Faced with the terrifying, all-consuming wave of energy that was Big Mom's Ikoku Sovereignty, Jerry felt a cold dread wash over him. He couldn't dodge. He didn't dare. His ship—and his friends—were directly in the line of fire. If he moved, they would be obliterated. There was only one option: meet it head-on.
"If you want an endurance fight, let's see who has more to throw away!" he roared, planting his feet firmly on the swirling water pillar. "Come forth! Water God: Dragon Elephant!"
With a deafening bang, the sea itself surged in response to his call. A towering column of seawater spiraled up Jerry's arm like a living force, compressing into a dense, rotating vortex. As he poured his will into it, the vortex began to shift, taking form—first a monstrous trunk, then massive tusks, and finally the full visage of a beast born of oceanic wrath and ancient legend.
The construct solidified into a colossal water beast, its body serpentine and powerful like a dragon's, but crowned with the mighty head of an elephant, tusks curved like crashing waves. Its thick, watery limbs coiled with muscle-like currents, and from its trunk poured a pressure so intense it could crush stone. Its eyes glowed faintly with Jerry's will, and its entire form pulsed with the rhythm of the sea.
As Advanced Armament Haki surged into the beast, the water darkened—its once-clear mass now an obsidian-black titan, gleaming with hardening intent. The fusion of dragon ferocity and elephant strength gave the strike a terrifying majesty.
In the blink of an eye, the two monumental attacks collided.
For a moment, there was only a blinding flash of light. Big Mom watched with a flicker of surprise as the massive quantity of seawater in Jerry's attack instantly extinguished the raging flames of Prometheus that coated her sword. But her surprise lasted only a second. The sheer, overwhelming force of her shockwave, a testament to the power of an Emperor, shattered the giant water fist into a billion droplets.
Then came the true impact: Jerry's Haki-clad fist against the physical blade of Napoleon.
The resulting shockwave was apocalyptic.
To avoid being drenched in the scattered seawater—a critical weakness for any Devil Fruit user—Zeus made a split-second decision, pulling Big Mom backward and away from the splash zone while simultaneously absorbing some of the immense recoil.
Even weakened by the seawater, the blow was devastating. Jerry was blasted out of the sky like a cannonball, crashing into the ocean and sending up a plume of water a hundred meters high. His long-range Haki strike had indeed connected, slipping past Napoleon's guard to strike Big Mom's arm, but the distance and her own formidable defense meant it was little more than a stinging nuisance to her.
Fortunately, he had coated his own body in a thick layer of Armament Haki just before impact. That, combined with the cushioning effect of the sea, saved him from critical injury. He surfaced, coughing up a mouthful of saltwater, and with a deep breath, shot back into the sky on a fresh water column. A quick glance confirmed his plan was working; the gap between their ship and Big Mom's fleet had widened significantly. He was starting to think they might actually make it.
And then, it happened.
His Observation Haki, which had been locked onto the Emperor the entire time, suddenly screamed a high-level alarm. A vision, terrifying in its clarity, flashed through his mind.
He saw Big Mom, her face a mask of utter annihilation, pointing Napoleon forward like a lance. He saw the sword elongate, glowing with an even more terrifying power. He saw it pierce straight through his chest, continuing onward to vaporize his ship, his friends, everything. He saw their end.
Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku!
There was no time to think, no time to plan. He had to intercept it now, as far from his ship as possible.
Without a word, Jerry gritted his teeth and launched himself forward like a missile. He poured every last drop of willpower he possessed into his body, condensing the strongest Armament and Conqueror's Haki he had ever manifested. Black-and-red lightning crackled violently around his fist.
At the same instant, Big Mom, riding Zeus, thrust her sword arm back. "Boy," she bellowed, her voice promising oblivion, "Take this and die!"
As she lunged forward, Jerry appeared directly in her path, a final, desperate shield between the Emperor and his crew. Time seemed to stretch and warp. He had no time for a fancy attack name, no time for anything but raw, unadulterated power.
A serious punch, was the only thought that crossed his mind.
Big Mom was clearly putting her all into this attack. Her arms and the entirety of Napoleon were coated in the supreme King's Haki, black lightning writhing and snapping around the blade.
Jerry's desperate, all-out punch met the Emperor's ultimate piercing attack.
The world exploded.
A concussive blast of pure force, visible even to the naked eye, erupted from the point of impact. The collision of two advanced Conqueror's Haki users tore reality asunder. The very clouds in the sky were violently ripped apart, rolling and surging as if in a hurricane. The sea beneath them buckled under the immense pressure, forming a massive, deep circular depression that quickly began to spin into a monstrous whirlpool.
As the air itself vibrated, an invisible wave of pure willpower swept across the battlefield. The Big Mom Pirates fleet, now closer to the fight, was the first to feel its effects. On ship after ship, crew members collapsed in droves, their eyes rolling back in their heads as if a switch had been flipped. With their helmsmen and navigators unconscious, dozens of ships lost control, drifting helplessly toward the newly formed maelstrom.
Farther away, on the deck of the Black Star pirates' ship, Deuce and Skull felt the terrifying pressure wash over them. Their legs gave out, and they crumpled to the deck, the eight legs of man and cat trembling uncontrollably. They barely managed to cling to consciousness.
Back at the epicenter, the two combatants were flung backward like ragdolls.
Big Mom righted herself on Zeus, her eyes wide with disbelief. The boy had not only blocked her attack at the last possible second, but his Conqueror's Haki had been strong enough to clash with hers and even leave a stinging wound on her arm.
Jerry wasn't so lucky. He spat a mouthful of blood as he rocketed backward, crashing onto the deck of his ship with enough force to splinter the wood. He staggered to his feet, clutching his chest. A hideous new scar, raw and bleeding, ran from his shoulder to his hip. But he was standing. He was alive.
"That monster," he gasped, his voice raspy. "She was trying to take us all out in one shot."
He looked over at his pale, trembling crewmates. His desperate gamble had paid off. Glancing back at the chaotic enemy fleet, Jerry saw his chance. With a final surge of effort, he focused his remaining energy on the ocean, feeding the whirlpool, making it spin faster and pull harder, ensuring Big Mom's forces would be tied up for a long time.
He stumbled over to his friends, patting them on the back. "You guys okay?"
"I think so," Deuce stammered, his legs still feeling like jelly. "Just a… little shaky."
"Alright then," Jerry said, forcing a grin. "Hold on tight. We're about to make a run for it." He offered them a hand, his own trembling slightly, and helped them to their feet. Kotatsu, meanwhile, remained a terrified ball of fur huddled in the corner.
Aboard the Queen Mama Chanter, Perospero looked at the unfolding disaster and yelled, "Mama! Come back! If you don't, the fleet will be lost! Perorin~"
Big Mom gritted her teeth, a guttural growl rumbling in her chest. "Useless rubbish!" she snarled, but she knew her son was right. If she didn't intervene, the casualties would be immense, a significant blow to her empire. The whirlpool was growing more critical by the second.
She turned her head, her furious gaze locking onto the small ship that was now rapidly shrinking in the distance.
"BOY! YOU REMEMBER THIS!" she shrieked, her voice carrying for miles. "DON'T YOU EVER LET ME CATCH YOU AGAIN! AND MY PRECIOUS CREATURE—I'LL BE BACK FOR HIM!"
From across the waves, a faint but clear reply drifted back, laced with unshakable defiance.
"Loud and clear! The 'precious creature' says he's flattered, but he's going to have to pass!"
Big Mom let out a final, sky-shaking roar of pure frustration before turning her round body and riding Zeus toward the whirlpool, ready to save what was left of her fleet.
Back at the port, the crowd, which had witnessed the entire spectacle, erupted.
"Did you see that… Did you SEE that?!" a young pirate with a low bounty was on his knees, staring at the empty horizon in pure worship. "He fought an Emperor… and got away!"
"He really… he really left in one piece!" stammered the reporter, looking at his notes. "My headline… I don't even need to change it! This is the scoop of a lifetime!"
As chaos reigned among the Big Mom pirates, and awe spread through Totto Land, the small ship of the Black Star Pirates sailed on, having done the impossible: they had poked the bear and lived to tell the tale.
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