The next morning, Diarmuid stood on the deck, watching St. Poplar in the distance. As the first rays of dawn broke through the clouds and bathed the island in light, the silent island suddenly came to life.
"Ryusei Kazan..." Diarmuid's lips curved into a grin. "Sakazuki has made his move. It's our turn!"
Gion, glowing with electricity, nodded. "Understood!"
Her form vanished, leaving behind only a flash of lightning. At the same time, her figure had already appeared on the island in the distance. Diarmuid couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is just too damn good!
Diarmuid wasn't in a hurry. He took out his Den Den Mushi and contacted Vice Admiral Jonathan. "Vice Admiral Jonathan, our assault has begun. I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Understood. May you have good fortune in battle," Jonathan responded calmly.
On the island, Sakazuki and Dalmatian were clashing with a figure.
This figure was exceptionally muscular; even Sakazuki, who was considered a giant among Marines, was dwarfed by the person's size. The figure wore a black military uniform, looking more like a soldier than a pirate. His long, light-blond hair reached his waist. He wore a pair of white gloves and was wrapped in a powerful aura of Armament Haki. His presence was overwhelming.
His expression was stern, like a hardened soldier, but his eyes occasionally flashed with a look of madness and destruction. It was as if he didn't care about anything and just wanted to destroy everything.
"Inugami!" Dalmatian appeared behind Bullet, lunging at his shoulder with a fierce bite.
Bullet's face showed a look of disdain. With a surge of Haki to his elbow, he threw a backward elbow strike, sending Dalmatian flying before the Vice Admiral could even sink his teeth in.
"You Marines really are useless," Bullet said, stretching his shoulder.
Not far away, Sakazuki didn't even spare a glance for Dalmatian. He knew that with Dalmatian's Zoan-type Devil Fruit, he wouldn't be seriously injured by such a casual attack.
Sakazuki took off his Marine cap, smoothed down his buzz cut, and a mocking glint appeared in his eyes. "I heard you were once a soldier, yet you ended up a pirate and a madman. What's wrong? Did you turn into a rabid dog after Roger died?"
Hearing the name "Roger," a murderous aura flashed in Bullet's eyes. But he quickly suppressed it. "Has that shameless bastard, Rodriguez Diarmuid, arrived yet?"
Sakazuki's brow furrowed, seemingly confused.
"I heard he's the commander of G-7, and this isn't too far from there... By the way, you didn't actually think you had me surrounded, did you?" Bullet said, an evil smile playing on his lips.
Without waiting for Sakazuki to reply, Bullet sneered. "I've been waiting for you Marines to show up. I want to see for myself what that shameless bastard Diarmuid is like!"
"Shameless bastard?" Sakazuki was a little confused, not understanding what Bullet meant. Still, he scoffed. "If you're so interested in Diarmuid, why didn't you just go to G-7 yourself?"
"No need. I want to utterly crush that shameless bastard in front of all you hypocritical Marines and ruin his reputation!" Bullet said without hesitation.
"How arrogant," Sakazuki sneered.
With a powerful push of his foot, a burst of extremely hot magma shot out. His body, propelled by the force, shot toward Bullet at an incredible speed. Bullet reacted just as quickly, his fist wrapped in Haki, striking toward Sakazuki.
"Meigo!" Sakazuki roared, his arm turning into a blazing red magma, solidifying into the ferocious head of a dog that lunged at Bullet.
Their fists met, and the scorching magma exploded like fireworks at the point of impact.
Sakazuki's Magma-Magma Fruit not only had the destructive power of magma but also the explosive force of a volcano, yet his punch was evenly matched with Bullet's. However, Sakazuki wasn't surprised. He knew a single punch wouldn't be enough to take down Bullet.
Half of his body rapidly turned into magma, and the ground beneath his feet was instantly assimilated by his powerful Logia ability, becoming scorching hot. In the next instant, a massive amount of magma erupted from the ground and from Sakazuki's body, enveloping Bullet as if to turn him to ash.
"GRAAAH!" Bullet roared, his entire body encased in Haki. He swung his other arm, sweeping it out and scattering all the surrounding magma. At the same time, he retreated, putting some distance between himself and Sakazuki.
Simultaneously, Sakazuki roared, "Magma Burst!"
A large amount of magma shot out of the fist that was just clashing with Bullet's. If Bullet hadn't pulled back so quickly, the sudden burst of power would have definitely caught him off guard!
"Just as I thought..." a look of disdain flashed in Sakazuki's eyes.
Bullet's brows furrowed slightly. "Just as you thought what?"
"Just like Diarmuid said, the rumors that you were on par with Silvers Rayleigh are all a lie," Sakazuki sneered. He paused, then his tone grew even more mocking. "But maybe that Silvers Rayleigh's strength is just talk, too? The Roger Pirates were a pathetic crew to begin with. It makes sense, they didn't have the strength to defeat opponents like Shiki or Whitebeard, so they relied on luck to find the so-called 'final island' and were barely recognized as the Pirate King.
"Afterward, they probably panicked and disbanded the crew immediately, hiding in the South Blue for two years before we Marines finally caught him and executed him. The so-called Roger Pirates and the so-called Pirate King were nothing but a joke."
Sakazuki's words were sharp as a blade. His mocking tone combined with his contemptuous expression was absolutely perfect.
A flash of fury shot through Bullet's eyes. Although he had left the Roger Pirates halfway through, he knew firsthand how powerful Roger was and had always seen him as a goal to surpass.
He respected Roger a lot, and it was only natural for him to be enraged at Sakazuki's words. But even so, he suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "Roger had to leave the sea because of a terminal illness. Compared to him, you Marines are the truly despicable ones, and that Diarmuid is a truly shameless bastard."
"Oh? We haven't met, have we, Douglas Bullet? Why do you have so much resentment toward me? And why do you call me a 'shameless bastard'?"
A slightly curious voice came from not far behind Bullet.
When he heard the voice, a fiery rage flashed in Bullet's eyes. He turned to the side, gritting his teeth. "Rodriguez Diarmuid..."
Diarmuid was dressed in black cargo pants, high-top military boots, and a brown leather belt. He wore a white T-shirt and had his Marine "Justice" coat draped over his shoulders. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword, Kokorowatari, while the other was stroking his chin in a pose similar to Borsalino, but without the sleazy vibe.
The moment he saw Diarmuid, Bullet seemed to lose all rationality. He completely ignored Sakazuki, stomping his foot and charging toward Diarmuid like a raging bull.
"How could Roger lose to a scumbag like you! He was, he was..." Bullet roared, his fist wrapped in a powerful layer of Armament Haki as he punched toward Diarmuid.
Diarmuid didn't dodge. He maintained his relaxed posture, but a faint purplish light flashed in his eyes. He instantly condensed a powerful, invisible repellent force fifteen centimeters in front of his head using concentrated gravity.
Douglas Bullet's punch landed perfectly on this invisible repellent force.
BANG!
A shockwave exploded, and the air around them seemed to ripple, but Douglas Bullet's punch couldn't reach Diarmuid's head, blocked by the powerful repulsion.
"He had an incurable disease and couldn't fight at his full strength, so he was captured by me. That's what you were going to say, right?" Diarmuid said softly.
Bullet slowly retracted his fist, looking at his now-shredded white glove. His heart sank. Diarmuid might be shameless, but his strength... seemed to be genuinely immense. When he heard Diarmuid's words, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"You're right. I never actually fought Roger. The story of me capturing Roger was just propaganda... But," Diarmuid paused, his hand moving from his chin to the cursed sword at his side. "But... if you think I'm a shameless rookie who only got to where he is through tricks and schemes, you are gravely mistaken..." Diarmuid said softly.
With those words, he drew the cursed sword Kokorowatari.
A flash of cold light appeared, and the once dignified-looking Diarmuid seemed to transform into a demon from hell. An evil, dark, and insidious aura enveloped his body, and the source of that aura was the sword in his hand!
"Gravito: Moko!" Diarmuid said in a low voice.
An overwhelming gravity escaped the blade, and a powerful gust of wind erupted from Kokorowatari. As the saying goes, "a tiger follows the wind." The tiger created from the condensed gravity became even more imposing under the strong wind.
Bullet crossed his arms in front of him, seemingly preparing to take the attack head-on. But in an instant, the fierce, tiger-like gravity struck him. Then, the sharp, blade-like wind enveloped him. In the next moment, his black military uniform exploded, revealing his muscular upper body. Blood began to seep from his skin, his body cut in countless places by the sharp wind.
Then, the ground beneath his feet crumbled, and his massive body was finally unable to withstand Diarmuid's gravity sword, sending him flying backward.
Clang!
Diarmuid sheathed the cursed sword Kokorowatari, and the evil, dark, and insidious aura around him vanished. He didn't bother to check on the flying Bullet. He knew that even though Bullet looked battered, he was fine. He had only suffered some minor cuts from the wind pressure.
"What're you looking at? You're not thinking of fighting me, are you?" Diarmuid asked Sakazuki, who was standing nearby.
"The way you drew your sword... that was nothing like a Marine!" Sakazuki said without holding back.
"I can't help it. This is a legendary cursed sword... It may be a bit evil, but I'm a very kind person. I believe that one day, Kokorowatari will also become a sword of kindness..." Diarmuid said with a chuckle.
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