A violent storm rippled across the battlefield, shockwaves spreading outward like jagged rings—one red, one purple—crashing and grinding against each other.
At their heart stood two silhouettes, wild and domineering, wrapped in black-red lightning—monstrous figures in a clash of gods and devils.
The sheer force of their clash radiated at a terrifying pace. Even the distant edges of the island began to crack. Trees split open, ruins crumbled, and deep fractures snaked across the land.
The air itself seemed to gain weight—a suffocating pressure that brought even the Marines' battleship to a halt mid-charge.
Onboard, several lower-ranking Marines collapsed without a sound, unable to withstand the oppressive aura. They passed out instantly.
The rest stared, eyes wide with disbelief, at what had become a literal hellscape on land. Cracks of black-red lightning arced through the sky above a battlefield drenched in chaos.
"That's a Conqueror's Haki clash!"
"Commodore Darren awakened Conqueror's Haki?!"
"This is insane!"
"…"
At the prow of the battleship, Sakazuki stood like an unmovable mountain, his cape billowing in the gale, eyes fixed on the storm ahead. A faint, nearly imperceptible flicker of light passed through his gaze.
"Kahahahaha!! That's what I'm talking about!!"
Douglas Bullet's bloodshot eyes gleamed with battle-lust. He laughed maniacally.
"Come on, Marine!! Let's go all out!!"
And with that roar, his demonic gaze flared even brighter. His aura surged once again—wild, untamed.
ROAR!!
With a howl like a beast from the underworld, Bullet's right arm—locked in deadlock with Darren—bulged grotesquely, muscles tightening like steel cords. A sharper, deadlier aura of Haki surged from it.
Darren's pupils narrowed.
"Try and stop me, Marine!!"
With a twisted grin, Bullet's monstrous arm exploded with kinetic force—white shockwaves blasting out as his raw strength burst forth.
Despite Darren's terrifying strength—rivaling the giants—he was sent flying.
BOOM!
The impact tore through the land. Armament Haki carved a trench across the battlefield, ripping apart soil, stone, and ruins in its wake.
Darren's body shot back like a cannonball, crashing through several ruined buildings before slamming into the ground and sending a massive shockwave of dust outward.
Smoke and dust rose in a storm.
Bullet's gaze burned brighter. He wasted no words. With a stomp that shattered the ground, his figure vanished from sight.
His speed was monstrous—inhuman. This was a man who once annihilated an entire national army. His body had been honed to the level of a living weapon.
A breath later, he appeared directly above Darren's impact crater.
Without pause, he swung his fist downward at the barely-visible silhouette in the dust.
He'd learned this truth early in life—from the battlefield itself:
On the battlefield, mercy is death.
Talking is stupidity.
If you want to kill—strike.
If you give your enemy a breath… you're digging your own grave.
"Kahahaha!! DIE, MARINE!!"
CRACK—
Suddenly, the earth split with a sharp, unnatural sound.
Bullet's expression shifted.
Through his Observation Haki, a flash of red—danger—lit up in his mind. He twisted to guard—
BOOM!!
The ground beneath him erupted. Hellish, molten red filled his vision.
Lava.
A jet of magma burst upward in a geyser of fire and fury.
From within the inferno, a figure lunged forth—like a beast born from the planet's core. A blazing fist, wreathed in molten death, slammed forward with unstoppable power.
In the next instant—
CLASH!!
Bullet's Haki-coated fist met the lava punch midair.
A dull, brutal shockwave rang out.
Purple Armament Haki clashed with blood-red magma. The energy swirled, compressed, and detonated outward. The ground beneath them cracked, boiled, melted.
The air itself twisted. The shockwave blasted in every direction, sending stones, metal, and debris hurtling.
The stalemate lasted for only a second.
Then, with a crack, both men grunted and recoiled.
Bullet's body was blasted back in a burst of magma. He stumbled as he hit the ground, legs smashing the earth with every step, leaving behind craters.
"Heh… Someone even stronger, huh…"
His fist seared with heat. The black glove on his hand was burned through.
Eyes narrowing, he licked his cracked lips, excited. Violent crimson gleamed in his pupils.
This lava—over a thousand degrees—had pierced even his hardened Haki. It had hurt.
"Finally," he grinned, cracking his knuckles, "a real fight."
Two silhouettes stood through the fading smoke.
Bullet smiled with savage delight.
"…What a mess," Darren muttered as the wind blew the dust aside.
He stepped from a crater that looked like it had been carved by a meteor. Blood dripped from his right arm.
Bullet's strength was no joke.
In terms of sheer physique, raw power, and close-quarters combat, he was on par with Darren—or even superior.
But what truly gave Bullet the edge was his mastery over Armament Haki. That pressure was real. Unmistakable.
Darren clenched his teeth.
"HQ's intel was wrong," he said. "Forget the Devil Fruit for now. Just in terms of pure close-combat capability—he already surpasses Byrnndi World."
From the swirling lava, a figure rose—towering and stoic.
Magma sizzled off his body like sweat. The white Marine cape still clung to his shoulders, even as smoke poured off his blackened form.
Sakazuki.
Darren wiped the blood from his lip and gave a crooked grin.
"No doubt."
He remembered it clearly—his battle against Byrnndi World. Even though he'd had the North Blue Fleet's artillery backing him, it was close. Too close.
But here, Bullet had the edge.
Born into war, forged in blood—Bullet's close-quarters power was beyond logic.
As terrifying as Byrnndi World's Moa Moa no mi was, it was that ability—not his base strength—that made him a legend.
But Bullet?
This was just him.
Pure. Relentless. Monster.
Still… Darren smirked. Despite being overpowered in Haki, he now had a clear sense of Bullet's true level.
At this moment—
Before he ever joined the Roger Pirates, still just a 15-year-old kid—
He wasn't yet on the same level as the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
The monstrous power spoken of in the future…
That probably came after years of clashing with Roger, getting beaten down, and growing stronger with every scar.
In that sense… maybe Roger had been a damn good teacher.
As for the current Bullet?
Maybe not a full Admiral yet…
But damn close.
Darren spat blood and smiled with savage anticipation.
"Let's fight."
---
To be continued...