"Despair."
To be honest, Yemu had never truly experienced that emotion since arriving in this world.
Even when he faced Bullet, knowing perfectly well he could not win, what he felt was not fear but excitement.
The feeling was almost like seeing a beautiful woman. Hormones surged through his body, and his mind was filled with nothing but the urge to fight.
Why was that?
Yemu thought about it.
Was it because he was not afraid of death?
No. He was definitely afraid of dying.
But he understood that the fear of death for humans, and for most living things, comes from the unknown.
Simply put, no one knows what happens after death.
If someone could truly tell you that heaven and hell exist, that the cycle of reincarnation is real, and that after death you might simply gain a new body and start another life without memories, then death would not seem so terrifying.
That was Yemu's current state.
As someone who had transmigrated into another world, death itself was no longer something mysterious to him.
He did not know what would happen if he died in this world, but since the possibility of rebirth existed, death no longer felt overwhelmingly significant.
Because of that, what he feared more than death was the inability to fight freely and live to the fullest in this world.
Of course, just because he was not afraid of dying did not mean he was foolish enough to throw his life away.
He raised his head and looked at Barobar's body, now strengthened thirtyfold and radiating terrifying power. Through his Observation Haki, he could sense immense strength flowing through every muscle and every inch of skin.
This was the battle he had been most excited for since facing Bullet.
"This feeling..."
Even though he acted like he did not care, excitement was already rising inside him.
Ignoring the enemy standing right in front of him, he glanced around with a somewhat regretful look. At that moment, a crimson gleam flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
"If only we were on land."
As he said that, he clenched his fists, producing a series of cracking sounds.
Barobar's eyes widened as he felt the aura coming from Yemu.
For a brief moment, he felt dazed.
It was as if he were seeing the man who once stood at the very peak of the Sky Pirates.
His former captain.
Shiki.
"So, let's play a game."
Yemu brought his fists together, producing a deep, pleasant thud.
"A game? You think I'm playing pirate house with you, brat?!"
Barobar's expression darkened as his massive body cast a shadow over Yemu.
"No, you misunderstood."
"I'm just worried that you won't be able to satisfy me."
Those words were like striking a volcano inside Barobar's mind.
A puff of white air burst from his enormous nostrils.
At that moment, his mind seemed completely consumed by rage.
"Don't look down on me, brat!"
Barobar roared as he raised his arm high before smashing it down violently.
...
Deep beneath the sea, illuminated by the light of the Sunlight Tree Eve.
At the beginning, the battle between Fish-Man Island's forces and the pirates of Barobar's great fleet had been fairly even.
But once the Sky Pirates joined the fight, and Jinbe managed to break free as well, the balance of victory immediately tilted toward Fish-Man Island.
In this world, individual strength could become powerful enough to ignore sheer numbers.
If this battle had taken place on land, the moment the Sky Pirates entered the fight, it would likely have ended instantly.
Unfortunately, because they were fighting underwater, everyone on the ship except Tiger had their combat ability heavily restricted.
Even so, out of the thirty pirate ships, half had already been destroyed.
Yet both the forces of Fish-Man Island and the pirate underlings instinctively avoided the flagship at the front.
Just as the Sky Pirates had absolute confidence in their captain, the pirates of Barobar's fleet had the same faith in their own captain's strength.
At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed across the seabed.
Everyone turned in shock toward the source of the sound.
What they saw was terrifying.
At the center of the battlefield stood the pirate ship that everyone had instinctively avoided.
Now the ship's hull had been split cleanly in two.
Its protective bubble had been torn apart and peeled away.
Seawater began rushing inside like a raging flood.
At that moment, even Yemu was a little surprised.
Although he had already sensed through Observation Haki that Barobar's attack was not aimed at him, so he had made no move at all, he had never expected Barobar to destroy the pirate ship beneath his own feet.
Wasn't this guy a Devil Fruit user too?
As raging seawater came pouring in, the pirates on the surrounding deck began panicking and scrambling for any way to survive.
After doing that, the anger on Barobar's face disappeared. In its place was a smug smile, as if his scheme had succeeded. He pulled his arm back out of the deck, cigar smoke curling from his mouth as he said,
"So the information those CP0 bastards gave me was right. You really are way too confident, brat."
"Hm?"
Yemu paused for a moment, then suddenly understood.
"I see. I was wondering why a bunch of pirates would suddenly attack Fish-Man Island for no reason. So the whole thing was actually about capturing me. Now I'm really curious. Just what kind of price could they offer to make a pirate of your level follow their orders and come after me..."
Barobar took a deep drag on his cigar, then said with a strange smile,
"What if I told you they didn't need to offer anything at all?"
"!!!"
That caught Yemu off guard for a moment, but only for an instant. Then he seemed to realize something and said in surprise,
"Don't tell me you're saying that the Third Division Commander of the Golden Lion Pirates fleet is actually a World Government spy, one of CP0's people. So everything before this was just an act?"
As soon as he said that, Barobar could not help showing a trace of surprise on his face. Then he burst into wild laughter before finally lowering his face and saying darkly,
"Hahahahaha! Just like the intelligence analysis said, you really are smart. No wonder the Marines can't do anything about you. But... what a shame. Your road ends here."
As he spoke, Barobar spat out the cigar in his mouth and pulled out something that looked very familiar to Yemu.
The moment he pressed down on the purple bubble coral with his finger, a bubble emerged and wrapped around Barobar's entire body.
Barobar stretched one hand out from inside the bubble and gave it a swing. Only then did he say excitedly,
"We came up with a lot of plans just to capture you. In the end, we decided the best way was to lure you out into the sea beyond Fish-Man Island and deal with you there. But I didn't expect you to actually fall for it. And even more easily than we imagined."
"In a place like this, out in the open sea, I'm a Paramecia user, so with the bubble protecting me, my Devil Fruit power isn't affected at all. But you're a Logia user. Even with bubble protection, you can't use your Mera Mera no Mi ability at all."
"So then, without the power of the Mera Mera no Mi, just how much strength do you have left...?"
After hearing Barobar's words, Yemu's eyes first showed surprise, then confusion, and finally he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha..."
Barobar's brows immediately drew tight.
"What are you laughing at?"
Yemu wiped away the tears that were almost coming out from laughing so hard, then answered with obvious annoyance,
"This is just too ridiculous... All this time I've been so wary of the World Government and you CP0 people, and this is the answer?"
"So this is the extent of your intelligence network? You actually think that most of the power I have now comes from the Mera Mera no Mi..."