One Piece: Start as a mythical beast, practice to become stronger

The earth roared in a violent heat, the surrounding air consumed by raging flames, forming a purgatorial sea of fire.

The flames licked at every inch of the land, engulfing everything in scorching reds and oranges.

Yet, in the heart of this relentlessly fiery sea, Barrett's figure stood out with exceptional clarity, as if insulated from the world's calamity, untouched by any flame.

“Tap, tap, tap...”

His footsteps were steady and powerful, unaffected by the flames, each step landing on the reddened earth with a muffled echo.

Barrett's figure emerged from the flames, the wild fire seeming to part for him, making his body appear even more imposing in the firelight.

“The Navy always resorts to these petty tricks.”

He brushed at non-existent flames on his clothes, squinting towards the coastline.

......

In the distance, on the warship, the Marines stared dumbfounded, able only to silently watch this shocking scene.

Their tense faces betrayed disbelief, mouths slightly agape, eyes filled with bewilderment.

Before the Marines could recover, Tian Yue Shi was the first to react, hurriedly searching for the communications officer.

“Reporting, Commodore! According to intelligence, the opponent is Douglas Barrett, who recently left the Roger Pirates...”

The communications officer's hands trembled, the Den Den Mushi shaking in his grasp.

The old Marines, who had spent years at sea, knew that if morale collapsed, they were truly finished.

“Don't panic! We still have Vice Admiral Jin An, and with the warship's firepower, we're not without a chance.”

“What we need most now is to quickly contact Marine Headquarters! We've encountered an opponent we can't defeat.”

The Marines were drenched in cold sweat; even with Vice Admiral Jin An, they couldn't handle this monster.

They heard that if Barrett hadn't left the Roger Pirates for special reasons and preferred to fight alone, he could have reached the pinnacle of this world.

According to intelligence, he was a madman obsessed with power, whose strength alone was enough to influence the situation on the sea.

“......”

“Barrett.”

Jin An had reviewed this man's files and was very interested in his current strength.

He thought, how could an ordinary pirate destroy a country comparable to the Sorbet Kingdom in such a short time?

If this person was responsible, it made sense.

“I have no interest in destroying countries; I only want to become stronger.” Barrett's Observation Haki could briefly foresee future events.

“I can sense that you are much stronger than that Crocodile guy.”

“Meeting you after that guy is satisfactory.”

“A word of advice: tell your subordinates to get out of here. If they continue to disturb my mood with cannon fire, I won't let them leave here standing.”

Flies have a very small impact on people, but they are disgusting.

To him, the Marines were those disgusting flies.

He didn't deliberately lower his voice when he said these words, and the Marines on the warship by the coast also heard what Barrett said.

Tian Yue Shi knew that staying here was useless. “Let's leave this place...”

She shook her head, trying to suppress the fear and unease that kept rising in her mind.

Barrett's notoriety had spread widely among the Marines.

Betrayed by his comrades as a boy, he no longer believed in such things as companionship, relying on "the strength of being alone" to become a celebrated hero on the battlefield, increasingly feeling that strength brought him freedom.

Later, on the verge of death from hunger and fatigue on the battlefield, he ate the "Combine-Combine Fruit" and destroyed a country after being betrayed by it.

How could someone who had ingrained the pursuit of strength into their bones not inspire fear?

Just then, Barrett's arrogant, all-despising sneer once again echoed from the island.

“You don't think I'm too tired to deal with you after just having a fight, do you?”

“Those who look at me with that kind of gaze are all dead.”

As he spoke, Barrett unleashed a powerful aura from his body.

His Conqueror's Haki was refined to the extreme, and black lightning bolts radiated outwards from him.

“Thud...”

“Thud...”

The Marines on the warship uncontrollably collapsed to the ground.

They were already far away from Barrett, but they still couldn't escape the range of his Conqueror's Haki.

Tian Yue Shi and the other officers knew what was happening, but there was nothing they could do. It was as if a mountain was pressing down on them, cold sweat constantly dripping onto the deck, but they were helpless.

“Is this Conqueror's Haki?”

“The difference in strength is too great...”

At that moment, they experienced what it meant to be powerless.

Jin An, who was directly facing the impact of Conqueror's Haki, was in a different state. He was not defeated; instead, an incredible power was rapidly growing somewhere within his body.

Completely dissolving the pressure Barrett brought to him.

“I see.”

“Being pressured by Conqueror's Haki causes the body to produce a stress response.”

“This amount of pressure is far from enough...”

Facing this pressure, Jin An instead revealed a smile. He didn't retreat but advanced, walking towards Barrett.

“Barrett, your spirit doesn't seem to be up to par...” Jin An said as he walked, expressing his inner feelings.

Barrett seemed to have heard a joke. “You, a weakling who hasn't even awakened Conqueror's Haki, dare to comment on my ever-growing heart?”

He stomped his foot on the ground, the ground rapidly cracking because it couldn't withstand the force.

“My spirit is not for you to judge!”

Under his feet, the soil constantly twisted and deformed, decomposed and recombined, eventually transforming into weapons.

“In terms of strength, I can destroy a country single-handedly.”

“In terms of weapons, I can create them at will.”

“I have all the elements to stand invincible!”

“This world is destined to crawl at my feet!”

“What do you have to fight me with? Your overestimating strength? Your mouth full of big talk?”

Barrett's taunting voice echoed in the sea, his golden hair dancing with his movements.

“In this world, there is only stronger, not the strongest.”

Jin An was unmoved by Barrett's words. In his eyes, those who proclaim themselves the strongest will be surpassed sooner or later.

“You can't even beat Roger, and you still have the face to dominate the world?”

Jin An's words undoubtedly touched Barrett's forbidden zone. He was no longer as calm as before, his whole being like an enraged lion, staring at Jin An with bloodshot eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you that you are very good at provoking others?”

Barrett laughed in anger, his fists cracking as he clenched them too tightly.

...