The Fish-Man Island was floating in the clouds above Marineford.
"Heh, Captain, you've lifted Fish-Man Island into the sky. For the new pirates heading to the New World, their success rate has been reduced to hell," Bullet stood at the edge of Ryugu Kingdom, looking down with a smug expression.
For every pirate heading to the New World, Fish-Man Island was an important transit point. Now that Adrian had lifted it into the sky, it meant that after diving 10,000 meters to the bottom of the sea, the pirates would face the great danger of a food and water shortage. For small and medium-sized pirate crews, this was a devastating blow.
"Since those people plan to go to the New World, they should be prepared to die at any time," Adrian said, sitting on a soft sofa with a look of disapproval. "If they can't even overcome this difficulty, then what kind of pirate are they?" He didn't care how many pirates his actions would destroy. Even if all those scumbags died, what did it matter to him? It would just be one less plague in the world.
"But Captain, are you really not going to take me to this magnificent feast?" Bullet's expression suddenly changed to a pleading one. "Even if you just let me do the cleanup, it's fine. Letting me stay here and watch such an epic battle slip away right under my nose is crueler than killing me."
Bullet didn't actually care about whether Fish-Man Island was in the sky or the sea. He just wanted an excuse to get to the point. Although he couldn't see the war at Marineford with his naked eyes, with his advanced Observation Haki, he could sense everything. All he wanted was to get to Marineford and have a good fight. But on the way to Fish-Man Island, Adrian had solemnly warned him that this epic battle was his exclusive stage. Anyone who interfered would die! Bullet didn't dare to cross Adrian, so he had to try a different approach.
Adrian found Bullet's pleading expression funny and a little annoying. This battle-crazy hothead...
"If I were you, I wouldn't be focused on the war below," Adrian said, suddenly turning serious. "Instead, you should think about why, after 20 years of hard training in Impel Down, you still haven't broken through to the Admiral level."
"Huh?" Bullet was stunned, a little slow to react.
"Take your battle with World just now as an example. You were absolutely right not to use the Clank-Clank Fruit," Adrian began to explain carefully. "It's undeniable that you've developed the potential of the Clank-Clank Fruit to its ultimate limit. And with your 'Medium Bullet' and 'Great Bullet' forms, you've endowed it with extremely powerful strength and destructive power."
"But that's exactly the problem."
"What... what's wrong with that?" Bullet seemed to realize something and asked eagerly.
"Although your power is enhanced to the extreme when you get bigger, your huge body size also greatly reduces your flexibility, turning you into a natural target," Adrian continued, glancing at Bullet, whose face had instantly gone pale. "Perhaps when you're fighting people below the Admiral level, this won't be obvious. But if your enemy is on the same level, or an Emperor-level powerhouse, there's probably only one outcome waiting for you."
"In the final analysis... you have the same problem as the Golden Lion. You've both gone a bit off-track." Adrian didn't continue, quietly waiting for Bullet to figure out the reason.
A moment later, Bullet said with a complicated expression, "Captain, do you mean... I've neglected my other strengths and have been overly focused on the destructive power of my fusion, so I can't reach my full potential?"
Bullet's tone had changed to one of respect. This beast-like fighting maniac had truly accepted Adrian as his captain from the bottom of his heart. Even when he was on Roger's ship, no one had ever pointed out his flaws. They had simply needed his fighting power. For Bullet, who had longed for strength since he was a child, this meant everything.
"That's right," Adrian nodded in satisfaction. "Leaving the Clank-Clank Fruit aside, your strength, speed, stamina, Devil Form, and Conqueror Haki are all top-tier. But you put all those advantages aside and put all your focus on the Clank-Clank Fruit. How is that any different from the Golden Lion, who had the strength of a great swordsman and the strategic importance of the world's number one Float-Float Fruit, but spent 20 years researching an 'IQ' potion to destroy the East Blue? That was a dead-end move."
"Bullet, your entire combat skill tree is completely skewed. If you can't solve this fundamental problem, you'll never qualify for the Admiral rank in this life." After he finished speaking, Adrian got up and left. It was time for him to make his grand entrance at Marineford.
Bullet stood frozen in place for a long time before he reacted. He then saluted respectfully in the direction where Adrian had disappeared. This young man under 20 years old was someone he could follow to the death.
What Adrian had said wasn't without merit. In the movie, when Bullet faced the 11 Supernovas led by Luffy, he didn't even use his Devil Form. He completely dominated them with his physical skills and Conqueror Haki. One casual attack almost sent Luffy flying. And even when he faced Luffy's Gear 4, he resisted all the attacks with his body without using his Armament Haki. But who could have imagined that after his ultimate transformation, Bullet was abruptly beaten by Luffy? Although he had been assisted by Sabo, Smoker, Hancock, and Law, Adrian still felt it was ridiculous. It was a given that Luffy would win due to plot armor, but in that battle, the fatal flaws that Bullet exposed needed to be corrected. Adrian wanted to help him fix them ahead of time.