were extremely abstract and seemingly unreasonable in their applications.
With these troubling considerations in mind, the Marines turned their collective attention toward Sengoku, awaiting his next strategic instructions.
However, the Fleet Admiral also wore a deeply serious expression and didn't speak immediately.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you kidding me? It would be quite interesting if that old monster actually regained his youth," Shanks commented with genuine surprise as he observed Whitebeard's amazing transformation.
Before any of the various factions could take decisive action, Jerry spoke with complete seriousness: "This is the power of youth!"
Then he turned toward Shanks and declared with firm resolve: "So I have no objections to the ceasefire decision, but Marshall D. Teach absolutely must be captured!"
Hearing this declaration, Whitebeard responded powerfully from across the battlefield: "Exactly right! That is also my position!"
Seeing Whitebeard Pirates members becoming excited and responding with loud agreement, the Marines looked toward Garp—who was still pursuing Shiryu and the others with devastating punches—and remained strategically silent.
Shanks glanced toward Teach, who had not yet managed to stand up from the rubble, and shrugged with casual indifference: "Although I'm here to mediate this conflict, I have absolutely no obligation to protect him."
"Perfect! If you also want to hit him a few times, I don't think anyone would object," Jerry replied as he turned and flew toward Teach's location.
At this crucial moment, Teach—who had been lying among the ruins while taking the opportunity to catch his breath—felt overwhelming dread in his heart. Only now did he truly realize that he seemed to have severely underestimated the depth of hatred these people harbored toward him.
With a tremendous crash, Teach stood up suddenly and shouted in a deep, defiant voice: "Want to take me down? If you think you can do it, then come on!"
Even though he understood perfectly that his side faced absolutely overwhelming disadvantages, he remained unwilling to simply sit and wait for death.
Endless darkness suddenly erupted from his body and gathered into a massive sphere of thick, roiling energy that seemed to contain tremendously destructive power.
This was the most devastating attack technique that Teach had developed since consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Seeing this ominous development, Ace, Marco, and others who were rushing over to capture Teach together felt slightly surprised but didn't slow their advance.
Jerry sneered with obvious contempt: "Do I need to pick a special day just to beat you senseless?"
"Water Dragon: Leviathan Rebirth!"
As Jerry gestured with his finger, a tremendous explosion erupted in the harbor behind them.
A dark haki coated colossal dragon constructed entirely of seawater suddenly launched into the sky and dove toward Teach's position at breathtaking speed.
Its immense size gave everyone present the overwhelming impression that it was literally blocking out both sun and sky.
At this climactic moment, Jerry's figure leaped high above Teach's position. He gripped his fishing rod tightly with both hands as tremendous power seemed to rapidly concentrate throughout his entire body.
Teach, positioned at the center of his dark sphere, froze momentarily in his tracks. His eyes pierced through the deep black energy and stared directly at both the man and the massive dragon rapidly approaching from above.
"Bring it on!" Teach roared toward the heavens and took the initiative in releasing the strongest attack he could possibly concentrate.
"Water Blade: Sky Piercer:!" Almost simultaneously, Jerry also gave a thunderous battle cry.
The water dragon roared silently as its enormous body spanned the sky, rushing toward Teach at lightning speed with unstoppable momentum.
Jerry's figure flashed at the dragon's head, his fishing rod wrapped in countless crackling bolts of Conqueror's Haki. As the dragon surged forward with devastating force, it dragged a long, brilliant afterimage through the air.