Hulk stood at the center of the blood mist.
He still clutched half of a broken fang in his hand. He was covered in blood, looking more like a monster than the Sea King ever did!
But the battle was over. The adrenaline that had sustained his actions began to rapidly recede.
More importantly... oxygen. It was completely exhausted.
"Gurgle..."
Hulk opened his mouth, trying to breathe, but only cold, salty seawater rushed in.
A strong sense of suffocation flooded him like a tide. That feeling was a hundred times more painful than being kicked by Kizaru. Compared to physical attacks, this physiological limit was the beast's true nemesis.
"Sleepy... Hulk... wants to sleep..."
The eerie green light in his eyes began to dim rapidly. That violent aura also dissipated like a receding tide.
His originally massive body began to shrink at a rate visible to the naked eye. That indestructible green skin gradually faded, becoming fair. The bulging muscles slackened and smoothed out.
A few seconds later, the invincible green monster disappeared. In its place was a naked, thin middle-aged man wearing broken glasses.
Bruce Banner.
His eyes were tightly closed, and his face was as pale as paper. He had completely lost consciousness. Just like a floating corpse, he drifted quietly in the cold seabed.
Around him was the bloody slaughterhouse he had created with his own hands. Countless small carnivorous fish, drawn by the scent, were frantically devouring the Sea King's corpse.
But strangely, not a single fish dared to approach this seemingly weak human. Perhaps the monster's aura still lingered on him, or perhaps even these unintelligent fish instinctively felt fear.
Seawater provides buoyancy. Losing Hulk's incredible density and weight, Bruce Banner's body began to slowly float up with the current.
Through the pitch-black abyss. Through the dark mesopelagic zone. Bit by bit, he rose toward the distant surface...
On the surface, it was now calm. Except for the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke and the debris floating on the sea, one could hardly tell that an earth-shaking battle had just taken place.
In mid-air, Kizaru was using Geppo to patrol nonchalantly.
"Oh my, oh my..."
"He should be dead for sure, right?"
Kizaru looked down at the deep blue sea. Although he was confident in his kick, that green monster's vitality had left a deep psychological scar on him. Even after seeing the opponent fall into the sea with his own eyes, he still felt a bit uneasy.
"A monster like that... if he really drowned, it would be a real pity."
"But... if he were allowed to swim up alive, I would really have a headache."
Kizaru scratched his head, feeling a bit of a dilemma. Just then, a few bubbles suddenly popped up on the originally calm surface.
Kizaru's movements froze instantly. His pupils shrank sharply behind his sunglasses.
"No way..."
"How many minutes has it been? Even for a Fishman, there shouldn't be movement so soon after taking one of my kicks!"
Splash!
The water broke, and a pale object floated up, bobbing with the waves. It rolled over, revealing a thin face still wearing half a pair of broken glasses.
His eyes were tightly closed, with no sign of life. He looked like a poor shipwreck victim. It was Bruce Banner, who had deactivated his transformation!
Seeing this, Kizaru was stunned for a full three seconds. Then, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Whew... good, good..."
"Looks like he changed back. If another big green guy popped up, I would definitely throw my resignation letter in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face today."
The setting sun was as red as blood. The once-prosperous Calebari Island had turned into a belt of rubble floating on the sea. This was probably the most thorough "demolition" in the New World's history in a physical sense.
On a relatively intact giant rock slab, Borsalino sat on the ground without any decorum. And by his feet lay a naked middle-aged man with only a pair of ragged boxers left.
Bruce Banner.
At this moment, his face was pale, and his body was as thin as a plucked chicken. His signature glasses were lost somewhere. He looked like a frail scholar who couldn't even truss a bird.
No one could associate this unlucky fellow with the green monster that had just torn a Sea King apart and gone head-to-head with a Marine Admiral.
"So scary... do scientists nowadays usually play this hard?"
Kizaru extended his toe and gently nudged Banner's arm. It was soft. No reaction. If it were that green monster from earlier, this kick would have probably numbed Kizaru's foot.
But now, this was just an ordinary person—even a patient weaker than an ordinary person.
"Whew..."
After confirming the other party was truly unconscious, Kizaru breathed a long sigh of relief. He pulled out a golden Den Den Mushi from his robe. The snail looked frightened, shrinking into its shell and trembling.
"Puru puru puru... Puru puru puru..."
The ringtone echoed over the quiet sea, sounding particularly piercing. After a while, the call was finally connected.
"Click!"
The Den Den Mushi's eyes widened suddenly. Even from thousands of miles away, one could feel the overflowing aura of wisdom from the person on the other side.
"Moshi moshi~ Is that Borsalino?"
From the other end came a vibrant, even somewhat excited voice. That was the man standing at the peak of the world's technology: Vegapunk.
"It's me..." Kizaru's voice sounded weak, carrying a hint of deep resentment.
"Yo! You sound very tired?" Vegapunk's voice was full of curiosity. "How is it? Is the mission going smoothly? Did you pick up that Dr. Banner?"
Hearing these questions, Kizaru felt his temples throbbing. Smoothly? I almost lost my life here!
"Dr. Vegapunk..." Kizaru glanced at the unconscious Banner by his feet, his tone becoming strange.
"Are you sure this Bruce Banner you're looking for is really just a scientist studying physics? And not some Ancient Weapon in human skin?"
Vegapunk on the other end was obviously stunned for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh.
"Ahahaha! What nonsense are you talking about, Borsalino? Dr. Banner is, of course, a scientist! His achievements in the fields of gamma rays and biological mutation are even better than mine! He is a rare genius!"
Listening to Vegapunk's appreciative tone, Kizaru's expression darkened further. Genius? This is indeed a damn genius! He researched biological mutation on himself; how could he not be a genius?!
"Um..." Kizaru took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Doctor, there's something I feel I need to report to you."
"Just now, this genius scientist you mentioned transformed into a three-meter-tall green monster. Not only did he play with 'Drought' Jack like a yo-yo, but he also almost tore my old bones apart."
"The entire Calebari Island..." Kizaru paused and looked at the empty sea. "Is gone. In a physical sense, it's gone, just to subdue him."
The other end of the line fell into a brief silence, save for the static hiss of the snail. After about five or six seconds, Vegapunk's voice came again.
Only this time, there wasn't much surprise in his tone. Instead, it carried a hint of sudden realization and relief.
"Oh! You mean that! I remember now! I think I did see a related description in his paper before. Something about... that being a side effect of gamma ray radiation."
"Once his emotions get too agitated and his heart rate exceeds the critical value, the body cells undergo some kind of uncontrollable violent mutation, releasing a monster-like personality and power."
Speaking of this, Vegapunk even smacked his lips with excitement.
"Tsk tsk tsk... what a miraculous mutation! Can he rival an Admiral just by relying on physical strength? This is simply perfect material for a biological weapon! Borsalino! You must bring him back intact!"