Jerry's source of information had been none other than the Celestial Dragon Saint Rozward himself.
Through experimentation, Jerry had discovered that when his Observation Haki reached the current system threshold, several more advanced special abilities had been unlocked.
For individuals who were significantly weaker than himself, Jerry could now guide them through carefully chosen words and subtle manipulation to recall specific memories, as he had developed the ability to perceive the thoughts and emotions of other creatures with remarkable clarity.
Using this technique, he could expend some of his mental energy to read considerable amounts of memory from his target.
However, as the subject became stronger or the more memories he attempted to access, Jerry's own mental consumption increased exponentially.
Overall, while Jerry's new ability was certainly unique, it came with substantial costs that made it impractical for regular use.
The person being read didn't even need to be particularly powerful for the technique to become prohibitively expensive. For example, if Jerry tried to use it on a Marine sergeant or lieutenant whose strength was only slightly above that of an ordinary soldier, the mental energy consumption would likely force him to abandon the attempt.
It was with this special but somewhat limited ability that Jerry had obtained the intelligence he needed after using it on Saint Rozward in Mariejois, then made his hasty departure.
The reason Jerry hadn't chosen to employ this technique on Saint Charloss was simply that he suspected the obese World Noble might not possess any truly useful information.
In comparison, while Saint Rozward was also largely useless, he was at least someone who could command enough respect to ride a slave as transportation in the original timeline.
Therefore, Jerry had naturally assumed that the elder Celestial Dragon would have access to more official government intelligence.
After Skull and the others returned from their own reconnaissance missions and the full crew had assembled, Jerry didn't keep them in suspense any longer.
"The situation has changed significantly," he announced directly. "Except for the green-haired swordsman Zoro, who is still imprisoned in Impel Down, the other two members of the Straw Hat Pirates have been moved to different locations."
"Eh? That can't be right, Boss Jerry," Skull was the first to voice his doubts. "Generally speaking, when pirates are captured, they're all thrown into the underwater prison without exception."
Under everyone's attentive gaze, Jerry nodded grimly. "That's exactly right under normal circumstances, which is why Zoro is still locked up in the standard location."
Before anyone could respond, Jerry spread his hands helplessly. "The problem is that the other two aren't considered ordinary pirates by the World Government."
"Of course," Deuce said thoughtfully, his voice soft but carrying clear understanding. "One is the son of the Revolutionary Army's leader, and the other is the sole survivor of Ohara..."
Jerry gave him a thumbs up in confirmation. "Exactly right. After Luffy's parentage was revealed and the World Government decided to execute him publicly, they took additional precautions to prevent Revolutionary Army agents from mounting a secret rescue operation, or to avoid having him die in Impel Down prematurely through mysterious circumstances."
"I don't know who originally proposed it, but they issued orders for Fleet Admiral Sengoku to personally transfer the prisoner to Marine Headquarters and maintain constant surveillance."
At this point, Jerry's expression became peculiar for a moment before he continued. "But before Sengoku could dispatch anyone to handle the transfer, Garp personally went out and brought Luffy back himself."
"It seems that because of Luffy's... let's call it 'disruptive behavior,' or perhaps for some other unknown reason, Garp also brought Robin back to Marine Headquarters at the same time."
"Mr. Jerry, this means our rescue targets have shifted from the possibly manageable Impel Down to the heavily fortified Marine Headquarters!" Brook exclaimed with obvious concern.
The others immediately began discussing this development with serious expressions.
This reaction was completely understandable. The original plan to infiltrate Impel Down had already been challenging enough, and now with the addition of Marine Headquarters, they would essentially be forced to venture into the tiger's den before even attempting to enter the dragon's lair.
"If nothing unexpected happens, that's exactly what we're looking at," Jerry admitted, scratching his head with mild frustration. "It's our own fault for not gathering complete intelligence immediately and acting sooner."
Cavendish slowly twirled the rose in his hand as he added thoughtfully, "The issue is that even if we had obtained this information earlier, it wouldn't have made much difference. Barely two days passed before the news about Straw Hat's identity was released to the public."
Everyone nodded in silent agreement. Indeed, they had needed to become a Warlord first to gain access to insider information, but Luffy's true parentage had been revealed almost immediately afterward.
Even if they had managed to discover clues about Robin's location simultaneously, it would have been far too late to take any meaningful action.
Amid the ongoing discussion, Carina turned to Jerry and asked, "Nami and the others are on their way here. What should our next move be?"
"Perfect timing. Let them come," Jerry nodded approvingly. "We'll coordinate with Ace and discuss our revised plan of action once everyone's assembled."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jerry stroked his chin thoughtfully. This situation is definitely going to spiral out of control, he mused silently.
A Few Days Later
Ace and Jinbe quietly arrived at Sabaody Archipelago under cover of darkness.
While Ace had completely changed his appearance and clothing for disguise purposes, Jinbe remained exactly the same as always.
Avoiding crowded areas and popular districts, Jerry and his crew met them in an abandoned building they had cleared out in a remote section of the lawless zone.
After hearing the intelligence Jerry's team had gathered, as well as the preliminary plans they had developed, Ace struggled to suppress his inner anxiety and growing impatience.
Using this secluded location as their temporary base of operations, Ace chose to focus on continued training while waiting for the optimal moment to launch their rescue mission.
Similarly, the Black Star Pirates had never abandoned their own training regimens during this tense period.
After witnessing Luffy and his crewmates' capture, everyone had gained a deeper understanding that regardless of the circumstances, the stronger their individual abilities became, the more options they would have available, and naturally, the higher their success rate would be for any operation they attempted.
Present Day
The midday sun, though not yet at its peak intensity, wasn't particularly harsh. Instead, it brought warmth and gentle illumination to everyone below.
Observing his crew members training enthusiastically or pursuing their individual activities, Jerry found himself with little to do. He noticed Jinbe was in a similar state of idle observation.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jerry swung his fishing rod casually and asked, "Hey Jinbe, how about we get some practice in too?"
"Well, I think I'll pass on that," Jinbe replied, waving his hand dismissively. "If there's nothing else urgent, I'd actually prefer to return to Fishman Island first." He indicated that while he appeared to be idle, he actually had numerous responsibilities waiting for his attention.
Jerry was about to nod in understanding when a sudden inspiration struck him as he remembered the system's previous cryptic prompt about challenging top-tier experts.
Under Jinbe's puzzled gaze, Jerry broke into a wide grin and declared, "Actually, that's not really up to you. Come on, let's have an intense Fishman Karate duel!"
Before he had even finished speaking, and without waiting for Jinbe to voice any protests, Jerry snapped his fingers decisively. A marble-sized droplet of water shot out like an arrow, flying directly toward the former Warlord.
"Water Shot!"
"Huh?" Jinbe was momentarily startled before his reflexes kicked in instantly. He gestured with his hand and used the same Water Shot technique to intercept Jerry's attack, absorbing it into a larger water sphere before launching a counterattack.
"Water Shot!"
Jerry continued the exchange by flicking his fingers again, sending another water projectile that swallowed the incoming sphere and transformed into an even larger orb before flying back toward Jinbe.
"Water Shot!"
"Water Shot!"
The interaction between the two masters resembled an elaborate game of catch, with the water sphere bouncing back and forth between them while steadily expanding in size with each exchange.
Within moments, the water projectile had grown from a small marble to a massive sphere nearly two meters in diameter.
As it flew toward Jinbe once again, he raised his hand with obvious confusion and simply burst the enormous water ball with a casual gesture.
Completely unbothered by his clothes getting soaked from the splash, Jinbe cleared his throat diplomatically. "Ahem, Brother Jerry, I certainly acknowledge that your Fishman Karate is remarkably powerful, and many of your techniques are even more refined than mine, but..."
"I've got it! That's exactly how you play the game! I finally understand the principle, hahahaha!"
Before Jinbe could complete his thought, Jerry leaped into the air with explosive excitement, erupting into maniacal laughter and triumphant shouting that echoed across their training area.
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