"Who is that?"
Vice Admiral Dominic stared in shock at the towering wooden giant that was holding its own against Barrett. He was stunned.
Saul replied, "He's that Rear Admiral under Vice Admiral Tsuru, the one who can control plants—Lions Jon."
"Oh, so it's him. No wonder."
Jon was fairly well-known in Marine Headquarters. His unique powers made him easily recognizable. Even if someone hadn't met him, just witnessing his abilities made it easy to identify him.
"But… how did he make such a massive wooden giant?"
Vice Admiral Dominic had already experienced firsthand the destructive power of Barrett's current form, and the fact that Jon's wooden giant could go toe-to-toe with it—even hold its own—was utterly shocking.
"I don't know how," Saul said, "but I think he can handle this guy."
Saul's eyes were locked on the battle between the two titans. Normally, people looked up at him—but now he was the one craning his neck to watch two even larger monsters clash. A rare sight, indeed.
"So it's you, Jon—last time we didn't get to fight. This time, I'll kill you outright!"
Barrett let out a maniacal laugh. The moment he saw the wooden giant, he knew it was Jon.
"My name's not 'Josie.' I'm Lions Jon!" the wooden giant bellowed, his voice booming like thunder.
"I don't care what your name is!" Barrett shouted back. "If you want me to remember it, show me what you've got!"
"Then let me show you!"
Jon roared, swinging his massive wooden fist and slamming it into the head of Barrett's armored form, staggering him. But Barrett countered, smashing a punch into the wooden giant's stomach.
Boom boom boom—!
The two colossal beings clashed violently, and the shockwaves were so loud that the marines stationed at the shore could hear them.
"Looks like that kid Jon's made his move," Garp noted when he heard the commotion. He figured out what was happening.
Truth be told, Garp wasn't entirely sure how strong Jon really was, or whether he could take Barrett down. So he had prepared a backup plan—ordering Sakazuki and the others to be ready to step in.
Peering through the smoke, Garp saw the two titanic figures in combat.
"This level of power… and he's just a Rear Admiral?"
Saul and Dominic had already withdrawn a few kilometers. The destructive power of those two giants was far too dangerous. Staying close would mean getting caught in the crossfire.
What left Dominic confused was—Jon's strength clearly surpassed his own, yet the man was still just a Rear Admiral?
Saul explained, "He made some mistakes in the past that held up his promotion. Otherwise, he'd definitely be more than a Rear Admiral by now."
"Oh yeah, was it that incident at G52?"
That was quite the scandal a few years back. Dominic vaguely remembered it, and now, with Saul's reminder, it came back to him.
"Yeah, that's the one," Saul nodded.
Dominic clutched his chest—he was still feeling the pain from Barrett's earlier blows.
"No wonder he's still only a Rear Admiral. But with power like that, it's only a matter of time before he catches up to Sakazuki or Borsalino."
He hadn't seen those two fight at full power, but if Jon could hold his own against Barrett—who had overwhelmed both him and Saul—then he was clearly no less capable than the other rising stars.
Crack!
Suddenly, Barrett's armored fist shattered a large chunk of the wooden giant's ribs. Shards of wood flew in all directions.
In order to construct such a massive wooden body, Jon hadn't used the densest wood—like iron birch—because his current ability didn't allow for such hard material at this scale.
The type of wood he used was much weaker in density than iron birch, and though the size was impressive, the durability lagged behind. In a head-to-head clash, the wood just couldn't hold up for long.
Seeing his strike land, Barrett laughed maniacally. He felt he'd found Jon's weakness—big as the wooden giant was, it was no match for his armored warrior form.
Barrett's attacks grew more ferocious. The wooden giant began taking severe damage—splintered and battered, it was now on the defensive.
"Saul, this isn't looking good. Jon's not going to last—should we step in?" Dominic asked, concerned as he watched the giant being overwhelmed.
But Saul remained calm. "Hold on. If he came to help us, it means Vice Admiral Garp gave the order. Let's wait and see."
Despite the pressure, Jon wasn't panicking. He was well aware of his wooden giant's weakness. It could deal with most opponents, but not someone like Barrett in this form.
If he could create a giant of pure iron birch, he might be able to overpower Barrett.
Unfortunately, iron birch was far too dense to construct at this scale. The reason he opted for size over durability was because he had another plan.
After another series of violent exchanges, the wooden giant's left arm was completely severed by Barrett—a huge wooden hand dozens of meters long fell from the sky.
Barrett, seeing that he had seriously damaged Jon, was overjoyed and prepared to strike again—but then something incredible happened.
The severed arm suddenly began to move mid-air, transforming rapidly—it looked almost alive.
ROAR!
A beastly howl echoed—the broken arm had turned into a wooden dragon!
With a swift leap, the wooden dragon coiled itself tightly around Barrett's armored form, binding him completely.
Caught off guard, Barrett had no time to react and was quickly restrained by the dragon.
Jon wouldn't waste this chance. The battered wooden giant raised its remaining right arm and smashed down onto Barrett's armor. With his body restrained, Barrett couldn't dodge.
Boom!
The wooden giant stomped on him with its massive foot, pinning him down. Then Jon began pummeling Barrett's head with punch after punch.
Just moments ago, Barrett had been the unstoppable force—now he couldn't even roll over. He'd become a punching bag.
"What the hell?!"
Barrett wasn't the type to just sit and take hits—but he truly couldn't fight back.
Why?
Because he was bound by the wooden dragon.
If it were just the binding, he could break free with brute force. But something was wrong—since being caught, his body felt paralyzed, like his strength was being drained. That's why he couldn't resist—and why Jon was able to overwhelm him.
Logically, Barrett's real body was hidden within the armor, and until the armor was destroyed, he shouldn't be vulnerable.
But this wasn't just any restraint—and he felt the fatigue creeping in.
Barrett was confused, uncertain of what was happening.
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