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For a moment, the entire island seemed drowned in a black-red haze, the pressure of Conqueror's Haki so heavy that even space itself felt locked in place.
The two men in the clearing faced each other, their eyes meeting—sparks practically lighting the air between them.
Especially Bullet. His eyes looked like those of a demon—scarlet, twisted, furious—his aura pushed to the absolute limit.He had never accepted that last defeat. Short as it was, the impact of it had burrowed deeply into his heart.
"Rrrgh!"
His low roar cracked like thunder. Douglas Bullet stomped off the ground, and his figure vanished instantly.
At that same instant, Kyle's body flicked forward as well, disappearing from sight.
Their speed was unreal. Their mastery of physical combat had already stepped into the inhuman.
Whoosh!
A thousandth of a second later, they were face-to-face again.
Rage blazed in Bullet's eyes as he swung his fist in a vicious arc.
Kyle grinned wide. His right fist clenched with a faint crackle, black-red lightning sparking to life along his knuckles.
The next heartbeat, their fists collided.
Bang!
The dull shockwave rippled outward, a ring of force howling across the island, laced with fine threads of lightning.
Bullet's expression changed instantly. His Armament-coated right arm let out a sharp crack—and snapped. He couldn't withstand the crushing force battering through him.
Conqueror's infusion.
He roared internally. This was the same overwhelming power he once felt from Roger himself.
A second wave of power surged in, even more violent, black-red lightning crackling as it raced along his arm, threatening to swallow his whole body.
Bullet's muscles spasmed; pure instinct forced him to retreat.
Boom!
He slammed into the ground hard enough to collapse the earth beneath him.
Crocodile took a slow drag from his cigar and stared at Bullet's ruined arm.Just one exchange—Bullet's right hand dangled uselessly. Completely destroyed.
It was obvious: Kyle's strength was overwhelming.
"Hahahaha!"
"Bullet, I'll give you this—you reacted faster than last time!"
Kyle laughed loudly.
His figure stepped hard against the air, shifting position, appearing right above Bullet. His right hand clenched again, arm bending back as he gathered force for another punch.
Bullet's face twitched. He knew exactly what that fist was capable of.
His eyes flashed red as he predicted Kyle's next move.
Observation Haki.
And right on cue, a savage gust slammed down from above. Even the air pressure twisted. Black-red lightning rained toward him.
Kyle's punch dropped like a bolt of lightning.
Vnnnn!
The roar across the sky echoed like thunder, an explosion of force sweeping across several kilometers.
Bullet bolted backward, barely dodging. Ahead of him, the ground, trees, and brush shattered inch by inch, collapsing into chaos—like a broken mirror cracking outward in all directions.
Too fast. Everything was too fast.
And the destructive power behind each strike was monstrous.
That guy…!
Bullet's heart pounded.Facing him head-on, he could feel the crushing presence pressing down on him with each breath, like mountains grinding him into dust.
Those wild, brutal fists. That lightning-quick speed. That relentless storm-like rhythm.
And this was only the second exchange—yet the best he could do was run.
"Hahahaha!"
Another laugh boomed from above.
A suffocating pressure crashed down on him.
Bullet looked up. The sky overhead had turned black-red, lightning crawling through it. A fist was already dropping toward him like a falling star.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He had already retreated nearly two kilometers in seconds—but Kyle was even faster.
"Fistbone: Meteor!"
Kyle shouted.
Black-red lightning blasted from his fist as the force crashed downward, aiming straight for Bullet.
BOOM!
The punch hadn't even reached the ground—still dozens of meters above—but the impact erupted instantly, sending dirt and debris flying upward like a lake struck by a falling boulder. Shockwaves rolled outward in ripples.
Bullet's body twisted grotesquely as he was slammed into the earth, embedded deep without a moment of resistance.
His consciousness vanished in an instant.
Before fainting, this iron-willed man—who lived only to become the strongest—felt nothing but raw shock… and a terror like witnessing a natural disaster descend from the sky.
That black-red lightning-clad fist…It was like facing Roger all over again.
Unstoppable. Overwhelming. Absolute.
Defeated. Completely, undeniably defeated.
And for the first time, Bullet's stubborn heart yielded. Against that kind of strength, even he felt a fear he couldn't deny.
Three punches.
This time, it took only three.
Kyle landed on the shattered ground, white cloak fluttering behind him, and looked down.
"Take him, Croc. He's tough—he won't die."
Crocodile walked over, exhaled a ring of smoke, and lifted the blood-soaked, broken-boned Bullet with a swirl of sand.
He glanced around.
The two craters spanning several kilometers looked like meteor impacts.The broken trees at the edge of the forest only added to the surreal devastation.
Three punches had completely reshaped the island's ecosystem.
"So this is the power of a world-class monster…"
He muttered, taking another drag of his cigar.
He remembered his younger self, dreaming of challenging Whitebeard—Edward Newgate.
That man… did he wield power like this too?
Back on the warship, the crew stared at the blood-covered Bullet in disbelief.
"Sir… didn't you say we were recruiting a new soldier?"
"Is he dead?"
"With that many broken bones, he might as well be."
"Douglas Bullet, the legendary monster… ends up like this against the commander?"
"Commander Kyle… how strong are you, exactly?"
The officers murmured among themselves.
Kyle waved them off. "He should be salvageable."
"His body's ridiculous. Patch him up and he'll be useful."
He paused, then grinned.
"I bet this time he'll finally behave."
A little while later, after examining Bullet, the medics couldn't stop exclaiming.
"His physique is insane!"
"He's built like a monster. Must've survived thousands of battles."
"He really might make it."
Three days later, Bullet opened his eyes.
And the moment he did, the demon-like man locked his gaze straight onto the Marine rear admiral standing with his back to him.
"..."
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