All that he just displayed was merely the power of his Fusion Fruit, plus a touch of Haki.

Barrett's true strength lies not only in his Devil Fruit powers.

Physical skills, abilities, and domineering aura—reaching the pinnacle in any one of these can make one a hegemon in one's own right. But if all three reach the same level, then one possesses the power of a hegemon among hegemons.

That's the emperor of the pirates, that's the admiral of the navy.

He is a top-tier expert.

The previous Barrett was simply large in size, strong in strength, and had strong defense. But even the strongest defense has its limits, because with that kind of size, it's impossible to carry the highest level of Haki. It's not that it's impossible, but it would be futile.

Anyone with even a little bit of fighting spirit knows to hold back. After all, for someone who can break his ability, it doesn't matter whether they use the highest level of Haki or not, and for someone who can't break his ability... it doesn't matter whether they use the highest level of Haki or not.

That was a large target, after all, and not Barrett's true killing move. His real strength still lay in his own inherent power.

Barrett looked at the large number of naval elites in front of him, his smile slightly distorted. He spread his hands, raised his head, and closed his eyes, seemingly indulging in the tense yet imposing atmosphere.

"That's really good," he said slowly.

Onigumo seized the opportunity and shouted, "Attack!!"

Boom!

The first to attack were some naval personnel carrying cannons. After a series of cannon shots, a large number of shells were fired at Barrett.

Barrett didn't open his eyes, but simply placed his outstretched hands slightly forward.

Bang.

A hollow sound.

The incoming shells were casually deflected by Barrett, who swung them far to the side and they exploded in the open.

Bang bang bang.

His fists were like something that could bounce off; they could easily deflect any cannonballs they touched.

This made Kro, who had already transformed into a human-beast form and shrunk in size, swallow hard and stare in disbelief at the scene. "You can do that?"

He could certainly deflect a shell, but it had to be a regular shell, either a standard naval shell or a pirate-specific shell.

Those shells were heavy, made of solid iron, and exploded slowly, possessing the characteristic of both trapping ships and causing explosions.

The navy uses these types of cannonballs to pursue pirates, and pirates use them to rob merchant ships; they are also the easiest to deflect.

But the ones used by their naval colonels are different; they're instantaneous explosion shells. After all, to reach the rank of colonel, one must be a specialist in artillery. They don't care about standard shells at all; they choose a variety of extreme shells, the most common of which are instantaneous explosion shells. If the timing is right, they can explode directly in front of the enemy, causing damage.

Such shells can explode even without being touched, let alone touched.

The navy, especially in the New World, uses Haki to create a protective layer, thereby increasing their power.

Dodging such a shell is possible, but as for hitting it back, Kro certainly can't do it.

Lida saw things more deeply than Crow. Her physical talent was the strongest, arguably among the best in the world, so she could more clearly appreciate how rare it was to effortlessly deflect a cannonball, or rather, to move a stationary object away.

"Are you kidding me? Even Kuro could barely do that with a knife!" Lida exclaimed in surprise.

This skillful approach shows that he is not someone who relies solely on strength and speed.

Strength and speed are sometimes enough for a master of physical combat; in fact, they can be considered all-around. If someone is stronger and faster than you, you can't pull off any fancy moves even if you have a lot of skills.

But power and acceleration, combined with skill...

That's simply terrifying.

*Smack*

The last shell fired was caught by Barrett's outstretched fingers.

He opened his eyes, staring at the navy who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, his emerald green pupils revealing a look of satisfaction.

"A good sense of tension."

Barrett's hand, gripping the cannonball, gradually emerged from the mosaic-like particles. His fist, the size of a clay pot, and the cannonball were enveloped in the mosaic, transforming into a fist that looked as if it were wearing a black metal glove.

"I hope it doesn't disappear!"

Whoosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, he flashed and appeared directly in front of Hancock.

Hancock noticed this at that moment, leaned back, stood on one leg, and leaned her upper body backward. Her long leg, like a whip, kicked out before Barrett could arrive.

Bang!!

The high roundhouse kick landed directly on Barrett's neck, sending him staggering in the direction he was struck.

Hancock's eyes widened in disbelief. "You chose me first? Do you think I'm a coward?!"

But soon, her eyes became serious.

"Oh!"

Barrett, supporting Hancock's legs, slowly straightened his body until he stood up, looked down at Hancock, and snarled, "You've got good strength. Now try taking a punch from me."

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fist in the black metal glove and slammed it down.

Hancock turned her standing legs, moving her whole body to pull back the leg that was resting on Barrett. She then hooked her legs back, curled them up, and placed one foot in the path of the fist.

Bang!

The fist collided with the calf, producing a dull thud, but Hancock was still pushed backward by the enormous force, plowing a groove in the ground where she was standing.

Bang!

Before she could even react, the fist suddenly exploded violently, and the flames instantly enveloped the two of them.

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