Ōtsutsuki Zero-shiki stood atop the Ten-Tails' head, lost in thought. Without warning, he commanded the Ten-Tails to lash out a tail at Chiga, attempting a surprise attack—an art he had clearly mastered.
But Chiga had anticipated this. His Susanoo raised its sword in a flash, deflecting the incoming strike. In the sa motion, Chiga extended his hand, unleashing a powerful Shinra Tensei.
The Ten-Tails, towering several thousand ters high, was blasted backward like a balloon caught in a storm. However, Zero-shiki was just as adept with repulsive force. With a pulse of energy, he countered Chiga's technique, neutralizing the blast and stabilizing the Ten-Tails.
Chiga didn't let up. Susanoo's sword sliced downward, unleashing a massive energy beam. Had Im been controlling the Ten-Tails, he would've had no choice but to tank the hit and wait for the beast to recover.
But Zero-shiki wasn't so crude. With a smirk, he waved a hand, and a transparent barrier shimred into existence before the Ten-Tails, blocking the strike entirely.
anwhile, chaos erupted in Loguetown.
Two rival criminal factions clashed in a back alley. One side was led by a cocky man with a grassy green rooster-comb hairstyle. Facing him was a burly, bald brute with a face like rugged stone, veins bulging with anger.
"Bartholow! You've gotten too full of yourself! Do you need to teach you a lesson!?" the bald man bellowed.
Bartholow casually scratched his ear, utterly unbothered. Then, to the shock of everyone, he turned, unzipped his pants, and started peeing right there in front of them.
This blatant act of disrespect drove the bald man into a rage. He turned to his crew and shouted, "Shoot that bastard dead!"
The subordinates didn't hesitate. Annoyed with Bartholow for so ti, they drew their weapons and opened fire without remorse.
Yet Bartholow's n didn't panic. They'd seen this before. Their boss casually raised his arms, crossed his middle and index fingers, and assud a bizarre pose. A transparent barrier snapped into place, blocking every bullet with ease.
Bartholow was a Barrier-Barrier Fruit user—Paracia class. His barriers were absolute. So far, no one had broken through.
But the bald thug didn't back down. Gripping a dagger, he charged directly at Bartholow.
Bartholow looked at him like he was watching a clown. With a flick of his fingers, he pushed the barrier forward—his custom offensive maneuver.
As the barrier advanced, it looked as if the bald man would be flattened. But just before impact, the barrier vanished—dissolving into thin air.
Bartholow's smirk dropped instantly.
"Nani!?" he exclaid, eyes wide in disbelief.
The bald man didn't question his luck. Seizing the mont, he rushed in and drove the dagger forward.
"Boss! Watch out!" one of Bartholow's subordinates yelled.
Snapping back to reality, Bartholow twisted aside at the last second, avoiding a fatal blow but still receiving a deep stab to the waist. He groaned, then kicked the bald man away with brute strength, sending him sprawling.
The bald man's crew froze in place, stunned.
Though Bartholow loved to flaunt his Devil Fruit powers, he wasn't weak in close combat either. But today, he'd been caught off guard.
He tried the pose again. Nothing happened.
His power was… gone?
This had never happened since he ate the fruit. Shaken, Bartholow waved his hand to his n.
"Retreat."
They didn't argue. The group fled the scene, leaving the rival gang dumbfounded.
As they made their way back, Bartholow kept striking the sa pose repeatedly, refusing to give up. One of his subordinates couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Boss… is sothing wrong with your body?"
Bartholow glared at him. "Shut up. Nothing's wrong."
"Maybe you didn't get enough sleep?"
Bartholow slowly turned to face him with a deadpan stare. The subordinate took a few steps back, regretting his words.
Without responding, Bartholow reached into his coat and pulled out a crumpled photo. It was a picture of Uchiha Chiga in full Admiral uniform, taken at his promotion ceremony.
Bartholow looked at it with a mix of longing and reverence. Suddenly, tears stread down his face.
(Wtf...)
"Chiga Senpai! Please, tell what's happening to !!!"
He dropped to his knees and cried out, eyes to the heavens, striking the pose one more ti.
"Boss! Your ability is back!" soone shouted.
Bartholow opened his eyes—and there it was. The familiar transparent barrier shimred before him.
With a thump, he collapsed to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.
"Chiga Senpai!!!"
Back on the Red Line…
The sword beam dissolved against the transparent barrier. Chiga frowned.
"Is that the Barrier-Barrier Fruit's power?"
Ōtsutsuki Zero-shiki chuckled. "Indeed. When you control the Ten-Tails, you gain access to the power of every Devil Fruit. So abilities are more useful than I expected."
Chiga narrowed his eyes.
"Then try this."
Susanoo sheathed its sword and bent its arm, assuming a charging stance. A white glow radiated from its clenched fist.
Zero-shiki crossed his arms. "That's Whitebeard's ability, isn't it? Using it through Susanoo? Not bad at all."
He remained confident. The barrier still stood before the Ten-Tails, and he was certain of its strength. It was a conceptual defense—capable of blocking anything tangible.
But Chiga's expression shifted slightly, and his Rinnegan pulsed with purple light. A glowing doorway opened in the center of the barrier.
Zero-shiki's face froze.
"Nani!? That's…"
BOOM!
Susanoo's fist slamd into the air, fracturing it like brittle glass. Erald-green cracks spread for miles as a monstrous shockwave erupted from the impact.
The shockwave passed cleanly through the newly ford doorway, bypassing the barrier entirely. It struck the Ten-Tails—and Zero-shiki standing on its head—head-on.
Reality warped under the pressure, space itself shattering into a thousand fragnts.
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