Sabaody Archipelago.
After a Navy Lieutenant Commander meticulously compared a stack of documents, he turned and saluted Sentomaru, Mike, and George.
"Report! It has been confirmed that this pirate is 'Cannibal' Bartholomew, who recently set sail. His bounty is 150,000,000 Berries. Here is his intelligence!"
The Lieutenant Commander said, handing the documents to Sentomaru, who didn't look at them and instead passed them to George.
"Cannibal? Did he really eat people?"
Sentomaru's eyes turned cold, and he tightened his grip on his large axe.
The Navy Lieutenant Commander looked troubled and hesitated.
"There's no conclusive evidence, but many people are spreading this rumor."
Seeing Sentomaru's somewhat displeased expression, he quickly added,
"However, before he set sail, he was the leader of the underworld in 150 towns. After setting sail, in the G-2 Fortress jurisdiction, he shelled innocent civilians in a city and even committed arson! These facts are undeniable!"
At this point, George and Mike had also roughly skimmed Bartholomew's information, their expressions grim. A pirate with a bounty of 150 million Berries,
was already up to the standard of the Supernovas from a few months ago!
Ever since Taro took office as the commander of the Sabaody Garrison, which pirate didn't behave themselves?
Pirates either dared not stay on the island for long, diving to Fish-Man Island once their ships were coated,
or they behaved honestly, afraid of causing any trouble and attracting the patrolling Marine Soldiers to search for something called an 'identity card'.
Yet, two days ago, this Cockscomb Head with grass-green hair arrived. Not only did he burn down Vice Admiral Taro's security markers on the day he landed, but he also blatantly promoted Straw Hat Luffy merchandise,
such as posters, badges, and the like!
This was practically a slap in the face to the Sabaody Garrison, a serious provocation to Vice Admiral Taro!
How could George and Mike tolerate this?
Mike even paused the casting for the new 'movie' and mobilized the entire army to pursue Bartholomew.
However, two days passed, and even Sentomaru rushed to assist. The result was not only failing to capture the person but also having a city block destroyed.
George and Mike could imagine how furious the Vice Admiral would be upon his return!
Vice Admiral Taro had only been gone for a few days, and their own backyard had been raided!
What a disgrace!
Over there, Sherman and Grant were still continuously trying various attacks, attempting to break through the barrier.
Sherman's eyes were completely bloodshot, and Grant's steel giant arm was steaming. Both were panting heavily, yet made no progress.
Bartholomew crossed his arms in front of his chest, his middle fingers tapping his index fingers, and a barrier like glass protected him.
"Marines, put more effort into it! Your attacks almost worked, come on again!"
He looked at Sherman and Grant with an extremely arrogant expression, speaking with a strange dialect accent.
Sherman and Grant were both proud young men; how could they endure such mockery? They immediately gathered all their strength, preparing to attack again.
Seeing this, Bartholomew's eyes flashed with a cruel smile. He thought: Yes, just like that, bring out your strongest power, come on, attack!
He had already decided that after the two unleashed their strongest attacks, he would activate his ability, no longer just defending, but reflecting the attack to severely injure both of them in one fell swoop.
Just as Sherman and Grant's Aura reached its peak and they were about to launch their attack,
suddenly, a Slash came from the sky, aiming for Bartholomew's head.
It wasn't until the Slash was right in front of him that Bartholomew's face changed drastically. He spread his arms wide, drawing a semicircle in front of him.
The barrier, which had stood like a wall in front of him, instantly curved into a spherical shape.
"Clang!"
As soon as the spherical shape formed, the Slash struck the top of the barrier, emitting a crisp sound.
"Swish!"
The next second, the Slash was deflected.
Bartholomew's heart swelled with joy. This seemingly imposing Slash also couldn't break through my absolute defense!
He put on a defiant smile, about to raise his head to see who had launched the Slash so he could mock them,
and then he felt a violent Vibration outside the barrier.
The Vibration instantly extended through the barrier to its interior. Bartholomew's smile on his face hadn't even had time to fade when the immense Vibration Energy transmitted inside exploded within the spherical barrier.
The Vibration Energy transmitted inside exploded within the spherical barrier.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
"Rumble!"
A rapid buzzing sound erupted in the confined space. The air trembled, wanting to escape, but was firmly bound by the barrier, so much so that in just a single breath, the buzzing developed into a rumbling thunder.
"Cough! Ugh!"
Bartholomew's chest jolted. He first coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, then his Aura immediately deflated, his chest heaving violently as he spat out a large amount of blood.
His gesture maintaining the barrier could no longer be sustained and slackened, causing the spherical barrier to instantly disappear.
"Bang!"
The long-restrained Vibration Energy, now unchecked, burst forth with an explosive sound like a cannonball.
Taro slowly descended from the air, his thundercloud quietly suspended in mid-air.
He looked down slightly at Bartholomew, who was kneeling on the ground, severely injured. Taro's heart was filled with an indescribable feeling.
He had just seen information about Cockscomb Head in the newspaper a few days ago, and he hadn't expected this guy to arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago so quickly.
In the original story, this number one fan of Luffy should have set sail about a year after the Marineford War. Now, only a few months after the war ended, this guy had appeared.
The timeline isn't working out!
Bartholomew coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood before the trembling in his body slightly eased. He struggled to raise his head, looking at the figure in front of him.
The narrow spherical barrier earlier had provided an excellent point for the Vibration Energy to explode, severely injuring him in an instant.
Now, blood was seeping from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears—all seven orifices were bleeding!
The blood blurred his vision, making it difficult to distinguish who the newcomer was, but someone quickly provided him with the answer.
"Vice Admiral Taro, you're back!"
"Taro, I, we...!"
George and the others, along with Sentomaru, immediately surrounded him, looking at Taro with various expressions.
Taro looked back at them, seeing that they were more or less ashamed. He waved his hand casually.
"It's alright. This pirate has a special ability. You couldn't catch him, so there's no need to blame yourselves!"
The Barrier-Barrier Fruit possesses the strongest physical defense in this world. Even Kozuki Oden, who left a permanent scar on Kaido, couldn't cut through it. It's understandable that his subordinates couldn't defeat Bartholomew!
Mike, as the oldest follower of Taro, felt even more guilty. He stepped forward.
"Vice Admiral, the 27th GR... was, was destroyed!"
Taro simply hummed.
"I saw it from the air. If it's destroyed, we'll just rebuild it!"
The 25th-29th GR in the Lawless Zone had previously been designated as'Sabaody Film City' and was funded by the island's nobles. Since it was essentially fleecing the rich, Taro didn't feel bad about it.
Precisely because of this, he had no intention of pursuing the matter.
Taro curled his lips, glanced at Bartholomew, then swept his gaze over the crowd of civilians watching from afar, fixing his eyes on the pirate-like figures within the crowd, and declared loudly,
"It seems I haven't taken action on the island for too long, making many people forget that this is my jurisdiction...!"
"Whether you are a noble, a commoner, or a pirate, once you arrive on this island, you must obey my rules!"
"If you're a Dragon, you will coil; if you're a Tiger, you will lie down!"
"Have I made myself clear enough?"
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