Chapter 14: Barrett vs. Garp!

Garp, Barrett was certainly very familiar with him.

During those years with the Roger Pirates, every time they encountered the fleet led by the man, his side would inevitably be fighting while retreating. In particular, that terrifying combat power capable of rivaling Roger left an incredibly deep impression on him.

Although he was confident that if given a few more years, his strength would surely be able to contend with Garp—and if another ten years passed, let alone Garp, even if Roger were to be resurrected, he should be able to emerge victorious.

After all, whether it was Garp or Roger, they were far older than he was.

The problem was that at this stage, he knew deep down that the other man was still stronger.

But so what?

Barrett's gaze grew sharp, and the aura and fighting intent on his body burned fiercely like blue flames.

"Even you, Garp, will have to pay a price to defeat me!" Barrett sneered, stretching his thick neck.

"Hahahaha, not a bad spirit. It's just a pity you became a pirate. You were a general of the kingdom once, a man of military background—how did you end up boarding that bastard Roger's ship?"

Garp's eyes were filled with a sense of regret for such a talented man as he looked at Barrett, and he continued

"And you even ate a damn Devil Fruit. That thing is useless to you, and that bastard Roger didn't even try to stop you!"

Hearing Garp call Roger a "bastard" repeatedly, Barrett's irritation grew.

No matter what, Roger had been his former captain and the goal he pursued throughout his life.

How could he allow someone to insult him like that?

"I have no regrets about joining Roger's ship!"

"If it weren't for this Merge-Merge Fruit, I would have died long ago in that country where the war never ends!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a surging wave of deep blue air erupted from Barrett's body, sweeping outward in all directions with immense power.

Garp maintained an ordinary expression, letting the shockwave wash over him. Aside from his Justice cloak fluttering loudly behind him, his entire figure remained as steady as a mountain.

"You can already control Conqueror's Haki freely? Not bad, you've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you," Garp commented casually.

"However, you've caused too much trouble this time. I'll definitely have to take you to Impel Down, so cherish this fight. Because in the long years to come, you'll be stuck in a dark cage."

"Old man! Don't look down on me!"

Barrett's eyes were filled with murderous intent and rage. He struck first, his entire body enveloped in a layer of deep blue aura, charging forward like a violent terrestrial comet. The ground shattered and sank in layers wherever he passed.

"Die!"

The distance of over two hundred meters between the two was bridged in the blink of an eye. His two dark fists, glowing with blue light, were stacked above his head like a battering ram, descending upon Garp with a sonic boom!

*THUD—!*

A black iron fist, appearing several sizes smaller than his own, rose from below to meet the strike, instantly triggering a deafening sound of clashing metal.

Ring after ring of translucent, wave-like shockwaves radiated outward from the point of impact.

The ground within a hundred-meter radius of Garp's feet completely fractured, and large surrounding buildings were sent flying and collapsing in the gale.

"How is this possible!"

Barrett's eyes felt as if they were going to burst, for he discovered that the combined strength of his two fists was completely unable to shake that "tiny" black iron fist.

*BAM!*

In the next moment, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen; Garp's other iron fist had slammed violently into him.

*BOOM!*

As the terrifying punching force exploded in his gut, Barrett was sent flying backward even faster than he had arrived, eventually crashing heavily into the rocky hillside behind him, kicking up massive clouds of dust.

"Kid, if you want to win against my iron fist, you'll need to train for another hundred years!" Garp laughed heartily.

At the same time, he thought to himself that the rumors of Barrett fighting Roger to a draw were indeed unreliable, or perhaps Roger had intentionally held back.

Because judging by the strength the man had just displayed, he had not yet stepped through the threshold of a world-class powerhouse.

Simultaneously, the rocks burying Barrett began to shake, and the range of the shaking rapidly expanded and bulged upward.

In just about ten seconds, a rock giant measuring at least thirty meters tall stood before Garp.

And it wasn't over!

A layer of blue-black substance quickly covered the rock giant from top to bottom like liquid paint.

In an instant, the originally earthy-yellow giant transformed into a blue-black giant with a metallic luster.

His massive size was even visible to the Marines on the warships guarding outside the island, causing quite a stir of gasps.

However, seeing Barrett's transformation, Garp merely picked his nose with an uninterested expression and said disdainfully, "It just looks spectacular; it's completely useless!"

On this planet, size meant nothing to masters who had mastered Haki.

What did it matter if a Sea King was a thousand meters long or a hundred meters high? Wouldn't it still be sliced apart by a Marine Vice Admiral just to fill a meal?

However, if a Giant mastered the power of Haki, that was a different story. This was why Elbaf was called the world's strongest nation; among Haki masters of the same level, the Giant race indeed held a significant advantage in raw power.

"Come on, Garp!"

"Let's cause some chaos!"

Transformed into the blue-black giant, Barrett roared toward the sky. His two massive, long arms swung, tearing through the air with sharp sonic booms, turning into a sky-covering barrage of fist shadows that hammered down toward Garp.

"Gatling—Heavy Cannon—"

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

A continuous, relentless barrage of heavy punches instantly submerged Garp, leaving only the sight of the ground constantly sinking and fracturing, as thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.

Barrett's eyes were filled with madness. At this moment, Roger's image surfaced in his mind.

Why?

Why did a man as incredibly powerful as you die like that!

I told you clearly—only the weak! Only the weak die so easily!

He still vividly remembered his challenge to Roger.

What now? Who must he surpass? Who must he surpass and defeat to become the true strongest in the world?

"Kid, focus during the fight!"

Just then, while Barrett was still swinging his giant fists, he suddenly heard a voice from behind his ear.

Garp's figure had appeared there at some unknown moment!

Just as he was about to turn his head, a black iron fist—minuscule compared to his size—slammed violently into his cheek. The immense punching force pulled and twisted his neck, causing his massive body to fall to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Pain!

Incredible pain!

Barrett had not expected Garp's fist to bring him such agony, especially since his body was not only encased in massive amounts of rock but also covered in his proud Armament Haki.

Yet this tiny fist seemed to carry a strange force, ignoring all of his surface defenses and drilling into his body like a nail.

"Kid, you must be very lonely..."