"No, no, no! I think I'd prefer to maintain a very, very safe distance from her!"
His terror was justified. Aboard the flagship, the monolithic Emperor of the Sea, Big Mom, rose to her feet. Her eyes, wide and hungry, locked onto their tiny ship, singling out the collector.
"Hey!" her voice boomed across the water, a force of nature in itself. "You, boy! Where do you think you're going with my precious new creature?"
Seeing the crosshairs shift from his crewmate to himself, Jerry casually scratched the back of his head, a wry grin spreading across his face. It was time for a little creative diplomacy. "Sorry, ma'am! He said he's already got a family waiting for him back home and isn't looking to join your… collection."
Big Mom's cheerful, greedy expression instantly curdled. "What was that? A partner?" she roared, her gaze snapping back to the trembling Skull with a terrifying, gloomy intensity. "It doesn't matter if you have a dog, a cat, or a whole zoo waiting for you! You belong to ME now!"
Skull looked as if he was about to faint, turning his pleading, tear-filled eyes to Jerry. "Why? Why did you have to provoke her again?!"
"Hey, I'm just looking out for your best interests," Jerry quipped, completely unfazed.
The brief, bizarre exchange was all the time Big Mom's volatile temper needed to detonate. Her patience, always razor-thin, snapped. She pointed a sausage-like finger towards their ship, her voice dropping to an icy command.
"Zeus! Thunderbolt!"
A fluffy white cloud, which had been hovering innocently behind her, zipped forward. In an instant, it swelled and darkened into a malevolent thundercloud, crackling with immense power. A massive bolt of lightning, thick as a tree trunk, split the sky and lanced straight for the Black Star Pirates.
While Deuce shrieked and dove for cover, Jerry remained perfectly calm. He'd been expecting this. Just as the lightning was about to strike, he made his move. A massive, hemispherical curtain of seawater erupted from the ocean, forming a shimmering blue dome over their small ship.
CRACK-BOOM!
The lightning bolt slammed into the water shield. For a moment, the dome glowed with blinding energy, but instead of shattering, it absorbed the attack. The electrical current, a writhing serpent of pure power, was harmlessly guided down the sides of the shield and dissipated into the vastness of the sea below.
Jerry smirked. The physics of this world were often nonsensical—magma burning hotter than fire, lightning being useless against rubber—but some fundamental principles were blessedly reliable. Seawater conducts electricity. It was a simple, elegant solution to one of an Emperor's signature attacks. With his "Spirit of the Sea" ability, creating such a shield was as easy as breathing.
"Well, it's rude not to return a gift!" Jerry shouted, his voice ringing with confidence. He thrust his right hand forward, index finger aimed squarely at the imposing enemy fleet. "Let's call this a party favor! A gift from the sea!"
"Water Dragon Barrage!"
The ocean around them began to boil. The water churned violently as dozens of colossal dragons, formed entirely of high-pressure seawater, rose majestically into the sky. They let out silent, roaring challenges before surging forward with the speed of a hurricane, each one targeting a different ship in Big Mom's armada. He made sure to send a special delivery of five, larger than the rest, straight for the Queen Mama Chanter.
"Mamamamama! How cheeky!" Big Mom cackled, unfazed.
"Prometheus! Heavenly Fire!"
The small, sun-like Homie, Prometheus, zipped in front of her and unleashed a volley of massive fireballs. Each one collided with an incoming water dragon in a cataclysmic explosion of steam and scalding mist. The air filled with a dense, white fog, obscuring the battlefield.
But while the Emperor herself could easily counter his attack, the same couldn't be said for her fleet. Beyond the ships carrying her powerful children and commanders, the rest were thrown into chaos. Several smaller Tarte ships were smashed to splinters, their hulls breached and their crews thrown into the churning waves. The fleet's perfect formation was shattered.
Though Big Mom cared little for the loss of a few grunts and their ships, Jerry's brazen counterattack was a direct, merciless slap to her authority. Her smile vanished, replaced by a mask of pure fury.
"That boy…" she growled, her knuckles white. She snatched the tricorn hat from her head, and in her grasp, the Homie Napoleon instantly transformed into a massive, broad-bladed sword.
"YOU'VE MADE ME ANGRY!"
With a thunderous roar, Zeus flew to her side, hovering obediently. Big Mom took a single, surprisingly nimble step, landing on the cloud as if it were solid ground. She raised Napoleon high, her eyes burning with rage, and shot forward through the air, leaving her flagship far behind.
Seeing the Emperor take to the skies, Jerry quickly barked orders. "Deuce, full speed ahead! Skull, hold on to something!"
At the same time, he manipulated the ocean currents, creating a swift channel that propelled their own ship forward while turning the water before the enemy fleet into a powerful, upstream flow, slowing their pursuit. Then, he crouched, gathering his strength. With a sound like a cannon shot, he launched himself into the sky, a plume of water trailing behind him, rising to meet the charging Emperor.
A pillar of swirling seawater rose beneath his feet, providing him with a stable platform in mid-air. He stood upon the vortex, looking Big Mom straight in the eye, and thumped his chest with a defiant grin. "Come on, then! Let's see what you've got! Face me head-on!"
"Insolent pest!" Big Mom shrieked. The sheer arrogance of the boy was infuriating. Her sword crackled, wreathed in Zeus's lightning. Kicking off the cloud, she flipped forward in a terrifying aerial somersault, bringing the electrified blade down in a devastating arc meant to cleave him in two.
Jerry met the attack head-on. Controlling the water column beneath him to rise with his momentum, he threw a punch infused with all the Armament Haki he could muster.
CLANG!
Fist met sword in a deafening explosion of sound and energy. Sparks flew as Haki clashed with Haki, and steam hissed where lightning met water. Jerry used the fluid nature of his water pillar to dissipate the immense force of the blow, but he was still flung backward over a dozen meters before gracefully landing on the surface of the sea, his feet barely skimming the waves. Big Mom, meanwhile, flipped back onto Zeus's cloudy back, her expression a mixture of shock and fury.
Back on the ship, Skull, having recovered from his near-death experience, was now pumping his fist in the air. "GO, CAPTAIN JERRY! YOU CAN DO IT!"
The onlookers crowded at the port were in an absolute uproar.
"Unbelievable! He's actually fighting one of the Four Emperors! And he's holding his own!"
"Dragon Fist Jerry! Unscathed after a direct clash with Big Mom! This story is going to be legendary!" a man with a camera and notepad scribbled furiously, his eyes wide with professional glee. The battle wasn't over, and he was ready to capture every explosive detail.
Aboard the surrounding ships, the Big Mom Pirates stared in disbelief.
"Who in the world is that guy? How can he block Mama's attack?"
Big Mom herself seemed momentarily stunned. Then, a slow, wide grin stretched across her face. "Mamamamama! You've got some real guts, boy! I'm impressed! Why don't come join my crew?"
From the deck of the Queen Mama Chanter, her eldest son, Perospero, shouted a reminder, his voice laced with its usual singsong tone. "Mama! Reports say he spent time with the Whitebeard Pirates! Perorin~"
Big Mom waved a dismissive hand. "Whitebeard? Who cares about that old man!" She turned her full attention back to Jerry, her eyes gleaming. "So, what do you say, boy? It's a generous offer!"
Jerry dug a pinky finger into his ear, feigning boredom as he considered the life-or-death proposal from the monstrously powerful woman.
"You drive a hard bargain," he said with a theatrical sigh. "Thank you for the invitation." He paused, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But I'm going to have to refuse."
He stood up straight, his voice echoing across the water with newfound conviction. "The Black Star Pirates are going to make a name for themselves on these seas! And we're going to do it our own way!"
The air grew deathly still. Big Mom's smile vanished. Her face, which had been almost cheerful a second before, became a terrifying mask of absolute rage.
"Then you can go to hell!" she screamed.
She urged Zeus forward, the thundercloud accelerating with terrifying speed. She gripped Napoleon with both hands as Prometheus flew to the sword, engulfing the blade in roaring, sun-hot flames. The sword itself seemed to stretch and grow, combining the elemental fury of both Homies into a single, unstoppable force. Fire, wind, and lightning swirled around the massive blade as she raised it for a final, cataclysmic strike.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"