Bartolomeo vs. Ace (4) / Absolute Defense (5)

Along the way, he made a great name for himself as a bounty hunter on the Grand Line.

He looked like a demon, yet he did a great deal of good deeds.

He looked like a demon, yet he did a great deal of good deeds.

Turning to a page, Arthur saw a clipping from the newspaper, which was none other than the 'World Economy News Paper' that casually mentioned the bounty hunter 'Haiyun, the closest to the King of Knights'.

"..."

Upon seeing this, Arthur fell silent.

The thing is, this guy who idolized Luffy in the original work has become his die-hard fan.

To be honest, Arthur was somewhat moved after reading this fan's story.

His own charm actually turned a gangster boss into a good person who wiped out Hai Tong and the town.

Arthur couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for Bartolomeo.

So Arthur turned to the last page of the notebook, wrote the name 'Arthur Pendragon' on it, and handed it to Bartolomeo, smiling, "This is my only signature. Keep it safe."

"A... the only signature!" Bartolomeo's hands trembled violently as he took the notebook. His face filled with happiness, he flipped to the last page and stammered, "The King of Knights's only signature... I actually got it! I'm so happy!"

·· ···Requesting flowers···· ·····

"Yaa... Arthur Pendragon?" When Bartolomeo saw the words on the screen, his eyes widened in shock, almost popping out of their sockets. He stared at Arthur, mouth agape, dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Arthur raised a finger to his lips, a faint smile appearing on his slightly upturned lips.

"Ah... I have no regrets in this life!!" Bartolomeo hugged the notebook to his arms, collapsed to the ground with a blissful expression, his drooling lips and flushed face making him look as if he had achieved the ultimate fulfillment in life.

"Hehehehe... I actually know the real name of Senior King of Knights, yoho!!"

After muttering a happy thought to himself, Bartolomeo leaped up with a somersault and started circling around Arthur, his excited voice kept low, as if afraid that if someone overheard him, they would snatch his notebook away.

No one except Arthur knew what he was saying.

"King of Knights, please allow me to lend you a hand!" After his initial excitement, Bartolomeo's expression changed instantly. He stood earnestly in front of Arthur, raised his hand in salute, and shouted loudly.

"Hmph... Do you know who my enemy is?" Upon hearing this, Arthur pointed to the Whitebeard Pirates behind Bartolomeo and asked with interest, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Just a mere Whitebeard Pirates, I'm not afraid at all!" Bartolomeo turned around, staring fearlessly at Whitebeard Pirates, and shouted, his voice carrying throughout the world via the live broadcast Image Bird's signal.

"You arrogant bastard, dare you repeat what you just said?!"

This statement infuriated the Whitebeard Pirates on the other side.

Especially Ace, who seemed to be a reflection of himself from two years ago, stood up angrily, glaring at the person who had insulted his most respected Pops.

Chapter 261 Bartolomeo vs. Ace (Part 4)

"Heh ha ha ha... I know you, 'Ghost of the Hill' Roger's son. I was tired of watching your father's Execution Platform when I was in Loguetown." Bartolomeo pointed at Ace, his face full of provocation, and said, "I'm talking about you guys. If you've got the guts, come out and fight me!"

After saying that, Bartolomeo began to rub his hands together, squinting his eyes and drooling, as if he was fantasizing about defeating them and receiving praise from his idol, the 'King of Knights'.

A surge of intense excitement welled up inside me.

As a result, he exuded a strong fighting spirit, which drew the attention of both Whitebeard and Marco.

Facing them, they not only showed no fear, but even dared to provoke them.

Such spirit is not something a newcomer can possess!

As for the insults that Ace cared about, they were not taken seriously by Whitebeard and Marco.

The weapon of language is too powerless against the strong.

"Pops, let me teach him a lesson." But Ace was different; he volunteered directly.

Upon hearing this, the Whitebeard frowned slightly, then nodded and instructed, "Be careful. Don't underestimate anyone who dares to come here."

"I understand." Whitebeard's words calmed Ace down a bit, and he nodded before leaving.

"Oh my god... He's out already? Senior King of Knights, watch me help you win this battle!" Upon seeing Ace emerge, Bartolomeo jumped up and down excitedly, then turned around and looked at Arthur with a face full of excitement, shouting loudly.

"Go ahead, let me see your strength." Arthur raised his chin with interest and said with a smile.

The appearance of this little fanboy, Bartolomeo, caused some changes in the course of the battle.

What was originally supposed to be a clash between "King of Knights" and Whitebeard Pirates. turned into a showdown between "Sea King F. W." and "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace.

However, Arthur didn't mind that Bartolomeo, as his fan, had the courage to come and help him all by himself.

Based on this alone, as his idol, he would forgive all his actions.

"Oh my god... I'm fired up!!" With Arthur's permission, Bartolomeo was ignited with a flame of fighting spirit, and then his demeanor became calm again. With his hands in his pockets, he walked with the one thing he couldn't change: the arrogant stride of a thug, looking at Ace with a provocative gaze.

'Call--'

A Strong Wind swept by, stirring up a cloud of dust.

The 'King of Knights' and Whitebeard Pirates faced each other, leaving several hundred meters of road between them.

Bartolomeo and Ace simultaneously turned to the sides to prevent the upcoming battle from affecting their own side.

The Whitebeard Pirates and their men watched the two on the battlefield intently, while Arthur leaned against the saddle of "East Starion," arms crossed, watching the upcoming battle with great interest.

Both sides seemed to have forgotten their main task.

This made the whole world feel uneasy; how did the flavor suddenly change?

This made the whole world feel uneasy; how did the flavor suddenly change?

"You just said you got tired of seeing that man's Execution Platform in Loguetown? You're also from the East Blue?" Ace asked, looking at Bartolomeo as he unbuttoned his cloak.

"So what if we are? Don't think that just because we're all from the East Blue, you can expect me to go easy on you." Bartolomeo said arrogantly, his hands still in his pockets.

Then, her expression changed in an instant, her face flushed as she fantasized, "When I hand over the victory to Senior King of Knights, how will he praise me? Oh my, well done! From now on, let's sail the seas together!! Oh my, I'm so excited!!"

"Victory? You muttering to yourself, there's a limit to arrogance!" Ace frowned as he looked at Bartolomeo, who was jumping around excitedly, and said in a deep voice.

"Huh? Isn't that obvious?!" Bartolomeo, after hearing Ace's words, finally took his hands out of his pockets, and gave Ace a thumbs-down gesture with his right hand. "Defeating you is a piece of cake for me..."

"..."

Ace was speechless for a moment. This was the first time he had ever seen someone so arrogant and conceited.

Such an arrogant and conceited person, facing the Whitebeard Pirates's hundreds of men, not only showed no fear but even provoked them. He must either be a confident person with great strength or a fool.

For some reason, Ace felt that the latter was highly likely.

"Fire Fist!!"

Thinking of this, Ace didn't bother to waste words with Bartolomeo and simply raised his left arm, clenching his fist and unleashing a huge pillar of fire.

The compressed pillar of fire was not the previous spreading technique, but rather resembled Sakazuki's lava fist, blasting towards Bartolomeo like a volcanic eruption.

In the past two years, Ace has lost his right arm, which has significantly weakened his strength.

Unwilling to let Mansherry sacrifice her lifespan to help him restore his arm, Ace finally began serious training.

During the Paramount War, he suffered a loss due to the Sakazuki Magma-Magma Fruit.

While fighting alongside her Pops, she also developed her own Devil Fruit abilities.

After Pops's strength returned to its peak in version 5.6, Ace left the Whitebeard Pirates for a period of time to train in various parts of the New World.

Now, having lost an arm, he is even stronger than he was during the Paramount War.

However, Ace, who didn't die in the Paramount War like in the original story, has changed.

Unlike the original work, it doesn't idolize Luffy's Luffy to sea; it has also changed.

"Barrier Crash!!"

Bartolomeo watched the surging pillar of fire, raised his right fist and swung it forward, creating a transparent rectangular protective barrier that rushed straight towards it at high speed.

'Snap--'

The collision created a transparent rectangular protective barrier that shattered the pillar of fire with overwhelming force.

Chapter 262 Absolute Defense (Part 5)

"What?!"

His attack, which had been strengthened several times over through training, was easily shattered by the opponent.

This result caused Ace's expression to change slightly; he found it somewhat difficult to accept.

The transparent rectangular protective barrier, after shattering the pillar of fire, continued to shoot forward at high speed with undiminished force.

It smashed half of Ace's dazed body into orange-red flames.

"Tch... Logia Elemental Transformation? I almost forgot you're a Logia- type user of the Flame- Flame-Flame Fruit, huh?" Bartolomeo curled his lip, his mouth agape like a demon's, and said mockingly, "What? Is this the strength of the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard Pirates faction? No wonder you were defeated by your own traitorous subordinate back then. Are you really 'Ghost of the Sea' Roger's son? The difference is too great!"

"You bastard! I never acknowledged that man as my father!" Bartolomeo's taunt ignited Ace's fury. While healing himself, he said in a low voice, "My 'father' is Whitebeard!"

17 "Really?" Bartolomeo picked at his ear, his taunt skill at its maximum level, and continued, "Your 'father' is watching you right now, so don't embarrass him!"

"You bastard..."

Having experienced Bartolomeo's sharp words, Ace's initial anger gradually subsided, and he finally came to his senses.

This is much better than it was two years ago.

After calming down, Ace's entire demeanor changed.

He raised his left hand and made a gesture.

A burst of firefly light appeared on Bartolomeo's left palm, as if traversing space. These firefly lights disappeared into thin air and then reappeared around Bartolomeo.

These fireflies, like dust, clung to Bartolomeo's body.

"Protective barrier!"

Looking at the fireflies gathering around him, Bartolomeo, though unaware of Ace's purpose, crossed his middle and index fingers, making a gesture representing the cross exorcism. A transparent square protective barrier quickly appeared around him, shielding him within it.

"Firefly - Fire Daruma!"

At that moment, Ace suddenly shouted.

'Boom!!'

The fireflies that converged toward Bartolomeo instantly transformed into a tidal wave, sweeping away like a tornado.

However, before the fire could get close to Bartolomeo, it was deflected by the square, transparent protective barrier.

"Hehehehe..."

Bartolomeo, standing inside the protective barrier, burst into smug laughter upon seeing this.

"Wow, that newbie is amazing! He's actually gaining the upper hand against 'Fire Fist' Ace!"

"No wonder he dared to intervene in this ultimate showdown alone; his strength is truly formidable!"

"..."

Bartolomeo's performance made his brilliance shine even brighter.

As a result, the whole world came to know a newcomer named 'Bartolomeo'.

This is the celebrity effect!

This is the celebrity effect!

If Bartolomeo were still alive after this epic duel, his reputation would have increased dozens of times over.

Being targeted by a large number of sea monsters is something that cannot be avoided.

Just like the 'King of Knights' was once surrounded by enemies, powerful bounty hunters cannot be allowed to exist in this strongest, darkest, and most chaotic sea.

The reason why the 'King of Knights' is no longer being bothered is because he is incredibly strong.

Unless the 'King of Knights' emerges victorious in this ultimate showdown and becomes a legend.

That way, Bartolomeo wouldn't be targeted, but instead would enjoy the protection he provided, becoming the target of countless sea monsters returning to their doom.

"He's really something!" Marco, standing to Whitebeard Pirates 'Whitebeard right and watching from the left, sighed slightly. "That newcomer is Paramecia Fruit user, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit -Barrier Fruit. He has defensive capabilities that are no less than Jozu's Diamond-Diamond Fruit, and perhaps even stronger. Ace is going to be at a disadvantage this time."