In addition to Cavendish, another person who attracted considerable attention was Skull, who still insisted on wearing his distinctive mask at all times.
Since Skull always appeared with his skull-faced covering, not only the Marines but even his own crewmates in the Black Star Pirates rarely had the opportunity to see his true face. His mysterious appearance had become his trademark over the years.
But because of this deliberate obscurity, beyond his impressive performance on the battlefield, he had also caused a brief administrative headache for the authorities responsible for creating wanted posters.
In the past, Skull's bounty notice had always featured a portrait showing his skull mask with the distinctive afro hairstyle, creating an image remarkably similar to Brook's appearance. Now that the authorities had finally obtained photographs of his actual face during the war, it seemed inappropriate to use only his real photo.
After all, this guy wore his skull mask constantly in public. If they put only his unmasked photograph on the wanted poster, people who encountered him in the future might not be able to recognize him at all.
So the officials, after much head-scratching and debate, decided to create a unique solution. They placed two photographs side by side on the latest version of Skull's wanted poster—one showing his masked appearance and another revealing his true face.
After Skull, the next crew member who caught widespread attention was Brook, who had been running around engaging various Marine officers in combat from the very beginning of the conflict.
Even though he'd been wearing an armored helmet throughout most of the battle, he had still attracted significant notice during his brief but intense confrontation with Doflamingo. Although the two hadn't been able to determine which of them was superior before the war ended, Brook's incredible strength had already been clearly demonstrated.
The freezing effects that spread across the ground when he swung his sword, along with the disturbing and soul-piercing sound waves incorporated into his attacks, had captured the attention of many interested observers—both allies and enemies alike.
Then there was Bonney's ability to restore Whitebeard to his prime, which had absolutely astonished viewers around the world. The sight of the aging Emperor suddenly regaining his legendary strength had been one of the most shocking moments of the entire conflict.
Additionally, there were numerous reports—both accurate and speculative—about other crew members. Deuce was said to have participated in crucial decision-making and helped set the action plans for the Black Star Pirates. Even Carina and Carrot, who had barely taken any direct combat actions, found themselves subjects of intense media scrutiny.
It was particularly worth mentioning that Kotatsu had controlled the Den Den Mushi broadcasting system throughout the battle, successfully ignoring interference from the Marines' technical department and maintaining the live broadcast for the entire world to witness. This achievement had made the enhanced lynx quite popular among journalists and media professionals.
The battle seemed to have awakened a specific passion in Kotatsu. The feline had now fallen in love with the broadcasting business, though he suffered from lacking a dedicated platform, consistent audience, and events with sufficient influence to allow him to fully demonstrate his newfound capabilities.
Finally, no discussion of the war's aftermath could avoid mentioning the captain of the Black Star Pirates himself: "Leviathan" Jerry.
He had been like a brilliant beacon in the darkest night, attracting the attention of the entire world. His very existence made the Black Star Pirates even more noteworthy and compelling to observers everywhere.
Thanks to exhaustive investigations conducted by numerous reporters and intelligence gatherers, many of Jerry's actions both before and during this "Great Incident" had been revealed and analyzed piece by piece.
In general terms, journalists had concluded that his elaborate plan had begun quietly from the moment they captured the Kid Pirates months earlier. Jerry's initial act of publicly bowing to the Celestial Dragons and formally apologizing to the World Government was now widely considered to have been a carefully premeditated scheme to gain Warlord status, thus paving the way for all his subsequent actions.
According to several unnamed insider sources, the female Celestial Dragon who had met with Jerry during that incident, was suspected to have been hypnotized by him. This manipulation had allegedly led to the series of events that allowed Jerry to easily secure his position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
This revelation had undoubtedly made the Celestial Dragons residing in the Holy Land of Mariejois absolutely furious. Reports suggested that some of the more rotund World Nobles were loudly demanding that someone be sent to capture Jerry and bring him to face their justice.
Following this, the events that had taken place in Impel Down were also extensively covered by the press. At the same time, there were persistent rumors that Magellan, the Chief Warden of the underwater prison who had been defeated by Blackbeard Teach and his crew, remained seriously injured but was displaying an overwhelming sense of personal responsibility and guilt. Some sources even suggested he had considered taking full blame for the prison break and attempting to commit suicide as an apology.
Although Jerry had not been the primary instigator of the chaos in Impel Down, most analysts believed this was merely a fortunate coincidence. If Blackbeard and his followers had not taken the initiative to cause mayhem first, people generally agreed that Jerry and his team's rescue mission would have inevitably caused massive disruption within the prison anyway.
After all, their stated purpose for entering Impel Down had been to rescue Straw Hat Pirate member Roronoa Zoro from his imprisonment. Therefore, a significant portion of the blame for the Impel Down incident was also being attributed to Jerry's actions.
Then came the "Great Incident" itself, which had taken place at Marine Headquarters. During this unprecedented war, Jerry had displayed truly extraordinary strength that had shocked observers around the globe.
Although Jerry had made headlines many times before and sparked numerous controversial events, none of them had been nearly as stunning as what he had demonstrated during the live broadcast of this conflict.
With the exception of his battle against Bartholomew Kuma of the Seven Warlords, which had seemed somewhat restrained for unknown reasons, every other aspect of his performance had been absolutely spectacular.
His fierce battles against all three Marine Admirals, his brave charge toward the execution platform while escaping from both Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Kizaru, his successful injury of Admiral Aokiji, his devastating assault that seriously wounded Admiral Akainu, and his manipulation of massive water dragons to capture Blackbeard—all of these incredible scenes had caused the weight and significance of Jerry's name to grow exponentially in the minds of people everywhere.
The latest bounty announcements subsequently issued by the World Government further confirmed that the public's amazement was entirely justified. After this battle, the bounties on all members of the Black Star Pirates had skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.
In addition to coverage of the Black Star Pirates, the sworn brotherhood and numerous personal stories connecting Fire Fist Ace, Straw Hat Luffy, and Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff Sabo were also being widely circulated throughout the world.
Newspapers had been urgently reprinted in multiple editions just to provide comprehensive coverage of the "Great Incident" at Marine Headquarters and detailed profiles of the main personnel from all the various forces involved in the conflict.
By noon, the Black Star Pirates and those Straw Hat Pirates who needed transportation were standing together on the deck of Jerry's ship, preparing for the inevitable farewells.
"Ace, we have to say goodbye again, don't we?" Deuce asked, addressing his old friend who had returned to serve with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Ace nodded with visible emotion. "Yeah, I've been away for quite some time now. It's definitely time for me to return and help take care of affairs in the New World."
Deuce and the others understood completely that, regardless of their personal bonds, Ace was ultimately a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard had led his entire organization to brazenly assault Marine Headquarters specifically to help rescue him from execution.
Now that the crisis had passed, Ace absolutely had to return with them. He had always been someone who repaid his debts and honored his obligations, no matter how difficult that might be.
Even though they were all former crewmates from the same pirate group, when someone risked life and death on his behalf, Ace would naturally remember that sacrifice and find ways to repay it through loyal service.
As for the Black Star Pirates, all anyone could say was that the seas were vast and they were all still young. There would be other opportunities to sail together in the future.
"Well then, I wish all of you safe travels and fair winds," Deuce said with a genuine smile, waving goodbye to Ace along with everyone else gathered on deck.
Jerry noticed Ace's meaningful gaze and casually waved his fishing rod in the air. "Go on, get out of here! We'll probably be heading to the New World pretty soon ourselves. We'll see each other then."
"You too! And please give my regards to Luffy," Ace called back, waving to Deuce and the others before turning to Jerry with a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "I won't interfere too much in his adventures, but I want him to know I'm thinking of him."
Then his expression became more serious and warning. "If you do come to the New World, don't go wandering around randomly without a plan. I don't think you've forgotten that you've already offended Big Mom and Kaido in the past, right? Now you might have to add Red-Haired Shanks to that list too! Hahaha!"
Jerry blinked innocently and responded in a deliberately wooden tone, "Wait, is that really true?"
Hearing this obviously fake surprise, not only did Ace continue laughing heartily, but Marco and several other Whitebeard Pirates also began showing distinctly amused expressions.
Out of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World, Jerry had now managed to offend three of them. Yet here he was, still alive and energetic, acting as if absolutely nothing had happened while casually threatening to continue visiting their dangerous territories.
After these final exchanges, everyone said their proper goodbyes to each other and began setting off on their respective journeys toward different destinations across the vast ocean.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Jerry asked with obviously feigned innocence when he noticed that Deuce and the others around him had expressions that practically screamed "troublemaker" written across their faces as they stared at him intently.
Without waiting for their responses, and with everyone's expressions remaining completely unchanged, he waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it! Red-Haired Shanks isn't such a petty person anyway. Besides, you guys are just as responsible for offending Big Mom and Kaido as I am! Right, Skull? Deuce?"
Hearing this accusation, Deuce immediately took a deliberate step to the left and glanced meaningfully between Jerry and Skull. "Hey now, that's just you two troublemakers. At least I never personally offended Red-Hair or Big Mom!"
Jerry grinned with complete nonchalance, spreading his arms wide. "Hey! You're being way too polite about this, right? I don't mind sharing the blame at all. What's mine is yours!"
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