Thud!
The sound of several figures collapsing echoed as a tall man in a military uniform emerged from the thick smoke.
His eyes were filled with pure contempt.
For a small kingdom on the Grand Line, his power was unmatched.
No one could oppose him.
Right now, aside from the civilians who had already fled, only a dozen or so guards remained.
They stood together, desperately protecting a young boy.
"You devil! The Marines will never let you get away with this!" the boy shouted, his eyes burning with intense hatred.
To this day, they still did not know what crime they had committed to be hunted down like this, or why their once-prosperous kingdom was now in ruins.
Hearing the boy's words, Douglas Bullet raised an eyebrow and revealed a cruel, twisted smile.
"Sorry, but I need to recruit some companions on this island," Bullet said. "As for the Marines you mentioned... pfft—hahaha! Let them come find me!!!"
'Hmm?'
Bullet suddenly sensed a hint of danger and swiftly turned his head to the side.
Bang!
An invisible attack grazed his cheek and struck the stone wall beside him.
The smooth, deep hole it left behind proved the attack carried an incredible level of force.
Bullet turned to look behind him.
Far off in the distance, near the harbor, an immensely powerful presence was rapidly approaching.
He subtly tensed every muscle in his body, ready to counter a surprise attack at a moment's notice.
To his surprise, the presence seemed completely unafraid of him striking first.
The figure boldly stepped out and revealed himself.
"Tsk, tsk. Douglas Bullet, you are truly worthy of being called the 'Demon Heir.' You have nearly wiped out everyone on this island."
Raleigh narrowed his eyes.
This was his first time standing this close to Bullet.
Standing over five meters tall, the pirate's muscular body seemed ready to burst, while the thick scars covering his skin proved he had survived countless brutal battles.
Whether someone knew Bullet's name or not, his appearance alone made it clear that he possessed monstrous strength.
"Marine Vice-Admiral... Raleigh?" Bullet's face showed a wary expression. "What an honor to be personally pursued by you."
Bullet was not foolish, he knew Raleigh's capabilities very well.
Having sailed on Roger's ship, he had experienced two massive battles against the Marines.
However, during those previous fights, Bullet had always been matched against Garp's adjutant, Bogard.
He had never truly crossed blades with Raleigh.
But judging from the outcome of Rayleigh's recent fight with the young Marine, Raleigh was undoubtedly a terrifying opponent.
"Douglas Bullet, by the authority of Navy Headquarters, I officially announce your arrest." Raleigh pulled a wanted poster from his coat and casually threw it to the ground.
Bullet's expression remained completely unchanged, seemingly unmoved by the threat.
"Will you come quietly, or shall we fight?" Raleigh flexed his arms and legs, fully ready to launch an attack at any second.
A terrifying, twisted smile appeared on Bullet's face.
"Since you are here, how could we not fight? If I lose, my life is at your mercy."
Boom!
The exact moment Bullet finished speaking, Raleigh had already appeared right in front of him.
The Marine launched a powerful high kick aimed directly at Bullet's chest.
Bullet instinctively crossed his massive arms in front of himself, blocking the heavy strike.
Their figures separated as soon as they made contact.
When Raleigh saw that his kick was blocked, he chose to leap backward to create some distance.
At the same time, Bullet charged forward, his fist thickly coated in Armament Haki as he smashed it toward Raleigh's head.
Their fists violently collided in mid-air, causing the surrounding wind to instantly turn chaotic.
Massive shockwaves of air burst from the point of their collision, kicking up layer after layer of thick dust.
"Aren't you a swordmaster? Why aren't you using your sword?" Bullet asked, pushing with even more strength as he tried to overpower Raleigh.
In their two brief clashes, both men had only used bare-handed Armament Haki.
Feeling Bullet's terrifying physical strength, Raleigh just grinned.
"Against you, using my swordsmanship or not makes no difference."
Douglas Bullet was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user who had eaten the Clank-Clank Fruit.
This ability allowed him to break down and reshape surrounding objects, combining them and attaching them to his own body.
Simply put, Bullet could assemble surrounding scrap and weapons into giant, unstoppable mechs.
Before Raleigh had obtained the Storm Fruit, Bullet's ability was exactly the kind of power Raleigh had dreamed of possessing.
But now, with the Storm Fruit, Raleigh experienced joys that Paramecia-types simply could not provide—such as using the wind to instantly teleport anywhere he wanted.
"How arrogant!"
Bullet, being a hot-blooded young man in his early twenties, naturally flew into a rage when he heard Raleigh's confident words.
"Even if your strength surpasses mine, and even if you are capable of defeating Gaban, abandoning your signature swordsmanship means you are looking down on me way too much!"
Raleigh and Bullet moved so fast that they became completely invisible to the naked eye.
The terrified onlookers could only vaguely glimpse several dark shadows zipping around the ruins.
The two monsters continued trading heavy blows in mid-air, their punches generating violent wind currents everywhere they went.
After over ten minutes of bone-jarring collisions, the two fighters finally came to a temporary stop.
Raleigh wiped a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth.
His expression was cold, and his calm eyes remained unchanged.
Bullet, standing opposite him, was in much worse condition.
Several deep fist marks were visible across his body, though the injuries did not seem to slow his movements at all.
On the contrary, taking damage only made the excitement in Bullet's eyes burn even brighter.
"You bastard, I never expected your physical strength to surpass even Rayleigh's!"
Bullet was one of the few Devil Fruit users in the Roger Pirates, and he was also one of their rare hand-to-hand brawlers.
Both Roger and Rayleigh were Great Swordmasters, Gaban wielded dual axes, and the other crewmates all had their own specific weapons.
Because of this, Bullet had always stood out as a bit of an outcast within the Roger Pirates.
It was why he cared very little for the lives of the others, just as they paid very little attention to him.
Compared to the careful tactics needed when facing swordmasters, Bullet much preferred fighting opponents who relied on pure, brutal physical combat skills.
This Marine Vice-Admiral had truly given him a massive surprise.
Bullet had originally assumed that someone who was both a Logia Devil Fruit user and a swordmaster would naturally be weaker in a fistfight.
But now, he realized this guy's greatest weapon was actually his physical body!
Raleigh's bodily toughness was almost as high as a warrior from the Giant race.
If Bullet had not spent years strictly training his own body, he might have suffered a terrible defeat already.
Bullet felt his blood boiling with absolute thrill.
"The warm-up is over, Marine!"
"Just what I was thinking, Pirate!"
Black Armament Haki rapidly covered Bullet's entire massive body, while dark red Conqueror's Haki coiled tightly around his fist.
He was ready to strike Raleigh with everything he had.
Raleigh made a different choice.
Using the exact same Armament Haki, he concentrated all of his power only on his forearms and fists.
By doing this, he massively enhanced the density and hardness of his localized Haki.
Their eyes met in the air for a split second.
Boom!