Bartolomeo's emerald green mohawk suddenly shot upward like weeds after a rainstorm, growing at a ferocious speed. In the blink of an eye, he ended up with a wild, messy mane like Jiraiya's.
After evolving, his build also became much sturdier, no longer the thin, stick-like frame he had before.
Sharp fangs. Piercing eyes. Together with the brass nose ring Bartolomeo always wore.
The bizarre Dark-type energy seemed to condense into a gigantic reaper's scythe, floating behind him.
At that moment, he looked like a demon that had escaped from the abyss, stepping into the world for the first time, ready to make it experience the pain of purgatory.
"The battle's only just getting started!"
Bartolomeo licked his lips like a complete pervert, yet with his current appearance, it felt strangely fitting.
The pirates of the World Pirates looked at the suddenly transformed Bartolomeo, and their expressions changed at once.
"This is bad! It's Pokémon-ization!"
"This bastard really is one of the core members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. Captain, we need to think of a way to run now. If we keep fighting, no matter whether we win or lose, it'll be terrible for us!"
World's brother, Byojack, urged anxiously.
Their opponent was Bartolomeo. If they lost, their fate was obvious.
But if they won, the consequences would only be even more troublesome!
Because that would mean that from then on, during every day of their future voyage, they would constantly be harassed by subordinates of the Straw Hat Pirates—or by pirates hoping to use them as a stepping stone to join the Straw Hat Pirates by offering up their heads.
Their journey would become unbearably difficult.
So the best option was to break free of this fight immediately.
However, upon hearing Byojack's suggestion, World let out a sudden, icy sneer.
"Hmph! Too late! Do you really think that even if we escape, we can avoid the Straw Hat Pirates' pursuit!?"
As more and more members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet mastered Pokémon-ization, and as Pokémon World exploded in popularity across the globe, the special ability held by the Straw Hat Pirates—Pokémon-ization—was no longer much of a secret in the underworld.
No one knew how the Straw Hat crew had managed to wield a power that did not even exist in this world. But in the pirate world—a place filled with dreams and infinite possibilities—that kind of thing no longer mattered.
"The Straw Hat Pirates have already driven us into a dead end!!!"
World looked rough and wild on the surface, but in truth, he saw the situation more clearly than almost anyone else. Without another word, he activated his Devil Fruit ability once more and hurled the cannonball in his hand straight toward the waters beneath the Going Luffy-senpai.
As it flew, the cannonball's size swelled rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it became a pitch-black sphere as massive as a large battleship.
World burst into mad laughter.
"Don't think that just because you're hiding inside a turtle shell, you can rest easy!"
"You're far too naive!!!"
Boom!!!
The gigantic cannonball did not smash into Bartolomeo's barrier. Instead, it plunged directly into the seawater beneath the hull of the Going Luffy-senpai.
A horrifying explosion erupted.
Though the seawater suppressed much of the flames and black smoke, making them less terrifying than before, the blast still stirred up a monstrous wave upon the sea.
The raging current descended like a giant hand from the heavens, crashing down toward Bartolomeo and his ship.
In an instant, darkness swallowed the light of the world.
After that strike, World's eyes flickered.
During the brief exchanges just now, he had already discovered the weakness of Bartolomeo's Barrier-Barrier Fruit!
Though it could block impacts and damage of any magnitude, like all Devil Fruits, it still had the same fatal weakness—
It feared seawater.
In other words, Bartolomeo's ability could not function beneath the sea.
Splash, splash, splash...
As the waves washed over it, Bartolomeo's barrier immediately began to corrode as though eaten away by acid rain, opening hole after hole.
At that sight, World let out a burst of wild laughter.
"Wahahahaha!!! I knew it! I knew it would be like this!!!"
As he spoke, he grabbed another cannonball, leaped straight up from the deck, and soared into the air. Aiming at a gap in the barrier, he snarled viciously:
"Multiplier — 100x Speed — Impact Cannonball!!!"
Whoosh!!!
The pitch-black cannonball shot out from World's hand like a beam of light, streaking across the sky in a straight flash before dropping precisely toward Bartolomeo.
Under World's watchful gaze, the cannonball swiftly passed through the damaged section of the barrier.
At that kind of speed, even a powerhouse like Bartolomeo should have had no way to withstand the impact.
Speed was power!
World might not know that phrase, nor did he have such a motto, but the truth of it could not be denied.
And yet, just as the cannonball was about to strike Bartolomeo, the evolved Bartolomeo suddenly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that looked as though they had been completely devoured by darkness.
In the next moment, the barrier that had been struggling to hold on suddenly contracted, then rapidly rose beneath Bartolomeo's feet, forming a brand-new miniature barrier.
Bang!!!
The speeding cannonball slammed violently into the new barrier, and the terrifying impact was instantly neutralized by the power of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
To catch Bartolomeo off guard, World had deliberately refrained from enlarging the cannonball's size.
And yet even at that speed, his opponent had still managed to block it.
"Is... that all you've got!?"
At that moment, Bartolomeo's figure suddenly stepped through the flames of the explosion, looking somewhat disappointed as he gazed at World, who was still suspended in midair.
He bared his teeth in a chilling grin.
"If this is all you've got, then I'm going to be seriously disappointed!"
"If I bring back a weakling like you, I won't even be able to hold my head up in front of the others!"
"Aren't you supposed to be that great pirate from decades ago who almost stood shoulder to shoulder with Roger!? Can't you show me something new for once!!!"
World's overall strength truly did qualify him as one of the world's top-tier powerhouses.
And yet compared to how absurdly powerful his Devil Fruit ability was, the way he used it was honestly a little underwhelming.
He could increase the size, weight, and speed of any object by a hundredfold.
If someone like Garp had eaten the Momo Fruit, then every cannonball he threw would probably be enough to destroy an island in an instant.
No—scratch that.
Even without the Momo Fruit, he could still destroy an island in an instant.
No matter how much of a clown Garp had looked like on Hachinosu, the fact that he possessed such overwhelming power without relying on any Devil Fruit or scientific enhancement at all was enough to prove how extraordinary he truly was.
If Garp had eaten the Momo Fruit, then the pirate world would probably have reached its ending long ago.
No matter how tough the Red Line's walls were, they could never withstand Garp's Iron Fist multiplied a hundred times over.
So yes—World really was wasting such a powerful Devil Fruit.
"You... bastard!!!"
Listening to Bartolomeo's completely undisguised mockery, World's eyes instantly turned blood-red, and his fury burst from his body like tangible flames.
In all his years, he had never suffered such humiliation.
Thud.
World landed back on the deck, and his gaze immediately locked onto Bartolomeo.
"Hmph! You ignorant brat! Since you're in such a hurry, then I'll let you witness it... the power that even the World Government fears!!!"
In a fit of rage, World abruptly shouted to his subordinates behind him:
"Go! Bring up my heavy cannons!!!"
In truth, how could World possibly not know the shortcomings of his own ability?
He simply did not care!
Because after years of relentless effort, he had already reached the verge of awakening the Momo Fruit.
By now, he no longer even needed to physically touch an object in order to affect it with his Devil Fruit ability.
And that allowed World to develop an entirely different way of using the Momo Fruit.
That was to combine it with technology and machinery, making up for the weaknesses in his own personal combat ability.
So in the more than two years since his escape from prison, he had not been idle at all. He had spent that entire time collecting all kinds of firearms and weapons from across the world to strengthen his forces.
In truth, World had not wanted to go down this path at first.
Thirty years ago, he had been captured by the World Government because of betrayal from his own men.
When he had first broken out, he had been carrying a belly full of rage and only wanted to vent it with all his might.
Having been frozen away for thirty years, time had left neither his body nor his heart with any true marks.
At this very moment, though World was already seventy-eight years old, he was still as hot-blooded as ever, determined to carve out a place for himself, overthrow the World Government, and become the true ruler of the world.
But reality had ruthlessly slapped him across the face.
He had never expected that after awakening, escaping Impel Down, and learning that the world's basic structure had not changed much from thirty years ago—
Just as he was preparing to make a great comeback and use the terrifying Devil Fruit power that even the World Government feared to carve out a new era for himself...
The appearance of one pirate crew had thrown the entire world into utter chaos, to the point that countless ambitious men like him, all preparing to make their own moves, had been forced to stop in place and adapt to the new world.
But in that process of adaptation, they ended up completely losing touch with the times.
In just two short years, look at everything that crew had done!
They stormed Mary Geoise alone and, despite being pirates, carried out a slave liberation movement;
They casually defeated Emperor of the Sea Charlotte Linlin, took over Totto Land, subdued the rulers of the underworld, and built a heaven-shaking force;
They allied with the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates to face the World Government's highest military powers. The pirate crew's third-ranking member killed Fleet Admiral Akainu, the fourth-ranking member battled Admiral Aokiji in a drawn-out struggle, and their first and second-ranking members directly confronted the Five Elders, the highest authority in the world;
They defeated Kaido, brought a legendary pirate under their command, and became the Pirate Emperor Sovereign upon the seas;
They invaded Mary Geoise once more, slaughtered countless Celestial Dragons, and completely destroyed Mary Geoise;
They developed a virtual world, and Pokémon World became a worldwide sensation...
One world-shaking event after another had erupted like bamboo shoots after spring rain during the two years since World's escape.
For a time, World—who felt as though he had awakened into another age—actually began to feel that his return itself might have been a mistake.
For the past two years, he had done everything he could to catch up with this ever-changing world. Aside from gathering his old comrades again, he had paid no small price and put in tremendous effort.
And yet even under those circumstances, old relics like them still had failed to catch the train leading into the New World.
World had originally already begun to lose heart. He had been planning to occupy an island in the New World, hide there for a while, and make long-term plans.
And then the Straw Hat Pirates had somehow gotten complete control of their intelligence—and even sent Bartolomeo, one of the most important powerhouses in the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, to hunt them down.
Having only recently driven off a group of World Government agents, World now felt that no matter how desperately he tried to escape the vortex, he was still being dragged into the center of a terrifying whirlpool.
Clack-clack-clack-clack...
Along with the sound of treads grinding across the deck, the prepared members of the World Pirates quickly wheeled out one heavy cannon after another.
Ironically, these heavy cannons themselves had originally come from the Straw Hat Pirates' military industry. Only after purchasing the finished products had the ship's mechanic modified them according to World's needs.
Each heavy cannon possessed enough destructive force to destroy a Marine battleship.
With the enhancement of his Devil Fruit ability, even destroying an island would be effortless.
A Buster Call that one man alone could unleash.
This—this was the true reason the World Government feared this Devil Fruit power.
Click!
After aiming one dark, ominous barrel after another at Bartolomeo and the Going Luffy-senpai, World immediately ordered his men to light them.
The pirates, long practiced in the routine, timed everything perfectly and lit the fuses in sequence.
BOOM!!!
Cannon fire like thunder erupted in an instant.
And World had already prepared for this. The very moment before the shells left the barrels, he directly used his Devil Fruit ability to amplify the cannons.
BOOM!!!
One cannonball after another shot into the sky like the iron fists of a god, gathering overhead before crashing down toward Bartolomeo.
"You arrogant brat, let's see what you use to block this now!?"
The fine rain formed from seawater was still steadily eating away at Bartolomeo's barrier power.
At that moment, World could practically already see himself blasting the entire Bartolomeo crew to pieces.
Though afterward, they would surely suffer endless pursuit from the Straw Hat Pirates' subordinates...
But who cared!?
No matter how many came, World was confident he could send them all to their graves!
Unless the Straw Hat Pirates themselves came personally—then he would simply accept that he had bad luck.
To die at the hands of such monsters would at least not disgrace his name.
Unlike the Great Pirate Era forged by Roger, the powerhouses of the previous age almost all possessed a pride of their own, and most of their ambitions centered on overthrowing the World Government.
The victor became king; the loser was branded a bandit.
They had long since viewed themselves as a force equal to the World Government itself.
Not like today, where everyone chased after the so-called treasure of the Pirate King.
The dawn of the Great Pirate Era had certainly made the seas more lively and drawn countless more people onto this road of no return.
But at the same time, because of the Great Pirate Era, the ambitions of the people had instead become limited.
After all, the highest ideal they could strive for was merely becoming a heroic figure who would one day be publicly executed by the Marines.
That was the ceiling.
With the upper limit already so low, how grand could anyone's vision truly become?