At the execution square outside the ruins of Pangaea Castle, in what had once been called the "Land of the Gods," Jerry surveyed the aftermath of their rescue operation.
Tens of thousands of slaves had been brought back from various locations throughout Mariejois by Tesoro and his allies. As the liberated people shared their testimonies and accusations against the controlled Celestial Dragons who now knelt helplessly in the square, not only those present but viewers around the world felt overwhelming indignation and fury rising in their hearts.
It was only now that the world began to truly understand the dark underbelly of Mariejois, though everyone realized this represented merely the tip of an enormous iceberg of suffering. The crimes were too numerous to catalog completely, and just imagining their full scope was enough to make anyone shudder with revulsion.
Jerry remained silent for a long time, allowing the weight of centuries of oppression to settle over the plaza. After the rescued slaves had calmed somewhat, he spoke with quiet conviction: "Go home. For those who have homes to return to, start your lives over again. From this day forward, the Celestial Dragons are history!"
"The Four Seas will also—"
Before he could complete his thought, a burst of infectious laughter suddenly echoed across the world.
"Yeah, ahahahaha! How interesting!"
A figure with stark white hair, white clothing, and white flames dancing around his head was flying freely through the air, moving as naturally as if he were running across solid ground rather than soaring through empty sky.
Along with his arrival, distinctive drumbeats with a unique rhythm echoed in everyone's ears, stirring their hearts and filling them with inexplicable excitement and joy.
"Luffy?!" Boa Hancock's cheeks flushed crimson as she held her face with both hands, staring at the figure dancing freely through the air. "I don't understand why you look like this, but I still... love you just the same."
"Nika..." Bartholomew Kuma murmured in a low voice as he gazed up at the legendary figure who had appeared countless times in his dreams and haunted his people's collective memory for generations.
He turned his head excitedly toward little Bonney perched on his shoulder. "Little Bonney, do you see that? That's Nika! The liberation fighter our people have been waiting for all these centuries!"
Bonney stared at the white-clad Luffy soaring through the air and pouted thoughtfully. "But Dad, Big Brother Jerry is the one who actually liberated everyone here. And he once told me that everyone can become a warrior who liberates themselves."
Hearing his daughter's words struck Kuma like a bolt of lightning, leaving him stunned in place as profound realization washed over him.
Memories of his past flooded back—being forced into slavery as a child alongside his father, watching his father maintain lifelong faith in Nika's eventual return, yet dying without ever seeing the liberation fighter manifest in their darkest hours.
After a long moment of contemplation, Kuma murmured to himself with growing understanding: "Could it be that what our Buccaneer people have been waiting for since ancient times..."
"Hehe, of course it's interesting," Jerry replied with an amused grin as he looked up at Luffy bouncing through the air with supernatural grace. "Without Kaido's firm guidance, you actually managed to emerge in this form? That's genuinely fascinating."
Luffy moved to the rhythm of the mysterious drums, leaping and dancing above the heads of the liberated slaves while responding with his characteristic laughter: "Shishishishi! So you're the one they call Leviathan? It seems you know quite a lot about things you shouldn't."
His expression suddenly shifted to something more serious, though his smile remained. "But that's the problem. In the future we envision, there's no place for someone like you!" A strange and otherworldly light flashed in Luffy's eyes as he spoke.
"Oh? And what exactly do you plan to do about that?" Jerry asked with deliberately relaxed curiosity, scratching his cheek as if discussing the weather.
However, Luffy—who had been laughing constantly until this moment—suddenly stopped mid-air, his body suspended in an unnatural pose. His gaze fixed on Jerry with predatory intensity, and a faint red glow began emanating from his eyes.
"Obviously, I'm going to correct the world line!" he declared with unsettling certainty.
Then he burst into laughter once again: "Shishishishi! I am the one and only liberation fighter in this world!"
As he spoke, some of the liberated slaves in the square began laughing along with the increasingly loud drumbeats, their voices joining the infectious rhythm without conscious thought.
The phenomenon spread like a virus transmitted from person to person. Almost everyone present—whether freed slaves or the controlled Celestial Dragons kneeling on the ground—seemed to become extremely excited and euphoric, caught up in the supernatural influence.
"Luffy looks so handsome..." Hancock's infatuated words floated softly through the air.
Mihawk observed the white figure hovering above them, then turned his attention to Jerry standing calmly on the ground. He found that while he could understand every individual word the two were saying, when put together their conversation left him utterly confused.
Despite this linguistic clarity, he recognized that the situation was far from simple. After all, everyone around him—even Jinbe and Kotatsu perched on Jerry's shoulder—had become inexplicably excited and euphoric.
His own heart felt full of restlessness, but he maintained strict self-control through sheer willpower.
"Why can't I properly gauge the strength of either of these individuals?" Mihawk thought with growing concern. "This is becoming quite troublesome."
He watched with intense focus as the two figures exchanged fierce glances as if no one else existed in the world.
Ten thousand meters below on the frozen battlefield, everyone had ceased fighting when the mysterious drumbeats reached them through the live broadcast feed. Despite the vast distance, most people couldn't help but feel unprecedented happiness and relaxation, making them want to dance to the rhythm involuntarily.
"Isn't that the same drumbeat we heard at Laugh Tale?" Skull turned to look at Deuce and the others who had returned to the ship, screaming in surprise. "Why is it coming from Ace's brother?!"
His words were immediately broadcast through their ship's loudspeakers, attracting attention from observers all around the battlefield.
"Oh? Ace, did you hear the drums of liberation at that place?" Whitebeard asked, looking at the massive projection from the Marine branch while addressing Ace beside him.
"Yes, Pops. I need to go up there and see what's happening. That's my little brother, but I think he's acting very strangely right now." Without waiting for Whitebeard or the others to respond, Ace launched himself into the air with urgent determination.
Tremendous propulsion from flames covering his entire body sent him shooting skyward like a bolt of lightning, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
Simultaneously, another figure shot out from among the Red Hair Pirates with equal speed.
"Boss! What are you planning to do?!" Yasopp and other members of the Red Hair Pirates called out loudly.
"Of course I'm going to see our old friend Luffy, whom we haven't encountered in far too long! Hahaha!" Shanks answered with booming laughter, though a dark light flashed in his eyes that suggested more serious motivations.
After approaching the Red Line at tremendous speed, he leaped up the rock wall and vanished from everyone's sight in an instant.
On another part of the battlefield, Revolutionary Army leader Dragon fixed his gaze on the live projection with an expression of grim satisfaction.
After a moment of contemplation, he turned to address the officers behind him, raising his hands and speaking with passionate conviction: "Everyone! That is the true posture of a liberation fighter, which means our revolution will soon achieve complete success!"
"But Mr. Dragon," a voice rang out from the crowd, "the World Government has already fallen, so shouldn't our revolution be considered successful already?"
Dragon shook his head and looked directly at the person who had spoken. "Sabo, the fall of the World Government is only one of our organization's goals. Our ultimate ideal is creating a free and equal world for everyone!"
"To accomplish this, we must overthrow all tyrannical kingdoms around the world. Moreover, the Marines—as the military organization of the former World Government—represent a target that must be eliminated!"
"Otherwise, if they intentionally cause civil unrest, the consequences could be catastrophic!"
Ivankov stared at the large number of CP agents who had lost their will to fight due to the World Government's collapse and were now being taken prisoner. He turned to look at his comrades before asking hesitantly, "So are we going to attack the Marines immediately?"
"Yes!" Dragon answered without hesitation, waving his hand to issue immediate orders. "Begin the assault!"
Mariejois - Ten Thousand Meters Above
Jerry patted Kotatsu gently on the shoulder to calm the excited cat and winked meaningfully.
"Meow!" Kotatsu nodded with understanding, and the live projection suddenly split into two distinct feeds.
Half continued showing the current confrontation, while the other half began displaying recorded footage from their visit to Laugh Tale.
Under Kotatsu's expert manipulation, the screen quickly focused on the scene showing ancient characters that Jerry and his crew had discovered on the final island.
Although Cavendish had forgotten to broadcast live during that expedition, Kotatsu had not forgotten to record everything under Jerry's careful instructions.
Jerry pointed toward the image projected by the Den Den Mushi he had strategically positioned around the square earlier. His eyes finally settled on Luffy with a slight, knowing smile.
"You were at Laugh Tale that day too, weren't you?"