Bartolomeo crawled out of the ruins, his sharp teeth stained with blood.
He couldn't understand it. He had clearly trained twice as hard, so why hadn't he caught up to Babaya? Instead, the gap between them had only grown wider!
He couldn't accept being instantly defeated by Babaya. He had to fight him one more time!
"Barto! Run! Run to the Marine Branch!!"
Granny Yubaba sensed Babaya's killing intent growing even stronger. She knew the slaughter wouldn't end easily today. To save her grandson, she had no choice but to send Barto to the Navy and give him a chance to survive!
"No! Granny! I refuse to believe he's that strong!
"Everyone! Kill him! Keep blasting that bastard!
"Devil Fruit Users get tired too! Wear him down!"
Bartolomeo's face twisted with murderous intent. He pulled the pistol from his waist and opened fire first. Seeing him do so, the other gang members immediately unleashed a second barrage.
"Barto!! Get out of here!! Are you refusing to listen to your granny?!"
Granny Yubaba shouted furiously. Enduring the wounds on her hands and body, she slowly stood and walked toward Bartolomeo through the roar of gunfire, determined to hurry that little brat along.
But in the next moment, a translucent, pale-green giant appeared amid the smoke and flames. A forty-meter-long blade swept across with unstoppable force.
A huge number of Barto Family gang members firing guns and cannons were sliced in half. Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere, and the entire Barto Family headquarters was cut through by the blade and came crashing down.
Smoker, riding toward the scene on his Smoking Motorcycle, saw the Barto Family headquarters suddenly collapse. A transparent giant emerged and continued swinging its massive blade at the nearby buildings.
Smoker stared in shock. Since when had the East Blue had a Devil Fruit User this powerful?
"Could that be Daddy Babaya?"
Smoker quickly recalled that when Daddy had destroyed the Krieg Pirates, he had transformed into a small armored giant. But that giant had only been four or five meters tall, while this transparent one stood twenty or thirty meters tall!
His strength had skyrocketed at a terrifying rate!
Kuro of a Hundred Plans was also shocked by the terrifying giant, but his eyes soon filled with admiration and anticipation. Perhaps this captain really could lead them to the Grand Line and into the New World!
"Run! Barto!!"
Granny Yubaba cried out almost despairingly. Babaya was too terrifying. There was no way to fight him. He was already strong enough to set foot in the New World; even the Grand Line couldn't stop him!
Granny Yubaba regretted it deeply. If only she'd let him go to sea back then and allowed Dezaya to leave with him, things wouldn't have ended like this.
The Barto Family she had worked so hard to build was gone!
Destroyed by Babaya just like that!
She had once followed a pirate crew to the New World. After they were defeated, she fled for her life. She never imagined that even after returning to the Weakest Sea, the East Blue, and founding the Barto Family, she still couldn't escape destruction.
"You're all going to die!!"
Daddy stepped down on Granny Yubaba, crushing her like an ant. He didn't want to see the old woman's face again.
"No! Granny!!"
After seeing Granny Yubaba trampled to death, the Cannibal Bartolomeo finally began to cry. He glared venomously at the giant Babaya had become!
But in the next second, Daddy gripped his blade with both hands and brought it down on Bartolomeo.
"Go join her down there!"
Daddy showed no mercy. Anyone who hated him or got on his nerves had to die!
White Blow!
A spiraling column of smoke shot toward Bartolomeo, seemingly to save the underworld boss. At the same time, a great deal of smoke surged toward the giant and surrounded it, blocking its vision. No one could kill people right under Smoker's nose!
"Pointless!"
Daddy sneered and ignored the smoke. His Observation Haki clearly sensed Bartolomeo's location. His giant blade suddenly shifted and cleaved Bartolomeo in two while he was caught in a giant white hand of smoke.
The underworld boss of Loguetown was dead!
Daddy burst into wild laughter!
At last, all that pent-up frustration had been released!
"Damn you, Babaya! You dare kill people right in front of me!!"
White Hunter Smoker flew into a rage. Smoke enveloped the giant, slowly suffocating it. He didn't believe Babaya could maintain that form for long!
After all, the more powerful a Devil Fruit technique was, the more stamina it consumed!
And Smoker was fresh while Babaya was worn down. Even if he couldn't outrun the giant's physical attacks, he could wear down Babaya's barrier giant!
"Not only am I killing people in front of you! I'm going to beat you up too!!"
Daddy's expression remained impassive as he dismissed the barrier giant. His hands instantly turned pitch-black, and he slammed them toward a patch of smoke.
A figure was sent flying in an instant.
After landing a hit, Daddy pressed his advantage and unleashed a relentless combo against Smoker!
He had once crossed paths with Fire Fist Ace. Smoker the White Hunter was partly to blame, too—he'd driven Fire Fist Ace away so quickly.
"Damn it! There's someone in the East Blue who knows Armament Haki!!"
Smoker the White Hunter was caught off guard. Otherwise, with his strength, even without using his smoke form, he wouldn't have been suppressed like this by Babaya using only physical combat!
He desperately tried to stab Babaya with his Seastone weapon, the Jitte. He was going to catch the unsuspecting Babaya off guard too.
"A Seastone weapon? I've got one too!"
Daddy pulled out a small baton with a piece of Seastone embedded in its tip and thrust it toward Smoker.
"What! You have one of those too?!"
Smoker cursed. Armament Haki and Seastone weapons were rare even on the Grand Line, yet here they were on a little pirate in the East Blue!
Daddy also had Armament Haki and barriers to block his Jitte, while Smoker had few ways to fight back or protect himself from the threat of Seastone!
"Smoker! What the hell did you learn from Zephyr? You didn't even learn Haki!!"
Daddy's blackened right fist slammed into Smoker's face, sending him flying and leaving a streak of blood in the air.
Daddy wouldn't hold back just because Smoker was a genuinely righteous Marine. They were enemies now, locked in a fight to the death between the Navy and pirates!
Kuro of a Hundred Plans arrived behind them and saw Daddy battling a Marine captain. Confident in Daddy's strength, he coldly picked off the Barto Family gang members one by one.
Cleaning up after the captain was his duty as a crew member!
The fierce battle between Daddy and Smoker soon drew more and more onlookers. The Marine Branch forces had arrived, and the Big Daddy Pirates' crew members kept showing up as well.
The two sides went straight to fighting, kicking off a massive brawl in Loguetown. The pirate crews that had quietly landed in town also sprang into action, baring their fangs.
Some pirates took advantage of the chaos to ambush the Marines. Others robbed people in broad daylight, making a killing. And some wanted no part in the fighting and simply left Loguetown to enter the Grand Line!
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