This sudden bombardment not only startled the members of the Black Star Pirates but also drew the attention of every chef and diner at the distant Baratie restaurant.
"Hey! Look over there! That's the Black Star Pirates who caused that uprising a few days ago and tore apart an entire kingdom!"
A young male customer rushed to the restaurant's outdoor corridor and spotted the Black Nova floating on the sea in the distance, his voice carrying across the water with obvious excitement.
As his shout echoed through the air, nearly everyone in the restaurant abandoned their meals and poured onto the corridors and observation decks.
"Over there—another warship! That dog-shaped figurehead... it looks like..."
"I know that ship! That's the battleship of the legendary Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral Garp himself!"
When that name was spoken aloud, a sudden commotion erupted throughout the crowd. Civilians, Marines, and pirates alike were all equally shocked by this revelation.
Although everyone knew that Garp hailed from East Blue, only a fortunate few from this sea had ever been honored with seeing him in person.
After all, even when the Hero of the Marines returned to East Blue, he typically chose to cross the Calm Belt directly from Marine Headquarters to Windmill Village or other specific destinations.
For ordinary people, the Calm Belt and its surrounding waters represented forbidden territory filled with unknown dangers that few dared to approach.
"Miss Carina! Little Bonney and little Carrot! You've come back to visit us again!" A certain blonde-haired cook with literal heart-shaped pupils in his eyes burst through the upstairs door, positioning himself on the second-floor deck while shouting with obvious infatuation.
BONK!
A wooden spoon struck Sanji's head directly, followed immediately by a thunderous roar: "You fool! There are Marines out there—do you want my restaurant to be shut down permanently?!"
Zeff retrieved his improvised projectile, clasped his hands behind his back, and spoke with grave authority: "It's obvious the Marines are launching an attack, so stop making unnecessary noise!"
"But old man, I was just—" Sanji began to protest.
CLANG!
The spoon found its target once again with surgical precision.
Putting away his culinary weapon, Zeff spoke with stern finality: "No 'buts' about it! Just watch quietly, you ignorant brat!"
"You damn geezer! You're deliberately taking revenge on me!" Sanji complained while rubbing the growing bump on his skull.
Zeff ignored his adoptive son's whining and continued speaking: "Didn't you ask me last time about where those pirates came from?"
Hearing this reference to their previous conversation, Sanji's expression grew more serious as he lowered his hands and began listening intently.
"They're the Black Star Pirates, famous throughout the Grand Line." Glancing at the obviously confused Sanji, Zeff clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I figured you'd never heard of them."
"Let me explain this in terms you'll actually understand. That man who never puts down his fishing rod is their captain—'Leviathan' Jerry. Don't be fooled by his harmless appearance, because he's a pirate with a bounty that has already exceeded one billion berries."
Having delivered this bombshell information, Zeff narrowed his eyes slightly while gazing intently at the distant pirate ship that was weathering the artillery barrage without sustaining any visible damage. For just a moment, a hint of his past glory as a Grand Line pirate seemed to flash in his weathered eyes before vanishing entirely.
Sanji, who had lit a cigarette at some point during the conversation, blew out a casual smoke ring and responded with affected nonchalance: "Oh, one billion? I thought it would be much higher than that. That's just..."
His words grew slower and slower as the actual magnitude sank in, until he finally shouted in complete astonishment: "ONE BILLION?! Old man, are you pulling my leg?!"
Noticing that the spectators gathered on the first-floor deck were turning to stare at them, Zeff simply glanced at the blonde young man and chose to say nothing more.
"One billion berries..." While Sanji had never paid particular attention to the bounty amounts of pirates who visited Baratie for meals, he usually picked up relevant information from other customers' conversations.
Therefore, he remained roughly aware of one crucial fact: among the pirates operating in East Blue, it was extraordinarily rare to find anyone with a bounty exceeding ten million berries.
Now this crusty old man had just casually informed him that the laid-back fisherman who always seemed so carefree and cheerful during his previous dining visits carried a bounty of over one billion berries. It was like dropping an explosive shell into his previously calm worldview.
Sanji understood that bounty size couldn't fully represent a pirate's actual strength, but when the number reached such astronomical heights, it couldn't possibly be some weakling who had simply gotten lucky, could it?
Suddenly, a burst of boisterous laughter interrupted Sanji's wandering thoughts.
"Bwahahaha! Not bad, not bad at all! You can actually navigate freely through my meteorite barrage!"
As Garp spoke with obvious enthusiasm, he accepted a massive iron cannonball from the Marines stationed behind him. The projectile was easily as large as an ordinary merchant ship.
"What the hell kind of meteorite is that supposed to be? That's clearly a cannonball! Firing it with his bare hands... that's completely ridiculous," Sanji couldn't help but complain loudly.
His eyes remained fixed on the unfolding battle with fascination and growing dread.
"Little brats! Come and taste the special feast I've prepared just for you!"
With an earth-shaking roar that seemed to make the very ocean tremble, Garp positioned himself at the front of his warship's deck and deployed his terrifying physical strength to hurl the enormous iron sphere directly toward the Black Nova.
"Hey now, Cannon-ball Garp... er, Vice Admiral Garp, how exactly did you even get that massive iron ball onto your ship in the first place?"
A mildly teasing voice rang out from the bow of the Black Nova, and Jerry's distinctive figure appeared at the ship's figurehead.
He held his fishing rod casually in his right hand, resting it against his shoulder, while clenching his left fist and extending it with palm facing upward. He crooked his index finger in a provocative "come here" gesture.
He was perhaps one word away from shouting the classic taunt that would complete the picture.
When this sarcastic gesture was made, five massive water dragons suddenly erupted from the surrounding ocean.
"Water Dragon Barrage!"
The enormous water dragon gracefully spiraled upward through the sky, rushing to intercept Garp's massive projectile with incredible speed and precision.
In the tremendous head-on collision that followed, each water dragon dispersed into countless droplets mid-air, completely negating the iron ball's forward momentum through their combined impact and causing it to lose all velocity before plummeting vertically into the sea.
CRASH!
With a deafening roar accompanied by towering columns of displaced seawater, circular shock waves rapidly spread outward from the point of impact, creating a truly spectacular visual display that sent tremors through everything in the surrounding area.
"What in the world are these monsters?" Sanji's jaw dropped as he felt their restaurant ship shaking violently despite being positioned far from the actual battlefield.
The combat unfolding before his eyes was clearly beyond anything his current experience could have prepared him for.
Not only was he overwhelmed, but even the other spectators gathered on the restaurant's lower deck felt the inexplicable tremors, as if the entire world had been shaken by the titanic clash.
Just by observing the sheer size of that colossal iron cannonball, anyone could imagine its incredible weight, yet Garp had still managed to launch it like a baseball.
Correspondingly, the five gigantic dragons composed entirely of seawater that Jerry had controlled were equally awe-inspiring in their scale and power.
Noticing that the aftermath of their techniques had affected the innocent Baratie restaurant nearby, Jerry called back without turning his head: "Deuce, take control of the ship for now."
"Huh?" Deuce looked momentarily startled before nodding with understanding. "Got it!"
In similar situations during the past, Jerry would typically have taken control of their ship and orchestrated a strategic retreat.
But since Jerry was giving these particular instructions, Deuce correctly guessed that his captain's fists were probably getting itchy for a real fight.
"He's a legendary Marine hero. Please be careful out there."
"Go get 'em, Brother Jerry!"
Apparently, Deuce's assessment wasn't unique, as the other crew members also offered their encouragement and concern.
Hearing the supportive words from his friends, Jerry paused for a moment, raised his fist toward the sky, and grinned with absolute confidence: "Don't worry about me! I know my own limits, and I'm definitely not weak anymore!"
As he spoke, Jerry leaped forward into the air to face the countless projectiles that Garp was launching at rapid-fire pace.
"Water Shot: Gun Wave Torrential Rain!"
Before he had even finished announcing his technique, countless pressurized water columns erupted from the ocean's surface, accurately intercepting each incoming cannonball with pinpoint precision.
Jerry's figure moved through the air like a phantom, following closely behind his defensive barrage as he headed straight for the Marine warship and its legendary occupant.