"That's... what?!"
Above the underground world, in what was once a barren land, countless tall mountains now rise up.
Barrett sits in meditation on the top of a mountain peak. Right now, he is in his monster form. His scary looks make people shiver, and the sharp edge he gives off keeps others away.
At this moment, he is calming the feelings in his heart. He does not want the demon to swallow him whole. So he chooses to enter demon form, face that fear and evil head-on, and fight it with his own will.
But in this instant, he feels that fear deep inside, a fear so strong it almost stops his breath!
What the hell is that?!
The dark clouds in the sky are so thick they look ready to drip ink. After the earlier darkness, an even scarier darkness arrives. He can sense that the source of all this darkness comes from the world below him.
Inside...
What the heck happened?!
Barrett feels a deep pull toward this power. But at the same time, a fear he cannot put into words takes root in him. He stepped onto the battlefield as a young boy. Back then, amid flying shells and piles of bodies in rivers of blood, he felt no fear.
But now, after watching the fierce fight between Tunfo, Sakaki, Garp, Sengoku, and the others, and then seeing this...
He still feels fear?
"...Huff..." Barrett feels pressed down by this force, making it hard for him. Even the demon's will inside him grows wilder. He was calm before, but now he almost lets the demon break free from its cage.
The devil, crawling from piles of bodies and rivers of blood, whispers in his ear...
He takes a deep breath, then walks down the mountain to the entrance of the underground world.
Number Three waits there. These people all look the same, but each has a number marked on part of their body.
"What happened?" Barrett asks straight out.
"No rush, you'll find out soon." Number Three says with a blank face. He seems to wait here on purpose for Barrett.
"Soon?" Barrett frowns.
"Aren't you curious about what's in the central secret room? Now, she waits for you inside."
"Your master?" Barrett gives a cold laugh. He knows the final test is here.
For months, he has thought about checking out the central room and what hides there. But he has not gotten in even now.
The guards around are scary tight. Experts like Number Three are everywhere. His strength now matches or beats Number Three's, but he cannot take on so many at once.
Fighting one would take effort. Two? No way. And he has seen dozens. He has not even met Number One or Two yet. Are they stronger than Number Three?
They call him Number Zero. But his Number Zero comes from a different line than theirs. Number Zero is more like a gift, a...
A gift for the demon to take over the body someday!
And now, is that day here...
But he will not hand over his body so easily!
"Yes, we gave our souls to that lord. Now is the key moment for him to come back to this world." Facing Barrett's question, Number Three answers in a flat tone.
"Without the right Shikon Jewel piece, opening that hell gate is very hard. You should value this chance."
"Is that right? I do thank you." Barrett laughs coldly. "Either way, you have made me stronger."
So what comes next? Will he keep growing stronger, or...
Turn into someone else?
He does not know. But he does not mind the feeling. Is not getting stronger all about this?
You have to risk your life too!
"Relax, you will not die."
He follows Number Three to the central room. He says nothing more, just thinks in his head. Then he hears a deep voice.
He looks over and sees Tunfo leaning on the wall behind, body tilted as he speaks calmly. "This just makes you the real Zero. Hell's chains are not easy to break. The stronger the demon, the harder hell holds it down."
"That sword demon can only turn you into dark kin at most."
Number Three glances at him but says nothing. Barrett stays quiet too, because they are at the door now.
Number Three opens it and goes in.
Barrett walks up too. As he steps in, he nods to Tunfo leaning by the door wall and says, "Thanks, but I knew I would not die even without you saying it."
He will not die before meeting that woman!
For some reason, the power from that woman is not as scary as the dark force from the demon in the room ahead. It is not even as strong as Tunfo and Garp's power in battle. But he still thinks Makima is stronger!
So before he meets this strongest one, he will not die. No matter what he faces next...
Even if it is something beyond Tunfo!
But this strong belief cracks a bit in the next second, because he finally sees...
He sees what exists in this secret central room!
Barrett looks at the magic sword stuck into a huge altar. He steps back without thinking, as if one more step and the huge demon power would swallow him up.
Such strong power, such scary will, such awful killing vibe...
How many people did this sword kill to build up this kind of fearsome force?
Sweat beads on Barrett's forehead. Then he spots a small box in front of the magic sword. The box looks a little odd compared to a normal one, but nothing too special.
But in a room this important, placed right before that sword, the box must hold something powerful too.
"Is this the place you guard?"
The room he has not entered in dozens of days now stands before him. It feels like a dream. But once inside, the mystery fades. What he sees is real fact, not some vague image.
"Tunfo is right."
Number Three says, "Right now, you have a shot at surviving. At least you can live through this."
"He said it turns me into dark kin. What is that?" Barrett skips the survival talk and says instead,
"Is it to make me a better fit as a demon host?"
----
You can read 30 chapters ahead on patre on
patr eon.com/JYouyi
Pssst, Free tiers can read 3 chapters in advance