"Watch out for his Devil Fruit technique!"
When he saw that Sand Crocodile had acted without permission, Renji Kai immediately shouted a warning from behind.
After all, he knew exactly how powerful Bartolomeo's abilities were.
But even though Renji had warned Sand Crocodile, it was still too late.
Bartolomeo was already fully prepared.
He turned around swiftly and made the classic Commons fingers gesture with both hands.
Then he gave a low grunt.
"Barrier Ball!"
Just as Sand Crocodile's poisonous hook was about to pierce Bartolomeo's face, it suddenly collided with an invisible object.
With a loud clang, Sand Crocodile was instantly knocked back.
Before he could retreat more than a few steps, he hit something solid behind him.
When he refocused, he realized he was trapped inside a glass-like spherical barrier.
Naturally, this was the power of Bartolomeo's Devil Fruit.
"Let's see how strong this barrier of yours really is!"
With that, Sand Crocodile covered his poisonous hook with a layer of Armament Haki, glowing in a deep red hue.
He then wound up and slashed fiercely at the barrier.
Clang! Another loud crash echoed.
The hook struck the barrier with force—but didn't even leave a scratch!
"Impossible," Sand Crocodile muttered, his face falling.
"Not even Armament Haki can break it? Is this thing really unbeatable? If so, wouldn't that make him invincible?"
Douglas Bullet couldn't help but voice his doubts.
"Hmph, it's not that miraculous," Renji Kai explained loudly. "You saw it too—he's still holding that hand gesture. That means he needs to maintain it to keep the barrier active.
In other words, if you rush him now, the barrier will disappear. Even if you don't attack, he can't hold it forever and will eventually drop it."
Renji's explanation was not only for Douglas Bullet, but also a deliberate message to Bartolomeo.
Sure enough, Bartolomeo's expression shifted as soon as he heard it. He quickly dropped his hands, and the barrier surrounding Sand Crocodile vanished instantly.
Seeing this, Sand Crocodile wanted to charge in again.
"Enough, Sand Crocodile. Stand down. He may not be able to beat you, but you won't be able to hurt him either!"
Renji's tone was more commanding this time, as if issuing an order.
Though clearly unhappy, Sand Crocodile returned to Renji's side, his eyes still locked with burning fury on Bartolomeo.
"You seem to know an awful lot about me. I'm starting to think you've been spying on me this whole time."
"Today I didn't just beat up Navy Captain Smoker," Renji said casually, "If things are going as expected, the Navy fleet should be arriving just outside Loguetown right about now.
I've practically declared war on the entire Navy—all for you. So yes, you should feel honored."
"Ha! Smoker? That fool? You really think I couldn't take him down? Please. I was just using him. Having that weakling around made it a lot easier for me to run things in Loguetown.
If I took him out, the Navy would just send someone stronger to replace him. Why invite trouble?"
Bartolomeo's words dripped with disdain.
It was true—he had long been capable of defeating Smoker, but had refrained so as not to attract too much attention from the Navy.
Even his underworld dealings were kept underground; he never brought them fully into the open, knowing that Loguetown was of great strategic value to the Navy.
If anything major happened here, the Navy would never turn a blind eye.
"Your Barrier Fruit has its uses, but the weaknesses are just as obvious. You know this, even if I don't spell it out.
If you really want to fight me, you won't stand a chance. Do you understand?"
Renji spoke again, calm but firm.
"Cut the crap. I'm never going to follow you willingly unless you beat me!"
Bartolomeo flatly refused.
"Then let's see how you beg me for mercy soon."
Renji immediately activated the system with a thought.
Ding! Host has successfully used the 'Uchiha Itachi' character card. Possession count -1.
Seeing Renji's expression change, Bartolomeo immediately grew alert.
The next moment, in the cramped tavern, Renji made his move!
"Great Fireball Dragon Technique!"
With a low grunt, Renji opened his mouth and unleashed a massive flaming dragon at Bartolomeo!
The dragon filled the entire room with its sheer size. Everything it passed was instantly scorched.
As the flaming dragon roared toward him, Bartolomeo remained unfazed. He once again raised both hands in the Commons fingers gesture.
A transparent square barrier instantly formed in front of him.
BOOM!
The dragon of flames slammed into the square barrier.
As Renji had predicted, the fire dragon couldn't cause any damage.
From within the transparent shield, Bartolomeo couldn't help but smirk slightly at the outcome.