"You're right! Where are we headed?"
A smile curled across Doflamingo's lips. He clenched his fist, then popped his middle finger out and pointed straight down.
"To Navarone Island!"
Naturally, something this fun had to be shared—with the Navy.
Bullet frowned. That gesture felt... off.
"How do we get there?"
"We're trying something new," Doflamingo said with a sly grin.
...
Not long after, Doflamingo watched the Log Pose needle come to a halt in the blinding white sky.
They had arrived.
"What's the holdup?" Bullet asked, standing just behind Doflamingo atop invisible threads.
Doflamingo turned his head and gave him a manic smile.
"Bullet, do you know what it feels like to jump from ten thousand meters in the air?"
This was Kaido's favorite game—today, he was going to play it too.
"Jump?" Bullet's eyes widened—then a wild grin spread across his face, mirroring Doflamingo's madness.
"Hell if I know!"
"But that sounds perfect! Let's see who lands better!"
With a roar, Bullet erupted with his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, like a mountain coming alive.
A deep blue sheen covered his body, turning his frame into living steel.
His bloodshot eyes radiated murderous intent and domineering will as they swept the sky.
Then—he leapt.
"Fufufufufu~ So impatient," Doflamingo laughed as he too transformed, donning the same steely hue—like a twisted blood brother to Bullet.
And followed him down.
...
Navarone Island.
It had another nickname.
G8 Fortress.
A military stronghold nestled in a mountainous basin, fortified by 188 massive cannons.
Within its waters docked fleets of warships, each manned by hundreds, even thousands of Marines.
On either side of G8, sluice gates could be raised to seal off the harbor.
Directly under the jurisdiction of Marine Headquarters, G8 was located in the first half of the Grand Line—between Water 7 and Mock Town.
Since the Navy's focus had shifted toward the Four Seas, G8 had taken on even greater responsibilities.
Beyond daily patrols and pirate clean-up missions in nearby waters, it now served as a hub for repairs, resupply, medical aid, and rest for incoming Navy personnel.
The warm, sunny weather had the patrolling sailors in such good spirits, some had even broken into song.
"Fortress of Iron, G8~ No pirate dares invade~!"
After all, this wasn't the war-torn chaos of the New World.
In the first half of the Grand Line, no pirate was bold—or crazy—enough to launch a direct attack on a Marine fortress.
But today...
A thunderous rumble-rumble-rumble tore through the sky.
Marines instinctively looked up, confused.
Then—they saw two blazing fireballs falling from the heavens.
"Meteorites?!"
"Find cover!"
"Brace for impact!!"
Panic replaced peace in an instant as the Marines scattered like ants, searching for anything to shield themselves.
BOOM!!!
A massive column of smoke shot into the air!
The island itself rocked as if caught in a violent storm, listing like a ferry about to capsize.
The waters around G8 boiled with chaos.
Hundred-meter-high waves surged like tsunamis, sweeping outward with annihilating force.
Warships docked in the inner harbor were tossed like toys, slamming against cliffs and one another until they were nothing but shattered wreckage.
Marines on deck screamed as they were flung into the air like ragdolls.
Before anyone could recover—
The second fireball crashed down.
Another earth-shaking explosion. The world turned upside down.
cough cough!
"What the hell is today? Why are meteorites falling out of the sky?"
"And two at once?!"
As the dust began to settle, the Marines cautiously approached the two smoking craters on the mountainside—each shaped like a human body.
A chill ran down their spines.
These weren't meteorites.
They were people.
Suddenly, a massive, dark-blue hand—several times the size of a normal head—rose from the pit.
The surrounding rock crumpled like clay around its fingers.
The Marines stared, horrified, as a mountain of muscle climbed out of the crater.
Blue-black skin, tumor-like bulging muscles—he looked like a demon from hell.
"The Demon's... Heir!!"
"Douglas Bullet!!!"
There was no doubt—this man was the infamous Demon's Heir from the New World.
Douglas Bullet. A man with a record of destroying nations.
The surviving Marines were frozen—then their minds jumped to something even more terrifying.
If one of them was Bullet... who was the other?
Still dizzy from the impact, Bullet threw his head back and bellowed with glee.
"Doflamingo! This time, I win!!"
The name alone turned the Marines' faces ghost-white.
The Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo was here too!!!
"Fufufufu~ Hmhmm~ Hahahahahaha!"
A bone-chilling laugh echoed through the crater as beams of white light burst from the ground, piercing the sky.
Under this light, the very earth began to turn white—writhing like it had come alive.
"Bullet, we're just getting started! Show me how strong your awakened power really is!!!"
"Hahahahaha! Then feast your eyes!!!"
Bullet flashed a perfect grin, all eighteen pristine teeth on full display.
Then, a torrent of violet light erupted from his body.
To the stunned Marines, it looked as if a second purple sun had appeared on the surface of the earth.
Everything within sight was swallowed by that glow.
Whoosh!
Everything touched by the violet aura—
Buildings, steel, ships, the ground, the cliffs—
—all had their very matter rewritten, surging like a purple tide.
All of it streamed toward Bullet, merging into him.
"This... This is environmental manipulation on a massive scale. Only a Devil Fruit awakening could do this," the G8 base commander muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
Then he barked to his subordinates:
"Contact HQ! Request immediate reinforcements!"
"Avoid the awakened zones! Retreat to open sea—those two aren't after us!"
Orders came fast. Surviving officers jumped to carry them out.
They weren't the target—but if they got caught in the crossfire, those two monsters wouldn't hesitate to crush them like insects.
The Navy and pirates were mortal enemies.
So the only option was to hide somewhere safe, avoid the battlefield, and wait for backup!
Right now, the open sea was the safest place to be.
And the first to learn about G8's grim situation wasn't Fleet Admiral Kong at HQ—
—but a Navy fleet led by Sengoku, returning from the South Blue via Alabasta.
"Choosing G8 as the battlefield... is Doflamingo declaring war on the Navy?!" Sakazuki's rage boiled over, smoke rising from the deck beneath his feet.
G8 was second only to Marineford in importance along the Grand Line.
No matter the outcome, the base would likely be reduced to rubble.
That would spell a major blow to the Navy's control over the first half of the Grand Line—and weaken their presence in the Four Seas.
Rebuilding G8 would take years.
Beside him, Borsalino and Sakazuki were fuming as well.
Their mentor's killer had resurfaced. Their emotions were on a hair-trigger.
"Calm down, Sakazuki. This isn't your battlefield," Sengoku said coldly.
His eyes gleamed with strategic calculation.
As the Navy's next Fleet Admiral, he had to see the bigger picture.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Kaido and Big Mom were locked down in the New World.
If they could trap Doflamingo at G8, the Navy would lose a powerful enemy—and gain the strength to push deeper into the New World.
If it meant losing G8, it would still be worth it.
"Move out!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg