On the deck, Barobar's expression did not change in the slightest. He merely turned his head a little and glanced at the exploding ships behind him, his face completely calm, as if those ships had nothing to do with him at all.
Only after turning back, grabbing the utterly powerless Jinbe, and lifting him up in front of himself did he finally smile with cruel eyes and say,
"Looks like your savior has arrived. Too bad the outcome still won't change a thing..."
As he spoke, he took a drag on his cigar and exhaled smoke before coldly adding,
"Wouldn't you agree, little brats of the Sky Pirates?"
In an instant, all the pirates on the ship were stunned.
"Eh?!"
"Who is Barobar-sama talking to?"
"The Sky Pirates? Those rookie pirates who turned the first half of the Grand Line upside down?"
"They're on Fish-Man Island too?"
As if answering Barobar and the pirates, a voice suddenly rang out by their ears.
"A savior?... I think you've misunderstood something..."
Everyone looked up in shock toward the source of the voice.
There, at the mast, a completely ordinary-looking red-haired man had appeared at some point, wearing an easy smile.
"I'm not interested in being anyone's savior at all."
As soon as he finished speaking, the man leaped down from above and landed steadily on the deck.
Then he walked forward step by step, as if Barobar simply wasn't there, scratching his flame-like red hair as he went.
"That sounds way too exhausting. I'd rather they save themselves."
With that, he stopped in front of Barobar, looked at the badly beaten fishman, stroked his chin, and asked,
"Jinbe, how does it feel to get beaten up?"
Hearing Yemu's question, Jinbe, who no longer had any strength left at all, let out a long sigh of relief and replied with forced humor through the pain,
"Not too good, Big Brother. Right now it feels like every muscle in my body is aching."
"Is that so? Well, if you can still talk, then it means you're not in any serious trouble. Leave the rest to me. Just this once, though. After this, you'll have to rely on yourselves."
As he said that, Yemu looked at Barobar and asked with perfect politeness,
"So, you're Barobar, right? If you don't mind, would you let me be your opponent next?"
Instantly, Barobar's snarling expression tightened into a deep frown. Looking down at Yemu, cigar smoke drifting from his mouth, he said,
"Hey, brat, have you gotten something mixed up? If you're asking a favor, shouldn't you have the attitude of someone asking? He's in my hand right now. All I have to do is squeeze, and I can crush his skull."
"Is that so?"
Yemu's expression did not change at all.
"Then go ahead and try."
"Hm?!"
Barobar froze for a moment, then saw Yemu raise his fist and clench it tightly.
"Let's see whether you can crush his skull in front of me."
Barobar seemed briefly stunned, then roared in furious irritation,
"Hey, brat, aren't you getting a little too full of yourself? Who do you think you are, Boss Shiki? How dare you talk to me like that... Don't tell me you really think you're some inheritor of the Pirate King's will. Even Roger, when he faced us back then, would've already sunk to the bottom of the sea if that storm hadn't appeared by accident. And now some stinking brat who hasn't even made his way through the New World dares act this arrogant in front of me? Unforgivable!"
But after hearing that, Yemu simply shook his head.
"Looks like you've got the wrong idea."
"Hm?!"
"The reason I'm acting this arrogantly has nothing to do with being some inheritor of the Pirate King's will..."
"It's because... I'm just a little stronger than you."
As he spoke, Yemu raised his hand in front of the two of them and pressed his thumb and index finger close together, leaving only a tiny gap.
That gesture of provocation made Barobar's eyes fly wide open, and the next second, he was blazing with fury.
"Stronger than me... You dare say you're stronger than me? What an ignorant brat... Damn it! Even in the New World, aside from monsters like Whitebeard, no one would dare say something like that to my face..."
But at that moment, Yemu's brows dipped slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.
It was an excited smile.
"Oh? Is that so? That makes this interesting... Let me see what you're worth."
"If you don't mind, then I'll make the first move."
The moment his words fell, before Barobar could even react, Yemu's figure disappeared.
Through his Observation Haki, Barobar looked down and saw Yemu appear below him, his iron fist already swinging out as the air trembled.
"So fast!"
Boom...
Barobar's pupils contracted violently. His huge body shot backward like a cannonball and smashed straight through the cabin wall behind him, blasting a massive hole through it.
Freed in that instant, Jinbe dropped onto the deck, breathing heavily as he stared at what had just happened in disbelief.
"S... so strong!"
Jinbe knew very well how terrifying Barobar's defense and speed were under the effects of his Devil Fruit ability. Even he had only been able to endure the blows. Yet Yemu had moved so fast that Barobar could not even react.
And if Jinbe had not misjudged, Yemu had not used Haki or any Devil Fruit power at all.
"Pure physical strength?!"
"What kind of monster is Big Brother Yemu?!"
"Is he a giant or something?!"
Fortunately, Yemu's relaxed voice soon snapped Jinbe out of his shock.
"Stop spacing out, Jinbe!"
"Go help Tiger and the others deal with the rest. Send the wounded back to Fish-Man Island first. After everything's over, collect those ships and weapons. Your Sun Army can keep them. As for those pirates, you can turn them in to the Marines for bounty money."
"Oh... oh... alright! Please be careful, Big Brother!"
Jinbe hesitated for a moment. It seemed like he wanted to stay and help, but after thinking about it, he realized he would probably only slow things down here.
So he jumped up and passed through the bubble, plunging straight into the sea.
Only then did Yemu turn around.
On the deck, inside the cabin where a huge hole had been blasted open, Barobar did not immediately launch a counterattack. Instead, the sound of someone devouring food echoed from inside.
Logically speaking, Yemu should not have allowed Barobar to continue. It was obvious that Barobar was eating to build up strength.
But Yemu's curiosity about Barobar's Devil Fruit ability made him simply sit down cross-legged on the deck, calmly waiting to see what would happen next.
"Hopefully you won't disappoint me."
Half a year ago, when he was still in Water 7, he definitely would not have dared to do something like this.
But the strength he had gained from training since Rusukaina Island gave him that confidence.
Looking down, he saw a pair of black bracelets on his arms. They had been made from Seastone he obtained in Water 7.
Yes.
The punch Yemu had thrown earlier had been delivered while his own strength was being suppressed by Seastone.
In fact, ever since learning on Rusukaina Island that he belonged to the Clan of D., Yemu had been wearing these Seastone bracelets almost constantly.
The reason was simple.
He wanted to know whether bloodline really mattered in this world.
Did the Clan of D. hide some unknown power?
Was his body truly special in some way?
Since arriving in this world, Yemu had never really thought about these things. Being able to obtain the Mera Mera no Mi right at the start, a powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit, already felt like enough of a protagonist's blessing for him.
Even during his training, although he sometimes sensed the unusual vitality within his body, he had always attributed it to the Devil Fruit modifying his body to some extent.
That was until he reached the Grand Line.
During the desperate battle against Bullet in Drum Kingdom, a strange power had surged from his body. For the first time, he felt that something about himself might be different.
Then in Water 7, the words spoken by Big Mom seemed to further confirm that suspicion.
Finally, when Flare told him that he belonged to the Clan of D., he became convinced that there was indeed something unusual about his body.
So he made a decision.
Compared to training Haki, uncovering the secrets of his own body seemed even more important.
After all, in some ways, the two complemented each other.
...
Of course, if he wanted to explore the secrets of his body, he first had to suppress the power of his Devil Fruit.
Otherwise, with Yemu's current strength, ordinary training would hardly push his body to its limits. Besides, the Devil Fruit ability itself might interfere with the process.
So what could suppress a Devil Fruit ability?
Without Seastone, the only crude method would be to train in the ocean.
But since he had Seastone, there was no need for something so troublesome.
In this world, Seastone was an extremely rare mineral. Even Yemu would normally have difficulty obtaining it.
But during the battle in Water 7, the seven captain bosses had practically delivered it to him themselves, bringing along a large amount of Seastone.
Of course, most of that Seastone had been used to build the Black Coffins that strip Devil Fruit users of their abilities.
Simply put, a Black Coffin is a black, cube-shaped box made entirely from Seastone. It has two layers. The upper layer stores various fruits that act as the medium for a Devil Fruit ability to transfer into. The lower layer holds the Devil Fruit user. Numerous small holes connect the two layers.
This design ensures that when the ability user dies, the Devil Fruit power can immediately transfer into one of the fruits above instead of escaping elsewhere.
To make sure the Devil Fruit users did not die prematurely and cause the fruit to escape early, Yemu would place them inside the Black Coffins and then use the ability of the Noko Noko no Mi to send them away painlessly.
Because of this, the Black Coffins had to be extremely large, which consumed most of the Seastone supply.
Even so, the remaining Seastone was still enough to forge several bracelets.
At first, training while wearing those bracelets felt extremely uncomfortable.
The suppressive effect Seastone had on Devil Fruit users was almost absurd.
If Yemu had not undergone special training in the sea cloud layers of Skypiea and the sea cloud gravity chamber, he suspected he might not even have been able to live normally while wearing them.
Fortunately, the results were quite good.
Although the training period had not been very long, Yemu could clearly feel his physical strength growing day by day while wearing the Seastone bracelets.
The rate of improvement could only be described as unreasonable. Of course, it was still a little behind the legendary power of sit-ups.
At the beginning, he could only fight the weaker animals on the island. Later, he was able to defeat the massive beasts. By the end, only Galahad Anne and Rayleigh were capable of suppressing him.
That convinced Yemu that regardless of whether it had anything to do with the Clan of D., his body itself was definitely extraordinary.
Perhaps the source of that incredible growth was the mysterious power that had surged out during his battle with Bullet.
But that was not the only surprise.
Besides the growth in physical strength, Yemu discovered something even more astonishing.
After his Mera Mera no Mi ability was suppressed by Seastone, when he held Tengoku in his hand, he could sense a strange power inside the sword.
That presence felt almost like a living being. Although it could not communicate, it seemed to possess its own awareness.
At first, Yemu thought it might be something like a sword spirit.
After all, in the world of pirates even ship spirits existed, so a spirit inside a blade did not seem impossible.
But after investigating further, he discovered that it was actually the Atsu Atsu no Mi.
At that moment, a very strange but bold idea appeared in his mind.
What if Devil Fruits were not lifeless objects at all, but living beings?
After countless attempts, Yemu eventually confirmed part of this theory.
Through a strange form of connection, he managed to make the Atsu Atsu no Mi attached to Tengoku temporarily transfer onto his own body.
However, once he removed the Seastone restraints, the Atsu Atsu no Mi seemed to be forced out by the Mera Mera no Mi and returned to Tengoku.
Even so, the discovery alone was enough to shock Yemu.
If the Atsu Atsu no Mi possessed its own awareness, then what about the Mera Mera no Mi?
If Devil Fruits truly had consciousness, then developing their powers might be far more complicated than people believed.
For example, could Devil Fruits fuse together? Could they evolve?
Even Yemu found the idea unbelievable.
But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed possible.
For now, though, the problem was extremely difficult and he had no clear direction yet. Being able to temporarily let the Atsu Atsu no Mi attach to his body was already the limit of what he could accomplish at the moment.
Yemu was not in a hurry.
After all, he had plenty of time in the future to slowly study it.
Right now, the battle in front of him mattered more.
...
Thud... thud... thud...
Heavy footsteps echoed across the deck.
It sounded like some massive creature stomping across the floor.
Even Yemu looked slightly surprised as two enormous hands suddenly tore open the hole in the cabin wall, and Barobar stepped out.
He was even fatter than before.
"Burp..."
Barobar let out a satisfied belch. Food crumbs still clung to the corners of his mouth, and he patted his chest with a blissful expression.
"The great Barobar-sama is finally full..."
"Now I can fight properly..."
"Regret it now. You should have stopped me from eating. All that food has already turned into my power."
"As thanks, I'll slowly torture you..."
As his words fell, Barobar activated his Devil Fruit ability. The layers of fat on his body trembled before suddenly compressing inward.
"Muscle Enhancement · Thirty Times!"
"Arm Strength Enhancement · Thirty Times!"
"Leg Strength Enhancement · Thirty Times!"
"Skin Enhancement · Thirty Times!"
"Bone Enhancement · Thirty Times!"
...
That actually made Yemu's eyes light up.
"Oh? So this Devil Fruit ability can be activated by digesting food?"
His evaluation of the fruit immediately rose another level.
However...
"Only thirty times? That's still a bit underwhelming."
"Huh?!"
Barobar was instantly enraged again, but soon he started laughing.
"It's fine... it's fine..."
"Very soon, I'll let you experience true despair."