The massive battle between Jerry's water clone and Admiral Aramaki naturally drew the attention of Akainu, Fujitora, and Cavendish, who were locked in their own fierce combat nearby.
When Akainu noticed that Aramaki was clearly at a disadvantage and being constantly provoked by the water construct, he felt an unusual pang of empathy for his fellow Admiral. Seeing Aramaki's situation suddenly take a sharp turn for the worse—pushed to the very brink of defeat—Akainu's expression darkened with a cold snort.
While he and Jerry were momentarily separated after a powerful exchange of blows, Akainu seized the opening and launched a devastating lava fist toward the water clone's position.
"Great Eruption!"
The molten projectile tore through the air with such intensity that the atmosphere itself seemed to ignite and distort in its wake, leaving a trail of superheated air that shimmered like a mirage.
"Wow! It's really rare to see you trying to save someone," Jerry's sarcastic voice suddenly rang out from directly above Akainu. "Are you sure that's the right move?"
Before Akainu could react, Jerry swung his fishing rod downward with tremendous force, the weapon crackling with advanced Armament Haki as it descended like a bolt of black lightning.
Akainu had no choice but to shift his attention back to his primary opponent, hastily raising his elbow to intercept the fishing rod's devastating attack. The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, the raw force of their clash creating a brief stalemate.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, "Jerry's" water clone sensed Akainu's approaching lava attack but showed no signs of concern or urgency. The construct's calm demeanor was almost unnerving as it stretched out its palm, drawing moisture from the surrounding air and ocean.
Water gathered like a raging tide, condensing and spinning violently in the clone's palm until it formed a brilliant azure orb that pulsed with barely contained energy. The sphere crackled with power, its surface rippling with the promise of devastation.
What happened next left even seasoned warriors speechless.
Several large holes mysteriously appeared throughout "Jerry's" body, as if doorways through space itself had opened. Aramaki's desperate plant-based attacks—massive wooden spears and thorned vines launched with all his remaining strength—passed harmlessly through these openings, encountering nothing but empty air.
Under Aramaki's stunned and horrified gaze, the water clone approached him in an instant, moving with fluid grace that defied conventional combat logic.
The azure orb in the clone's hand suddenly expanded exponentially, unleashing tremendous energy as it pressed toward the Admiral of the Green Bull.
"Water Style: Aqua Death Ball!"
The moment "Jerry's" palm made contact, it was as if he had pressed the switch of absolute destruction. Nearly half of the massive water sphere penetrated directly into Aramaki's body, while the portion that remained outside simultaneously detonated with apocalyptic force.
A colossal water orb with a diameter of several hundred meters materialized in an instant. Within its translucent depths, water particles visible to the naked eye moved like stars in a cosmic dance, emitting dazzling light that hurt to look at directly. The sphere's surface was wrapped in a madly rotating water barrier that resembled a titanic tornado, creating a gravitational pull that sucked in everything within its massive range.
The technique's scope continued expanding at an alarming rate, consuming more and more of the battlefield.
Akainu's "unstoppable" lava fist was instantly annihilated upon contact with the expanding sphere, not even leaving a trace of steam behind. The molten rock simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been fired at all.
Feeling the horrifying power fluctuations radiating from the technique, even seasoned fighters like Akainu, Fujitora, and Cavendish—who had been locked in intense combat for what felt like hours—instinctively retreated to avoid being caught in its devastating embrace.
Jerry could naturally protect himself by controlling the water element, but he didn't waste energy on such precautions. Instead, he chose to continue his relentless pursuit of Akainu, his fishing rod crackling with enhanced Haki.
"Next, it's your turn, Sakazuki!"
Watching Jerry's figure approach with the speed and inevitability of a natural disaster, even Akainu—who had built his reputation on being brave and utterly uncompromising—couldn't help but feel a strong sense of overwhelming pressure pressing down on his chest.
Gradually, the giant water sphere that had shocked the entire battlefield began to dissipate, and the internal area it had covered slowly became visible once more. The terrain that had once been rough and broken from their extended battle now appeared to have been carefully polished by some divine craftsman, forming an extraordinarily smooth circular crater that stretched for hundreds of meters.
In the center of this massive pit, only Jerry's water clone remained, floating serenely in the air with his eyes closed and arms crossed. An otherworldly aura surrounded the construct, as if it had transcended the physical plane and entered the realm of enlightened sages.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the clash between Ace and Admiral Aokiji continued with undiminished intensity.
A tremendous crash echoed across the island as both fighters were sent flying backward, only to launch themselves at each other again the very next moment. Their collision created a massive shockwave that spread outward like ripples in a pond, the wind howling as it swept away debris and smaller combatants alike.
"Ahhh, this is really becoming quite the headache," Aokiji murmured in his characteristic lazy drawl, though his attacking movements showed no signs of slowing down. Despite his casual tone, the Admiral had already confirmed that Ace was no longer someone who could be easily controlled or defeated.
The gap that had once existed between them had narrowed considerably.
As the two fighters closed the distance once more, Ace suddenly twisted his body with fluid grace, raising his left elbow which was now coated in advanced Armament Haki. The black coating gleamed like polished obsidian as he drove it toward Aokiji's incoming ice-covered fist.
The collision produced a sound like thunder, two tremendous forces meeting in violent opposition. During the brief stalemate that followed, Ace's elbow suddenly erupted in white-hot flames that burned with such intensity they seemed to rival the sun itself.
Using the recoil from this explosive burst, Ace suddenly took a half-step forward and spun his body, raising his right hand to deliver a devastating follow-up strike.
"Flame Commandment: Wild Bite Fire Fist!"
Aokiji smoothly shifted his body to the side, expertly avoiding the burning core of Ace's attack while his entire form radiated a bone-chilling aura that seemed capable of freezing the very air around them. He moved with the fluid grace of someone who had mastered his Devil Fruit abilities completely, and the parts of his body that had been touched by Ace's flames instantly transformed into crystal-clear ice.
The Admiral countered with his own frosty left fist, driving it forward to meet Ace's attack head-on.
"Ice Block: Violent Pheasant Beak!"
Their fists collided with tremendous force, and the resulting explosion of mixed hot and cold air swept across the battlefield like a natural disaster. Grass and trees within a radius of hundreds—possibly thousands—of meters found themselves caught between two extremes, half withered by intense heat while the other half was frozen solid by Aokiji's chilling power.
"Oh my, this is all so very scary," came Kizaru's distinctive, almost mocking voice from a battlefield that had shifted farther away from the main action.
The Admiral of Light paused in his own fierce combat to observe the various battles raging around them, his usual expression of bored interest never wavering. After making his comment, his attention returned to the opponent directly in front of him.
"Sensei," Kizaru continued in that same strange, sing-song tone, "do you see? Relying on the power of Devil Fruits isn't necessarily such a terrible thing after all."
Zephyr glanced briefly at the elemental clash between Ace and Aokiji before curling his lips in obvious disdain. "Borsalino, I've told you before—you rely too heavily on your fruit's power. That's completely different from what those two are doing over there."
The former Admiral's voice carried the weight of years of disappointment and frustrated teaching as he continued his relentless assault. "Besides, let's not dwell on ancient history. I have absolutely nothing left to discuss with you!"
Seeing his former teacher and student resume their fierce battle after yet another philosophical disagreement, Marco felt distinctly like an unwanted third wheel who had somehow gotten caught between two forces of nature.
The Phoenix had been looking for an opportunity to extract himself from this increasingly personal conflict, but just as he prepared to make his tactical retreat, countless photons suddenly gathered directly in front of him. Kizaru's tall form materialized from the light particles, moving with that characteristic blend of laziness and lethal precision.
"Now, now, I simply can't let you slip away that easily, Marco," the Admiral said in his infuriatingly casual tone.
As he spoke, Kizaru had already drawn his sword of condensed light and was swinging it toward Marco with deceptive speed.
At the same moment, Zephyr launched himself forward from the opposite direction, his massive cybernetic arm—equipped with deadly Seastone components—driving toward Marco with the force of a pile driver.
"Are you two seriously going to team up against me?" Marco's eyes widened as he twisted desperately through the air, managing to avoid Zephyr's Seastone-enhanced punch by the narrowest of margins while having no choice but to take Kizaru's light sword across his wing.
The razor-sharp blade of photons sliced cleanly through Marco's transformed wing, severing it completely. Using the momentum from this painful exchange, Marco managed to retreat several steps away from both his attackers.
But before either Zephyr or Kizaru could press their temporary advantage and close the distance again, Marco rolled his shoulders and neck with casual confidence. His severed wing immediately began regenerating from the brilliant blue flames that ignited at the point of amputation, the mythical Phoenix flames dancing with their characteristic otherworldly beauty.
Within seconds, his wing was completely restored to its original state.
"My turn now," Marco declared with renewed determination, and he launched himself back into the fray.
In the center of the island, where the main battle raged most fiercely, Deuce had fully embraced his artificial Devil Fruit powers. His pink-scaled dragon form was a sight to behold as he unleashed his extraordinary abilities against the coordinated assault of multiple Marine forces.
Surrounded on all sides by Vice Admirals and their elite troops, Deuce suddenly reared back his massive draconic head and released a torrent of superheated dragon breath that put even natural volcanic eruptions to shame.
The intense heat seemed to exceed even the temperature of molten magma, instantly reducing everything in its path to ash and cinders. The devastating attack forced even the most seasoned Vice Admirals to retreat temporarily, their faces grim with the realization that they were facing something far beyond a typical Devil Fruit user.
"Boss Deuce! That's absolutely incredible!" Skull's voice rang out with genuine admiration and excitement as he witnessed his crewmate's incredible display of power.
Taking advantage of the brief respite created by Deuce's overwhelming attack, the Black Star Pirates and their allies seized the opportunity to fight their way toward the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders. The goal was to link up and coordinate their defense against the seemingly endless waves of Marine forces.
However, their path was not uncontested.
"Yohohoho! Don't think you can simply walk past me to harm my friends," Brook called out, his distinctive laugh echoing across the battlefield.
The skeletal swordsman moved with fluid grace that belied his seemingly fragile appearance. His sword flashed like lightning as he cut through a swirling mass of sand that had been floating menacingly beside him, reducing it to countless tiny particles that scattered harmlessly to the ground.
The next moment, Sir Crocodile's imposing figure materialized from a different pile of sand nearby, his golden hook gleaming in the chaotic light of battle.
The former Warlord glanced down at the sword wound on his arm—a cut that carried an unnatural chill that seemed to penetrate straight to the bone—and fixed his serious gaze on the unusual skeleton before him.
"I really cannot afford to underestimate you, can I... Soul King?"
Thanks to his heart-touching musical performances and the unique abilities granted by his Yomi Yomi Devil Fruit, Brook had indeed earned this distinctive title among both allies and enemies alike. The name carried weight in the world of pirates and Marines, representing someone who had transcended death itself.
Brook raised his sword which was now coated in both advanced Armament Haki and the supernatural chill of the underworld. His hollow eye sockets seemed to burn with an inner fire as he stared directly at his opponent.
"I don't particularly care whether people call me the Soul King or not," Brook replied, his voice carrying an edge that hadn't been there moments before. "But if you think you can hurt my precious friends while I still draw breath—or whatever it is I do instead of breathing—then I'll be the one taking your soul!"
The threat hung in the air between them, and even Crocodile couldn't help but feel a slight chill that had nothing to do with Brook's supernatural abilities.
This was no longer the confused, lost musician who had wandered Thriller Bark for decades. This was a member of the Black Star Pirates—a crew that had stood against Admirals and Emperors alike. This was someone who had found his purpose again, and would protect it with everything he possessed.
The battle between the Soul King and the Desert King was about to begin in earnest.