"Sss…"
The sound of water vaporizing echoed through the air.
By all logic, this was the deep sea, surrounded on all sides by seawater. A sound like that should never have appeared here. But under the endless force the two of them were unleashing, the surrounding seawater had been forced away, creating a vacuum zone.
As their overwhelming power erupted, even the air began to grow scorching hot, evaporating the currents around them.
The bubbles around their bodies had possessed incredible elasticity, but under such terrifying force and heat, they had already melted away.
In other words, at this moment, neither of them could stop.
The instant they stopped, the surrounding seawater would surge back in and swallow everything.
Both of them were Devil Fruit users, and both knew exactly what would happen if the sea rushed over them.
With their speed, creating new bubbles and retreating inside them would not have been difficult. But this was a battle. Unless absolutely forced to, neither of them dared gamble on whether the other would show mercy.
Even though both their speed and reactions had already reached astonishing levels, with attacks being exchanged at such insane frequency, openings were still bound to appear.
At this moment, Yemu felt like he could finally understand why, in those battles from the story, monsters like BIG MOM and Kaidou would often choose to take attacks head-on instead of dodging.
It was not stupidity.
When the body's toughness reached a certain level, it became difficult to even feel outside stimulation anymore.
At that point, even pain could become enjoyable.
Every strike the two of them threw carried enough power to shake the earth, yet when those blows landed on each other's bodies, it felt almost like scratching an itch.
It was obvious that neither of them had reached their limit yet, because at this moment, not a single trace of retreat could be seen in either of their eyes.
Barobar truly deserved both his position as the Third Division Commander of Shiki's Grand Fleet and his bounty of 1.2 billion Belly.
Even twenty years later, with inflation taken into account, a bounty like that would still belong only to monsters on the level of a Yonkō's top commander.
And Barobar was clearly not limited to just that.
A fight like this should have been exhilarating, but Yemu was already getting tired of it.
"This is meaningless…"
Yemu's voice rang out in the middle of their clash, making Barobar's eyes widen.
"If this keeps going, you won't be able to beat me."
Barobar looked at Yemu in disbelief.
Their fists were still flying with full force, and neither of them showed any sign of weakening from exhaustion, yet Yemu had already spoken as if declaring victory.
"Tiger!"
Yemu's shout boomed through the sea, leaving everyone watching the battle stunned, unable to understand what he meant.
All eyes turned toward Tiger, only to see him pull out a Bubble Coral from his clothes.
"So it's time?"
As Tiger pressed down with his thumb, an unbelievably enormous bubble appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Fish-Man Jujutsu, Kairyu Ipponzeoi!"
With a thick torrent of water launched by Tiger, the current pushed the giant bubble through the split sea, which looked like a parted waterfall, and into the vacuum zone.
Before Barobar could react, the fists he had thrown were caught in one of Yemu's hands. Then Yemu kicked off hard with both feet and rushed straight into the giant air bubble.
This time, no one could understand what was happening.
"Why?!"
"Why did Captain Yemu bring that pirate into the bubble too…?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just let him drown in the sea?"
The seawater that had been split apart began closing back in. Massive waves wrapped around the huge pearl-like bubble and came crashing down from above.
Once inside the bubble, Yemu released Barobar.
Both of them quickly pulled back, separating to opposite sides.
Standing on the air and breathing in the air around him, Barobar asked in confusion,
"What is this supposed to mean?"
"It means nothing."
Yemu took a deep breath, his eyes locked firmly onto Barobar.
"Even now, you're already giving me a lot of excitement… but it's still not enough. You should be able to become even stronger, right?"
Barobar stared at Yemu in disbelief and roared angrily.
"You bastard… you can't be serious? Don't joke with me. I'm an undercover agent, not someone here to play fighting games with you."
"I know."
Yemu's voice remained completely calm.
"That's why I'm giving you a chance to kill me."
"!!!"
As soon as those words fell, a red and blue pirate ship slowly descended from above Fish-Man Island, appearing before everyone's eyes.
At the bow of the ship stood Enel with Erik and the others. Tiger had also returned to his position and landed on the deck.
Barobar immediately understood what was happening.
At the same time, Yemu's cold voice continued.
"I have to admit, your intelligence work was indeed impressive. But from the moment you misjudged my strength, you never had any chance of winning."
"And where exactly did you get the confidence to think that you alone could wipe out the entire Sky Pirates?"
Barobar's expression instantly became extremely ugly.
"But you're also lucky. Maybe your intelligence analysis was correct. I really am confident in my own strength."
"So now I'll give you a chance."
"Use your strongest power and try to defeat me. This is your only possible way to win."
"Hiss…"
A stream of white breath burst from Barobar's nostrils.
"You're right. Even though we analyzed your information thoroughly, it seems we still underestimated you."
"But don't underestimate the power of CP0!"
"You want to see my strongest power? Then I'll grant your wish!"
"Although it seems I'm probably doomed this time, if I kill you, the mission will still count as perfectly completed."
Barobar fully unleashed his Devil Fruit ability.
"Take a good look at my ultimate power."
"Muscle Enhancement, one hundredfold!"
"Arm Strength Enhancement, one hundredfold!"
"Leg Strength Enhancement, one hundredfold!"
"Skin Enhancement, one hundredfold!"
"Bone Enhancement, one hundredfold!"
...
As Barobar's muscles twisted and shifted, a man radiating terrifying pressure appeared before everyone.
His height shrank drastically to about two meters, revealing a perfectly proportioned body with sharply defined muscles.
Compared to the towering Barobar from before, he now looked like a completely different person.
But he still wasn't finished.
"Now the real show begins…"
"Haki Enhancement, tenfold…"
In an instant, jet black Armament Haki covered Barobar's entire body, turning him into something like a black iron statue.
At that moment, Yemu finally felt a hint of danger.
The power Barobar was displaying now had already surpassed the level of a Yonkō commander.
Yet there was not a trace of fear in Yemu's eyes. Only excitement.
"So even Haki can be enhanced… what an interesting Devil Fruit."
"This kind of power is exactly the kind of opponent I've been hoping for."
"Is that so? Then just as you wish…"
Barobar's body suddenly moved.
"Rokushiki Secret Technique, Kongō Palm…"