"What? The Patriarch sold Shakky out?"
"Weren't they comrades back in the day?"
"Their comrade was Gloriosa, Shakky was merely running a bar here!"
"Holy shit, so it was that bastard Wang Zhi who kidnapped Shakky? He's the reason I haven't been able to see her all these years!?"
"Hey, you bastard! Show some damn respect for the Patriarch!"
"Respect my ass!"
"Brothers, kill that son of a bitch Wang Zhi and avenge Shakky!"
Valthior had no intention whatsoever of involving himself directly in the battle. All he had done was freeze over Hachinosu, sealing the island shut so Wang Zhi would have nowhere to escape.
At this moment, he stood atop a towering pillar of ice, watching the utter chaos spreading across Hachinosu with a speechless expression.
"In the end, I still underestimated Shakky's influence…" Valthior clicked his tongue and muttered.
Pirate Patriarch Wang Zhi possessed astonishing authority and prestige within his cult-like organization. The World Government's intelligence agencies had long concluded that the structure and cohesion of his faction far surpassed those of ordinary pirate crews. Wang Zhi had thoroughly brainwashed his followers with cult doctrine, wielding a level of control over them no different from that of a true fanatical cult leader.
And yet, the instant these zealots learned that their revered Patriarch had once kidnapped Shakky and caused the famous bar on Hachinosu to shut down, the entire organization fractured on the spot.
A huge portion of the members immediately rebelled, cursing Wang Zhi and his entire lineage while slaughtering their former comrades without hesitation.
With a sharp hum, Wang Zhi's figure flashed out from the ruins in an instant. He teleported directly beneath the highest layer of ice covering the sky, raised his blade high, and unleashed a vicious slash against the transparent frozen dome sealing Hachinosu away.
Clearly, he had already realized just how disastrous the situation had become. He had no intention of clashing head-on with the Roger Pirates whatsoever and had decisively chosen to flee instead.
As the user of the Paramecia-type Warp-Warp Fruit, Wang Zhi was confident that once he escaped Hachinosu, no one would be able to catch him.
But the powerful slash, infused with Haki, slammed into the crystal-clear ice and failed to leave even a scratch.
"How is that possible!?" Wang Zhi cried out in shock.
While he was on the weaker end among the world's top-tier fighters, relying mostly on his teleportation to gain the upper hand, he still couldn't believe a single swing of his blade couldn't even crack ordinary ice.
The truth was, it wasn't ordinary ice at all.
The reason Valthior had refrained from joining the fight was, on one hand, because Shakky's matter had little to do with him personally. The starring role in this revenge drama was better left to Rayleigh, while Roger, Gaban, and the others stepping in to lend their old companion a hand was only natural.
On the other hand—and this was the true reason—he needed to prevent Wang Zhi from escaping.
So although he appeared to be standing there doing nothing, in reality he was pouring all of his power into maintaining the crystal ice barrier surrounding Hachinosu.
The hardness of this frozen layer had likely already reached a level comparable to the Ice Continent that had sealed away Chinjao's life fortune.
Chinjao had needed that drill-like pointed head combined with Conqueror's Haki just to crack it open, and Wang Zhi thought he could slice through Valthior's ice with a couple casual swings?
Then what would have been the point of awakening his Devil Fruit ability in the first place!?
A streak of blue flames swept beneath the crystal ice dome as Bullet's figure rapidly closed in on Wang Zhi. Just before reaching him, he shifted from his bird form back into his human body, and at the same instant, Haki erupted from his arms as Armament Haki flowed violently across them. Despite his young age, Bullet clearly possessed astonishing talent in Haki, already having mastered the advanced technique known as Ryuo.
"Double Army Cannon!!!" Bullet drove both fists forward like a pair of heavy artillery shells.
Irritation flashed across Wang Zhi's face. He swung his blade in reverse and slashed directly against Bullet's fists while cursing, "Who the hell are you supposed to be? You think you're worthy of—"
"LONG LIVE THE GALZBURG ARMY!!!" Bullet shouted the old battle cry out of pure habit. Then, instead of resisting, he let Wang Zhi's blade plunge straight into his chest.
Immediately afterward, Bullet's massive, muscular body lunged forward and locked Wang Zhi in a crushing embrace.
"You!?" Wang Zhi had obviously never expected such a development. This lunatic had charged in without a word just to die with him!?
But before he could make sense of the situation, the smell of burning gunpowder suddenly hit his nose.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted in the sky as the tightly entangled figures of Bullet and Wang Zhi detonated together. Thick black smoke instantly swallowed everyone's vision. Moments later, Wang Zhi burst out from the smoke in miserable condition, one arm completely blown off as he landed heavily atop a distant building.
"Where the hell did you find a suicidal maniac like that to ambush me!?" Wang Zhi roared furiously, clutching the bloody stump of his severed arm.
"A suicidal maniac? Bwahahahaha!" Roger burst into loud laughter. "Idiot, that's our ship's doctor!"
Blazing blue flames ignited within the smoke cloud. Not long after, the immortal phoenix, Douglas Bullet, flapped his wings and emerged completely unharmed from the thick haze before landing beside Valthior in an exceptionally cool fashion.
"How'd it feel?" Valthior asked with a grin.
Wang Zhi's actual combat strength was nothing remarkable. The only reason he could stand among the ranks of top-tier monsters was because his Devil Fruit ability was absurdly overpowered.
An opponent like this was perfect for letting Bullet acclimate himself to battles between true powerhouses while also testing out his own combat philosophy.
Bullet had been born in the Country of Endless War, Galzburg—a nation where war never ceased and children entered battle from the moment they were born. As one of the highest-casualty youth soldiers in the Galzburg military, he had witnessed countless methods of warfare, and as a result, his own fighting style naturally leaned toward savage battlefield brutality: fearless sacrifice, reckless courage, and absolute ferocity.
Now that he possessed the Phoenix Fruit, many of the combat ideas he once could only imagine had suddenly become practical reality.
Just like moments ago, where he had combined the tactics of Galzburg's suicide youth soldiers with the high-explosive bombs specially prepared by his little brother Buggy.
And damn, the results were incredible.
As expected of explosives from the bomb-making family that World Destroyer Byrnndi World had always dreamed of obtaining.
One blast had directly torn off Wang Zhi's arm.
And it just so happened to be the very arm holding the sword that had pierced Bullet's chest—meaning Wang Zhi had now lost his weapon as well.
"It felt amazing!" Bullet said excitedly. "Back during those endless wars, there were times I honestly thought dying wouldn't be so bad. More than once, I imagined becoming like those suicide youth soldiers myself, shouting the name of my homeland as I perished together with the enemy… and today, I finally got to experience it."
Because Bullet had been taken away midway through his life by Valthior, he had never actually gone through betrayal by his nation or backstabbing from his superiors.
Years of indoctrination in Galzburg might not have turned him into an unquestioning fanatic, but he still carried some genuine patriotism in his heart.
"Hahahaha! I told you Buggy was a perfect match for you, didn't I?" Valthior laughed loudly.
Hearing this, Bullet nodded seriously. "You were right, Young Master. I was too biased before."
Emotionally speaking, Bullet treated both Shanks and Buggy equally as a dependable older brother figure. But when it came to judging strength and talent, he had always favored Shanks more.
Even though the brat was usually unserious, full of tricks and mischief, there was no denying that Shanks possessed extraordinary potential. Everyone on the ship believed he would achieve great things someday.
Buggy, meanwhile, was actually quite outstanding compared to ordinary people, but unfortunately for him, his closest companion was Shanks. As a result, he was inevitably overshadowed by Shanks's brilliance.
Because of this, Bullet had unconsciously devoted more attention and effort toward Shanks, whom he believed had greater promise.
But now he realized he had been wrong.
Everyone possessed different talents, and so long as they were placed in the right role, those talents could produce astonishing results.
Could Shanks's current strength help him in a battle like this? No. The kid wasn't even qualified to participate yet.
But Buggy?
Buggy was even weaker than Shanks, yet he had managed to develop a high-explosive bomb no larger than a pocket watch, but terrifyingly powerful. Combined with Bullet's immortal body, it had allowed them to deliver a devastating blow to Wang Zhi in one move.
If that wasn't Buggy's shining moment, then what was?
"Exactly. Buggy's an exceptionally talented little guy. I think very highly of him. In the future, the two of you will probably make the perfect combination," Valthior said with satisfaction.
All Buggy needed to do was keep researching compact, easily concealed explosives, then strap Bullet from head to toe with bombs before sending him charging in to self-destruct.
How terrifying would that be?
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