Barrett was, of course, very familiar with Garp.
During his years with the Roger Pirates, every time they encountered the fleet led by Garp, they would fight while retreating. Especially Garp's terrifying combat power, which could rival Roger's, left an extremely deep impression on him.
Although he was confident that given a few more years, his strength would definitely be able to match Garp's, and if another decade passed, not only Garp, but even if Roger were resurrected, he should be able to defeat them.
After all, whether it was Garp or Roger, they were both much older than him.
The problem was, at this stage, he knew that the other party was still stronger.
But so what?
Barrett's eyes sharpened, and the aura and fighting spirit around him burned like blue flames.
"Even if it's you, Garp, you'll have to pay a price to defeat me!" He sneered, flexing his thick neck.
"Hahaha, not bad in terms of momentum, it's just a pity you became a pirate. You, who once served as a general of a kingdom, a military man, how did you end up on that bastard Roger's ship?"
Garp looked at Barrett with a sense of regret for his talent, then continued:
"And you ate some lousy Devil Fruit, what good is that thing to you? That bastard Roger didn't even stop you!"
Hearing Garp repeatedly call Roger a bastard, Barrett grew even more furious.
After all, Roger was his former captain and the goal he chased in life.
How could he allow others to insult him like this?
"I don't regret joining Roger's ship!"
"If it weren't for this Fusion Fruit, I would have died long ago in that country where the war never ends!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a surge of deep blue aura erupted from Barrett's body, sweeping out in all directions with overwhelming force.
Garp remained calm, letting the aura wash over him. Except for the Justice cloak behind him flapping loudly, his figure stood as steady as Mount Tai.
"You've already mastered Conqueror's Haki at will, not bad, you're much stronger than the last time I saw you," Garp casually commented.
"But you've caused too much trouble this time, kid. I'm definitely taking you to Impel Down, so cherish this fight because, for the long years to come, you'll be stuck in a dark cell."
"Old man! Don't look down on me!"
Barrett's eyes were filled with murderous intent as he took the initiative to attack. His entire body was enveloped in a deep blue aura, charging forward like a violent comet, the ground beneath him shattering and sinking layer by layer.
"Die!"
The distance of over two hundred meters was almost covered in the blink of an eye. His two black fists, glowing with blue light, were stacked together above his head, like a battering ram, bringing a sonic boom as they smashed down from above towards Garp!
[Thud————]
A smaller black iron fist met the attack from below, and instantly, a deafening metallic collision sound rang out.
Transparent ripple-like shockwaves spread out in waves from the point where the fists met.
The ground within a hundred meters around Garp's feet completely cracked, and large swathes of buildings were blown away and collapsed in the fierce wind.
"How is this possible!"
Barrett's eyes seemed about to burst open as he realized that the combined force of his two fists couldn't even budge that 'tiny' black iron fist.
[Bang!]
In the next moment, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen as Garp's other iron fist smashed into him.
[Boom!]
With a terrifying burst of fist power exploding in his stomach, Barrett was sent flying back at an even faster speed than he had come, eventually crashing hard into the rocky hillside behind him, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
"Brat, if you want to beat my iron fist, you'll need another hundred years of training!" Garp laughed heartily.
At the same time, he thought to himself that the rumors of Barrett tying with Rayleigh were indeed unreliable, or perhaps Rayleigh had held back.
Because from the power Barrett had just displayed, he hadn't yet stepped into the threshold of the world's top-tier fighters.
Meanwhile, the rocks that had buried Barrett began to shake, and the shaking rapidly expanded, causing the ground to bulge.
In just over ten seconds, a rock giant, estimated to be over thirty meters tall, stood towering before Garp.
But that wasn't all!
A layer of blue-black substance quickly coated the rock giant from head to toe like liquid paint.
In an instant, the originally earth-yellow giant transformed into a metallic blue-black giant.
His sheer size was so immense that even the marines on the warships patrolling outside the island could see him clearly, causing quite a stir.
However, upon seeing Barrett's transformation, Garp merely dug his nose with a bored expression, scoffing, "It just looks impressive, but it's completely useless!"
On this planet, size means nothing to those who have mastered Haki.
Even a Sea King that's over a kilometer long and nearly a hundred meters tall can still be sliced in half by a Vice Admiral to fill the pantry, right?
But if a giant also masters the power of Haki, that's a different story. This is why Elbaf is known as the world's strongest nation. Among fighters of the same Haki level, giants indeed hold a significant advantage.
"Come on, Garp!"
"Let's make this a grand spectacle!"
The blue-black giant Barrett roared to the heavens, his massive arms swinging wildly, tearing through the air with sharp sonic booms, creating a barrage of fist shadows that rained down on Garp's location.
"Gatling—Heavy Cannon—"
[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]
A relentless barrage of heavy fists instantly engulfed Garp, leaving only the sight of the ground continuously sinking and shattering, with thick clouds of smoke rising into the sky, obscuring everything.
Barrett's eyes were filled with madness. At this moment, the image of Roger surfaced in his mind.
Why? Why did a man as unimaginably strong as you die so easily?
I told you, only the weak! Only the weak die so easily!
He still vividly remembered his duel with Roger.
What now? Who should I surpass? Who should I defeat to become the true strongest in the world? "Kid, focus during a fight!"
Just then, as Barrett continued to swing his massive fists, he suddenly heard a voice from behind him.
Garp's figure had appeared there at some unknown moment! Just as he was about to turn his head, a small black iron fist, tiny compared to his massive frame, struck his cheek with tremendous force. The sheer power of the punch twisted and stretched his neck, sending his enormous body crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Pain! Excruciating pain!
Barrett hadn't expected Garp's fist to inflict such intense pain. After all, his body was not only encased in a thick layer of rock but also covered in his proud Armament Haki.
Yet, this small fist seemed to carry a strange force, bypassing all his external defenses and drilling into his body like a nail.
"Kid, you must be lonely, huh."