Chapter 396: After All, I'm Not Some Kind of Demon!

Clack!

The Guanshi Zhengzong sword left its scabbard.

Immediately, an extremely oppressive force radiated outward from Gao Wen as the center.

The earth beneath his feet, as if bearing pressure beyond imagination, rippled with soil waves like water, pushing horizontally in all directions!

Even Sabo, standing far away, felt the ground beneath his feet constantly shaking!

"What's happening? A Devil Fruit user?!"

"But a Devil Fruit user capable of this level..."

If earlier, Barrett and Fujitora's successive attacks had shown Sabo the formidable power of a Paramecia fruit developed to its limit,

then what was unfolding before his eyes now nearly exceeded the bounds of Sabo's comprehension.

The Conqueror's Haki in the air was so dense it felt like being submerged in the sea; every move seemed to carry shackles weighing a thousand jin.

Yet that sensation of mental fog still allowed Sabo to realize immediately:

This was merely the Conqueror's Haki that man in the distant port had cultivated before making his move!

"Merely by releasing his own suppressed Conqueror's Haki, he can achieve this degree; this is..."

Sabo's face turned deathly pale; his lips moved, but he could not utter a single word.

This feeling of mental fog, nearly causing loss of consciousness, was something he had not experienced in a very long time.

The last time was over ten years ago, when he first witnessed Dragon clashing with a certain Navy Admiral; struck by the aftermath of their collision, he had fainted on the spot.

But after more than ten years, Sabo's strength was no longer what it once was; perhaps he still could not match those two, yet he should by no means lose his combat capability due to the aftermath of their duel.

But now...

What shocked him to the extreme was that, even several thousand meters away, when gazing at that inhuman monster in the distant port, his will was nearly crushed on the spot!

"This is..."

"This is the World's Strongest!"

Fujitora sheathed his sword and stood beside Sabo; feeling the omnipresent Conqueror's Haki, the shock on his face was impossible to conceal, even greater than Sabo's.

He knew far more about Gao Wen's past than Sabo did.

Back in Raven Port, Fujitora had fought Gao Wen; at that time, facing Gao Wen, he still had confidence in suppressing him.

But when they met again two years ago, he could no longer gauge the depth of Gao Wen's power.

Now, even standing before Gao Wen, he no longer had any desire to draw his sword.

When the gap between opponents is too vast, battle becomes a one-sided crush, utterly devoid of interest.

"Knight Gao Wen is this strong, yet he still bows to the World Government?!"

Sabo could not help but speak out.

Fujitora reached out and pointed toward the inland sea in the distance, saying:

"Two years ago, that place was still a plain with countless fertile lands; millions lived upon that land."

"Now, as you can see, everything has vanished, leaving behind nothing but an endless expanse of seawater."

"An Ancient Weapon?!"

Sabo understood instantly; his heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

The next instant, the earth's tremors abruptly ceased; Sabo reined in his complex emotions and looked toward the distance.

There, Gao Wen's hand had already rested upon the Guanshi Zhengzong!

"It's coming!"

"The World's Strongest Man is about to make his move!"

At this moment,

everyone watching this battle felt the same sensation rise in their hearts!

Sabo and Fujitora were curious just how far Gao Wen could go.

Buena Festa was no longer as confident as before; the sea surface beneath his feet continued to undulate and shake uneasily, and he could already see the outcome of Barrett's defeat and death!

"I... I still have to surpass Luo Jie!"

"I cannot die here!"

Buena Festa turned and walked toward the cabin; his foot slipped, and he fell sitting onto the ground.

The shaking sea surface reflected a twisted, ugly face.

For a moment, he froze on the spot.

High in the air, continuously falling, Barrett stared fixedly at Gao Wen below, who was growing ever closer!

After sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Gao Wen, he personally understood why Whitebeard had been so casually suppressed to that extent back in Marineford!

This man, even while merely standing there, radiated an aura sufficient to make the vast majority of arrogant strong men kneel!

"Knight Gao Wen... even Luo Jie, even Whitebeard, even Rocks, could not compare to one ten-thousandth of you!"

"As long as I defeat you, I will be the World's Strongest!"

"And I will be able to surpass that man!"

Barrett's eyes turned bloodshot, nearly manic; facing Gao Wen directly made him recall the time he first encountered Luo Jie.

"I am Barrett!"

But accompanying Barrett's shout, the massive bullet plummeting from the sky suddenly halted...

Zing—!

A crisp sound of a sword rang out through the air.

Only then did Barrett realize that Gao Wen had already swung his blade at some point.

A silver line of light appeared, splitting apart everything between heaven and earth.

Flying birds, floating debris, the sky-filling clouds, even the colossal black giant Bullet enveloped by Barrett's massive amount of Armament Haki!

Everything, before the black blade in Gao Wen's hand, seemed as fragile as paper-mache, utterly unable to block that extremely sharp edge, and was sliced in two!

Boom—!

The colossal Bullet, split down the middle, lost control and plummeted downward!

Fujitora seized the moment to levitate it, then stood aside, gazing toward the distant battlefield.

Beneath the outer shell of the colossal Bullet lay a medium-sized Bullet, far smaller in size yet sturdier and more resistant to impact!

This was Barrett's prideful defensive measure, yet it still failed to block Gao Wen's single strike; it was cleaved straight through at the waist, directly exposing Barrett hiding within.

"Nani?!"

Only now did Barrett realize what had happened; looking at Gao Wen below sheathing his blade, his fighting intent completely dissipated, he eyed him with some confusion and muttered:

"The battle is already over? Is this guy being a bit too arrogant?!"

"Who do you think you're looking down on?!"

"I am—!"

Hiss—!

Before the sound even faded, a line of blood erupted from Barrett's chest...

Hiss—!

As a mist of blood sprayed forth.

Barrett lowered his head to look at his own chest.

A slender slash mark ran from left to right, cutting open all the flesh and blood before his chest; had this wound been even one inch deeper, it would have been enough to kill Barrett on the spot.

It did not endanger his life, yet it perfectly dismantled all his power to resist!

Gao Wen's combat strength had far exceeded Barrett's expectations, even making him recall the scene of his first challenge against Luo Jie.

Damn it!

Even if the living Luo Jie stood before him now, he absolutely could not accomplish such a thing; far from it!

Intense stinging pain caused Barrett's expression to change drastically, but more than that, he felt unwillingness.

He had witnessed the Summit War from the sidelines and seen Gao Wen's battle against Whitebeard.

Before entering Britannias and engaging Gao Wen, Barrett had already known he was no match for Gao Wen.

But the gap being so vast that resistance was utterly impossible truly exceeded his expectations!

"During the Summit War, this guy didn't even use his full strength; he might not have even used half his power!"

"Otherwise, Whitebeard would never have lasted that long!"

"Heh..."