Following this new lead, Jerry and his crew changed their route completely, heading directly toward the Kingdom of Lulucia instead of making their planned stop in Alabasta.
Meanwhile, Ace had arrived at Spring Queen Town but found no trace of Teach anywhere. Rather than becoming discouraged, he'd enjoyed a massive meal at the local restaurants before setting out for the next location indicated by their intelligence network.
After several days of sailing, Jerry's crew finally reached the Kingdom of Lulucia.
There, they received definitive confirmation that Teach and his crew had indeed visited the island recently.
However, just like Ace's experience, the Blackbeard Pirates had simply rested and enjoyed an enormous feast before departing for parts unknown.
Teach's visit had been easily identified due to their crew's legendary appetite, as well as Teach's particular insistence on clearing out every single cherry pie from half a dozen nearby restaurants.
Unfortunately, while the intelligence was accurate, it proved essentially useless for their pursuit.
According to the restaurant owners' recollections, Teach and his gang had departed a full ten days before Jerry's crew arrived.
After everyone dispersed throughout the kingdom to gather all available information and purchase necessary supplies, Jerry's crew reconvened aboard the Black Nova ship to compare notes.
"Water 7?"
Upon learning that all the intelligence they'd collected ultimately pointed toward the Water Capital, Jerry's expression grew serious and he couldn't help muttering under his breath, "Are they returning to that original route after all?"
He immediately signaled for Skull to activate their Den Den Mushi communication system.
"Ace, head to Water 7 immediately," Jerry said without preamble the moment the connection was established. "If you can't find Teach there, search the route from there toward Long Ring Long Land and then Jaya Island!"
Hearing this urgent instruction, Ace sounded startled and confused. "Wait, what? Do you have news about something? I just set out and I'm actually already heading toward Water 7 myself."
"You mean you've discovered the same lead?" Jerry asked with obvious surprise. "All I have is confirmation that they went to Water 7. Everything beyond Long Ring Long Land is just my gut instinct talking."
Hearing this explanation, Ace stopped questioning the logic and simply nodded with determination. "Got it. I'll get there as fast as possible."
Although Jerry didn't have concrete intelligence to back up his hunch, Ace chose to trust his friend's judgment without reservation.
Jerry nodded grimly and delivered a solemn warning. "We're heading there immediately as well. But remember—if you encounter Teach's crew, don't be impulsive! If you want to fight, try to wait for us to arrive so we can face them together!"
He paused before adding, "Also, if you can't locate Teach, go find your brother first."
"Luffy? What's wrong with him?" Ace's voice carried obvious concern for his sworn brother's safety.
Jerry once again employed his talent for creative explanations. "My instincts are telling me that Teach is likely planning to target him specifically."
"Understood! I'll be there right away!" Ace responded with deadly seriousness before ending the call. He glanced at the Log Pose on his wrist pointing toward Water 7, then erupted in flames as he accelerated toward his destination at maximum speed.
Deuce pulled out their Eternal Pose and asked with obvious concern, "Jerry, are you completely serious about this? Do you really think Teach and his crew are planning to target Ace's little brother?"
"It's hard to say for certain, but given the current situation, I believe it's a high-probability scenario," Jerry replied without his usual smile, his expression remaining deadly serious.
"Well then, that settles it!" Deuce declared, choosing to believe Jerry's assessment completely. "This is the direction we need to go."
Jerry glanced at where the Eternal Pose was pointing and shook his head decisively. "Forget the Log Pose for now. Just give me Ace's Vivre Card and we'll follow him directly!"
For reasons Jerry couldn't fully explain, he felt unusually confident this time. Something deep in his gut told him that Teach would definitely make his move soon.
Hearing this request, Deuce looked startled for a moment before quickly retrieving Ace's life paper from his navigation supplies.
Watching the direction the small piece of paper was slowly drifting in his palm, Jerry began manipulating the ocean currents around their ship, turning the Black Nova's bow to match its guidance.
"All right, everyone!" he shouted to his crew. "Hold on tight! I'm about to put this ship into overdrive, and the acceleration is going to be absolutely intense!"
"Yeah right, like you can make it that much more extreme than usual," Carina said with obvious skepticism. However, her body language betrayed her words as she immediately ran toward the safety harnesses while continuing to talk. Before she could finish her sentence, she was screaming, "Holy—!"
Other crew members like Deuce, who had learned from painful experience that they weren't particularly fond of Jerry's idea of "extreme speed," immediately secured themselves in crash positions and prepared for whatever insane velocity the Black Nova was about to achieve.
Within moments, their ship became wrapped in a thin curtain of manipulated seawater and began racing across the ocean at absolutely staggering speed. Like a bolt of blue lightning, it streaked toward the distant horizon with tremendous force.
"B-big brother, look! What in the world is that thing?"
On an unnamed pirate ship somewhere in the vast ocean, a young pirate wearing a burgundy hat stared with wide-eyed curiosity at a large, blurry shadow approaching rapidly across the sea.
The shadow resembled an enormous blue creature running at incredible speed across the water's surface. Its momentum was so tremendous that it created countless splashing waves on both sides as it moved.
"Huh?" Another pirate aboard the ship—this one bearing a diagonal scar across his face—turned to look in the same direction, then displayed an expression of complete shock.
As the "blue creature" drew closer, he realized it was actually a pirate ship completely encased in transparent blue water manipulation.
Scarface was raising his hand to point and comment when he was suddenly drenched by seawater displaced by the speeding ship as it rushed past their own ship.
"Damn show-offs with their fancy speed!" Scarface yelled in frustrated anger.
He spun around quickly and shouted to his accomplices, who were equally soaked. "Let's get out of here!"
The pirate in the burgundy hat nodded enthusiastically and said with obvious excitement, "You want to chase after them, right, big brother? Got it! How dare they splash us with—"
CRACK!
Scarface delivered a massive fist to his subordinate's skull and shouted in panic, "Chase them?! Are you completely insane? Do we look like we can afford to mess with people like that? We're running away immediately!"
The hat-wearing pirate covered his aching head and whispered in confusion, "But... but big brother, you were just saying earlier that you're the king of this particular stretch of ocean..."
"Stop talking nonsense! Do I look like I have a death wish?" Scarface's roar echoed across the water.
Their pirate ship quickly reversed course and fled the scene as fast as wind and waves would carry them, leaving the sea to gradually return to its original tranquility.
Aboard the Black Nova, after the initial acceleration phase had stabilized, everyone was able to move around freely once the ship achieved its cruising speed.
"Jerry, is the situation really that urgent?" Brook asked, straightening his clothes that had been disheveled by the wind and observing the scenery racing past on both sides.
Jerry stood at the bow gazing into the distance—notably, he wasn't fishing for once. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back and responded quietly, "I don't know if it's genuinely urgent, but I'm definitely feeling a strong sense of time pressure."
"Could this be the sense of urgency that comes after eating something that disagreed with you, Boss Jerry?" Skull asked with complete seriousness.
"I've told you repeatedly that you should eat more roses like I do," Cavendish commented leisurely. He was seated at an elegant small dining table, sipping tea gracefully alongside Farul. "You'll notice I never have digestive issues."
Hearing their conversation, Carrot bounded over with obvious concern, offering a fresh carrot. "Brother Jerry, maybe you should try eating some carrots too? They're really good for you!"
"Do you need medicine?" Deuce asked helpfully, pointing toward his medical supplies.
Carina and little Bonney didn't say anything, but they sat nearby covering their mouths while laughing softly at the misunderstanding.
Jerry's eye twitched with obvious exasperation. "You're all completely missing the point here..."
Meanwhile, after several days of determined travel, Ace finally arrived at Water 7.
A sudden inspiration struck him, and he remembered that he was acquainted with the local leader, Iceberg, through their previous encounters.
He went directly to find the mayor and shipwright, learning that Teach had indeed been there but had departed two days earlier. More importantly, Iceberg confirmed that their destination had been exactly the Long Ring Long Land that Jerry had mentioned.
Armed with this crucial information, Ace immediately set off without hesitation to continue his relentless pursuit.