"Fine."
"Dodged!"
"Compared to the third form just now, after growing a lower body and two legs, the power behind that Haki giant's sword swing is much stronger!"
At the critical moment, Douglas Bullet narrowly avoided Susanoo's mountain-splitting strike, then flashed to Susanoo's back.
He glanced at Rosen, tightly protected within Susanoo, then at the massive mountain now cleaved clean in half by the Totsuka no Tsurugi. A few drops of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"What a beautiful dodge."
Rosen had his back to Douglas Bullet, yet he knew exactly where the Demon's Heir stood.
Or rather—
He had already seen every move Bullet was going to make in the future.
Just as Bullet steadied himself, both nervous and relieved after evading Susanoo's strike, Susanoo—still in the midst of finishing its mountain-splitting swing—did not turn around or even glance back. Instead, its two free arms—those not holding swords or shields—suddenly extended backwards.
At the same time, Armament Haki surged from the left palm, instantly shaping into a massive purple bow. The right hand gripped the bowstring and drew it taut.
Snff—
As the bowstring pulled back, black and red lightning crackled forth, coiling like a giant black python up the string until it solidified into a lightning arrow, flashing ominously with that same black-red glow.
Armament Haki was the bow.
Conqueror's Haki was the arrow.
When the bow was drawn into a perfect full moon, Rosen immediately commanded Susanoo to release the taut bowstring.
Boom!
The bowstring thrummed like a dragon's roar in the sky, detonating the air currents around it. Violent shockwaves rippled outward like crashing tides, shaking heaven and earth.
Shhhk!
With a sharp, heavy sound tearing through the sound barrier, the arrow of pure Conqueror's Haki ripped across the sky, streaking toward Bullet with the momentum of chasing stars and moon.
It happened in a blink.
Bullet had just escaped the mountain and barely steadied his footing—yet the Haki arrow from Susanoo's fourth form was already upon him, filling his entire vision.
Bang!
Black-red lightning erupted.
The impact roared like thunder splitting the earth.
A towering column of dust shot skyward like a rising ocean current, engulfing Bullet completely along with the Conqueror's Haki arrow powerful enough to pierce sky and sea alike.
As the dust column billowed high, scattering into the air before falling back, the battlefield became clear once more.
And there—
Bullet stood revealed again before Rosen's eyes.
The towering purple devil form had vanished.
In its place stood a steel colossus, bronze sheen glinting across its frame, taller even than most giants.
Now, that steel giant was in a deep horse stance, both massive arms—coated in hardened Armament Haki—gripping the Conqueror's arrow barehanded.
Though the ground beneath had already cracked and collapsed under the strain, and his steel feet had sunk into the earth, Bullet's enormous hands still clamped tightly around the arrow.
"The Clank-Clank Fruit…?"
Rosen's gaze swept over the mechanical form, instantly understanding Bullet's approach: using his fruit power to reorganize the inorganic matter of the island beneath their feet—extracting metal from its rock strata and reforging it.
Scrap and rubble transformed into warships, firearms… or this.
"It's somewhat similar to the Arms-Arms Fruit.
Only—
Bullet's development of the Clank-Clank Fruit… is crude. No—downright rough."
The Arms-Arms Fruit could turn any part of the user's body—from limbs to hair, even their breath—into a weapon.
The Clank-Clank Fruit, by contrast, relied on external materials, shaped according to the user's imagination, mastery, and raw strength—capable of creating any weapon at will and even merging it with the user's body.
If this fruit had fallen into the hands of a genius inventor like Vegapunk, it would have been terrifying.
Black-tech weapons fabricated casually, then fused into one's own body, creating a walking arsenal.
But Bullet was a soldier, not a scientist, and his grasp of weaponry was bound to the era's technological limits.
No matter how strong, without imagination and method, the fruit's full potential could never be reached.
"Rosen—let's fight again!"
From within the steel giant came Bullet's voice. He poured all his strength into forcing the arrow aside—no, altering its trajectory—so it passed just beside him.
Then he charged forward, each titanic step shaking the island. Like a moving mountain radiating unstoppable force, he barreled toward Rosen.
"Round two, huh?"
Feeling the tremors underfoot, Rosen's eyes lit with fighting spirit. He willed Susanoo to draw the bow once more.
Bowstring taut as a full moon—Conqueror's Haki as the arrow.
Boom!
The bowstring's roar shook the sea.
The black-red arrow tore through the sound barrier, spiral winds whipping around it as it hurtled toward Bullet.
"Your arrows can't stop my fists!" Bullet bellowed.
His massive steel arms swung forward, each one hardened with Armament Haki, his entire form sheathed in Conqueror's Haki. He punched into the incoming arrow.
Steel body—created through the Clank-Clank Fruit—hard as mountains.
Armament Haki—impenetrable in offense and defense.
Conqueror's Haki—adding overwhelming might.
This was Bullet's peak under normal conditions.
Bang!
Before fist and arrow even touched, their surrounding Conqueror's Haki erupted in a violent clash—dozens of black-red bolts ripping through the ground and splitting the sea of clouds above.
The shockwave rolled outward like a raging sea, uprooting trees, bamboo, and rock across a full kilometer. The earth itself was torn up in three-meter-deep gashes.
Crack—Boom!
After a brief deadlock, Bullet roared and poured on his strength. His Conqueror's-infused fist shattered the air—and actually dispersed Susanoo's arrow, neutralizing it completely.
Then, with great strides, he closed the distance in an instant.
"Ultimate Cannon!"
The massive steel body leapt skyward—shockingly fast for its size—pouncing like a mechanical tiger. His Conqueror's-infused iron fist, wrapped in spiraling turbulence, plunged down toward Rosen atop Susanoo's head.
"Break for me!"
Bullet's eyes widened with predatory certainty, already picturing Susanoo shattering beneath his punch. His voice carried unshakable arrogance and confidence.
Bang!
At that instant, a massive purple hand—pure Armament Haki—extended from above, seizing Bullet's incoming fist like a dragon's claw.
Under Bullet's astonished gaze, the hand held firm.
He had expected it to shatter instantly upon contact with his Conqueror's-infused strike.
But—
It didn't even tremble.
As if to say:
Shaking a mountain is easy.
Shaking Rosen… is not.
Disaster.
...
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