One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 278: The Speed ​​of Light and Gravity

Barrett roared and suddenly spread his arms wide, palms facing the sky.

A creaking sound—!—ripped through the entire sea.

This is the roar of the Fusion Fruit being pushed to its limit.

"Crack crack crack—Boom!"

The surrounding seas are littered with the wreckage of warships, the shore is covered with scrap metal, and the earth is filled with ore.

All the steel defied gravity, transforming into countless black torrents that frantically converged on the Barrett.

"Combined! Catapult!"

Amidst a deep roar, countless steel pieces reassembled, compressed, and deformed.

Just a few seconds.

A towering, 100-meter-tall, blue-purple heavy robot rose from the ground.

Its entire body gleamed with a cold metallic luster, and purple light flowed across its heavy armor. Its massive mechanical arms were like two pillars supporting the sky, and each rotation of its joints was accompanied by thunder.

The steel behemoth just standing there made the air freeze.

"Wow, it's huge..."

At the top of the warship's mast, Kizaru tilted his head slightly, his gaze languid behind his brown sunglasses, and uttered a completely insincere sigh.

"Do young people these days really like these big toys? Their hands-on skills are amazing!"

Fujitora did not speak.

He simply turned his head, his blind eyes fixed on the core of the steel behemoth, on the raging soul.

"Die! You hypocritical righteous people!"

Barrett piloted the mech, unleashing a deafening roar.

The mechanical arm, powerful enough to plow through a canyon, was raised high, its entire length covered in jet-black Armament Haki, causing the surrounding air to compress and explode.

"boom--!"

The giant fist fell.

The terrifying wind pressure arrived first, pressing the seawater below into a massive crater hundreds of meters deep. The waves pushed outwards, revealing a muddy seabed.

Faced with this devastating attack, the two generals didn't even bother to dodge.

Just as the giant fist was about to strike, Kizaru's body transformed into a shower of golden photons.

The enormous fist pierced through the points of light and slammed into the sea, creating towering waves.

The dissipated photons danced in the air, then coalesced again into that tall, slender figure.

On the other side.

A pebble floated up from Fujitora's feet.

He stepped on the gravel, using gravity to manipulate himself, like a feather, effortlessly dodging the attacks amidst the raging winds of the punches.

"What? You missed?"

Barrett's voice came from inside the mech, filled with annoyance.

He suddenly swung his other mechanical arm across.

However, attacks of this size are too slow against Logia-type and top-tier Observation Haki.

It's as slow as a still image.

Kizaru's figure re-condensed in mid-air, his hands in his suit trouser pockets, and he pushed up his sunglasses.

"These bulky toys might have some deterrent effect on ordinary soldiers..."

"But isn't this just a sitting duck in front of us?"

"Since it's a target, let this old man hold it in place."

Fujitora's voice was deep.

He gripped the cane-sword with his other hand and pressed the scabbard down heavily.

An invisible wave enveloped the hundred-meter-tall steel giant.

"Gravity Blade - Road Crusher!"

"Buzz—!"

A terrifying vertical gravitational force erupted instantly.

The giant mech, which had been waving its arms, suddenly froze.

The groaning sound of twisting metal sent chills down your spine.

"Click...click..."

The hard alloy armor plates began to dent, the massive mechanical legs sank deep into the ground, and the surrounding rocks were crushed into dust.

Barrett felt like he was carrying a mountain on his back, and even lifting a finger was extremely difficult.

"Damn it... I can't move!"

Just as Barrett was desperately channeling his Haki, trying to resist the binding force of gravity...

Space underwent a bizarre distortion.

A golden flash appeared on the outside of the cockpit at the head of the mech.

That's Kizaru.

He remained suspended in mid-air with his hands in his pockets, separated from Barrett in the cockpit by only a layer of armor.

Through the thick bulletproof glass, Barrett could see his own astonished face reflected in Kizaru's sunglasses.

Kizaru tilted his head slightly, a dangerously wide grin spreading across his face.

His right leg was raised.

On the jet-black leather shoes, countless dazzling light particles converged wildly, eventually forming a brilliant cross-shaped light.

Time seemed to stand still.

Only Kizaru's flippant yet chilling voice clearly reached Barrett's ears.

"Speed...is weight."

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?

The moment the words fell.

"collapse--!!!"

A golden flash that pierced the heavens and the earth suddenly erupted.

There are no superfluous movements, only pure speed and power.

That kick landed squarely on the mech's head.

Time stood still for a moment.

A destructive burst of energy was released.

The seemingly indestructible 100-meter-tall mech exploded instantly under that kick, along with its entire upper body.

The heavy armor was as thin as paper, and countless burning scrap metal pieces turned into meteors, flying in all directions.

The shockwave from the explosion pushed aside the surrounding seawater, creating a huge vacuum zone.

"puff--!"

The Barrett, at the heart of the cockpit, was struck by an irresistible force.

Even though he crossed his arms at the last moment, covering himself with the highest level of Armament Haki, the impact still made his internal organs feel displaced.

Blood gushed out.

The "Fusion Fruit" was forced to dissipate, and Barrett's main body was sent flying backward like a cannonball from the explosion's flames.

But he hasn't landed yet.

Barrett's body was still out of control in mid-air.

Fujitora moved.

The blind general lowered his body slightly, and the cane-sword in his hand was finally drawn an inch from its sheath.

A purple aura of gravity swirled along the blade.

"Gravity Blade - Fierce Tiger!"

Fujitora swung his sword fiercely, unleashing a purple horizontal gravity wave that, accompanied by the roar of a tiger cutting through the air, precisely predicted Barrett's landing point.

"Bang!"

Barrett, who had just endured a light-speed kick, suffered another heavy blow to the abdomen.

He crashed to the ground like a purple meteorite.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The earth trembled violently.

The once flat music plaza in Aregia was instantly smashed into a giant crater with a diameter of over 100 meters.

Gravel flew everywhere, and dust billowed.

The sea breeze dispersed the smoke of battle.

At the bottom of that enormous pit, Douglas Barrett lay sprawled among the rubble.

His military uniform was tattered, and his strong, iron-like muscles were covered with charred marks and bruises.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his chest red.

"Huff... huff..."

Barrett gasped for breath, and a hint of seriousness finally appeared in his eyes.

Is this... the strength of the current Navy Admiral?

A single speed attack breaks through the defense.

A gravity-controlled field.

Perfectly clothed.

"call out--"

A beam of golden light landed on the edge of the deep pit.

Kizaru stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the disheveled Barrett with a mocking smile that infuriated anyone who saw him.

"Yay~ So you're lying down already?"

Kizaru raised his toe and tapped Barrett below.

"Descendant of the devil... that sounds impressive. But it seems like that's all you've got?"

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"You should just go back to the underwater prison and eat your fill. That's a better place for a washed-up veteran like you to retire."

"Thump."

On the other side, Fujitora also landed.

He sheathed his cane and sword, but the heavy, mountain-like gravitational field locked Barrett at the bottom of the pit even more firmly.

The two men, one in front and one behind, one in light and one in darkness, blocked all of Barrett's escape routes.

However, Barrett, lying at the bottom of the pit, twitched his finger.

Instead of despair, his blood-soaked face broke into a ferocious and fanatical smile.

"Hehe...hehehe..."

The laughter went from low to high, and finally turned into a frenzied roar.

"Retirement? Don't be ridiculous!"

Barrett staggered to his feet from the rubble, his body trembling, but the fire in his eyes burned ever brighter.

"What I want... is to be the strongest in the world!!"