...
The surrounding Supernovas were also gradually recovering from the chaos of the crash. Kid clutched his forehead, roaring irritably: "What the hell happened?! Who destroyed the island?!"
Hawkins, Drake, and the others looked around in shock and suspicion.
As the smoke cleared further and the tall man's figure—who had suddenly appeared in front of Usopp—became clearly visible to everyone,
the entire crash site instantly fell into an eerie, deathly silence!
Even the usually arrogant and fearless Kid, upon seeing the man, had his pupils contract sharply, his face showing an unprecedented seriousness.
Luffy, who had just crawled out of the water soaking wet, and Zoro, who had remained vigilant, almost simultaneously felt the terrifying oppressive aura emanating from that man!
Both instantly entered combat mode, muscles tensing!
The viewers in God Valley, seeing this suddenly appearing unknown powerhouse, were equally bewildered.
From his attire and demeanor, he was clearly a pirate.
But whether it was the Roger Pirates, the Rocks Pirates, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, or the others, none of them seemed to have any impression of this face.
The Roger Pirates members exchanged glances in confusion.
"This guy... who is he?"
Scopper Gaban scratched his head, utterly puzzled: "From the way he's dressed, he doesn't look like the Marines or World Government...
A pirate? Some powerhouse from the New World? Never heard of this guy."
Rayleigh also furrowed his brows, carefully studying Bullet in the light curtain, slowly shaking his head: "No impression. At least... at our point in time, I don't know him."
Roger himself stared at Bullet's face, a deeply strange feeling surging in his heart.
Both unfamiliar, yet with an extremely faint, almost imperceptible... sense of familiarity?
As if he had felt a similar aura somewhere before, but it completely failed to match.
"Usopp!!"
Under everyone's gaze, a tall figure appeared before the crowd. In his hand, Usopp was being held by the head like a toy, while the treasure chest was held in the man's other hand!
Hearing Luffy's shout, the tall man—Douglas Bullet—didn't even glance at Luffy's cry.
He simply extended his frighteningly thick right hand, effortlessly pinching Usopp's head like an eagle snatching a chick, lifting his entire body off the ground!
"This sea... is a battlefield."
Bullet's voice was low, hoarse, carrying a metallic scraping quality, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Die..."
His five fingers tightened slightly—he truly intended to crush Usopp's skull with his bare hands!
"Let him go!!!"
Luffy's eyes nearly split with rage. Gear Second steam exploded outward, his skin instantly turning red! Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he charged at Bullet with reckless, furious momentum!
Seeing Luffy's move, a flash of disdain passed through Bullet's eyes.
With a casual flick, he hurled Usopp toward Luffy like throwing away trash!
Luffy hurriedly halted his charge, reaching out to catch the flying Usopp.
However, in that split second when his attention was drawn to Usopp—
"Swish!"
Bullet's figure vanished like teleportation. The next instant, he was already in front of Luffy! The speed was beyond imagination!
No flashy techniques—just a simple, straightforward punch that seemed to condense the force of a thousand tons, smashing brutally into Luffy's face!
"Bang!!!"
Luffy didn't even see the move coming. He only felt an irresistible colossal force, his chest exploding with sharp pain.
His whole body flew backward like a broken kite, faster than when he had charged in, smashing through several falling ship wreckage pieces before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Luffy!!"
Zoro, seeing Luffy get blasted away, drew his swords and prepared to fight!
The other Supernovas were also stunned by this terrifying punch, their gazes toward Bullet filled with horror. This sudden newcomer was outrageously strong!
"The one who hurt Trafalgar... that was you, right!"
Luffy endured the excruciating pain, glaring fixedly at Bullet, his eyes blazing with unyielding fury.
On the other side, Buggy's group—who had been secretly observing from behind the ruins—were also dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events.
Buggy snapped out of it, first wailing in heartache: "My treasure! My Pirate King treasure!!"
But when his gaze truly landed on Bullet's face, his whole body froze as if struck by lightning. His eyes bulged almost out of their sockets, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit his own fist!
"Ba... Buggy? What's wrong? Do you know that guy?"
Alvida noticed Buggy's abnormality and quickly asked.
Buggy trembled all over, pointing at the distant Bullet, shrieking in a tone as if he had seen a ghost: "That... that guy is..."
"He's the same as me—he used to be a crew member of the Roger Pirates!!!"
"Douglas Bullet! The... the guy who once fought evenly with Vice Captain Rayleigh and Mr. Gaban, known as one of the 'strongest monsters' on the ship!!!"
Buggy's shriek exploded like thunder across the crash site—and above God Valley!
A crew member... of the Roger Pirates?!
A monster... who once stood on equal footing with "Dark King" Rayleigh and "Mountain Eater" Gaban?!
This time, not only the pirates and Marines, but even the Five Elders—who had always watched coldly from above—turned their sharp gazes in unison toward the Roger Pirates members, whose faces were equally stunned and bewildered!
Rocks' brows shot up, revealing an intrigued expression.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom, Kaido... these powerhouses of the old era all wore faces full of surprise and scrutiny.
The future Roger Pirates actually had such a hidden, terrifying "monster"-level crew member?!
Gaban and Rayleigh exchanged a glance, both seeing deep confusion and gravity in each other's eyes.
They could be one hundred percent certain: the current Roger Pirates absolutely did not have anyone named Douglas Bullet!
Roger himself looked utterly shocked. He racked his brain but simply couldn't recall anything about Bullet.
"Maybe..."
Shakky, holding little Shamrock, softly voiced her speculation: "He might be someone who joins the Roger Pirates... in the future?
After all, none of us know him right now, and he's not here on the scene."
This guess caused varied expressions among the Roger Pirates members.
A future crew member? Could that be it?
The truth seemed to leave only Shakky's earlier guess—was this truly a partner who would join in the future?
Or was it... a far more complex "variable" born from some twist of fate?
Above in the light curtain, Bullet held the treasure chest, standing proudly amid the crowd, suppressing the entire scene with his sole presence.
"Hey, you dared lay a hand on my crewmate—you must be prepared for the consequences!"
Luffy glared at Bullet with furrowed brows. Seeing Usopp so badly injured, Luffy was practically exploding with rage!
"Crewmate? You mean this weakling who couldn't even protect the treasure? Who cares about a stray dog on the roadside?"
Bullet looked at Usopp with contemptuous tone. He seemed to have a very different view of "the weak" and "crewmates"!
"You said... what?"
Luffy's fists clenched tightly, knuckles cracking audibly.
He stared fixedly at Usopp collapsed on the ground—the other had already lost consciousness, half his face soaked in a pool of blood, his usually exaggeratedly waving arms now hanging limply at his sides.
The string of "reason" in Luffy's mind snapped with a crack.
Luffy jerked his head up, eyes beneath the straw hat blazing with crimson flames: "You don't get to judge him!"
"Oh?"
Bullet tilted his head, his gaze like looking at an angry child. "Letting emotions rule you—that's your weakness.
On the battlefield, the weak are burdens, obstacles that need to be removed. Your so-called protection is just self-satisfaction."
"Look—even the thing you risked your life to protect, you couldn't keep safe. If that's not trash, what is?"
Bullet waved the treasure chest in his hand like showing off. The surrounding pirates held their breath.
Some who had planned to fish in troubled waters quietly retreated a few steps—Bullet's killing intent was far too thick...
It was the aura of someone who had truly crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"I hear your generation is called the 'Worst Generation'?"
Bullet scanned around, his gaze sweeping over familiar and unfamiliar faces alike.
Kid's vicious grin, Urouge wiping cold sweat in embarrassment, Drake gripping his halberd warily...
A near-cruel curve tugged at Bullet's lips.
"Let me see if you deserve that title."
The next second, an invisible storm erupted centered on Bullet!
It was Conqueror's Haki in its purest, most extreme form.
Unlike Luffy's crimson, blazing heat that burned like life itself!
This was cold, heavy—like the pressure of ten thousand meters of deep sea.
The air instantly solidified, time seeming to pause.
"Uwaah!"
The dozens of pirates closest didn't even have time to react before their eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth as they collapsed. Their weapons slipped from their hands, clattering onto the rocks.
Those farther away turned deathly pale, legs trembling like sieves.
Some barely managed to draw their blades, but the swords shook violently. Others tried to raise guns, only to find their fingers refused to obey.
"It's... it's like a demon from hell has descended..."
Urouge's monk robe back was already soaked through.
He could feel his heart pounding wildly—not from excitement, but the most primal fear a creature feels facing an apex predator.
A cold sweat slid down Drake's temple.
As a former Marine, he had seen plenty of powerhouses—the Admirals' majesty, the Emperors' oppression.
But this kind of Conqueror's Haki released purely for "screening" and "crushing" was a first.
"Interesting... way too interesting!" Kid, on the contrary, grew exhilarated, mouth splitting to his ears, gears on his metal arm spinning wildly: "This is what I want! The weak should be weeded out! This is how a pirate should be!"
Hawkins expressionlessly drew a tarot card—the "Death" card.
He looked at it, then calmly put it away.
Apoo's instrument had already fallen to the ground; he himself clutched his ears tightly, as if the Haki were tangible sound assaulting his eardrums.
The Conqueror's impact continued.
When the pressure had already cleared more than half of the originally crowded battlefield.
Those still standing were less than a third of before. The fallen lay scattered like wheat reaped by a scythe.
Bullet looked at the scene with satisfaction.
"Screening complete." His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached every ear: "The rest... barely qualify to be my punching bags."
Bullet had released his Haki precisely to sweep away the small-fry pirates—leaving only those with some real strength!
"What a joke!"
The first to speak was Luffy.
No hesitation, no tactics.
Rage had overwhelmed everything, and almost simultaneously, an equally astonishing aura erupted from Luffy!
It was a completely different crimson Conqueror's Haki—blazing hot, like burning flames or an erupting volcano.
It lacked Bullet's deliberate oppressive intent, but carried pure, life-burning anger and will.
The two Conqueror's Haki collided in midair!
"Boom!"
No sound, yet it was as if ten thousand giant bells rang at once.
Visible distortions warped the space, air rippling like water.
The two invisible forces tore, crushed, and devoured each other, exploding with blinding electric light at their boundary!
The still-standing pirates' faces changed drastically.
"Damn... Conqueror's clash!"
"Back off! Get back!"
The experienced ones frantically retreated; slower ones instinctively raised weapons to block, though they knew it was pointless.
Lightning arced through the air, rubble and dust swirled upward, forming a massive vortex.
At the vortex's center, Bullet and Luffy stared at each other across twenty meters.
Bullet's face still wore that mocking expression, as if watching an entertaining show.
He hadn't even assumed a fighting stance—just stood casually, like an unshakable mountain.
And Luffy—
Luffy's eyes were on fire.
His teeth ground audibly, his mind flashing back repeatedly to Usopp falling, to Bullet's contemptuous words, to the sight of his injured crewmate.
The crimson Haki burned even more wildly, trying to overwhelm that deep-blue icy ocean.
But Bullet's Haki didn't budge.
Unlike Luffy's fluctuating waves, it was a deep sea—however much flame you poured in, it simply swallowed and cooled it silently.
The two forces stalemated in the air for several seconds, neither able to overpower the other.
Finally, as if reaching some agreement, they exploded outward in all directions!
"Buzz!"
A powerful shockwave swept the entire battlefield, sending the barely standing pirates staggering.
The nearest rocks developed web-like cracks on the surface, then shattered into powder with a crash.
When the dust settled, Bullet and Luffy still stood in place, unscathed.
But everyone knew—the real battle had only just begun.
For the first time, Bullet looked at the straw hat kid before him with a touch more seriousness.
"To take my Conqueror's head-on... interesting."
He slowly rolled his neck, cracking audibly: "But Haki alone isn't enough. Next, let me see if your 'strength' deserves that 'anger'."
Luffy slowly raised his head.
His eyes remained crimson, but something deeper settled beneath the flames.
"I'll blast you away."
Luffy said word by word: "With these fists, I'll hit you until you can never insult my crewmate again."
Bullet laughed.
A genuine, interested laugh.
"Then let's see, straw hat kid."
Beneath the light curtain, the undercurrents in God Valley surged even more violently due to this sudden "former Roger crew member" identity.
All eyes focused on this mysterious "strongest monster," awaiting his next move.
...