Ace's expression froze when he heard Jerry's proposal. He stared at Jerry's calm demeanor and spoke with obvious emotion.
"Jerry, I know you've always despised those arrogant Celestial Dragons. You don't have to bow down to them and write letters of apology just to help me. You don't need to..."
Before he could finish, Jerry raised his hand to interrupt him. Looking around the room, he noticed that everyone wore worried expressions and seemed hesitant to voice their concerns.
"Honest folks don't need flowery words, and true friends don't stand on ceremony," Jerry said with a grin. "A real man knows when to yield and when to hold his ground—being flexible isn't weakness; sometimes, it's the greatest strength."
Without waiting for anyone to respond, Jerry continued in a relaxed tone. "In any case, a letter of apology doesn't represent anything as profound as my personal dignity or core values."
He muttered quietly to himself, "After all, I wrote plenty of those when I was a kid..."
"Brother Jerry..." Although they couldn't contribute much to such serious matters, Carrot and little Bonney understood the gravity of the situation and looked at Jerry with obvious worry.
Noticing their expressions, Jerry smiled gently. "Carrot, little Bonney, I might need to use some of our money to buy political favors instead of carrots and pizza. Do you mind?"
Both girls immediately shook their heads, showing their complete support.
Seeing Jerry joke and chat with such casual confidence, everyone's worries seemed infected by his ease. They set down their emotional burdens and gradually regained their composure.
Jerry smiled broadly and gave Carrot and the others an encouraging thumbs up. "Don't worry—it won't cost us much gold anyway. We might even get sponsorship for this operation."
Speaking of gold, his eyes immediately lit up with obvious anticipation.
While Nami showed restraint, Carina's mouth curved into a knowing crescent. "You mean...?"
"Exactly! I'm certain your former boss will be happy to contribute to this worthy cause," Jerry replied, his confident smile seeming to flash with dazzling starlight.
Then he declared with absolute conviction, "If Teach can become a Warlord, why can't I?!"
Changing the subject, Jerry continued, "These elements are all part of my Plan A. If that fails, I have a Plan B ready."
"Plan B? What is it?" everyone asked with curiosity.
Jerry shook his head, tilted his gaze at a dramatic 45-degree angle, and spoke two simple words: "Direct assault."
"Tch, I thought it would be something more creative," Deuce and the others rolled their eyes in exasperation.
However, Ace couldn't help but smile at Jerry's characteristic approach. He patted Jerry's shoulders twice, and his tense mood—which had been wound tight for several days—finally relaxed slightly after hearing his friend's irreverent jokes.
Jerry waved his hand, deciding not to argue with them, and redirected the conversation back to business.
"All right, let's set Plan B aside for now and focus on Plan A. In addition to me attempting to infiltrate through Warlord status, the rest of you will need to handle specific assignments..."
Jerry proceeded to reveal the complete action plan he'd developed, then asked, "How does that sound? If you have questions or suggestions for improvement, speak up. That includes you, Sanji."
"Well, how do we determine the timing and personnel for actually entering Impel Down to rescue our friends?" Sanji exchanged glances with Usopp and the others before speaking.
"As for timing, that depends on whether I can successfully infiltrate the Warlord system and obtain inside intelligence, or whether the government publicly announces their plans for dealing with Luffy and his crew," Jerry answered without hesitation.
Over the past few days, he'd been speculating about the possible consequences of Luffy's capture. Either they'd be thrown directly into Impel Down, or other factors—such as Garp's influence—might result in alternative handling procedures.
It was precisely because of this completely altered timeline that Jerry found it difficult to predict the Marines' or World Government's next moves.
This uncertainty had led him to consider applying for Warlord status, hoping to obtain crucial information from the inside to facilitate their final rescue operation.
Fortunately, thanks to Jerry's earlier warning about Teach, Ace had never publicized his brotherly relationship with Luffy within the Whitebeard Pirates.
Only a few members of the Whitebeard Pirates knew about this connection, and others like Garp who knew the truth generally kept such information confidential. Therefore, this sensitive intelligence hadn't leaked to the broader world.
Jerry felt confident there would be no problems with his "political background check."
After all, he and Ace now belonged to completely different pirate crews on the surface, and they'd been separated for quite some time.
He definitely wouldn't be rejected by the World Government simply because Ace served as a connection between himself and Luffy.
Beyond Luffy, both Zoro and Robin had also been captured.
Regarding Zoro, Jerry believed there was a high probability he'd be imprisoned in Impel Down alongside his captain.
Robin's situation was considerably more complex. As a survivor of Ohara, she'd been a wanted criminal with a bounty on her head since childhood.
If the World Government treated her as an ordinary prisoner, Robin might simply be thrown into Impel Down. However, given her unique knowledge and the government's paranoia about the Void Century, she could face execution instead of imprisonment.
"Anyway, wait for my signal regarding timing. As for personnel, given the extremely high risk of this operation, you can each decide for yourselves whether to participate."
"If you choose to join the mission, you must be prepared to act immediately, regardless of when the specific moment arrives."
After hearing Jerry's explanation, Sanji and the others nodded to show their understanding.
Next, they discussed and refined various details of the plan before beginning to handle their individual preparations.
"Since we've committed to this course of action, I want to inform Pops and the others," Ace announced to his assembled friends.
Jerry immediately agreed. "As you should. You're now Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division. Just like many situations, this could be classified as either a personal matter or something with broader implications."
The others had no objections either. They understood that what they were about to attempt might very well become a major event that would shake the entire world.
The Black Star Pirates had several close friends present, and they didn't treat each other as outsiders. They could easily decide to advance and retreat together with Ace, even if it meant assaulting the world's most secure prison.
The Straw Hat Pirates felt even more committed to the mission. Although Usopp kept claiming he had a terminal disease that would kill him if he entered any prison, and both Nami and Chopper were obviously nervous, none of them showed any signs of backing down when it mattered.
The Whitebeard Pirates' situation was completely different from these two smaller crews. They represented a massive organization of over a thousand direct members, and if affiliated crews were included, the total exceeded fifty thousand people.
At that scale, every decision required extreme caution, because any choice could create ripple effects that determined the fate of the entire organization.
Ace had never intended to drag the entire Whitebeard Pirates into trouble because of his personal situation. That wasn't his goal at all.
However, it was absolutely impossible for him to abandon the mission to save Luffy.