The town trembled. The earth groaned beneath them.
Three figures, like maddened beasts, clashed wildly in the ruins—wherever they passed, the ground collapsed, magma burst forth, and shockwaves tore through the air.
The earth itself howled under the strain, metal spheres screeching through the sky, followed by towering waves of dust.
Hundreds of Marines had withdrawn to the harbor, trembling as they clung to their rifles, sweat soaking their palms as they guarded the warships against the surging tremors.
One minute...
Five minutes...
Ten...
Thirty...
An hour passed...
From stunned horror to numb silence, they watched as the three men fought like monsters trapped in a cage—none dared so much as breathe too loud.
This level of combat was beyond them.
Charging in now would do nothing but hinder Commodore Daren and Rear Admiral Sakazuki... and throw away their own lives.
"This is insane!"
"They're like three damn monsters!"
"It feels like the whole town's about to be ripped apart!"
...
Then—
Boom!!
A towering pillar of lava erupted into the sky.
"Kahahahaha! Now that's what I call a fight! Marines!!"
Douglas Bullet burst from the smoke like a rampaging beast, body torn with cuts and drenched in blood. His long golden hair was matted and soaked with gore, his entire appearance disheveled and brutal.
But his eyes—burned red with unrelenting fighting spirit.
"This ends now!!"
Sakazuki's cap was long gone, revealing his rigid, cropped hair. His face was smeared with blood, twisted into a savage grin.
"Chasing after the title of the strongest...? You're nothing but a deserter who betrayed your own army!"
Boiling magma exploded from his arm as he let loose a roaring punch.
Boom!!
Bullet's fist, cloaked in dark, purple-black Haki, slammed into his erupting magma strike!
A surge of explosive force erupted from between them, rippling outward like tidal waves across the land. The dust rose in rings, pushed by the raw pressure.
The ground beneath them finally gave way, unable to bear the force of their blows. Dozens of massive fissures split open in a crisscross pattern, dark and bottomless.
Dark red magma gushed from the cracks. Sakazuki dove straight into it, his figure emerging from the molten depths like a demon forged in fire—unleashing an apocalyptic force as if wielding nature's wrath itself.
"Inugami Guren!!"
Bullet roared with laughter, stepping forward without hesitation. Every ounce of Armament Haki in his body surged into his fist.
Wherever it passed, the air exploded into rings of white shockwaves.
BOOM!!
A thunderous roar shattered the air. A crushing blast radiated outward, tearing up chunks of the earth and hurling building debris through the air.
The wind howled in chaos.
Both Douglas Bullet and Sakazuki spat blood at the same time, their faces instantly drained of color as they stumbled backward.
"Daren!!"
Just then, a cruel grin tugged at the corner of Sakazuki's mouth as he roared out.
Bullet's pupils shrank.
Clink!
In the chaos of the battlefield, the crisp sound of a coin being tossed rang out—piercingly sharp.
"Go to hell, pirate."
Sakazuki sneered down at Bullet.
The next moment—
His body suddenly erupted with a hole of magma—he had voluntarily turned into magma to let something pass through.
Active elementization.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Through the gaping hole in Sakazuki's body, Bullet's blurred vision locked onto a distant figure. His heart pounded violently.
He saw the coin, flipping in midair.
That silver coin reflected the flames, the magma, the blood, the ruins, and the thick smoke... and the blue lightning crackling between the bloodied fingers of Commodore Daren.
No way...
A chilling sense of danger flooded Bullet's senses. Cold sweat broke out across his back.
From the Marines' point of view in the distance, Bullet, Sakazuki, and Daren were perfectly aligned in a straight line.
And Rear Admiral Sakazuki—stood directly between Commodore Daren and Douglas Bullet.
The coin left Daren's hand.
The wind howled, lifting his blood-soaked black hair.
Click!
The silver coin was instantly cloaked in dense black Haki…
And then it shot forward like a bullet!
"Magnetic Overload: Railgun!"
After a month of intense training, Daren had drastically improved both his Haki and Devil Fruit abilities. Now, he poured every last ounce of his strength into this single strike!
Boom!!
The coin, wrapped in unimaginable kinetic force, accelerated within the near-boiling magnetic field and shot forth at a mind-bending speed.
It tore through the air. through the flames, through the smoke, through shattered ruins, through Sakazuki's body...
It pierced every obstacle in its path and, in less than a millisecond, transformed into a blazing orange-red beam, hurtling straight toward Bullet!
That speed—there's no time...
Bullet's eyes widened in fury. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he gritted his teeth and roared, slamming a punch forward.
"Don't underestimate me, Marines!!"
Already on the verge of collapse, his body riddled with injuries, he pushed everything aside and activated his Gasha Gasha no Mi once more. Scraps of steel and stone surged up from the ground like living creatures, wrapping around his right arm and forming a massive-caliber impact cannon.
The last remnants of his strength were converted into Armament Haki, coating the weapon in black.
Hiss!!
Scalding steam blasted from the cannon's vents like an overloaded steam rocket, driving his fist forward with violent force.
"I will become... the strongest in the world!!"
The next instant—
Boom!!
The sound of the impact lasted only a moment.
A blinding white light engulfed Bullet's twisted face.
His nearly depleted Haki armor shattered.
The impact cannon forged by the Gasha Gasha no Mi shattered.
His enormous clenched fist shattered.
The flesh and bone of his forearm disintegrated...
BOOM!!
A torrent of flames erupted skyward, almost piercing the clouds.
The ground trembled violently.
Daren dropped to one knee with a thud, face pale as death, gasping desperately for air.
He felt completely drained—as if every fiber of strength had been wrung from his body. Even lifting a finger was impossible.
His eyes remained locked on the heart of the inferno.
Sakazuki didn't fare much better. His breath was ragged, and fresh blood streamed from his nose and mouth, his organs ravaged by the battle.
All the Marines stood frozen, stunned by what they'd just witnessed.
"Did it work...?"
"Maybe..."
"There's no way anyone could survive that..."
...
Soon, the sweltering winds scattered the smoke, and a figure slowly emerged.
Bullet was back in view, kneeling amid the destruction, his body covered in wounds. Blood pooled at his feet.
His left hand gripped his right shoulder tightly—because his entire right arm... was gone.
Blood streamed through his fingers in an unending flow.
The world fell silent.
Only the sound of ragged breathing and the crackling fire remained.
"I... lost..."
Bullet rasped.
He slowly raised his head to look at Sakazuki and Daren, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
"Kahahahahaha!!!"
"What an exhilarating fight!!!"
His crazed, unrestrained laughter echoed across the sky like the howl of a blood-soaked demon.
"Before we finish this... tell me your names, Marines!!"
Sakazuki stepped forward, blood dripping from the torn leg of his uniform with every step as he approached Bullet.
Thick black smoke coiled once more around his arm. Molten magma bubbled, seething with lethal heat.
"You're not worthy of our names... scum pirate," Sakazuki said coldly.
He raised his fist and loomed over the kneeling Bullet. The magma raged with killing intent, surging at its peak.
Then—suddenly—
"Wororororo! What a blood-drenched battle this turned out to be!"
A deep, thunderous laugh echoed from the distant sky.
The moment the voice rang out, dark clouds as black as ink rolled in across the once-clear sky.
Winds surged. The clouds churned. Lightning crackled nonstop across the heavens, each bolt roaring louder than the last.
It was as if night had fallen in an instant.
The sky-splitting thunderbolts lit up the pale, terrified faces of the watching Marines.
Sakazuki and Daren's pupils shrank into pinpricks. A chill ran down their spines.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
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