Defeating an old soldier who had already lost an arm—what was there to be so happy about? Let alone feeling fulfilled.
Bullet shifted his gaze to his former comrades—Rayleigh, Gaban, and Sol.
Meeting Bullet's battle-hungry stare, Rayleigh let out a quiet sigh, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
As the person who understood Bullet's ways better than anyone besides Roger, Rayleigh knew that this utterly meaningless battle was unavoidable.
However—
The fact that Bullet could suppress a combat monster like Garp in a head-on clash was shocking.
Even if Garp had lost an arm because of Maude…
The outcome was still unexpected.
Gaban and Sol shared the same surprise.
As core members of the Roger Pirates, they had clashed with Garp countless times over their years of sailing.
No one knew better than they did just how formidable Garp was.
Yet, Garp had been completely overpowered by Bullet.
"Old relics of a bygone era, huh… That stings to hear, but I can't deny it."
Gaban slowly put away his pipe and pulled out a well-worn battle axe from behind him.
They were long past their prime, while the man before them—the one their crewmates had once called a monster—was at his peak.
"Even that idiot Garp got beaten down. My gun… probably won't make a difference."
Sol's expression darkened. He tucked away his pipe and reached into his waistband, fishing out a battered old pistol.
Seeing Sol pull a gun from his waistband, Gaban's face twisted in exasperation. Amid the tense atmosphere, he couldn't help but retort, "Seriously? Keeping your gun there? That's disgusting."
"You don't get it."
Sol calmly loaded a bullet into the chamber. "Down there is the place I protect the most. So… keeping my gun in the safest place—what's the problem?"
"..."
Gaban's mouth twitched, at a loss for words.
Bullet watched as his former comrades prepared for battle. Satisfied, he nodded and motioned them forward with a cold gesture. "Don't waste time. Come at me together."
Rayleigh slowly unsheathed the ordinary longsword at his waist, fixing his gaze on Bullet.
"Chasing nothing but strength and battle… Even after all those years in Impel Down, Bullet, you haven't changed at all. But to live like this—"
"Save the preaching for another time, Rayleigh."
Bullet cut him off, habitually tilting his chin upward in his signature, condescending stance.
"Come on. Let me see for myself… if you still have any fight left in you."
"..."
Rayleigh fell silent, gripping his sword as he launched his attack.
At the same time, Gaban moved.
The two, having assessed the battlefield, unleashed a long-overdue coordinated assault.
Rayleigh from the left. Gaban from the right.
"Hmph."
Bullet grinned, baring his teeth as he coldly eyed the oncoming duo.
Against these two former senior crewmates, his blood finally began to boil.
"I couldn't surpass Roger while he was alive…"
"And if I can't surpass Roger, I'll never prove that I'm the strongest. But if I can take you two down here, then this battle won't be meaningless…"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, the ferocious attacks came from both sides.
One—Rayleigh's sword. The other—Gaban's axe.
"Haha! Running into you two here… what luck!"
Bullet's blood surged as he spread his arms wide, raising his Haki-clad elbows to meet their strikes head-on.
Clang!!!
The sword and axe struck his elbows simultaneously.
A deafening metallic clash resounded across the entire Sabaody Archipelago. Sparks erupted from the impact, and streaks of black-and-red lightning crackled wildly.
Rayleigh and Gaban's attacks failed to break through Bullet's defense.
"Not just Whitebeard… Even you two… You've been worn down by time."
Blocking the combined strike of the Pirate King's two former right-hand men with his elbows alone, a complex expression flickered across Bullet's rugged face.
Weakened. They had truly weakened!!!
That was the immediate conclusion Bullet drew after taking their attack head-on.
Bang!
Just then, a gunshot rang out.
Sol had fired.
The Haki-infused bullet shot straight for Bullet's face.
Yet, Bullet merely tilted his head slightly, adjusting the angle, and caught the bullet between his teeth.
"!!!"
Sol's pupils shrank dramatically.
Even with all his years of experience—his battle-hardened, unshakable composure—his confidence cracked in that instant.
Catching a bullet with his teeth.
Such a feat could shatter any sniper's will.
Crunch.
Bullet bit down, shattering the bullet, and in the next instant, his Haki surged, spreading across his entire body.
Coating one's entire body in Haki during a battle between powerhouses was normally unwise.
But Bullet's Armament Haki was anything but ordinary.
Even someone like Pica, with his Stone-Stone Fruit, who could amass countless tons of rock to form a giant, couldn't match Bullet's ability to clad his entire body in Haki.
It was an unfathomable level of strength.
"Don't fall too soon now…"
Bathed in a blue-tinged Haki, Bullet charged at Rayleigh and the others with unstoppable momentum.
The sheer force of their clash sent terrifying shockwaves rippling across the Sabaody Archipelago.
Even the aftermath of their battle claimed countless lives of those unable to escape in time.
Sabaody had become a disaster zone.
An hour later…
The brutal battle finally reached its conclusion.
Of the seventy-nine mangrove islands that made up the Sabaody Archipelago, fewer than thirty remained standing.
The death toll from collateral damage was incalculable.
The loss of property—immeasurable.
In this clash against the successor to the Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet—
The left and right hands of the Pirate King, Rayleigh and Gaban; the Roger Pirates' sniper, Sol; and the Navy's legendary hero, Garp—
All lay defeated.
By comparison, the multiple wounds on Bullet's body seemed trivial.
"I will keep moving forward, step by step, until I become the strongest."
Bullet looked down coldly at the fallen remnants of the old era, still barely clinging to life. He casually tore off his tattered shirt and turned away, striding off without hesitation.
Strength exists only for one purpose—to claim victory.
If he couldn't surpass Roger, then he would crush every powerful figure on the seas.
As long as he could do that, he would become the world's undisputed strongest.
With this simple, unshakable resolve, Bullet departed Sabaody Archipelago, setting sail for the New World.
The tides of chaos that surged with the clash of old and new eras—
Had never once ceased.
Over an hour later.
Naval reinforcements finally arrived at Sabaody Archipelago.
Every Marine who stepped ashore was utterly stunned by the devastation before them.
"What… happened here?!"
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