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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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More than twenty years ago, Douglas Bullet caused chaos on the seas, not just from the grief of Roger's death, but because of the inherent desire for destruction within him. For a warrior like him, destroying a world and forging a new one was the most beautiful vision imaginable!
"Hahaha! So you want to change the heavens and the earth? It's not impossible for me to join you!" Bullet laughed, his eyes fixed on Sōsuke Aizen.
"But I have one condition!"
Aizen's expression was unchanged, as if he had expected this.
"What condition?"
Bullet's eyes instantly burst with fighting spirit.
"I demand the right to challenge you anytime, anywhere!"
Roger was dead, but in Aizen, Bullet saw the shadow of that man. In fact, the pressure Aizen exerted on him was even more terrifying than Roger's!
Roger was gone, but Bullet had found a better target!
Aizen smiled faintly. "Very well! As long as I am free, you may challenge me whenever you wish!"
A man intent on standing in the heavens naturally wouldn't care about the cries of a beast on the ground. Since Bullet wanted it, Aizen wouldn't mind giving him the opportunity to relive a nightmare!
"Then, follow me!"
Bullet stepped out of the cell, walking alongside Aizen. Along the way, Bullet was astonished to find that neither the guards nor the prisoners seemed to see him!
Initially, Bullet whispered to Aizen, but eventually, he stopped bothering to hide and began openly observing the prisoners in their cells.
Yet, he couldn't detect any mechanism for this invisibility!
"What a terrifying Devil Fruit ability!" Bullet thought to himself. Until he completely figured out Aizen's ability, Bullet decided it was best not to challenge him for now. If he fought hard only to discover he was being toyed with, the humiliation would be unbearable.
In the deepest part of the Eternal Hell, Garp sat before a cell, where his beloved grandson, Ace, was held.
"Ace! Why didn't you listen to me! Why did you have to become a pirate?" Garp, the legendary Hero of the Marines, a man of iron will, wept openly before his grandson.
Ace, seeing Garp's vulnerability for the first time, felt a pang of regret. But that regret quickly passed.
Although Roger died before Ace was born, Ace, like Roger, possessed a heart that yearned for freedom. Furthermore, Ace had always had a goal: to surpass his biological father, Roger.
Thus, his path to piracy was both accidental and inevitable!
"Tsk, tsk! Garp's grandson is a pirate! How interesting!" Bullet couldn't help but smile, watching Garp cry. Since Garp couldn't see him, Bullet felt free to mock him.
Aizen looked at Garp, his expression unchanged. It had taken considerable effort to control Garp using Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower Water Moon). Aizen's Zanpakutō required the observer to witness the moment of its release to fall into complete hypnosis. Every sense—sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch—was then completely under Aizen's control. It was a terrifying power!
He had hypnotized over ninety percent of the people in Impel Down during his walk-through!
"Tell me, if I kill Garp's grandson, will he go mad?" A flash of red light appeared in Bullet's eyes; he was clearly eager to act.
Aizen gave a light laugh.
"If you do that, I fear you will regret it!"
"Regret?" Bullet scoffed. "Why would I regret killing Garp's grandson?"
Aizen replied, "He is not Garp's biological grandson; he's adopted." Aizen paused, a knowing smile appearing on his face.
"Besides, doesn't the name 'Ace' sound familiar to you?"
"Huh?" Bullet was initially confused. After reviewing his memory, a cold sweat instantly dripped from his forehead.
"Ace! Isn't that Roger's favorite sword? Are you saying this child is Roger's...?"
Aizen smiled and nodded.
"Now, do you still want to kill him?"
Bullet froze, his already dark face flushing red. That was Roger's son! There was no way he could harm him!
"No! If Roger's son is captured here, the World Government won't spare him! We have to save him!" Bullet realized this, raising his foot to smash the cell door.
However, a hand on his shoulder stopped him instantly. Bullet turned back to see Aizen, who said calmly, "Don't be rash! This is a major event. Your impulsive interference will ruin the plans of many people!"
Aizen then briefly explained the impending Summit War.
"Whitebeard will never stand by while his son is executed. He will definitely launch a full-scale attack on Marineford!"
"You can make your appearance then! Whether you want to rescue Ace or do anything else is up to you!"
Bullet, however, keenly sensed a problem with Aizen's words.
"You won't help me save Ace?"
Aizen replied flatly, "I have my own plans for staying in the Marines! The Summit War is a stage I have prepared. Ace is not part of my plan!"
"Don't forget, my goal is to make the world what it ought to be. I will not expose my identity for the sake of an inconsequential person like Ace!"
"Of course, if you want to save him, I won't stop you! But you must rely on your own strength!"
Bullet was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"I understand! I will find my own way!" Ace was connected to him, not Aizen. He couldn't force Aizen to save him.
Aizen then offered a helpful reminder.
"Your former Vice-Captain, Rayleigh, is currently in seclusion on the Sabaody Archipelago. Perhaps you could seek his help!"
Bullet's eyes immediately lit up. With Rayleigh's help, his chances of success would be much higher!
Garp spoke with Ace for a long time, finally leaving Impel Down with an exhausted body. Bullet, meanwhile, hid in a small transport boat, silently escaping Impel Down with the supply convoy.
As for the cell Bullet had occupied in the Eternal Hell, everyone seemed to forget its existence, and it became an unvisited place.
Auguro was stunned when he received Aizen's communication. He had merely suggested that there might be some people in Impel Down worth recruiting or using. He never expected Aizen to deliver such a huge surprise by recruiting Douglas Bullet! This was a genuine Emperor-level combatant!
Auguro laughed. "Roger's old crew, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, and us! This Summit War is going to be incredibly lively!"