The reason Jerry kept staring into the distance could be traced back to his brief but thrilling confrontation with Shanks at Marine Headquarters.
During that intense moment, both he and the Red-Haired Emperor had used Conqueror's Haki to enhance their weapons. After exchanging several earth-shaking blows, a crisp "ding" sound had suddenly rung in Jerry's mind—the familiar notification of his troublesome system.
However, Jerry had simply ignored the prompt at the time, deciding to deal with whatever it was later when he had more breathing room.
Now that he finally had some free time, Jerry took a closer look at the system information floating in his mental interface.
As expected, what had been triggered during his clash with Shanks was the same task he'd previously tried to complete by taking shortcuts with Rayleigh. One of the dark holes in the lotus-shaped interface suddenly flashed with brilliant light.
"So Shanks's Conqueror's Haki was the key... Not bad at all," Jerry thought to himself, trying hard to suppress the unconscious grin that wanted to spread across his face.
[Ding! It is detected that you have used Conqueror's Haki in combat against Shanks, one of the world's top practitioners of this ability, and have gained his recognition. This opens the breakthrough and fusion limits for related skills.]
Looking at the system interface and reading the text above the glowing groove—similar to his previous breakthrough—Jerry's mouth curved upward slightly. Without hesitation, he retrieved a Wall-breaking Bead from his storage and tossed it toward the opening.
The bead flew into the hole with perfect precision, disappearing without any deviation.
The moment it made contact, Jerry suddenly froze as an overwhelming sensation began building within him. Without hesitation, he shouted urgently at the top of his lungs: "Everyone, get away from me! You'd better find somewhere to lie down or brace yourselves!"
His voice thundered across the water like a natural disaster, startling not only the members of the Black Star Pirates and Straw Hat Pirates, but also the Whitebeard Pirates who had been chatting casually nearby. Even the crews of numerous other pirate ships sailing in the vicinity looked around in confusion.
The next moment, almost every eye present focused on Jerry, and they could see that his face was turning as red as a cooked lobster. As he gritted his teeth in obvious strain, the redness seemed to deepen even further, spreading down his neck.
Upon witnessing this alarming scene, the Black Star Pirates were the first to react. They immediately scattered and took cover with such practiced, fluid movements that it was almost heartbreaking to watch—clearly the result of extensive experience.
Seeing their hasty retreat, the Straw Hat Pirates who had been standing nearby quickly followed suit, though with considerably less coordination.
While Deuce and the others didn't fully understand what was happening, they had learned countless painful lessons over the years. Whenever Jerry suddenly asked them to secure themselves or take cover, those who reacted too slowly typically ended up regretting it.
As confusion spread among the gathered pirates, Whitebeard's booming voice suddenly cut through the air: "Don't hesitate! Do exactly as he says, and do it quickly!"
Obviously, Whitebeard's authority was unquestionable among his crew. When everyone heard his command, they immediately took it seriously and began moving away from Jerry while seeking stable positions to brace themselves.
Although Whitebeard didn't know the specific details of Jerry's condition, his advanced Observation Haki could sense the violent Conqueror's Haki that was brewing and building within the younger pirate's body. It was a force that even Jerry himself was struggling desperately to control, yet it continued growing more powerful with each passing second.
Once Jerry could no longer suppress it and the energy was finally released, the result would be earth-shattering.
Whitebeard knew that critical moment was imminent.
Sure enough, just one second after Whitebeard finished speaking, a terrifying and breathtakingly fierce wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Jerry's body like a geyser of pure willpower.
Although Jerry desperately tried to control the direction of the Haki explosion—pointing it directly skyward to minimize collateral damage—a significant portion still inevitably burst outward around him, spreading across the horizontal plane in all directions.
The wooden deck beneath Jerry's feet immediately produced a series of sharp, rapid cracking sounds as fractures spread outward in perfect radial patterns from where he stood. The reinforced planking of the ship, designed to withstand cannon fire, split like dry kindling under the overwhelming pressure.
The night sky, which had been covered with dark storm clouds, suddenly erupted into chaos. A powerful wind rose from nowhere, and the clouds began rushing outward at incredible speed. In an instant, a massive circular gap was torn through the thick cloud cover, as if some invisible force had exploded violently at its center, creating a perfect eye in the storm.
The sea itself became turbulent, with waves rising and crashing in all directions. The dozens of ships nearby began rocking violently, their crews struggling desperately to maintain stability as their ships threatened to capsize under the supernatural pressure.
Watching the relatively weaker pirates around them fall unconscious involuntarily, and seeing tiny stress fractures constantly appearing on their own supposedly sturdy ship, veteran captains like Marco and other experienced pirates felt a powerful sense of déjà vu.
"This... isn't this similar to what happens around Red-Haired Shanks?" one captain muttered.
"Looking at this display, it's definitely comparable," another agreed, his voice filled with grudging respect.
After what felt like an eternity—but was probably only a few minutes—Jerry's condition gradually stabilized and his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki slowly began to retract and settle. Only then did quiet discussions begin to arise among the conscious survivors.
Many of the gathered pirates didn't fully understand the specific classifications and applications of Conqueror's Haki, and could only make rough judgments based on the external manifestations they'd witnessed. However, sometimes such simple and direct comparisons were surprisingly accurate.
This realization was actually fortunate for Jerry, because after this system upgrade and breakthrough, he could clearly feel that his Conqueror's Haki had reached a level similar to Shanks's—truly achieving the peak of what was possible with this rare ability.
However, when it came to determining who was actually stronger between them, only a real contest could provide a fair judgment.
"Phew... finally got it under control," Jerry breathed heavily, wiping sweat from his brow as he whispered to himself.
He looked around and discovered that most of the nearby pirates had fallen into unconsciousness from the overwhelming pressure. Meanwhile, powerhouses like Whitebeard, Ace, and Marco were all staring at him with slightly narrowed eyes that mixed wariness with curiosity. Jerry couldn't help but feel deeply embarrassed by the situation he'd created.
"Jerry, my boy!" Whitebeard's eyes sparkled with amusement, the corners of his mouth turning upward despite his attempt to maintain a stern tone. "Are you here to show off and cause trouble on purpose?"
"Haha! That's definitely not the case," Jerry waved his hands frantically, trying to deflect the accusation.
After a moment, he adopted a more serious expression and declared, "I was just thinking to myself—there must be a greatest fisherman in this world, so why can't it be me?"
He shook his head with exaggerated helplessness. "I never expected that my Conqueror's Haki would suddenly decide to break through at that exact moment."
Nobody paid much attention to his obvious deflection. Marco raised his hand and gestured at the destruction surrounding them, chuckling as he addressed Jerry: "Stop talking nonsense. Just look at what you've done here. You're going to have to clean up this mess yourself."
He'd noticed that because of their proximity to the explosion, even Deuce's group had been significantly affected. Except for Cavendish and Brook, who were still able to move freely, several others were "holding onto whatever they could find" while a few had been knocked completely unconscious.
Jerry nodded apologetically. "You're absolutely right. I'm really sorry about all this."
Then, after pondering for a moment, he suggested, "Hmm... how about I splash each of them with some seawater? That should help them wake up faster, right?"
"What do you think?" Marco and the others stared at him with expressions that clearly conveyed their opinion of that particular idea.
In Jerry's defense, most of the Conqueror's Haki he'd released had been directed upward toward the sky, which meant the affected pirates had simply lost consciousness rather than suffering serious physical injuries. Otherwise, nobody would have been in any mood for casual conversation.
In the end, Jerry patted his chest and promised to treat everyone to an elaborate feast, which finally seemed to settle the matter to everyone's satisfaction.
After all, there was no problem in the world that couldn't be solved with a good meal and plenty to drink. If there was, you just needed to have another meal.
It wasn't until this impromptu banquet held on the vast ocean was well underway that Jerry was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and find time to properly check his system interface.
[Conqueror's Haki: Peak Level - Your Haki has reached the absolute pinnacle. Incredible achievement!]
Before Jerry could continue processing his feelings about this development, Deuce and the others who had just regained consciousness were already approaching him with determined expressions. They carried wine glasses, entire barrels, and various other containers, glaring at him with intense focus as they marched forward in formation.
"Alright, time to drink!" Deuce announced loudly, raising his glass high. "We're not stopping until we get you completely drunk tonight!"
Upon hearing this battle cry initiated by Deuce, countless "victims" of Jerry's Haki burst formed an impromptu alliance and responded in perfect unison with enthusiastic cheers.
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