"It seems the Marines don't trust the Seven Warlords very much," Deuce observed thoughtfully, stroking his chin as he analyzed the meeting they had just witnessed.
Skull nodded in agreement. "That's completely normal. From what I understand, a large number of Marine officers have never supported the Warlord system in the first place."
"It's human nature, really. Marines and pirates occupy fundamentally different positions," Sanji added, rubbing his head while sporting two large cotton balls stuffed in his nostrils to stem his earlier nosebleed.
Noticing that the meeting had concluded, Deuce looked around at everyone and said with authority, "Through this surveillance operation, although we still weren't able to obtain the Marines' detailed deployment plans, we gained valuable intelligence. Next, we need to—"
Meanwhile, Outside Pangaea Castle
"Well, that's finally over! How about it, Kuma, Jinbe, Hawkeye—want to grab a meal together?" Jerry asked casually as they walked out of Pangaea Castle, hefting a large bag of gourmet food that had been specially prepared by the chefs assigned to the Warlord conference.
"Hmph!" Hancock left behind only an elegant silhouette as she strode away on her long legs without a backward glance.
Both Teach and Doflamingo shot Jerry and the others meaningful looks before departing in different directions.
"No thanks, I still have some business to attend to. See you around," Hawkeye declined with a casual wave, maintaining his characteristically aloof demeanor.
Jinbe shook his head in polite refusal. Then, maintaining his expressionless facade, he leaned closer and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Jerry, this is still in Mariejois. You should be careful. I'm heading back now."
He knew Jerry's enhanced hearing would pick up his warning.
"Alright then, what about you, Kuma?" Jerry approached the towering cyborg casually, raising the bag of food again and tilting his head inquisitively.
Kuma bent down with his typical blank expression, gently pressed his paw against Jerry's bag of delicious food, and said simply, "Eat slowly."
Watching as everyone dispersed almost instantly, Jerry scratched his head and addressed the Marine escorts who had been assigned to see them off:
"Seems like your food wasn't attractive enough to keep anyone around. You know what they say—if you want to capture someone's heart, you must first capture their stomach."
Jerry shook his head with exaggerated disappointment. "Doesn't your leadership understand such basic principles? Go back and give feedback to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Tell him he needs to improve both the quantity and quality of the food service."
After delivering this unsolicited culinary critique, Jerry paid no attention to the several attendants who stood frozen in bewilderment, looking at each other uncertainly. He sighed repeatedly and walked away with Kotatsu, appearing deeply concerned about the state of Marine hospitality.
After a long moment, one attendant murmured in confusion, "Should we... should we actually report this?"
"I guess we have to..." his colleague replied with obvious uncertainty.
Jerry had no idea that his random commentary would soon cause chaos in the kitchens of both Marine Headquarters and the World Government, eventually forcing them to recruit several master chefs capable of preparing dishes so excellent they literally glowed.
On his way out, he briefly considered whether to try some fishing while he was still at Mariejois.
"Forget it, maybe next time. It would be a shame if I caught all the fish in one go."
Shaking his head, he decided against the idea and quickly departed the Holy Land.
After traveling rapidly across the ocean for an extended period, Jerry returned directly to Sabaody Archipelago.
Back at the Temporary Base
"Here, this is Kuma's reply," Jerry announced upon his return, pulling out a carefully folded piece of paper and handing it to Bonney.
This had been the moment when Kuma had made contact with Jerry before departing—after reading the message Jerry had brought from his daughter, he had cleverly slipped his response into Jerry's bag among the conference food.
"Yes!" Bonney took the letter excitedly and immediately ran to a corner to read it carefully in private.
Jerry turned his attention to Ace and the others, smiling warmly. "Did everyone catch the live broadcast?"
Everyone nodded, and Deuce responded, "Yes, we saw everything. Let's discuss our final preparations one more time."
"Sounds good," Jerry agreed with a slight nod.
The assembled crews then reviewed and adjusted all the intelligence they had gathered, ultimately finalizing their action plan down to the smallest details.
"It won't be long before we officially begin the operation, everyone..." After their strategy session concluded, Ace was the first to stand, beginning to address the group with obvious emotion.
Jerry grinned and interrupted, "Okay, okay, don't make it sound like we're never coming back! Which isn't impossible, but we—"
Suddenly, Usopp covered his ears and screamed in terror, "AHHHH! Stop talking like that, or I'll catch that disease that makes people unable to escape from prison!"
Seeing the sniper's panic, Jerry pretended to be deep in thought and said with mock seriousness, "Hmm... then perhaps you should handle the behind-the-scenes support work instead."
Hearing this suggestion, Usopp's face became even more panicked. "No way! Absolutely not! Chopper, I really do have that disease now..."
Global Situation
While Jerry and his allies made quiet preparations in Sabaody Archipelago, Revolutionary Army cells around the world were becoming increasingly active.
Compared to the World Government's vast resources, the Revolutionary Army was naturally much smaller in both size and overall power.
However, this disparity didn't prevent the Revolutionary Army from constantly creating problems for the World Government across the globe.
The Grand Line, and especially the Four Blues beyond it, had been in chaos for an extended period.
The governments of many World Government member nations had collapsed under direct or indirect revolutionary pressure, creating widespread political instability.
Even so, these dramatic changes didn't seem to have any impact on the established plans and actions of the World Government and Marines. They continued moving forward at their predetermined pace, completely unmoved by the global unrest.
In response to member nations' desperate requests for assistance, the World Government simply dispatched whatever personnel were available nearby and replied that they should endure this "brief period of turbulence."
Obviously, the authorities had no intention of dispersing the powerful combat forces they had recalled to Marine Headquarters.
Marine Headquarters
"About those Revolutionary Army actions..." Sengoku said in a grave voice, sitting upright in his office chair while examining intelligence reports.
Before he could finish his thought, Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was seated across from him, interrupted. "Sengoku, since the World Government has chosen this timing for our operation and told us to let them handle those other matters, you and I don't need to be distracted anymore."
"There's a high probability that Dragon will bring the Revolutionary Army's real main force here. Since the World Government and we have a clear division of responsibilities, let's just concentrate on doing our job properly."
Sengoku remained silent for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Where's Garp?"
"I don't know. Perhaps he went to visit his grandson again," Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head with obvious concern.
"I see," Sengoku acknowledged with a slight nod.
As time had passed, the smile on Garp's face had become increasingly rare, and he seldom stepped into Sengoku's office for his usual freeloading visits.
Approaching the Deadline
Amid the ongoing open and covert exchanges of fire between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government, time had quietly approached the execution date that had been publicly announced.
In the early morning hours, the sun had not yet risen above the horizon.
Jerry, Brook, Carina, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp stood on the bow of a small ship, watching their destination grow larger in the distance.
Chopper looked at the imposing structures gradually appearing ahead and asked with obvious tension, "Is that Impel Down up ahead?"
"That's right. Is everyone ready?" Jerry asked while using his water manipulation to propel their boat forward through the Calm Belt's windless, currentless waters.
"No, I'm not—"
Before Usopp could complete his protest, he was rendered unconscious by one of Nami's merciless punches.
"Ready," Nami confirmed with a determined nod.
"Miss Nami! Seeing you dressed like a cute rabbit, I've been ready for ages!" Sanji's eyes transformed into red hearts as he became a lovestruck fool, spinning around Nami in circles.
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention or suspicion, the Straw Hat Pirates had adopted disguises modeled after the Black Star Pirates' appearance.
The role Nami was playing was none other than Carrot, complete with rabbit ears and a fluffy tail that made Sanji even more excitable than usual.
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