Half and Half, Seriously?!

"Shut up!"

Having regained control of his body, Cavendish roared, "Don't come out again, Hakuba!"

"You can't do this..."

Before Cavendish could finish speaking, his body was snatched back by Hakuba once again.

"You shut up!"

"Go to sleep right now, Cavendish!"

"You're the one who wants to sleep!" Cavendish frowned as he regained control of his body. "You have no idea what the point of this battle is."

"So I must be allowed to..."

"It should be me!" Hakuba laughed, "I'm going to smash everything to pieces!"

"Shut up!"

"This battle is meaningless if I don't fight it," Cavendish roared. "Hakuba, do you even understand anything?"

This battle was fought to repay the Straw Hat Pirates' kindness, so it had to be resolved by him.

"Who cares about all that?!" Hakuba roared with laughter. "I'll show you what it means for rivers of blood to flow!"

"What did you say?"

"Damn it, I won't allow that to happen!"

"It's no use if you don't allow it," Hakuba grinned. "Anyway, you can't stop me, hahaha~"

Nico Robin:...

Seeing Cavendish arguing with himself, Nico Robin was completely silenced.

She really learned a lot today.

Bartolomeo, looking completely bewildered, said, "Cavendish is... insulting himself?"

"It looks like two people are talking... What's going on?"

"Could it be... a split personality?"

Watching the people arguing amongst themselves, Bartolomeo's lips twitched slightly. Cavendish seemed increasingly strange now.

Looks like I'll have to stay away from this guy from now on...

Before he could finish this thought, he noticed that Cavendish's face had changed again. This time it wasn't Hakuba or Cavendish, but one side of a person's face!

"Huh?!"

"It's half on one side now!" Bartolomeo exclaimed in shock.

Is this even possible?

What's wrong with Cavendish's body structure?

"Get back here right now!" Cavendish roared. "Cavendish, I'm all alone!"

"But you just turned into half and half again!" Bartolomeo retorted.

How can someone with a body like this say such things?

Cavendish ignored Bartolomeo and instead focused on controlling his body.

"Are you... alright?" Nicole Robin asked worriedly.

That's true, but the bizarre art style looks problematic no matter how you look at it, so Nico Robin has no intention of dispelling her powers and continues to tightly restrain Cavendish.

"Alright, it's all over," Cavendish said. "Nicole Robin, you can let go now."

"But after seeing you two argue, how can I trust you?"

Although speed is meaningless to her, if the opponent were to launch a sneak attack at this distance, she wouldn't be able to react in time, so it's better to restrain this guy.

Just then, the rock wall suddenly began to expand, looking as if it was about to explode.

This change immediately caught the attention of several people.

"This is..."

Nico Robin's expression changed. Could it be that spiky-haired man's ability?

"I'll take care of you now." Gladius, activating his Devil Fruit power, said coldly, "Watch me blast you all into the sky!"

"Ha!"

After letting out a loud shout, Gladius increased his power output.

Soon, under his control, the rocks around Nico Robin began to expand violently at an extremely fast speed!

"Enjoy the explosion!"

Gladius adjusted his glasses and said, "Of course, this time it's not just about blowing things up."

"If you were to be directly exposed to an explosion of that power, you would be completely obliterated!"

At this point, a confident smile appeared on Gladius's face, clearly indicating his confidence in his explosive abilities.

If they take this hit head-on, the two above are definitely doomed.

"That bastard!"

Bartolomeo's expression changed. Was this guy planning to kill Robin -senpai?

He's practically asking for death!

"This guy's planning to blow up the entire rock wall." Cavendish's expression was also grim. "If we stay here any longer, we're doomed."

"Nicole Robin, let me go! Let's go downstairs and find some shelter."

"But Merry and Rebecca are still waiting for me..."

Cavendish gritted his teeth upon hearing this. Did he still care about those two girls at a time like this?

Nico Robin, that girl...

"Go quickly, leave this to me!" Bartolomeo shouted, looking up. "Watch me deal with this guy!"

After saying that, Bartolomeo turned his gaze to Gladius.

"That spiky-haired guy, I won't let you lay a hand on Robin -senpai."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bartolomeo rushed towards Gladius, intending to resolve the crisis by attacking the ability user himself.

"Good judgment," Gladius praised. "If I could be defeated, this rock wall certainly wouldn't have exploded."

"But... do you think I'll give you that chance!"

"Try this trick: Explosive Hair Strands!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gladius's forehead suddenly bulged, followed by a slight explosion that sent all the hair in that area flying out.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

A large amount of hair flew towards Bartolomeo, mercilessly piercing his body.

"Um?"

After glancing at the wound on his leg, Bartolomeo angrily said, "What's so serious about this?"

Does this guy think he'd give up just because of this little injury?

Are you kidding me!

He's Robin- senpai's...

Before the thought had even finished, Bartolomeo felt his legs buckle, and he immediately knelt on one knee.

"What's going on?" Bartolomeo asked in surprise and doubt. "Why is my foot numb?"

Was he poisoned?

Is there something wrong with those hairs from before?

"Because you've been poisoned," Gladius explained expressionlessly. "The hairs I just shot out were all specially treated with a poisonous substance; calling them poison needles wouldn't be wrong."

"So you're no longer fit to fight."

If you take that hit head-on, you'll never be able to get up and continue fighting!

"Bartolomeo!"

"Cockscomb Head gentleman!"

Cavendish and Nico Robin's expressions also changed. If Bartolomeo lost his fighting ability, then the two of them would really have to take the hit from above.

"Damn it, I was careless," Bartolomeo said through gritted teeth.

As he spoke, Bartolomeo tried to stand up, but his legs were numb and he couldn't get up for the time being, so he could only watch helplessly as the rock protrusion grew larger and larger.

"I am a user of the Pop-Pop Fruit," Gladius said calmly. "In other words... I am someone whose entire body can explode."

As he spoke, Gladius's body began to expand little by little, clearly intending to kill Bartolomeo by exploding his physical form.

Even the body...

Bartolomeo's expression darkened as he watched Gladius rapidly expand. Was this guy planning to use his true form to blow him up?

"Bartolomeo, in this state, my body cannot be stimulated," Gladius said. "If stimulated, my whole body will explode!"

"At that time... tens of thousands of poison needles will be flying towards you!"

"At the same time... it will also pierce those two people above!"

The hair on his head was all made using special methods, and each strand contained an anesthetic toxin.

And this was his most unexpected tactic.

After glancing at the two people above, Gladius turned his gaze back to Bartolomeo.

He then continued, "Of course, if you don't defeat me, there's no way to stop the explosion of the rock wall."

"So... how will you choose, Bartolomeo?"

Hehehehe~

"Of course, the explosive power of my own body is enough to send you to your grave," Gladius said. "So you don't need to pray that you won't be killed by the poison needles; the explosion will take your life just the same."

"Come on, make your choice, Bartolomeo!"

In the end, Gladius gave a look of anticipation, genuinely curious about Bartolomeo's choice.

Will they choose to attack him, or watch Nico Robin and the others die?

He was really curious.

"Are you kidding me?" Bartolomeo said with a grim expression, "No matter which option we choose, it will hurt Robin- senpai."

This bastard seems to have given him two choices, but in reality, there's not much difference, because no matter which one he chooses, Robin- senpai will be hit by this bastard's attack.

And that's what he can't accept.

"You understand quickly, Bartolomeo!" Gladius grinned. "That's right, exactly."

So what's your choice?

As he finished speaking, Gladius narrowed his eyes.

He knew Bartolomeo's Devil Fruit ability was a barrier, but this barrier should only be able to protect one side at a time.

So... he was forcing Bartolomeo to choose: protect himself with the barrier, or protect Nico Robin, whom he cared about deeply!

Bartolomeo ignored Gladius and instead frowned in thought.

'Think it over carefully, Bartolomeo.'

'To stop the rocks from exploding, I have to defeat that hedgehog,' Bartolomeo thought to himself. 'But even if I defeat him, a lot of poisonous spikes will still fly towards Robin- senpai.'

So... how exactly can we defeat this guy while protecting Robin- senpai?

Think about it quickly, Bartolomeo!

There must be some other way to resolve the current predicament.

But no matter what happens, he has to protect Robin- senpai and not let Robin fall from there!

This was something he had promised Luffy- senpai, so even if it meant death, he would fulfill it!

However, to perfectly protect Robin -senpai, a flawless plan needs to be devised; otherwise, Robin- senpai might still be affected.

Just then, Bartolomeo noticed Cavendish in Nico Robin's hand.

"That's right!" Bartolomeo exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "Robin -senpai has someone by his side who doesn't mind dying!"

With this guy around, I should be able to perfectly protect Robin- senpai, right?

Thinking of this, Bartolomeo called out, "Hey, Cabbage!"

"I'll handle this hedgehog. You'll use your body as a shield to protect Robin- senpai from those poisonous needles."

"Ha?"

Cavendish was stunned. What kind of plan was this bastard coming up with?

In that brief moment of distraction, Hakuba reappeared.

"Hey, Cabbage, I'm telling you again..."

"Shut up, Cockscomb Head!" Hakuba roared. "If you keep yelling, I'll chop you up first!"

"That troublesome guy is out again!" Bartolomeo exclaimed, dumbfounded.

Why did Cavendish go to sleep again at such a crucial moment?!

Are you kidding me? There's a war going on here!

"Honestly, they're completely unreliable when it matters," Bartolomeo said, displeased.

What to do?

If this guy doesn't work, Robin- senpai will get hurt!

What to do?

What should I do?

"That's right!"

Bartolomeo's eyes suddenly lit up, clearly he had come up with a good idea.

He then struggled to his feet, trying to regain control of his body.

Once he had fully adapted, Bartolomeo strode off and quickly ran towards Gladius.

"Oh?"

"So you've made your choice, Bartolomeo?" Gladius said, narrowing his eyes. "It seems you intend to attack me."

"Then be prepared to be blown up."

If you take his explosion head-on without a barrier, this guy will definitely be torn to pieces.

As for using a barrier?

Then Nico Robin has no choice but to die!

Bartolomeo ignored Gladius and began to think.

'I can only activate one barrier at a time,' Bartolomeo thought to himself. 'This is a challenge, but it's alright!'

'As long as I can protect Robin- senpai, I don't care if I die here!'

With this in mind, Bartolomeo's gaze hardened even further.

He then leaped in front of Gladius and used his Devil Fruit ability to trap the two of them inside a circular barrier.

"Barrier Ball!"

"Um?"

"This guy..."

Upon noticing the Barrier Ball, Gladius's expression changed. Was this guy planning to take him down with him here?

"We're already inside my invincible barrier, your explosion won't even make a sound!" Bartolomeo said with a ferocious expression, "So you bastard, go ahead and explode if you want!"

As he spoke, Bartolomeo drew the dagger from his waist, his eyes turning fierce.

"You bastard, I'll slit your throat!" Bartolomeo roared.

If we kill this guy, all the problems will be solved!

"Go to hell!"

"Puff!"