"My strength… it's grown even more!"
Sakazuki's face, terrifying and fissured as molten lava dripped from him, now showed rare signs of strain.
As the man destined to clash with Edward Newgate—Whitebeard himself—his power was far from ordinary.
Even when grappling with a thousand-meter giant, with the seafloor magma veins at his back, he remained unshaken.
But now, Bullet's fists came crashing down in wave after wave of devastating force, like mountains collapsing.
He was drawing out the magma vein beneath him—soon it would be depleted.
The magma arms grappling with Bullet were starting to fracture under the pressure.
"What's wrong, Navy? Weren't you going to melt me down completely? Is this your limit?!"
With a crazed roar, Bullet brought down his massive fist—like the sky falling.
The air itself rumbled, straining under the impact.
At that moment—
A golden leg, sheathed in a gleam of Armament Haki, split the air with a blazing arc and slammed downward.
"Did you forget I'm still here?!"
Borsalino's face was full of icy fury. After Zephyr's death, he had honed this Armament Haki—and now, this enemy would be the one to taste it.
His photon-enhanced leg landed squarely on the black giant's chest—the very spot where Bullet's real body was embedded.
BOOM!
A soundless quake echoed like a giant bell across the battlefield.
The chest of the black giant erupted under the high-speed, high-temperature strike, its Armament Haki-infused core detonating from the inside.
Bullet winced, blood visibly trickling from the corner of his mouth.
And it wasn't over yet.
Tokikake, using the advanced combination of Kami-e and Geppo, had seized his opening.
He leapt atop the headless giant, fists covered in hardened Haki, pounding downward again and again.
"You annoying little bugs!!!"
Bullet roared. The massive form of the giant, which had briefly paused, now surged to life once more.
Completely ignoring the attacks raining down on his chest and neck, he slammed his fist into Sakazuki's magma body, smashing him deep into the earth, leaving behind a crater that refused to close.
The power of Awakening surged.
A wave of violet light flowed across his chest, sealing the gaping wound.
At the same time, both of his arms lashed out violently toward the magma lake below.
"Navy! Don't just hide down there!"
Each of Bullet's punches left precise, cracking imprints in the lava, shattering the crust like iron beneath a hammer.
...
"This guy's just insanely tough..."
Tokikake winced, nursing his swollen fists as he stared at the small fracture he'd finally managed to cause.
In front of a monster like this, his own power felt utterly inadequate.
"How many more of these can you take?!"
Borsalino had locked his Observation Haki directly onto Bullet's real body.
His light-speed kicks bombarded him in a relentless barrage.
From a distance, it looked like a stream of golden light spinning circles around Bullet's massive form.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Each time an explosion rang out, the black giant would briefly freeze in place.
And just as another shining kick came crashing down—
The giant halted.
"You're really pissing me off, you goddamn fly!!!"
With a thunderous roar, Bullet's real body emerged from within the black giant's chest.
His already enormous fists—several times thicker than a normal person's—now encased in a jagged stone-like armor, pulsed with black and red lightning.
His blood-red eyes twisted in rage. He looked like a demon king breaking free from his seal.
"Heavy Punch!!!"
BOOM!
Black and gold collided—one punch, one kick.
For a moment, they locked in stalemate.
Then, with a sharp crack, the silence shattered.
Borsalino's leg bent at an unnatural angle as he was hurled into the sky, tumbling like a broken star.
...
From the depths of the magma lake, silence gave way to a deafening roar.
"Pirate… die!!!"
Suddenly, the center of the magma lake swelled—like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
An instant later, it exploded in a plume of fire and ash.
Sakazuki shot out, drenched in blood.
His lower body had transformed into flowing magma, rocketing him skyward.
His right arm melted into a river of lava, then slammed toward Bullet's enormous figure.
"Great Eruption!!!"
The magma fist—larger than the black giant itself—crashed down.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The black giant's side was nearly torn in two, from waist to shoulder. Shattered stone fragments scattered in every direction.
Its towering form, though still standing, was now covered in deep cracks.
...
"Horrifying…"
Tokikake leapt into the air, narrowly dodging a massive chunk of debris. The shock was still frozen on his face.
"But… did we get him?"
He activated Observation Haki, scanning for any trace of Bullet's presence.
Below, Sakazuki's expression changed sharply, eyes flaring with fury.
"Tokikake, move!"
The magma fist blazed upward like a bullet.
Even if they didn't get along, Sakazuki would never actually attack him—Tokikake realized something was wrong too late.
Before he could dodge—
Laughter rang out above him.
"Hahahaha! Die!"
Bullet's blood-smeared face twisted in a maniacal grin as he raised his blue-purple fist and brought it crashing down.
He had fused completely with the stone fragments and launched himself into the sky.
Since the two Logia were so troublesome to kill—he'd just take out the weakling first!
The sheer force of the punch sent out invisible shockwaves.
Even before the blow landed, the wind stripped skin from flesh. Tokikake's pupils shrank.
There was no way to avoid it.
With grim resolve, he concentrated all the Armament Haki in his body.
Both arms darkened—like they were forged from solid steel.
BOOM!
The massive fist, thicker than Tokikake's entire body, smashed down on his crossed arms.
CRACK!
A sickening crunch rang out.
His arms snapped like brittle chopsticks before his disbelieving eyes.
It was like having two sharp, jagged blades stabbed into his own chest.
Spurt!
Blood—mixed with bits of internal organs—erupted from his mouth.
...
At that desperate moment—
A beam of light arrived.
Got way too much rage in him."
Borsalino's form materialized, breathless and pale.
He'd almost arrived too late—again.
Photon energy gathered in his hand, forming a sword of solid light.
His face flushed with strain, muscles bulging—a rare sight for someone who wasn't a power type—as he caught the partially-dissipated force of the blow.
At the same time, his recently self-healed right leg whipped around, launching the injured Tokikake to safety with a controlled kick.
"You damn Navy fly!!!"
Bullet snarled as he spat curses over the edge of his sword, his other fist crashing down in frustration.
He was sick of this damn speedster.
...
"Pirate! You're not done with me yet!!"
A furious roar echoed from below.
Sakazuki surged upward, magma bursting from his body.
His right fist transformed into a torrent of lava that hammered straight into Bullet's lower back.
BOOM!
The blast shattered the sound barrier, forming a white cloud ring in the air.
Bullet's demonic blue-purple body shot upward like a missile.
Sakazuki and Borsalino exchanged a glance—and both gave chase.
That's when a malicious voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Fufufufufufu~ Borsalino… is this your gift to me for joining my side?"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg