As the attack closed in, a flash of pure ferocity appeared in Bullet's eyes.
As a seasoned fighter, he naturally had the resolve to fight to the death.
While reinforcing his heavy defenses, he attempted to counterattack.
However, he completely underestimated just how brutal Raleigh's strike would be.
A terrifying pressure descended from above, the intense air currents forcing Bullet's massive mechanical body to bend.
Even before the punch actually landed, sharp, cutting winds began slicing through his steel armor.
Boom!
Starting from the head of his giant mech, the metal forged by the Clank-Clank Fruit began to crumble into iron dust, scattering wildly into the wind.
The immense pressure pinned Bullet to the ground, rendering him completely immobile.
Faced with this overwhelming force, Bullet bit his lip, his eyes filling with ruthless determination.
He concentrated all of his Conqueror's Haki into his arms and raised them toward the sky, hoping to sacrifice both of his limbs just to survive the blow.
Bang!
But Bullet's thinking was far too naive.
Under Raleigh's precise control, the attack did not descend straight down.
Instead, the force curved right past Bullet's raised arms and slammed directly into his chest.
Boom!
A tremendous roar echoed across the entire island.
The giant mech Bullet had built was instantly shattered to pieces, and Bullet's real body was sent flying out from the wreckage.
His robust body crashed through building after building.
A series of thunderous crashes rang out, kicking up billows of thick dust that completely hid his figure.
Raleigh barely managed to remain standing. A devastating move like that had essentially drained every last drop of his physical stamina.
The fact that Raleigh could even stay on his feet instead of collapsing was proof that his physical endurance far surpassed anyone else his age.
Taking a deep breath, Raleigh stood perfectly still, slowly recovering his energy.
After quite some time, the dust finally settled, allowing Raleigh to see Bullet's pitiful state.
Bullet now lay a full hundred meters away, with the ruined shells of three buildings standing between them.
The shattered stone walls made it very clear just how massive the impact had been.
The once-arrogant Demon Heir was now reduced to a barely breathing man on the absolute verge of death.
He lay covered in blood amidst the rubble, his eyes filled with total confusion.
He had only ever experienced this level of destructive power from Roger.
In regular sparring sessions, whether against Rayleigh, Gaban, or any other top-tier fighters on the Oro Jackson, no one had ever beaten him this badly.
After getting some of his strength back, Raleigh slowly walked over to Bullet's side.
"I thought an attack like that would leave you either dead or unconscious. It seems your body is anything but ordinary." Raleigh expressed his genuine admiration, and it was not empty praise. Since developing this technique, he had rarely needed to use it in actual combat.
Against opponents of similar strength, it was a guaranteed instant knockout. Yet Bullet had actually remained awake after taking the hit head-on.
He was truly a commendable opponent.
"Cough... almost died there. If not for my years of brutal physical training, I probably would not have survived." Bullet twisted his heavy body to look up at Raleigh.
After spitting out a mouthful of blood and shattered organ fragments, Bullet twitched his lips.
"It seems the world's view of you as a pure swordmaster is completely mistaken. You have been playing dumb this whole time."
Raleigh waved his hand dismissively.
"What does that have to do with me? Everyone sees me carrying a sword, so they just assume I am a swordmaster. But no one ever actually asked if swordsmanship was my strongest skill. If they had asked, I would have told them my bare-handed martial arts are my true specialty."
"Oh, and actually, I have told many people in the Navy that my fist-fighting is better than my swordplay, but they just did not believe me! Nothing I can do about that."
Back in his military academy days and during his early years in the East Blue, Raleigh had indeed relied entirely on his iron fists and the Navy's Rokushiki techniques to make his name.
It was only after obtaining his Supreme Grade sword, Mikazuki Munechika, that he grew fond of the elegant lazy style of a swordsman.
Bullet closed his eyes in silence for a long moment before speaking again.
"You have won, Raleigh. Send me to Impel Down."
A flicker of confusion passed through Raleigh's eyes before sudden understanding dawned on him.
In today's era, when pirates with powerful Devil Fruits are captured, the World Government's primary choice is generally not execution.
Instead, they are locked away in the great underwater prison, Impel Down.
If the user is killed, the Devil Fruit they possessed will simply reincarnate into a random fruit somewhere else in the world.
This constant cycle was a major headache for the Marines.
For example, when Whitebeard died during the recent war, his Tremor-Tremor Fruit was not successfully recovered.
The Navy immediately launched a worldwide search for the fruit.
At the same time, major pirate crews, underworld mafia bosses, and various kingdoms were all desperately searching for it, too.
That was the power of the world's strongest man. Even if the next user could not unleash Whitebeard's full, mastered power, the fruit alone could easily push someone to the level of a Vice-Admiral.
Bullet assumed the only reason Raleigh had not killed him was because of this Devil Fruit reincarnation issue.
Raleigh sneered. "I will not be sending you to Impel Down. On the contrary, I am going to give you your freedom."
Bullet's eyes snapped open.
A flash of killing intent filled his gaze, and his voice dripped with suppressed rage.
"You want to recruit me?"
Anyone who survived this long on the Grand Line was either overwhelmingly powerful or highly intelligent.
Hearing that Raleigh neither planned to kill him nor lock him in Impel Down, the remaining possibilities were obvious.
No one would fight a meaningless, exhausting battle against a monster like Bullet without expecting some kind of benefit.
Raleigh snapped his fingers.
He pulled a cigar from his pocket and casually lit it. "You are a smart man, Bullet, so you naturally know the outcomes of your two choices. I will give you ten minutes to consider."
Bullet remained completely silent, and Raleigh just smoked his cigar without saying another word.
Time passed minute by minute.
Bullet's expression grew increasingly grim. Judging by his heavily heaving chest, his emotions were anything but calm.
"I want to know what you will have me do," Bullet finally said, his eyes fixed intensely on Raleigh.
His stubborn resolve had already begun to waver, but he needed Raleigh's confirmation.
He was no small-fry pirate.
If Raleigh planned to use him to hunt down trivial, low-bounty rookies in the Four Blues, Bullet would genuinely rather die here today.
After all, Raleigh was a true powerhouse.
Dying at the hands of someone stronger was no disgrace to a warrior.
What would be disgraceful was spending every day capturing weaklings worth a few thousand Berries.
Bullet was a man with immense pride.
If the assigned tasks did not meet his high standards, he would not hesitate to choose death.