A blazing fist, erupting like a volcanic cannon, burned with hellhound-like crimson. It filled Douglas Bullet's vision in an instant.
Sakazuki struck.
In that mont, Bullet's instincts scread. His pupils swelled with blood.
A surge of raw, brutal Armant Haki exploded from his body. The scorched and cracked fusion cannon on his arm crackled with blue electricity, billowing smoke.
He twisted—barely breaking free of the invisible magnetic field—and narrowly dodged to the side.
SHHHH—!!
The column of magma roared past him at an angle, grazing his left side. The sheer heat charred skin and muscle into blackened ash.
Bullet's face contorted in pain—but he didn't flinch. As if immune to agony, he swung his scorched fist back at Sakazuki's chest.
"I'm Douglas Bullet!! I'm going to be the strongest in the world!!"
BANG!!
The blow detonated on impact. Armant Haki surged outward, blasting Sakazuki off his feet like a snapped kite string. His bones cracked audibly as he tumbled through the dirt, rolling dozens of ters before slamming into the ground.
At the sa ti, Bullet staggered back. His legs shook, and his face paled.
The entire left side of his body—shoulder, arm, ribs, and abdon—was burned black by magma. Smoke poured from his wounds.
The molten heat had lted flesh to pulp. Blood oozed from beneath scorched tissue, mixing with magma that dripped onto the ground.
Sakazuki's all-out, unguarded strike had bypassed even Bullet's superhuman defenses.
The damage was devastating.
"You two..."
Bullet's blood-red eyes locked onto the rising forms of Darren and Sakazuki, both erging from smoke and ash like demons reborn.
"You're just a Rear Admiral and a Commodore...
How can you possibly have this kind of power?"
He was an orphan. Raised by the military. His entire life had been the battlefield.
And that battlefield had taught him how to read rank and threat. He knew the aning of a Marine insignia, understood the strength it usually represented.
But these two...
They were nothing like the Marines he'd known.
One with an ability unlike anything he'd seen—strange, elusive, relentless.
The other wielding a destructive force that defied logic.
They spoke barely a word, yet coordinated perfectly—finding openings in monts that would have overwheld lesser n.
But most terrifying of all—
Their style.
Brutal. Wild. Willing to trade injury for advantage.
They didn't fight like soldiers.
They fought like beasts.
Emotionless, unrelenting beasts.
The opposite of everything he'd learned about Marines—ta, asured, rule-bound.
With a grunt, Bullet deactivated his fusion ability. The battered tal cannon fell from his arm and slamd into the ground with a heavy THUD.
Then—
Gunfire rang out.
RATATATATA!!
At last, the Marine reinforcents had arrived—shouting orders, rifles raised. A hail of bullets rained down on Bullet from all sides.
But the rounds bounced off his Haki-coated body like pebbles against stone, scattering across the sand in sprays of dirt.
A weary voice drifted out of the smoke.
"Sha... I really thought we had him."
Darren stepped from a crater, arms soaked in blood. A long red gash ran from his jaw to his collarbone.
He lifted a trembling, bleeding hand—and fished a cigar from his coat.
It was damp with blood, but he bit it anyway. He lit it with shaking fingers, inhaling the sharp smoke.
His face—ashen and worn—seed to revive just slightly.
"His Haki's too strong," Darren muttered. "As long as it's dense enough, even a Devil Fruit's effects can be resisted."
Across the field, as the smoke parted, Sakazuki stood.
He braced himself with one hand. Blood trickled from his lips. His ribs had caved in—an unnatural dent warping his chest.
Without hesitation, he pressed a gloved hand to his side—and snapped.
CRACK!
The broken bones popped back into place.
Expressionless, he said:
"But from here on...
It won't be so easy."
Darren's earlier attack had caught Bullet off-guard, opening a small window.
But now that Bullet was alert, he'd keep Haki reinforced at all tis—shutting down Darren's abilities.
In the distance, Marines sealing the harbor stared wide-eyed.
That battle—the one that tore the town apart—was just the "easy" part!?
Darren grinned through bloodstained teeth. Despite his injuries, his presence surged stronger than ever.
"Of course I know that."
As he spoke, shards of twisted tal floated upward—forming three high-density tal spheres. Their polished surfaces reflected the fading sunlight as they orbited his body.
High-level battles were always wars of attrition.
Especially against a monster like Bullet—trained by war, hardened by blood. His body, strength, speed, technique... all refined to inhuman levels.
Darren admitted it:
In pure strength, Bullet was superior.
Sakazuki alone could match him.
Together, they could pressure him. But it wouldn't be a one-sided fight.
Sakazuki chuckled.
He stood, lava dripping at his feet, surrounded by flickering flas.
Though his internal injuries still throbbed, at least the bones were no longer a liability.
He wiped the blood from his mouth. His right arm smoked again, magma building beneath his skin.
Adjusting his Marine cap, he looked toward the blond-haired warrior who stood wounded yet still burning with fury.
A twisted grin tugged at his lips.
"Rank ans nothing."
And with that—
All three charged.
Smiles carved with cruelty. Bloodied, broken, burning.
Magma roared.
tal spiraled.
Blood sprayed into the sky.
The clash of Haki shook the heavens. Earth split beneath their feet.
From a distance—
The three figures looked like caged beasts.
Soaked in blood.
Driven by madness.
Unwilling to yield.
---
To be continued...
Reviews
All reviews (0)