The Marines positioned further away stared in amazement at the overwhelming wall of seawater. Even though the tsunami hadn't reached them yet, no one dared underestimate the impact of what appeared to be an extremely powerful natural disaster.
"Hey! You've got to be kidding me!" one Marine exclaimed.
"What the hell is that thing?!" another shouted.
Gion made a quick decision and turned to shout at her subordinates who were still discussing the situation behind her. Just because she and Tokikake could handle the attack didn't mean the ordinary Marine soldiers could survive it.
Seeing that Jerry could actually control a massive tsunami and direct it toward them, Gion leaped backward and swung her sword toward the ground at incredible speed while airborne.
An extremely sharp and enormous slash suddenly tore through the air from her brilliant blade. The sword energy cut like a rainbow, carving a deep trench that stretched across the front of the Marine forces.
"Tokikake, fall back and provide support!" she commanded.
"Right, understood!" he replied.
When Jerry began his dramatic technique, Tokikake knew the battle couldn't continue, and hearing Gion's call, he quickly retreated.
'She called my name! That was so exciting—I won't wash my ears for a month!' he thought with pure happiness on his face.
Tokikake returned to the rear of the gap Gion had cut and nodded at her with a delighted smile.
Jerry controlled the tsunami to rush toward shore while leaving an opening for Ace. After the wave passed through both of them, it headed straight for the Marine forces.
Grabbing Ace's arm, Jerry turned and leaped onto the ocean surface, running toward their pirate ship amid Ace's startled yells.
After a short time, both men returned to the deck.
"Brother Jerry, are you alright?" Carrot asked with concern, noticing the wounds on his body.
"Ah, I'm fine," Jerry replied, raising his hand and moving it to show her he was okay while petting Kotatsu, who was rubbing against him affectionately.
After the extended battle on the island, Jerry had acquired several smaller cuts in addition to the deeper wound on his arm, but they were essentially superficial injuries—his clothes had simply been torn up again.
"Fighting really is hard on clothing. No wonder you prefer going shirtless, Ace," Jerry observed.
"I am wearing a shirt right now... hiss," Ace replied, blinking as he tugged at his clothes and winced slightly.
At this point, Ace had several obvious bruises across his body, most from his intense fight with Tokikake.
"Stop chatting—let me treat those wounds first," Deuce interrupted, reaching for the medical kit beside them to help both fighters immediately.
In truth, Jerry's injuries weren't serious. After all, his Observation Haki was already quite strong, allowing him to avoid most attacks. Even when he encountered situations he couldn't dodge or needed to absorb damage, he managed to avoid the worst of it.
"We'll handle it later," Jerry said, looking at the cannonballs landing near their ship and stopping Deuce's actions.
He glanced into the distance. This time when they left Sabaody, there was another group of warships coming to "see them off" with artillery fire.
Similarly, other uninvolved pirate ships were caught up in their escape and forced to flee in panic.
The ship was rocking slightly, but everyone remained calm. They were now at sea and knew Jerry would definitely lead them to safety.
Looking back toward shore, Gion and Tokikake stood there with their Marine forces, sighing in frustration. They would have to wait a while before the supporting warships could arrive nearby.
When Jerry had created that massive tsunami, only about half the water had actually washed ashore in the end—the rest had been mostly for show.
After being dispersed by Gion and Tokikake along the way, some water had flowed into the deep trench cut by Gion's sword technique. The remaining water was no longer threatening—at most, it had caused the Marine to panic and created some flooding.
Therefore, most of the Marines were simply soaked at this point, with only the injured left behind waiting for medical treatment.
"Miss Gion, what exactly did Leviathan do before this?" Tokikake asked.
"After I received the distress call and learned you were at the scene, I immediately set off and rushed here at full speed. I don't have any details," she replied.
"Hehe, now that I've said this, Miss Gion should understand how much I care about her. That's a positive sign, right?" Although he had his own agenda, Tokikake had indeed been the first to rush over alone from the sea.
"Well, I don't know the specifics," Gion admitted. "I intercepted him at the entrance to an auction house, but it seems he rescued some slaves from inside..."
Gion had also rushed over without asking questions after receiving the emergency signal. Since she hadn't been far away at the time, she'd arrived first.
"Rescuing slaves? He's indeed as Vice Admiral Tsuru described—a unique type of pirate," Tokikake observed, patting the brown hat on his head and nodding thoughtfully, his mind still working.
"Miss Gion is also very special in my heart," he added hopefully.
Having served in the military for many years, Gion had encountered pirates of all kinds, but pirates like Jerry and his crew were rare.
"Hmm... probably," she replied with a hint of complexity in her eyes.
If it weren't her duty, she wouldn't want to make things difficult for this type of pirate. Shaking her head slightly, Gion continued, "Anyway, they said Kuzan is coming, but it looks like he won't make it in time."
"How about we each take command of a warship and try to catch up with them? Maybe we can delay them somehow?"
"No problem! Miss Gion is absolutely right!" Tokikake nodded enthusiastically.
'She actually asked for my opinion today! What a wonderful attitude—I really do love her,' he thought dreamily.
In the end, before they could wait for the warships to dock, they watched the Black Star Pirates—who were under heavy fire—sink beneath the sea surface and disappear without a trace.
Staring at the gradually calming ocean, Gion sighed softly. "That Leviathan—aside from his incredible strength, his control over water is truly amazing."
"When I read the news reports about his incident with the Big Mom Pirates, I thought they might be exaggerated, but now it seems there was truth to them."
Hearing this, Tokikake blinked and responded, "Yes, they escaped after all."
"Miss Gion, I bet you're hungry. Would you like to try this box of chocolates? These are..."
"Thank you, but I'm not eating anything! Could you please stop bothering me with random gifts?" Gion waved her hand in refusal.
"Okay, I'll save them for later then," Tokikake replied with a smile, silently putting away the small gift box he'd just produced, his heart filled with joy.
'She thanked me and asked for my opinion again! This must mean she cares about my performance. Damn, Tokikake, you're doing great!' he thought to himself.
For the other pirate crews in the area, the inexplicable appearance of warships at sunset forced them to flee hastily before they could figure out what was happening.
The warships and Marine forces that followed, knowing that Jerry's crew had escaped underwater, had no choice but to turn their attention to these other pirate groups.
An unknown young pirate jumped out and took the lead in attacking the approaching warship formation.
Ignoring the warnings from his own crew, he leaped into the air, transformed into a giant mynah bird, and swooped forward aggressively.
"Ha! Marines, are you here to see me off on my upcoming journey to the New World?" he taunted boldly.
"Devil Claw Strike!"
"Ice Time Capsule," came a calm response.
Looking at the animal-type Devil Fruit user before him with mild confusion, Aokiji exhaled a breath of freezing air, thinking that this pirate was extremely brave to dare challenge a Marine fleet single-handedly.