At that moment, Ivankov, who had just crawled out of the crater, glared at Bullet with fury.
"I'm not finished yet!"
His words were a direct rebuttal to Bullet's mockery.
"Oh?"
Bullet tilted his head, his grin not fading. His tone carried the weight of disdain, as if to say,
Go on then, show me what you've got.
Ivankov jammed his nails into both sides of his waist.
As a user of the Horm-Horm Fruit, he unleashed his most dangerous ability—injecting himself with hormones that forced his body into its strongest possible state.
But the price was steep: every second in this form shortened his lifespan.
Before Bullet's eyes, Ivankov transformed—his head grotesquely large, yet his body slender and graceful, almost beautiful.
"This is my strongest Newkama form! Now die!"
Ivankov shouted and vanished, moving several times faster than before.
"Newkama?"
Bullet sneered.
He threw a punch—then twisted mid-swing, spinning and driving his fist into Ivankov's stomach the moment he appeared behind him.
Boom!
The blow landed with a sickening impact.
"Trying a sneak attack? I'm not the type of man you can ambush."
Bullet's mocking smile remained, while Ivankov's face turned pale, veins bulging, eyes bloodshot from the unbearable pain.
The horror of Bullet's raw strength was undeniable.
"Galaxy Wink! HIP HOP!"
Forcing his body past the agony, Ivankov fired his ultimate technique again. This time, it was magnitudes stronger.
Explosions engulfed Bullet. The blasts hammered his body, smoke and shockwaves forcing him back several meters.
"Did… did I get him?"
Ivankov collapsed to one knee, blood dripping from his mouth. His desperate eyes searched the cloud of smoke, praying he had finally inflicted real damage.
But when the smoke cleared, Bullet was still smiling.
"The power's improved… but that's all."
He shook the dust off his shoulders and stepped forward, his presence suffocating. Every punch he threw along the way obliterated Revolutionary soldiers unfortunate enough to be in his path, their heads crushed like fragile shells.
"Damn it… it didn't work!"
Ivankov's heart sank into despair. He knew now—Bullet wasn't even fighting seriously. Even at full power, Ivankov couldn't touch him.
The clash raged on. Ivankov poured everything into his blows, but Bullet hammered him with punch after punch, kick after kick. Buildings collapsed, the ground caved in, and Ivankov's body grew more battered with each exchange. Blood poured freely, staining him red.
Bullet, meanwhile, only grew more exhilarated. He was a battle maniac, a savage monster like Shiryu.
And now, he was in his element.
Finally, Ivankov could no longer stand. He collapsed, drenched in blood, his strength completely gone.
Bullet raised his fist, then casually picked up a jagged piece of debris and drove it straight into Ivankov's chest.
The Revolutionary commander writhed, struggling for half a minute… then went still.
Emporio Ivankov, one of the Revolutionary Army's strongest members, was dead.
Because the battle had taken place far from the main front, few of the Revolutionary soldiers even realized what had happened.
But it didn't matter.
By the end of the day, the Revolutionary Army would be wiped out anyway.
It was still only ten o'clock in the morning. There was more than enough time left for Elior's pirates to finish the slaughter.
The Elior Pirates held absolute superiority. Their victory was inevitable.
Elsewhere, Shiryu crossed blades with Karasu, a man whose Zoan Devil Fruit allowed him to transform into a crow.
Karasu was formidable, but against Shiryu he was outmatched.
After all, in the original history, Shiryu became the deadly right-hand man of Blackbeard. Now, within Elior's crew, he ranked third in strength.
If Bullet was counted, Shiryu would only be fourth.
Bullet, however, had not come. He and Judge with his sons remained behind in Paradise, prepared to repel any potential Marine assault.
Karasu fought desperately, cloaking his wings in Armament Haki to block Shiryu's sword, which shimmered with a sinister violet aura.
Clang!
Their clash reverberated, but Shiryu's strength shattered Karasu's defense. His wings were torn apart, blood splattering the air as Karasu was hurled backward.
Armament Haki could protect — but against overwhelming force, even Haki could be broken.
Shiryu gave chase immediately. Before Karasu could hit the ground, Shiryu appeared above him and unleashed a colossal slash.
A violet crescent of energy descended like a lightning strike.
Shhk!
Karasu's body was cleaved in two. Black feathers rained down as the the commander of the North Army. fell lifeless.
In another corner of the battlefield, Lindbergh, commander of the South Army, was struck down by Weevil's sheer brute strength.
By then, nearly all of the Revolutionary commanders had fallen — except Belo Betty.
And Betty herself had already been captured. Shackled with seastone, she sat helpless, forced to watch as her comrades perished one by one.
Her eyes filled with despair. Reiju's words echoed in her head: the Revolutionary Army would perish today.
Because they could not stop Elior.
Around them, Crocodile and others cut down deputy commanders like Ahiru and members such as Terry Gilteo.
Many Revolutionary soldiers hadn't even been armed; they had been caught in the middle of a funeral. Against Germa's mechanized army, fists and feet were useless.
It was slaughter.
Once, the Revolutionary Army had seemed unstoppable—toppling kingdoms, defying the World Government itself.
But those enemies were nothing compared to the force they faced today.
Now, they were up against the strongest pirate crew in the New World.
Against the might of Elior — the Yonko who eclipsed all others.
Only now did they truly understand what "nightmare" meant.
And today, that nightmare would end with their deaths.
The Revolutionary Army was doomed.
Betty knew that even if she fought, nothing could prevent Elior from crushing them all.
At that moment, Reiju and Bonney dragged Robin before Elior's forces.
Robin's face was pale, her eyes filled with despair.
Betty, chained and helpless, could only look at her with grief.
The battle was nearly over. The Revolutionary Army's strength was broken.
Only Dragon remained.
And even he… was being overwhelmed by Elior.