Infinite Pirates:
Barrett originally wanted to challenge the giants at Elbaf, but after a fight with Kaido, he comprehended the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion. So, he returned directly to the Infinite Pirates and fought with the cadre members to solidify and master his ability to use Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Finally, after half a month, Barrett began to challenge Li Yuan for the position of Vice Captain of the Infinite Pirates! "Is Barrett finally going to make a move for that position? That was fast! I thought he wouldn't have the strength for at least three more years, but he actually comprehended the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion!"
"Conqueror's Haki Infusion technique? Just wait, I'll comprehend it soon too!"
"Exactly, we can't let Barrett overshadow us!"
"Uh, let's focus on promoting to core cadre first; the position of Vice Captain is still too far for us!"
"."
At the training base of the Infinite Pirates in the Calm Belt, almost all the cadre members not on external missions gathered here. This was a grand event for the Infinite Pirates; how could they not come to witness it?
However, only the cadre members had the opportunity to witness it; the other captain-level pirates didn't even qualify to witness it! On the barren land to the left of the island, Barrett and Li Yuan stood there. Even without exuding any aura, the non-core cadre members watching from a distance felt a pressure emanating from the two.
"Barrett, let me see your growth. The position of Vice Captain in the Infinite Pirates is not so easy to attain!"
Li Yuan grasped the air, and the Seven Star Sword suddenly appeared in his hand, the scarlet aura of blood lingering ominously, making it look like a deep abyss of blood, instilling an extraordinary fear! "Hahahahaha, Vice Captain, I'm sure to take that position!"
Barrett laughed heartily and immediately entered his Human-Beast Form. Facing his own Captain, Barrett dared not hide anything and unleashed his peak power from the very beginning!
"Life Return: Power Enhancement!"
Barrett's already robust muscles swelled even more in that instant, his entire body radiating a fierce sense of power.
This state was something Barrett would only bring out when truly fighting for his life; even during his previous battle with Kaido, he hadn't used this move.
This technique was created by him using the Life Return skill, greatly amplifying his own strength. The Adamantine Titan Mythical Zoan already provided him with immense power enhancement, and now, combined with the Life Return power enhancement, he had the courage to challenge Li Yuan!
"Gravity Fist: Haki Infusion - Titan's Might!"
Barrett summoned all his strength, the overwhelming Armament Haki, the gravity condensed into a black hole, the Conqueror's Haki Infusion he had recently comprehended, and the Eight Impact Fist technique he had learned, all perfectly combined into his fist.
As Barrett threw a punch, the world dimmed for a moment, and the island's magnetic field erupted, the gravity shifting from vertical to horizontal, pressing down towards Li Yuan along with the punch.
"Not bad, but your power is too dispersed!"
Watching Barrett's punch, Li Yuan calmly began to point out flaws. When Barrett's fist approached him, he casually swung down the Seven Star Sword in his hand!
Li Yuan didn't use Conqueror's Haki; he merely combined his three sword intents with the power of Armament Haki.
This seemingly simple and ordinary sword strike perfectly fused Li Yuan's sword intent, Armament Haki, and his swordsmanship and power techniques, unleashing one hundred and fifty percent of his strength.
In comparison, Barrett's punch only reached eighty percent of its potential, unable to unleash even his full strength!
"Riiip!!!!"
The originally dim sky was suddenly illuminated by that ordinary yet brilliant sword strike. All the power in Barrett's punch was torn apart by this sword, even his proud Conqueror's Haki Infusion and overwhelming Armament Haki were easily shattered by this strike.
Even Barrett's skin on his fist was cut open, revealing his finger bones. If he hadn't covered his finger bones with Armament Haki, they would have likely been severed by this sword!
"This sword!!"
Barrett's pupils constricted. He felt that the power of this sword wasn't particularly strong, yet it could easily shatter his fist, containing a technique he couldn't comprehend.
What shocked him even more was that Li Yuan hadn't even used Conqueror's Haki and had effortlessly shattered his strongest punch in a normal state! However, while Barrett was still astonished by Li Yuan's sword, Li Yuan vanished from his sight in the blink of an eye.
"Not good!"
Instinctively sensing the intense danger behind him, Barrett subconsciously covered himself with Armament Haki.
"Riiip!!!!"
But just as Barrett turned to defend against the threat, Li Yuan's Seven Star Sword struck first, landing on Barrett's back! Even though Barrett had high-level Armament Haki and the defense of a Mythical Zoan Titan, in front of Li Yuan's Seven Star Sword, that defense felt as fragile as ordinary steel, easily sliced through!
Barrett instinctively lunged forward to avoid having his bones cut by the Seven Star Sword, but he still left a deep, gaping wound across his entire back.
If Li Yuan hadn't suppressed the blood-sucking power of the Seven Star Sword, Barrett would have lost a significant amount of blood.
"Whoosh!!!!"
In the moment Barrett dodged, Li Yuan slashed through the air, and a blood-red slash surged towards Barrett, spanning five hundred meters.
Although this slash was half the size of Li Yuan's previous thousand-meter slashes, Barrett felt that this one was even more threatening!
Barrett's feeling was completely accurate. This was Li Yuan realizing that even if he continued to enlarge his slash, it wouldn't enhance its power. So, he took the opposite approach and compressed it.
But this compression wasn't something one could do at will; it required precise control of sword intent. Even Li Yuan had spent a year condensing his strongest slash down to five hundred meters.
"So fast!!"
Feeling the fiery pain in his back, Barrett had no time to spare, as he sensed the intense threat behind him once more.
He had just turned around when he saw the five-hundred-meter-long massive slash rushing towards him, leaving him no chance to dodge or even throw a punch, forcing him to instinctively raise his hands to shield himself.
"Pfft!!!"
That extremely sharp slash, even with Barrett's full defense, still pushed him back hundreds of meters, leaving traces of broken bones on his arms.
"Get off me!"
After being pushed back over a thousand meters, the power of the slash weakened. Barrett roared and threw the slash upwards into the sky.
The overcast sky was instantly torn apart by this upward slash, allowing sunlight to shine down on the island.
"Barrett, your power is strong, but your speed is too slow!"
Just as Barrett escaped the slash, Li Yuan had somehow appeared behind him, his terrifying speed leaving Barrett unable to react! "Riiip!!!"
Barrett's back was once again slashed by Li Yuan. However, Barrett wanted to continue using his previous charging method to reduce his injuries, but Li Yuan had anticipated Barrett's thoughts and struck before he could charge, directly breaking through Barrett's defenses. However, when he reached Barrett's spine, Li Yuan hesitated and didn't directly cut through it.
"Wow, Captain is actually this strong? Barrett has already mastered the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, yet he's still being completely overpowered by Captain, who hasn't even used Conqueror's Haki!"
"What do you know? Captain's Armament Haki has reached the peak, and his swordsmanship is the best in the world. Plus, Captain's physique is inherently strong; even without using his full strength, he can dominate Barrett. Do you really think the world's strongest man can be easily caught up to by Barrett?"
"Exactly, I remember Captain had already mastered the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion back when he was in the Rocks Pirates, which means Barrett's strength now is roughly equivalent to Captain's strength before the establishment of the Infinite Pirates over a decade ago. Now, over ten years have passed, and Captain's strength has reached an unseen height!"
"By the way, with Barrett being beaten so badly by Captain, can he still become Vice Captain through this challenge?"
"Captain once said that to become the Vice Captain of the Infinite Pirates, one must endure for six hours under Captain's sword without dying; that would count as passing the test!"
"Barrett is tough; he should be able to last six hours!"
"."
All the cadre members present were watching this thrilling battle of torment. They initially thought that after Barrett mastered the technique of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, he would be able to keep up with Captain, but they didn't expect Barrett to still be so far behind. Watching Barrett continuously defend and persist, many of them began to lose confidence in his ability to become Vice Captain.
"Come again!!"
Although Barrett was constantly being beaten, he never lost his rationality nor let his fighting spirit weaken. In fact, being suppressed only made his fighting spirit soar even higher.
"Gravity Fist: Haki Infusion - Eightfold Might!!"
Barrett followed Li Yuan's advice, solidifying his power even more, or rather, he combined his physical techniques with gravity and Haki more perfectly, allowing his strength to be unleashed even better!
"Not bad, not bad!!"
Seeing Barrett's Eightfold Might showing signs of compression and nearing a transformation into Sevenfold Might, Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction and then ruthlessly struck Barrett's fist, sending him flying hundreds of meters away.
"Come on, come on!!!"
Barrett loved the feeling of constantly improving in battle.
Initially, it took him two years to master the Eightfold Might of the Eight Impact Fist, which ultimately proved the power of the Eightfold Might.
But now, according to Captain's guidance for his progress, this Eightfold Might needed to be compressed back to a single fold, achieving a complete fusion into one. What kind of power would that unleash? Just thinking about it made Barrett feel exhilarated! Although Li Yuan said he was holding back, he was merely not using lethal force; in other aspects, he wouldn't go easy on Barrett. After all, he was using Barrett as a training partner, or rather, while helping Barrett train, he was also training his own slashes.
Having a punching bag was certainly better than releasing slashes into the sea, or rather, having an opponent made it easier for Li Yuan to compress and strengthen his slashes.
Barrett, drenched in his own blood, fought like a blood-demon, growing stronger with each battle under the flow of his own blood.
Even after being wounded repeatedly by Li Yuan's Seven Star Sword, he endured the intense pain in his body and continued to throw punches at Li Yuan, embodying one word: fight to madness, fight to the death! As the battle continued, Barrett had forgotten the initial challenge to become Vice Captain, even forgetting his own pain. All that remained was the unwavering belief to keep punching and shatter Li Yuan's slashes.
Even if it was just once, even if he could shatter just once, he would be satisfied! Another five-hundred-meter slash was unleashed from Li Yuan's hand. If Barrett had been paying attention, he would have noticed that this slash was a few meters smaller than the previous one, yet it had become even stronger.
"Ah, shatter for me!!!"
"Gravity Fist: Haki Infusion - Eightfold Might!"
Barrett roared, and at that moment, he broke through, compressing his Eightfold Might into Sevenfold Might, but the Sevenfold Might was stronger than the previous Eightfold Might! "Bang!!!"
However, even though Barrett's Eight Impact Fist ability had broken through, facing Li Yuan's slash, all the power attached to his fist was still shattered, and his entire body was sent flying to the ground.
This time, Barrett did not get up as he had before; instead, he lay on the ground, unconscious.
"Lost too much blood and fainted!"
Li Yuan immediately recognized Barrett's condition. Even without using the blood-sucking ability of the Seven Star Sword, Barrett had too many deep sword wounds, causing even his Life Return to be unable to stop the loss of blood, leading to his current state of fainting from blood loss.
"Carry Barrett for treatment, and also, Barrett has endured for seven hours under my hand, meeting the requirements to be promoted to Vice Captain. From today on, Barrett is the Vice Captain of the Infinite Pirates!"
Li Yuan looked towards the cadre members and the medical staff who had been prepared in the distance.
"Great! Barrett really became Vice Captain!"
Hearing Li Yuan's words, Hermes and the other cadre members were delighted for Barrett. At the same time, they clearly understood that Barrett had set an example for them, and in the future, they too would strive to become Vice Captain like Barrett today! "Alright, Hermes, Chinjao, I haven't guided you in a long time. Come over here; I'll give you some pointers!"
Li Yuan smiled at the cadre members.
He had just f
ound the feeling of compressing his slashes, but unexpectedly, Barrett couldn't hold on any longer. Fortunately, there were still many Infinite Pirates cadre members present.