Compared with the lively Cooking Competition, the Barto Family headquarters was eerily silent, the atmosphere unusually tense and cold.
Some of the underworld members could no longer bear the oppressive atmosphere. Their legs began trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat poured from their foreheads.
"What do you want us to do to calm your anger?!"
Granny Yubaba didn't argue about who was right or wrong anymore. In this world, strength was everything. Whoever had the hardest fist had the final say!
As for Babaya having once been part of the Barto Family, or the Barto Family having given him the chance to rise, there was no point in bringing any of that up!
Granny Yubaba hadn't expected this mute to rise so quickly. She admitted she'd misjudged him. Not only had she failed to befriend Babaya, she'd thoroughly offended him!
"I'm a paranoid person. The moment I think someone still hates me or has their eye on me, I want to kill them all!
"I'm also a crude person. The moment I think of someone who really pisses me off, I want to kill them all!"
Daddy strode toward Granny Yubaba. The gang members retreated in fear. Then he bent down and gave a slightly hysterical chuckle right beside her ear. His voice was slow and soft, almost as if he were joking, yet it was filled with murderous intent.
Granny Yubaba gripped her cane tightly. Her pupils shrank to trembling black dots. She really had provoked a madman, a god of death!
A few days ago, when Granny Yubaba saw the news that Babaya had killed one or two thousand members of the Krieg Pirates all by himself, she'd already been overcome with worry and fear.
Babaya was far too bloodthirsty.
She hadn't expected the god of death to actually come back!
Did he not even care what Dezaya thought anymore?
And Dezaya wasn't on the island right now. Who else could keep Babaya in check?
"Spare Barto! Take my life instead!"
Granny Yubaba clenched her fist, then suddenly let out a breath and spoke in an almost pleading voice.
She didn't dare fight. She had no chance of winning, and Babaya also had the Big Daddy Pirates behind him, a crew full of major East Blue pirates.
Nearly every crew member was a vicious criminal with a bounty on their head!
"Why do you people always want to bargain with me!!!"
Daddy grabbed Granny Yubaba by the neck and hoisted her up, roaring furiously.
It had been the same with the Skillful Grade Sword, Yubashiri. The same with Dezaya. And now it was the same with Bartolomeo.
Couldn't they see where they stood now?
The weak had no right to bargain!
Back then, I handed over the Skillful Grade Sword, Yubashiri, with a smile. Do you remember?
"Babaya!!! Put Granny down!!!"
A figure rushed in, and Bartolomeo, panting hard, shouted furiously at Daddy. His mouthful of sharp teeth made him look especially ferocious.
The moment he'd received the Den Den Mushi message at the Cooking Competition, he'd sprinted all the way back, not daring to slow down for even a second!
"What are you barking about?"
Daddy slowly turned his head, still choking the struggling Granny Yubaba, and grinned at Bartolomeo, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
"Bastard! Die!!"
Bartolomeo roared and charged at Daddy. In his limited understanding, all he wanted was to save Granny. He hadn't considered whether he could win—or whether Babaya might kill Granny on the spot.
"Strength isn't something you can just shout into existence!"
Daddy's left hand, darkened with Haki, clamped around Granny Yubaba's neck. His right fist also turned black as he quickly drew it back, then slammed it into Cannibal Bartolomeo as he charged toward him at full speed!
Bang!
Bartolomeo was sent flying and crashed into the wall, bringing it down in an instant and raising a cloud of dust.
"Boss Barto!!"
A crowd of underworld members rushed into the rubble to dig out their boss. They hadn't expected Boss Barto, usually so powerful, to be taken down in a single blow.
More than half of the underworld members raised their muskets, pistols, long knives, and swords, aiming them all at the brazen Big Daddy Babaya.
If Babaya hadn't been holding Granny Yubaba hostage, they would've opened fire at once and turned the bastard into a sieve!
Seeing Babaya knock Bartolomeo away without mercy, Granny Yubaba gave up all hope of reconciliation. She gathered Armament Haki in her hand—an even weaker amount than before—and suddenly struck at Babaya's heart.
"Too weak! Too slow!"
Daddy grabbed Granny Yubaba's hand and twisted it sharply. As she screamed, her hand curled up like a chicken claw, utterly crippled.
Then Babaya hurled her toward the Barto Family emblem in the hall!
It shattered into pieces, just like Daddy's old house.
The moment Daddy no longer had a hostage, the panicked underworld members immediately shouted and opened fire. A dense barrage of gunshots and cannon blasts erupted. The fierce explosions could be heard all the way at the center of Loguetown, where the Cooking Competition was being held.
The sudden explosions and thick smoke billowing into the sky immediately drew plenty of attention.
"Interesting. Is that Daddy?"
Kuro of a Hundred Plans adjusted his glasses, chuckled, then disappeared into the crowd and headed toward the smoke.
"Damn it! That's the direction of the Barto Family. Are they fighting among themselves?!"
Smoker, the Marine colonel in Loguetown, grumbled. Still, he immediately climbed onto his Smoking Motorcycle and sped toward the scene. Nobody was allowed to cause trouble in his jurisdiction!
He'd meant to relax a little at the Cooking Competition today.
As the highest-ranking officer at the Loguetown Marine Base, he'd even been invited to act as a temporary judge, score the chefs, and sample dishes from chefs across the region for free.
But now those bastards from the Barto Family had ruined it.
The chefs competing didn't care whether it was gangsters or pirates fighting. They had to finish their competition, compete for the title of First Chef of the East Blue, and win those lavish prizes.
Out at sea, a pirate ship with a somewhat feminine-looking flag was hurrying back to Loguetown. A red-haired woman aboard looked exceptionally anxious.
She'd only been at sea for a few days, and that man had already returned.
From the terrified tone of the Barto Family tavern manager, Babaya seemed to have returned in a murderous rage.
Thinking of Babaya's recent slaughter of the Krieg Pirates, the Arlong Pirates, and a Marine warship, Dezaya felt a foreboding rise in her heart.
She should've listened to Granny Yubaba and gone straight to Babaya, joined the Big Daddy Pirates, and worked to ease the tension between them. Instead, she'd wasted so much time recruiting crew members to form her own pirate crew.
Now all she could do was hope that things could still be salvaged!
But the situation seemed to be heading in a very bad direction.
Meanwhile, inside the Barto Family headquarters.
After the billowing smoke from the relentless bombardment slowly cleared, Big Daddy Babaya stood there completely unharmed. His blood-red gaze made every underworld member in the Barto Family tremble with fear, a chill seeping through them.
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