~Flashback
Under the bright morning sun on a sea with gentle breeze and rolling waves, the Black Nova sailed against wind and current, gradually moving away from the area where the Moby Dick was anchored.
Jerry rarely bothered with his fishing equipment on this particular day. Instead, he was enthusiastically coaching Ace, who was preparing to practice his Devil Fruit abilities.
"Well now, Ace," Jerry began with theatrical seriousness, "I can see that you have incredible natural talent, and you've reached a certain level of mastery with Conqueror's Haki. I happen to know a strong technique—would you like to learn it?"
Hearing Jerry's intriguing offer, Ace's face lit up with obvious curiosity: "What kind of technique are you talking about?"
Ace had always been supportive of suggestions from this deceptively lazy fisherman. After all, past experience had taught him that Jerry's creative ideas often produced unexpected breakthroughs in combat effectiveness.
"Hehe, first you must understand the principle that one monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together..." Jerry paused, reconsidering his analogy. "Actually, it's more about the principle of strength in numbers."
Although Ace didn't fully grasp what Jerry was building toward yet, he responded affirmatively without hesitation: "Yeah, absolutely! That's definitely wise wisdom. Just like how I can finish an entire pot of rice by myself, but two people can easily finish two pots together!"
"Excellent! I admire your ability to grasp complex concepts!" Jerry nodded with exaggerated approval.
Then he clenched his right fist and grinned broadly: "After understanding this fundamental principle, what I want to teach you are combination techniques that can merge the power of two fighters into a single explosive attack."
"Of course, this is different from the legendary techniques passed down by the Elbaf Giants," Jerry continued with obvious pride. "This is my own method."
Ace's eyes immediately blazed with excitement and eager anticipation.
The scene shifts, and time returns to the present.
Atop the dome of Onigashima's skull fortress, both Jerry and Ace released tremendous battle cries.
"Judgment of the Dragon Gods!"
A water leviathan and fire dragon erupted simultaneously from their respective fists, coiling around each other's serpentine bodies while rotating rapidly through the air. Within moments, these two completely different elemental dragons merged into a single entity—a massive water leviathan wreathed in golden-white flames, radiating majestic power.
The hybrid creature's body was wrapped in the combined Conqueror's Haki of both Jerry and Ace as it lunged forward like a demon dragon that had broken free from ancient restraints in the deepest abyss.
The "Dragon Gods" rushed forward at lightning speed and collided head-on with the seemingly solid shockwave in mid-air.
At that pivotal moment, time appeared to freeze while the entire world trembled from the supernatural forces at play.
Then a shockwave capable of destroying everything exploded outward, creating a fierce storm that consumed the "Dragon Gods" while sweeping in all directions with devastating force.
Within the blinding light, the "Dragon Gods" seemed to possess indomitable willpower. It raised its magnificent head and forcibly redirected most of the explosive energy from the shockwave toward the sky above, disintegrating itself in the process while making the already powerful blast even more catastrophic.
A roar that shook the earth echoed through the heavens. At that moment, people throughout all of Wano Country were startled by the sudden, tremendous explosion.
The sky and earth changed color while Onigashima shook violently from top to bottom, as if even its fundamental foundations were being tested.
This incredibly powerful explosion, resembling a raging flood, instantly drowned out all sounds of combat across the island, causing every battle to pause momentarily.
Countless cracks appeared from the top of the skull building, spreading rapidly like an enormous spider web while stones and debris of various sizes rained down from above.
The massive skull fortress produced loud rumbling sounds like muffled thunder, and many pirates who had just recovered consciousness from the earlier Conqueror's Haki assault—only to be awakened again by this new shock—found themselves completely bewildered.
Before they could determine what had occurred, they all began fleeing in confused panic.
"What the hell is happening?!"
"Run for your lives! Onigashima is about to collapse completely!"
However, this chaotic scene lasted only briefly. When everyone realized the trembling had subsided and Onigashima remained standing, they gradually began to calm down.
"Ahahaha! What's going on? How did the skull building... end up looking like this?" one of the Pleasures suddenly exclaimed, drawing every pirate's attention to the architectural devastation.
The giant skull that had originally resembled a demonic fortress now lay in ruins. Both horns on its head had been completely shattered into fragments scattered across the island's surface. The skull's exterior was covered with massive cracks and falling apart in sections, while entire walls crumbled before their eyes.
Looking through the missing portions of the outer walls, observers could see directly into the interior spaces, which had also sustained severe structural damage.
Since most of the destructive power from the Conqueror's Haki and combat techniques of the fighters within the Skull Dome had been directed skyward and exploded horizontally, the fierce battles between the Black Star Pirates, Whitebeard Pirates, Beast Pirates, and Big Mom Pirates on the island's ground level continued uninterrupted.
Beyond the conflicts that had already been in progress—such as Cavendish's ongoing aerial duel—the Whitebeard Pirates and elite Mink warriors led by Marco had joined the combat after their later arrival. They now faced Big Mom's children led by Katakuri along with various Beast Pirates warriors, with both sides continuing to fight while sustaining casualties.
At the Skull Dome
Kaido and Big Mom steadied themselves after the tremendous explosion. When their eyes met, each could see genuine astonishment reflected in the other's gaze.
Their joint attack had resulted in injuries to both Emperors. Even though these were relatively minor wounds, the outcome was sufficient proof that the combination technique executed by the two young fighters before them was genuinely superior.
Time flashed back to that decisive moment when the "Hakai" shockwave had made contact with the "Dragon Gods." The elemental construct had struggled to raise its head and forcibly redirect the shockwave's trajectory while the true Conqueror's Haki quietly separated from the dragon's body.
Before being completely consumed by the "Hakai" blast, this concentrated Haki had struck Big Mom and Kaido while they were caught off guard by their technique's unexpected failure.
The reason the "Dragon Gods" had been able to hold off the "Hakai" technique for even a brief period—and even alter the latter's trajectory—was entirely due to the water leviathan Jerry had created actually being his water avatar rather than mere ownerless energy.
By utilizing the giant leviathan transformed from his water avatar, with Ace's compressed and refined flames wrapped around its surface, and supplemented by the explosive Conqueror's Haki both fighters had contributed, this unique technique had proven genuinely formidable.
Moreover, after launching the attack, Jerry could control it at will, allowing him to identify enemy weaknesses and achieve extraordinary tactical advantages.
"Hah! I knew our combination attack would be the strongest!" Ace released a long breath while surveying the devastated, crater-filled dome ground around them. He clenched his fists with renewed confidence.
Jerry allowed a slight smile to curve the corner of his mouth as he nodded in agreement. His eyes inadvertently passed through the broken dome structure and caught sight of a familiar figure moving stealthily within the interior venue below. He quickly shifted his gaze back to focus directly on the two massive enemies standing opposite them.
Jerry slowly drew his fishing rod while his eyes flashed with memories of their shared journey. He smiled warmly and said: "Ace, do you remember when we escaped from that first island and formed our pirate crew to set sail? You told me we would climb to the top together."
At this point, Jerry raised his fishing rod and pointed toward the two Four Emperors, who were also beginning to prepare for renewed combat: "Right now, as long as we defeat them both, we'll be incredibly close to that peak!"
When Ace was reminded of those early ambitions, his blood began boiling while his fighting spirit burned like an all-consuming fire. He shouted with tremendous excitement: "One Emperor each—we'll meet at the top!"
"Agreed! Let's meet at the very top!" Jerry responded with solemn determination before suddenly launching himself upward and diving toward Kaido like a human arrow.
Ace followed immediately behind, rushing toward Big Mom without the slightest hesitation.
These two young powerhouses, displaying absolutely fearless attitudes, launched the most ferocious charge toward the pinnacle of the entire pirate world.
The final phase of their legendary battle was about to begin, and the fate of Wano Country—along with the balance of power in the New World—hung in the balance as old tyranny faced new hope in the ultimate test of strength, will, and destiny.