Just as Cavendish and the others were about to charge forward, a massive column of water suddenly erupted from the sea, accompanied by a threatening roar.
"Is that a fishman?" Brook turned his head to stare at the water spout rushing straight toward him, his skull face somehow managing to convey confusion.
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gripped his sword tightly. Cold air began spreading outward while a layer of frost formed around the blade.
"Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash"
Brook thrust his sword forward with precision, instantly freezing the entire water column solid before splitting it cleanly in half. The attack shattered into countless ice fragments that scattered across the deck.
"You guys go ahead," Brook said calmly, his empty eye sockets focused on the massive fishman leaping out of the ocean. "This fishman seems to be one of their officers. Leave him to me."
Jerry had no objection to this arrangement. He smiled with approval and said, "Then he's all yours. We'll go find the main course."
After this brief exchange, he stepped forward with Cavendish and Carrot, and they quickly advanced toward their primary targets.
Brook swung his sword experimentally and looked at the giant fishman approaching him with obvious puzzlement. "Wait, why are you wearing sunglasses underwater?"
The massive false kelpfish fishman was none other than Sebastian, a key officer of the World Pirates. He held enormous spiked hammers that resembled meteor hammers in both hands and slowly approached Brook with deliberate menace. "Even though I'm blind, sunglasses represent a man's romance."
"Really? Is that so?" Brook pondered this philosophical statement for a moment. "Well, I don't have eyes either... maybe I should find a pair of sunglasses to wear in the future?"
"You won't have a future!" Sebastian suddenly sprinted forward, raised both hammers high above his head, and brought them down with devastating force.
Ignoring the confrontation behind them, Jerry and his companions headed directly for the central area of the enemy pirate ship.
"You've really pissed me off now!"
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed across the deck as World appeared in the air above them, wielding a massive machete and radiating murderous intent.
"More-More: Hundred-Times Slash!"
His rage erupted like a volcano, and the sword in World's hands suddenly expanded from its normal size to over fifty meters in length, then continued growing to reach a full hundred meters.
Wind howled around the enormous weapon as the hundred-meter machete carved a terrifying arc through the air, descending toward Jerry and his companions with enough force to split the entire ship.
"This old man has completely lost his mind," Jerry complained, though his words were still reaching Carrot and the others' ears as his figure had already appeared high in the sky. "He's so crazy he's willing to chop up his own pirate ship!"
Just as Jerry observed, if no one intercepted the attack, World's sword would likely slice through the corridors of his own ship. Although the ship had several similar walkways connecting the outer sections, given World's current mental state, he would probably slash recklessly countless times before the battle concluded.
If that happened, Carrot and the others would also be caught in the crossfire.
"Moonwalk!"
In midair, Jerry twisted his waist and swung out his right leg with dragon-like speed and precision.
"Dragon Descent !"
A tremendous impact echoed across the water as violent shockwaves rolled outward in all directions.
Then came a sharp snapping sound as the hundred-meter machete—which hadn't been reinforced with World's Armament Haki—broke cleanly in two under Jerry's devastating kick.
As the broken blade fell downward, it shrank rapidly and visibly, eventually returning to its original size.
Under World's slightly astonished gaze, Jerry flashed forward and rushed upward from below.
"Water God: Leviathan Judgment!"
A dragon-like manifestation of energy and water appeared behind Jerry, coiling around his fist along with his Conqueror's Haki. He delivered a rising uppercut with incredible power, aiming directly for his opponent.
Feeling the overwhelming pressure contained in this technique, World's expression immediately became deadly serious.
"More-More: Fifty-Times Speed!"
"More-More: Hundred-Times Slash!"
Facing Jerry's incoming attack, World quickly applied his abilities to both himself and the broken knife in his hand.
Perhaps because the fractured machete's length had been dramatically reduced, this time World's strike was far more concentrated and focused.
He was able to completely coat the blade with his Armament Haki, making it appear significantly sharper and more lethal than before.
The fist and the enhanced sword met like two extremely hard metal weapons colliding. The impact and resulting energy waves spread outward in all directions like ripples on water.
Under the tremendous force of World's sledgehammer-like blow, Jerry's expression remained unusually calm as his body fell straight toward the sea. Unlike his usual habit, he made no attempt to break his fall or redirect the momentum.
The next second, he struck the ocean surface with a thunderous splash.
Surprisingly, the sea responded like a soft cushion, creating a deep depression from Jerry's impact while never allowing him to sink beneath the waves.
Then, when the kinetic energy was completely absorbed by the water, the ocean surface rebounded like a trampoline, launching the completely unharmed Jerry back into the sky.
Correspondingly, after their collision, World was sent tumbling through the air by the recoil from his own massive weapon, flying toward the distant ocean.
Fortunately, he managed to adjust his position in time. As he fell toward the sea, he used Moonwalk to step through the air, reversing his downward trajectory before he could hit the water.
On another section of the ship, Cavendish nimbly dodged a hammer attack from the side.
Looking at the deck planking and various objects on the ground that had all transformed into floating cubes hovering in the air before flying toward him, he frowned slightly and asked with obvious confusion, "Is this some kind of Devil Fruit ability? This power seems..."
"That's exactly right! I'm Gairam, who ate the Cube-Cube Fruit," his opponent declared with a menacing grin, wielding a huge square-shaped hammer. "You have no way to escape, so just prepare to die!"
Gairam served as both engineer and combatant for the World Pirates. He had experienced the traumatic capture of World thirty years ago alongside Sebastian, and was one of the few pirates who had survived that ordeal.
"Huh? Where exactly do you get such confidence and certainty?" Cavendish stared at the cubes floating around him, his head full of question marks at this strange opponent's arrogance.
Gairam pulled back the corner of his mouth in a savage smile, swinging the sledgehammer in his hands with fierce determination. "Of course, it's your imminent death that gives me such confidence!"
When the hammer was brought down, the cubes surrounding Cavendish quickly gathered together, encasing him completely in an instant before tightening with crushing force.
Gazing at the perfectly fitted cubic prison, Gairam laughed with obvious pride. "You little brat! You've been compressed into a meat pancake by now, right?"
"Oh, so this is your ability?" Cavendish's voice emerged clearly from within the supposed death trap, speaking with calm amusement. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't show off too much, or you'll get struck by lightning'?"
Hearing the voice of an enemy who should have been reduced to paste, Gairam was stunned and spun around frantically. "What?! How is that possible?!"
Before he could finish his exclamation, Cavendish emerged from the cube formation and raised his sword high in the air before bringing it down with devastating force.
"Divine Punishment: Lightning Strike!"
Amid the tremendous crackling sound, before Gairam could even react properly, he was struck by two dazzling lightning bolts in rapid succession.
His entire body was charred black, his eyes rolled back in his head, his muscles twitched uncontrollably, and then he staggered before collapsing to the deck.
"Those words really were tailor-made for my opponents," Cavendish observed with satisfaction, glancing up at Jerry who was still engaged in aerial combat. "That Jerry guy might act all modest, but he's obviously one of my most devoted fans."