After hanging up the call, Sengoku frowned as he stared at the documents in his hand.
These were all the materials the government had gathered on the Revolutionary Army—piled high in a thick stack, far too much to read through completely.
Beside him, the little goat kept chewing on the papers one sheet at a time, but Sengoku didn't bother stopping it.
His eyes were locked on that side-profile photo of the Revolutionary Army leader, Dragon.
The picture was taken so poorly that it came out blurry, and the half of his face that was visible was covered in tattoos.
Yet the more Sengoku looked, the more familiar it felt…
And his name was Dragon too.
"Is it really you… Dragon…"
The appearance might be different, but as someone who had watched this person grow up…
...
Grand Line, deserted island.
On the island, every mountain had been leveled flat.
Craters covered the entire surface like a patchwork of scars.
Two figures radiating red and blue auras had been fighting for four days and three nights without pause.
Sakazuki had entered his Magma Mode—his entire body glowing a molten red as magma flowed across his skin, black smoke billowing behind him, his golden eyes fixed on Bullet.
Bullet had entered his Demon Mode—three forms of Haki fused into his demonic aura, cloaking his whole body in a layer of deep blue energy. His arms had swollen three times their normal size, resembling those of a giant ape.
The island was already half-sunken when Sakazuki finally spoke:
"Got any other moves left?"
"There's one more. Watch yourself, Admiral Sakazuki."
The moment his words fell, his enormous arms contracted, muscles shifting and writhing across his body, his thighs thickening further.
The deep blue Haki cloaking him didn't change, but his body transformed dramatically.
If the previous Bullet had been a raw, hulking giant ape, then the Bullet now was a coordinated, streamlined beast—a tiger poised to kill.
His crimson eyes glowed as he growled.
Sakazuki nodded slightly and raised a hand.
Bullet's lips curled into a vicious grin as thick, nearly tangible blue Haki surged along his arms.
Phantom images of demons flickered faintly over his fists as he lunged at Sakazuki.
Several blue phantoms streaked toward Sakazuki unpredictably as Bullet stamped his foot, accelerating to several times his previous speed.
Sakazuki let out a short laugh, releasing a Dark Hound that exploded midair.
Multiple magma hound heads split apart, each intercepting one of the blue phantoms.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of continuous explosions filled the air, creating a curtain of molten rain between the two fighters.
Whoosh—
Bullet didn't pause for even a moment, tearing through the blast wave with both arms as he charged Sakazuki head-on.
His demon-clad fist smashed toward Sakazuki—
Sakazuki raised his own fist to block but immediately sensed something off.
"Hm?"
The collision unleashed a violent shockwave, shattering the ground beneath them.
Bullet sneered as the demon aura flowing along his fists seeped into Sakazuki's arm upon contact.
Sakazuki felt a momentary stiffness in the muscles touched by the demonic energy.
It was expelled instantly by his overwhelming Armament Haki, but in that fleeting instant, Bullet poured in even more strength.
He forced Sakazuki back several steps before Sakazuki grinned.
"Interesting."
A massive surge of Armament Haki compressed and wrapped around Sakazuki's body like it cost nothing at all.
Explosions of force burst from his right shoulder and elbow as he swung his fist at Bullet.
Bullet raised his left fist to block, but this time the demon phantoms failed to penetrate Sakazuki's defenses.
Under the crushing density of Sakazuki's Haki, they dissipated the moment fists clashed.
Bullet's demon-like face twisted with frustration.
"Such a cheat…"
So much Haki…
Sakazuki smirked faintly as his shoulder erupted in another explosive burst.
His blackened arm struck like an iron hammer, carrying unstoppable power.
Bullet felt an overwhelming force slam into him, launching him like a cannonball.
BOOM—!!!!
Man and arm together smashed into the island, triggering a massive explosion and sending a mushroom cloud hundreds of meters high into the air.
The ground quaked violently as the half-sunken island cracked apart and split in two.
Through the raging wind, Bullet jammed both hands into the ground.
Blue Haki surged endlessly from his body before he finally stomped down with both legs and heaved—
"RAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
BOOM—
A colossal chunk of earth tore free, rising high into the sky.
It was like a mountain—only this mountain glowed a deep, unearthly blue.
Bullet leapt onto the floating mountain in a single bound, his right arm blurring as he slammed down on its surface.
The mountain shuddered, then hurtled toward Sakazuki like a meteor.
Sakazuki's eyes narrowed as the ground behind him turned into a sea of lava.
A massive magma fist shot upward from behind, wrapped in Haki, growing endlessly as it met the descending mountain.
A thunderous crash followed.
The island shook. The sea raged.
The upper layers of the magma fist shattered, but the rest braced the mountain, holding it back.
Suddenly—
A massive demon phantom appeared on the mountain's surface.
Bullet had appeared atop it without warning, pouring demonic energy into the strike.
The phantom tore through the magma fist's Haki, shattered it completely, and drove the mountain downward toward Sakazuki at even greater speed.
Sakazuki tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits.
He watched the descending mountain and demon phantom as he drew back his right fist, bracing himself.
The massive demon phantom crashed downward with the full weight of the mountain.
With less than half a meter left before impact, Sakazuki lunged forward, slamming his fist upward.
BOOM!!!
A blazing Dark Hound phantom shot through the demon phantom, through the mountain itself, and smashed squarely into Bullet's face.
The impact drove Sakazuki, along with the ground for a full kilometer around, several feet into the earth.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shockwaves exploded outward from beneath the shattered mountain, splitting it clean in two.
But Bullet was gone.
Without even turning his head, Sakazuki swung his left arm backward.
"Behind me!"
BAM!
A deafening crash rang out.
Sakazuki's fist slammed into Bullet's punch, sending him hurtling through the air in a storm of pressure waves.
But before he flew a hundred meters, Bullet twisted in midair, landing on his feet—then vanished instantly.
He moved so fast the eye couldn't follow, though Observation Haki could—
BAM!
Before the last afterimage faded, Bullet struck again from behind.
For a moment, a storm of blue surrounded Sakazuki at the center as Bullet's attacks poured in from all sides.
Sakazuki stood his ground, fists moving in blurs as he countered blow after blow.
Then suddenly, he spun and threw a full-force punch straight back!
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total