Jinbe's face was paler than it had ever been.
At that moment, he finally began to understand why King Neptune, the ruler of an entire nation, feared these monsters from the New World so deeply.
They were simply terrifyingly strong.
Jinbe wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spoke with a grave expression.
"This is a bit too unfair, don't you think? A Devil Fruit this powerful, and you also have Haki..."
But after hearing Jinbe's words, Barobar suddenly burst into manic laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Unfair!? Fishman, have you misunderstood something?"
Jinbe froze for a moment. Then a powerful sense of unease rose in his chest.
Barobar's expression turned gloomy again, and the pressure radiating from his body surged once more.
"You think this is the full extent of my strength?"
"Huh?"
Jinbe's pupils shrank sharply.
"No... you're wrong, fishman. Who do you think I am? I'm Pirate Admiral Barobar, a man with a bounty of 1.2 billion Belly. The inheritor of Boss Shiki's will. If it weren't because I appreciate you and wanted to see where your limits lie, just like that companion of yours, I could have taken you down with a single blow."
"Hey… you've got to be joking…"
"Joking? You think I'm joking? Looks like you really have no idea how terrifying the monsters of the New World are… In that case…"
Barobar curled his lips into a grin and took a deep breath. The cigar floating in the air burned to its end as the overwhelming pressure around him faded. He slowly extended his arm.
"Although it goes a little against the principles I've always followed, and it might damage the reputation of Barobar-sama… you're different from these worthless trash. So for the third time, and the last time, fishman… I'll ask you again."
"Are you willing to join my crew?"
"I refuse!!!"
There was not the slightest hesitation.
The moment Barobar finished speaking, Jinbe rejected him outright without even thinking.
This time, however, Barobar didn't get angry. Instead, he remained completely calm and asked coldly,
"Even if Fish-Man Island is destroyed?"
At that moment, the dangerous aura radiating from Barobar made Jinbe's hair stand on end.
It felt as if this was the real Barobar standing before him.
"Fish-Man Island is a member nation of the World Government, and…"
Jinbe spoke while breathing heavily. He glanced at the battlefield between the fishmen and the pirates around them, then said,
"Besides, it looks like we're the ones with the upper hand right now…"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Barobar no longer showed any desire to attack. He calmly took out another cigar and lit it.
"Then before I defeat you with the next strike, let me first show you what true despair looks like."
Barobar suddenly shouted.
"Men, prepare to launch..."
"Deep Sea Bombs..."
...
"Ah!"
In the bright depths of the sea, fishmen and pirates continued fighting fiercely.
Although the pirate ships were enormous and their protective bubbles were difficult to destroy, the fishmen's agile bodies, along with the help of sea beasts, still managed to slice through the bubbles one after another, allowing seawater to flood inside the ships.
In the ocean, humans were simply no match for fishmen.
"Don't worry about them! Move to the next pirate ship and support the others!"
Seeing his comrades preparing to kill the helpless humans, Aladdin frowned and shouted.
Although the members of the Sun Army looked somewhat dissatisfied, they still obeyed and spared the drowning pirates whose eyes had already rolled back.
But at that moment, Barobar's voice echoed across the battlefield.
Before the fishmen even understood what was happening, they saw countless wine barrels being thrown into the sea by the pirates.
Aladdin instantly sensed something was wrong.
"This is bad… stay away from those barrels!"
But his warning came too late.
Or rather, both the Sun Army and Neptune's soldiers were too eager for revenge and had already approached the pirate ships too closely.
In the bright underwater world, flames suddenly erupted around the pirate ships.
Violent explosions thundered through the sea.
The shockwaves of the blasts swallowed the surrounding fishmen.
Miserable screams echoed across the ocean floor as dark red blood rapidly spread through the water, dyeing the seabed crimson.
The horrifying scene was instantly reflected in the eyes of every fishman on Fish-Man Island who was watching the battle.
Despair appeared on their faces.
"Hahahaha! Feel it? Fishmen, true despair has only just begun..."
Barobar's manic laughter echoed throughout Fish-Man Island.
"You wanted war? Then the great Barobar will give you war!"
Inside Ryugu Palace on Fish-Man Island, Queen Otohime watched the scene with both hands clasped tightly to her chest. Her face turned deathly pale as her body collapsed weakly onto the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
"Why... why..."
Seeing this, Jinbe's expression darkened. His clenched fists trembled with rage, and for the first time, dark Armament Haki completely covered both of them.
"Bastard... unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable..."
"Oh? Are you angry? Well, it can't be helped."
Barobar wore an almost cheerful smile.
"After all, you're just so weak... fishman."
Unable to endure the arrogant provocation any longer, Jinbe charged forward in fury.
At this moment, Jinbe unleashed the full extent of his power.
But in Barobar's eyes...
"Muscle Enhancement · Twenty Times!"
"Arm Strength Enhancement · Twenty Times!"
"Leg Strength Enhancement · Twenty Times!"
"Skin Enhancement · Twenty Times!"
"Bone Enhancement · Twenty Times!"
...
In an instant, even though Jinbe released all of his strength and fully covered himself with Armament Haki for the first time...
Barobar simply stretched out his massive hand, grabbed Jinbe by the head, and slammed him violently onto the deck.
"Too young, fishman. The cries of the weak have no value."
Then his other fist rose high before crashing brutally into Jinbe's stomach.
A mouthful of blood burst from Jinbe's mouth as his entire body was driven deep into the deck.
"Well then... it's over."
That single scene pushed the fishmen of Fish-Man Island into complete despair.
"There's... there's no hope left..."
"The Neptune Kingdom army and the Sun Army have already ended up like this..."
"Open the gates! Maybe we can still escape..."
...
At that moment, a young girl's voice suddenly rang out.
"Everyone... it's not over yet..."
"Eh?!"
All eyes immediately turned toward the little girl who had spoken, and hope lit up in their expressions.
"Shyarly... Shyarly..."
"Shyarly!!! Did you see something in a prophecy?"
"That's great! Shyarly's predictions are always accurate..."
Forced smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
But Shyarly shook her head sharply, tears still on her cheeks.
"No... I didn't see anything at all..."
"Eh?!"
"But everyone, don't forget. Captain Yemu, Tiger-san, and the friends from the Sky Pirates are still on Fish-Man Island."
"Wait, didn't the Sky Pirates already leave Fish-Man Island? I clearly saw them go..."
"Did they actually stay?"
"That's great! Fish-Man Island is saved!"
"But can Captain Yemu and Tiger-san's companions defeat those pirates out there?"
At that moment, Barobar's voice echoed across the entire island again.
"Hahaha! Pathetic fishmen. You actually place your hopes in humans. Aren't humans the ones you hate the most? Yet now you're pinning your hopes on a group of human pirates? Hahahaha! But do you really think those inexperienced brats from the Sky Pirates would dare provoke the great Barobar-sama?"
As his voice faded, the once calm sea suddenly erupted with a series of thunderous explosions.
One after another, the pitch-black warships burst apart like fireworks.
...
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