In his system interface, after nearly a year of sailing back through the Grand Line, Jerry's base attributes had increased significantly from their previous levels.
However, the fact that Jerry could so arrogantly block Saint Nusjuro's legendary blade with just two fingers clearly demonstrated that raw attributes alone weren't the complete picture of his current power.
Through his personal combat experiences, Jerry had estimated that the combined attributes of the world's strongest opponents—Red-Haired Shanks and Kaido—were roughly around 5,000 points each. Shanks was slightly more specialized in certain areas, while Kaido maintained a more comprehensive and balanced distribution. Other top-tier fighters fell somewhere within similar ranges.
Because of this baseline, Jerry's Limiter Breakthrough BUFF, which doubled all calculations, had allowed him to fight those legendary opponents on equal terms despite having lower base statistics.
The "Limit-less Breakthrough" function he had unlocked after completing his quest chain two days ago was the true source of his current overwhelming dominance.
At that time, Jerry had been experimenting with the lotus pod interface, sliding various elements around until he suddenly focused on the concept of "freedom" itself.
Following his instincts, he had attempted to move his Limiter Breakthrough BUFF into the lotus pod's newly added multicolored groove.
The moment he completed that action, the sensation of extreme energy flooding his body confirmed that this operation was not only feasible but transformative. On top of his existing doubled enhancement from the Limiter Breakthrough BUFF, his abilities had been enhanced once again across all categories.
In other words, Jerry's actual combat attributes now exceeded ten thousand points, reaching the astonishing level of nearly 12,000. This astronomical power level was precisely why he dared to infiltrate Mariejois alone.
The enhancement provided by the enhanced Limiter Breakthrough BUFF was truly comprehensive. Even though the multiplicative effects on skills like Haki were subject to diminishing returns, the overall boost had elevated Jerry's strength to an almost unimaginable level. He felt confident enough to challenge ten thousand enemies simultaneously.
At the execution grounds in Mariejois, Jerry naturally took note of Tesoro's increasingly desperate situation as government forces surrounded the Golden Emperor and his rescued prisoners.
In truth, Tesoro had been closely monitoring the Black Star Pirates for years. Watching Jerry and his crew ascend to the pinnacle of power exactly as he had predicted filled him with growing excitement and anticipation.
Because he understood that perhaps the day he had been waiting for was finally approaching.
Sure enough, after Kaido's defeat, on one morning he had long dreamed of, Tesoro received the call he had been hoping for from Jerry.
Now, faced with this moment when he could finally exact revenge on the Celestial Dragons, Tesoro knew he had no choice but to fight with everything he possessed, without holding anything back.
Despite Jerry's explicit instructions that saving lives should be his first priority, Tesoro also understood how incredibly difficult it would be to rescue prisoners during a public execution in Mariejois itself. Nevertheless, he had taken action without a moment's hesitation.
It wasn't because he had absolute confidence in Jerry's ability to lead everyone to safety afterward, but because he had no intention of continuing to live after achieving his long-awaited revenge.
"Your name is Tesoro, isn't it?" The elderly man confronting him spoke with cold authority. "I must say, I didn't expect you to attempt something so utterly foolish. Surrender immediately, or I will ensure you die without even a proper grave."
Tesoro stood alone at the front of his small group, with Bartholomew Kuma, Dr. Vegapunk, and Bonney—who had previously disguised herself as an elderly woman—positioned behind him for protection.
He looked around at the dozen or so elite enemies surrounding them, his gaze finally locking onto the old man with distinctive crescent-shaped hair and beard who had spoken. The man's ornate uniform and commanding presence immediately identified him as someone of extraordinary rank within the World Government's hierarchy.
Tesoro raised his right hand, a hint of cold satisfaction playing at the corner of his mouth.
"Stella! Watch carefully—today is the day I finally avenge you!" he declared with passionate fury. "Celestial Dragons! Go straight to hell!"
"What?!" A fierce light flashed in the old man's eyes as he instantly drew his sword and unleashed several massive sword energy slashes while simultaneously shouting to his subordinates, "Kill him immediately!"
Facing the devastating slashes and coordinated attacks coming from all directions, Tesoro smiled with contemptuous defiance, a flash of beautiful madness burning in his vengeful eyes. "Come on then!"
In that instant, liquid gold flowed like water across his body, quickly covering him from head to toe and forming a magnificent suit of gleaming golden armor that reflected the morning sunlight like a beacon.
His stance became as immovable as bedrock as he clenched his right fist tightly and roared with righteous anger: "Golden Divine Fire!"
At that moment, countless explosions erupted simultaneously throughout Mariejois, and the entire holy land was engulfed in deafening roars that transformed this supposed "sacred place" into smoking ruins within the span of mere seconds.
Many of the Celestial Dragons present began screaming in agony as gold objects they had received from Tesoro over the past few days suddenly detonated with tremendous force. All of these World Nobles shared one thing in common—they had all accepted seemingly innocent gifts from the Golden Emperor during his recent visits to the holy land.
Through the smoke and debris, the elderly man with crescent-shaped hair and beard—Saint Figarland Garling, Supreme Commander of the Knights of God—stared grimly ahead through the chaos.
His advanced Observation Haki clearly indicated that the four condemned criminals in the smoke ahead had somehow survived the coordinated assault.
Moreover, he had witnessed with his own eyes that just as his sword energy was about to strike and the attacks of other Knights of God members were about to impact Tesoro and his companions, a brilliant blue light had flashed between them.
Sure enough, when the immediate chaos subsided and the smoke began to disperse, a dome-shaped shield constructed from flowing water stood inverted on the ground, having protected Tesoro and the other three from certain death.
"Phew... I was genuinely terrified there for a moment. I thought we were all going to die," Dr. Vegapunk commented with obvious relief, patting his chest lightly. The distinctive apple-shaped device on his head had somehow remained perfectly in place despite the violent explosions.
Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a small figure suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his neck with desperate excitement.
"If you don't restore my father to normal right now, I'll kill you myself!" Bonney shouted, her young voice cracking with emotion.
"Cough... cough! Let go!" Vegapunk struggled to pry open Bonney's surprisingly strong hands. "Little Bonney, I already told you—this transformation was his choice to protect you! And didn't I already give you the restoration password?"
Bonney paused, her grip loosening slightly. "What you said before... that was actually true?!"
"You'll find out if you try it," Vegapunk replied with gentle encouragement.
Hearing this confirmation, Bonney immediately released the scientist and scrambled up onto Bartholomew Kuma's massive shoulder. She leaned close to his ear and whispered the words she had been too afraid to believe: "Dad, let's go home."
The sound waves echoed in Kuma's ear like a special activation signal. The "puppet" who had remained expressionless for months, only occasionally responding to Bonney's presence, suddenly showed a flicker of confusion in his previously vacant eyes.
In the next instant, genuine awareness returned to his gaze.
"Huh? What is this place?" With his consciousness restored and his memory systems receiving information about all the events that had occurred since the Battle of Marineford, Kuma quickly processed their current dire situation.
Then he turned his head to look at Bonney perched on his shoulder and smiled what was perhaps the brightest, most genuine smile he had managed in decades. "Bonney, it's been far too long."
Hearing her father's real voice again, Bonney's eyes immediately filled with tears of pure joy. She threw her arms around his enormous face and hugged him as tightly as her small frame would allow.
Just at that moment, Jerry's voice carried clearly across the chaotic battlefield to reach everyone present.
"So those are the famous Knights of God, are they?" he called out with obvious amusement. "I'm very curious to see why you people call yourselves divine."
The next second, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Jerry's position like a mountain crushing down from above. The invisible pressure targeted every member of the Knights of God and the three remaining Five Elders with surgical precision.
Saint Figarland Garling felt as though tremendous gravitational force was pressing down on his entire body. All the muscles in his frame tensed to their absolute limits, yet he remained unable to move due to the tangible weight of Jerry's domineering will. His legs were forced to bend slightly under the pressure, and he had to grip his sword tightly with both hands just to maintain his balance.
Then, an overwhelming sense of mortal danger began eroding his consciousness, but he found himself completely helpless to respond.
"Be careful!" The three remaining Five Elders were similarly suppressed and sweating profusely despite their legendary power. Even though they attempted to burst forth with their own Conqueror's Haki in desperate defense, it proved utterly ineffective against Jerry's overwhelming presence. They could only issue loud warnings to their allies.
"Hey there, lie down for me," Jerry declared with casual confidence as his figure appeared directly above Saint Figarland Garling as if he had teleported. "I'm an atheist!"
His Conqueror's Haki-enhanced fist descended toward the Knight Commander with devastating intent.
An invisible barrier suddenly materialized in front of Jerry's attack. He glanced sideways in the direction of Pangaea Castle and grinned with wild anticipation. "You can't stop me!"
Black lightning surged around his knuckles as the power behind this single punch seemed capable of shattering reality itself.
The protective barrier disintegrated like glass, and Jerry's fist connected directly with Saint Figarland Garling's head. A tremendous shockwave tore straight down into the endless underground depths, instantly creating a fist-shaped crater more than ten meters in diameter that seemed to descend into the very foundations of the world.