In the original action plan that Jerry and his crew had formulated, they had only intended to launch a direct assault on the palace itself, without expecting any participation from the Tontatta Tribe.
After experiencing the baptism of fire during the War of Marineford, Deuce believed he fully understood the true extent of Jerry and his crewmates' combat capabilities.
Therefore, despite Jerry and Cavendish's characteristic boastful declarations, Deuce hadn't tried to restrain them too much, nor had he bothered developing detailed strategies that probably wouldn't be followed anyway.
Before landing on Dressrosa, Deuce and the others had known absolutely nothing about the existence of the Tontatta Tribe.
From their perspective, it represented a genuinely pleasant surprise that Jerry had managed to recruit so many powerful allies in the time it took to finish a single meal, using nothing more than his natural charisma and a few clever tricks.
Although the Tontatta warriors were diminutive in stature, they possessed incredible physical strength and extraordinary agility. When facing ordinary royal guards, they could demonstrate completely overwhelming advantages.
At this point, the Tontatta Tribe had officially joined the expanding battle between the Black Star Pirates and the combined forces of the Donquixote Family and Dressrosa's royal army.
"Well... in that case, let's slow down our pace slightly. It won't have much negative impact on our overall strategy," Jerry mused thoughtfully, stroking his chin while observing the unfolding situation.
For Deuce and the other crew members, the assistance of these dwarf warriors would dramatically reduce their burden when it came to clearing out the numerous foot soldiers blocking their advance.
However, Jerry had originally planned to charge straight ahead without worrying about enemy numbers. If those minions had followed him all the way to the high ground, he would have simply used his Conqueror's Haki to clear the entire battlefield. In the end, he would only need to face the enemy's mid-level and high-ranking officers.
Of course, Jerry would never voice such an ungrateful sentiment aloud, especially since he could sense that many powerful auras were approaching their position from multiple directions.
Sure enough, not long afterward, Skull came running back to Jerry's side with obvious urgency. "Boss Jerry, it seems the Marines landed here earlier, claiming they want to help Dressrosa suppress the rebellion and eliminate pirates."
"Oh?" Jerry seemed to remember something important and asked with growing interest, "Do you know which Marine unit they represent? Who's leading their forces?"
"If the intelligence is accurate, it should be Vergo, the base commander of the G-5 branch," Skull replied, demonstrating that he'd been paying careful attention to this development. "It's unclear whether additional Marine reinforcements will arrive later."
After delivering this report, he added with obvious concern, "As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Doflamingo can legitimately request Marine assistance. If he manages to get an Admiral to support him, that would create serious problems for us."
After processing what Skull had told him, Jerry recalled relevant information and confirmed several details before curling his lips slightly. "It's not particularly surprising that Vergo arrived here so promptly, but it won't be easy for Doflamingo to convince any Admiral to come here, especially at this particular time."
The Black Star Pirates definitely weren't the type to sail the seas with their eyes and ears closed to current events.
During this recent period, there had been an endless stream of news about the Marines, including not only reports about the leadership disputes caused by Garp and Sengoku's retirement—which had previously generated tremendous controversy—but also numerous other significant rumors.
According to widespread speculation, when the World Government realized that both Garp and Sengoku were determined to retire, there would be critical vacancies in the Marines' top-tier combat forces.
The defeat suffered during the War of Marineford had also indirectly proven that the current Marine Headquarters lacked sufficient military strength to handle major threats.
Additionally, with the sudden rise of the Black Star Pirates—who, although they didn't officially hold the title of "Fifth Emperor," were now treated as such within government systems—the World Government had concluded that the Marines could no longer completely suppress piracy through conventional means.
This assessment had led to the announcement of a massive "World Military Draft" to recruit powerful fighters from civilian populations.
"Boss Jerry, what exactly do you mean by that?" Skull asked, his sharp instincts picking up on the hidden implications in Jerry's casual response. "Is there something suspicious about this Vergo character?"
Jerry replied with characteristic calm confidence, "That's right. Vergo is actually one of Doflamingo's subordinates. He's been working as a deep-cover agent within the Marines for many years."
"What?! Boss Jerry, how could you possibly know something like that?" Skull was completely dumbfounded. Generally speaking, this type of organized, long-term undercover operation represented some of the most difficult intelligence to obtain anywhere.
Especially regarding operatives who had maintained their covers for years or decades, their information within the original organization was either classified at the highest levels or had been deliberately destroyed long ago.
Seeing Skull's obvious bewilderment, Jerry straightened his posture and declared with mock seriousness, "Of course it's all based on pure intuition!"
"You're way too casual about this..." Skull's eye twitched as he processed this outrageous explanation. He couldn't help but feel that if this ridiculous reasoning was actually true, then his entire approach to intelligence gathering had probably been fundamentally wrong from the very beginning.
Jerry grinned with obvious amusement and turned his attention toward Brook and the others, who were engaged in fierce combat with several officers from the Donquixote Family.
"Stop wasting time with pointless chatter," he advised. "If you don't go help them soon, Deuce is going to blame you when this is all over."
Upon hearing this practical warning, Skull blinked once before immediately spinning around and rushing toward the active combat zone. "Boss Deuce, don't die on me! I'm coming to help!"
Since Jerry's water elemental clone remained actively engaged on the battlefield, Brook and the others had significantly fewer concerns about being overwhelmed during their individual duels.
When Brook found himself intercepted by the elderly martial artist Lao G, he had resolutely accepted the challenge and begun trading blows with the surprisingly spry old man.
Carrot had also been targeted by Dellinger, the half-fishman fighter, and the two had initiated what could only be described as a battle between the younger generation of combatants.
Kotatsu had transformed into his larger cat form and was carrying Carina through aerial combat against Baby 5—who kept transforming into various weapons—while she rode on Buffalo's spinning propeller body. The multiple combatants flew through the air in constant motion, continuously exchanging fire.
Just as Skull hurriedly rejoined the main battle, Deuce found himself locked in combat with both Senor Pink and Machvise, the user of the Ton-Ton Fruit who could dramatically increase his body weight.
However, Senor Pink adhered strictly to his personal code of honor as a "hard-boiled" man. He refused to allow anyone to interfere in what he considered a legitimate duel, and was even less willing to participate in ganging up on a single opponent. So he simply stood aside and watched Machvise charge toward Deuce without making any move to assist.
It wasn't until Skull returned to the battlefield that Senor Pink finally engaged in his own fierce one-on-one battle with the intelligence officer.
"What's this? You're not planning to launch a sneak attack on my friends, are you?"
Suddenly, Jerry's water clone shifted position, stretching out his left hand to effortlessly intercept countless flying needles as thin as human hair. Then he stared coldly at Gladius, who had positioned himself not far ahead.
Gladius's eyes moved nervously between the "Jerry" standing in front of him and the real Jerry's distant position, causing a layer of cold sweat to break out across his forehead.
Naturally, all members of the Donquixote Family would be familiar with this particular clone, which had successfully intercepted Admiral Aokiji during the legendary War of Marineford.
Gladius understood that he had probably been targeted by the enemy's most terrifyingly powerful leader.
However, his years of unwavering loyalty and deep sense of belonging to Doflamingo quickly forced him to regain his composure.
It was his absolute duty to stop these enemies for his young master's sake, regardless of personal risk.
With this conviction firmly in mind, Gladius's eyes behind his distinctive glasses grew determined, while the corners of his mouth—hidden beneath his mask—curved upward in grim resolve.
The water clone observed his opponent with leisurely confidence, and when he noticed Gladius's obvious mood shift, he suddenly bent down and placed one hand against the ground.
"No way! Are you really trying to be Kakashi? Are you going to hit me with a Chidori?" the water clone asked with obvious amusement, blinking as he spoke in a deliberately slow, taunting tone.
Seeing that his enemy appeared somewhat arrogant and wasn't attempting to interrupt his technique, Gladius sneered internally with satisfaction. "You asked for this! I'm going to blow you to pieces right now..."
As he watched the ground beneath his touch begin swelling and expanding rapidly, and before Gladius could finish his threatening declaration, Jerry's water clone suddenly shouted with exaggerated astonishment:
"Art is explosion?!"