"Help! Someone help me!"
A young mermaid fled through the river in desperate panic, her silver tail cutting through the water like a silver arrow. But suddenly, her frantic swimming came to an abrupt halt as she collided with what felt like an invisible barrier.
"There she is! The little fish ran into something!" shouted one of her pursuers from the riverbank behind her.
"Ah, this again..." Jerry sighed heavily as he recognized the all-too-familiar scene unfolding before him.
The mermaid had become entangled in his fishing line—the same specially reinforced line crafted to handle even the most massive sea creatures. In her desperate struggle to break free, she had only managed to wrap herself more tightly in the unbreakable cord.
Hearing the approaching footsteps of her captors and seeing the wounded mermaid still trapped in his line, Jerry made a quick decision. He deactivated the visual camouflage function of his water barrier, which had been reflecting the scenery behind him to create perfect invisibility.
Taking on his most mysterious tone, Jerry spoke in a deliberately emotionless, mechanical voice: "Young maiden, are you calling out to me in your heart?"
The sudden appearance of a human voice from the apparently empty shore startled the mermaid girl. She turned toward the sound and froze in amazement.
Before her stood a towering column of water, roughly human-shaped but featureless, that somehow radiated an unmistakable sense of attention focused directly on her. Despite having no visible eyes, she could feel its gaze with unsettling clarity.
"I... I don't know what you mean," the mermaid replied, mustering her courage despite her fear. Then, as memories of the horrors she had witnessed flooded back, she bit her lip hard to prevent tears from falling. With a pleading expression, she continued, "But if you really came here to grant wishes, please... please save me from this nightmare."
"Very well, but my services require payment. Ten Berries should suffice—I refuse to work for free," Jerry declared in his mystical persona, just as a familiar 'ding' sound echoed in his mind.
A system quest? Now? he thought incredulously.
"I... I don't have any money with me," the mermaid girl said anxiously, glancing over her shoulder at the approaching torchlight of her pursuers. Despair flickered across her features.
Jerry mentally rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Is this mermaid the system's long-lost daughter or something?"
With a theatrical wave of his hand, he caused the water around him to surge and churn dramatically before announcing in his solemn voice: "Fear not—I have already received payment for your request. Now, tell me your wish!"
The mermaid's eyes widened in surprise and hope. Though she didn't understand what was happening, she quickly responded, "Please save me and help me escape from this living hell of Mariejois!"
Jerry nodded gravely, but before he could respond, the sound of heavy footsteps announced the arrival of her pursuers.
"Gyahahaha! My precious little mermaid slave, what nonsense are you babbling to yourself about?" A grotesquely obese Celestial Dragon emerged from behind his escort of armed guards, his arrogant laughter echoing across the water. His ridiculous gait and pompous demeanor marked him immediately as World Nobility. "Mariejois is paradise on earth, you ungrateful creature!"
The World Noble paused as he noticed the strange water formation on the shore, tilting his head curiously. "What in the world is that thing?"
But his attention quickly returned to the trapped mermaid, and he began rubbing his hands together like a predatory insect. "Gyahahaha! Running away in the middle of the night is very naughty behavior. Come back with me immediately so I can teach you proper manners."
With a casual wave of his jeweled hand, he signaled his guards. Dozens of armed men stepped forward, advancing toward the helpless mermaid with practiced efficiency.
At that moment, Jerry's mystical voice rang out across the night: "Your wish shall be granted..."
Before anyone could react, the water formation suddenly extended a massive appendage resembling the tail of some ancient sea beast. In one devastating sweep, it struck down the guards and their Celestial Dragon master alike. None of them even had time to scream before they crumpled to the ground, dead.
"Let's go," Jerry said, dropping his theatrical tone momentarily as he quickly retracted his fishing rod and other equipment. The water surged around the stunned mermaid girl, lifting her gently before launching skyward like a cannonball.
"WHO DARES COMMIT SUCH BLASPHEMY IN THIS SACRED PLACE?!"
A thunderous roar shattered the peaceful night, reverberating across the entire holy land of Mariejois.
"My name is of no importance—I am merely an agent of destiny!" Jerry replied in his mysterious mechanical voice as he carried the mermaid girl through the air above the world's most heavily guarded location.
"You will not escape!" came a cold, authoritative shout from the direction of Pangaea Castle's main gates. Several massive sword energy slashes tore through the air toward Jerry's position, each one capable of leveling a building.
Without even turning around, Jerry sensed the deadly attacks approaching through his advanced Observation Haki. The water surrounding him suddenly transformed into the shape of a massive nine-tailed fox, with one tail securely cradling the mermaid girl while the other eight lashed out like giant whips.
A series of thunderous impacts echoed through the night as each sword beam was shattered by Jerry's water constructs.
"Mark my words!" Jerry continued in his mystical voice, his tone carrying across the entire holy land. "When the day comes that Lord Joy Boy returns to this world, it shall herald your ultimate destruction!"
As he spoke, Jerry commanded the eight tails of his water fox to swing violently, launching countless water projectiles toward the "Land of the Gods" like artillery shells.
Multiple voices shouted from different directions as various defensive techniques activated, attempting to intercept the overwhelming barrage of attacks.
However, Jerry smiled slightly beneath his disguise, subtly redirecting several of the water projectiles to curve around the defensive measures like guided missiles seeking their targets.
With a deafening crash that echoed across all of Mariejois, the Celestial Dragon Gate leading to the "Land of the Gods" collapsed completely, reduced to smoking rubble.
"This serves merely as a warning of what is to come!" Jerry's voice continued to boom across the holy land as his figure vanished into the night sky. "You cannot stand against the will of Lord Joy Boy!"
Several minutes later, far from Mariejois and high above the vast ocean, Jerry finally released his passenger.
"Since you're a mermaid, getting back to Fishman Island on your own shouldn't be a problem, right?" he asked, gently lowering the girl toward the water's surface.
With a soft splash, she was safely deposited in the ocean's embrace. Jerry carefully controlled the water flow to ensure her landing was as gentle as possible.
"Thank you so much!" the mermaid girl exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine gratitude and lingering amazement. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay such kindness, but... how should I thank you properly in the future?"
She gazed up at her mysterious savior with nervous excitement. She didn't understand why this powerful being had chosen to rescue her, but that no longer mattered. All she wanted was some way to contact her benefactor so she could properly express her gratitude someday.
"I have already received all the payment I require," Jerry replied in his mystical tone. Then, dropping into a more casual voice that suggested he was sharing some kind of divine wisdom, he added, "But if you truly wish to show gratitude, seek out Jinbe on Fishman Island. That man is getting on in years and still wanders around single and carefree. It's high time someone convinced him to settle down and start a family before his poor parents worry themselves to death."
The mermaid girl blinked in confusion at this unexpected relationship advice from her supernatural rescuer.
"Remember," Jerry continued with mock solemnity, "even the mightiest warriors need someone to come home to. Tell him the Water Spirit says he's been a bachelor long enough!"
With that pronouncement, Jerry turned and began to fade from sight, his water-based form dispersing into the night air.
The mermaid girl remained floating on the surface for several moments, processing everything that had just happened. Finally, she bowed deeply toward where her mysterious savior had disappeared.
"Thank you, Water Spirit," she whispered to the night. "I'll deliver your message to Jinbe-san."
With renewed determination burning in her eyes, she dove beneath the waves and began her journey home to Fishman Island, carrying with her both her freedom and a very peculiar message about romance for one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.