"He's been maintaining his full Susanoo form to fight, and he still has more than half of his Armament Haki left?"
Magellan stood to the side and felt a chill in his heart after hearing the conversation between the hero and the Fleet Admiral.
He agreed with Garp and had also believed that Rosen had consumed too much Haki, forcing him to put away his complete Susanoo.
But after Sengoku's analysis, he was shocked to realize that this was not the case at all.
What shocked the strongest man in Impel Down even more was Rosen's Haki aura.
Douglas Bullet's Haki could be described as massive—so what about Rosen's?
The quality was no less.
In terms of strength, it was far superior.
"Since he still has enough Armament Haki to continue using Susanoo in battle, why did he put it away?"
Not only Garp, Sengoku, and Magellan, but even Douglas Bullet himself was puzzled.
"Rosen."
"Why did you put away Susanoo?"
"I don't believe that a man capable of creating such an Armament Haki technique would be unable to continue using this form simply because his Haki couldn't keep up."
Douglas Bullet's eyes flashed red.
Whether it was through Observation Haki, or the strong combat intuition and battlefield awareness he had honed since childhood, all of it told him the same thing—Rosen still had sufficient Armament Haki.
"Still… you're looking down on me."
"I, Bullet, don't even think I'm qualified enough for you to use your full Susanoo against me."
Douglas Bullet's tone shifted, carrying both anger and arrogance.
Although one of his arms had been cut off, in truth, this was actually an advantage for him.
Now, he no longer had to waste more Haki covering both arms of his 'Large Bullet' form in hardened Armament Haki at all times. Instead, he could concentrate even more Haki into his only remaining arm to increase its power.
That's why—
That punch just now had been enough to repel Rosen's complete Susanoo.
"No."
"Quite the opposite."
"It is because I think highly of you that I'm not using Susanoo now."
Facing Douglas Bullet's questioning, Rosen hovered in the air and slowly shook his head.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Douglas Bullet frowned, clearly confused by Rosen's reasoning.
"I already told you when you used the awakened power of your Clank-Clank Fruit…"
"The strongest in your eyes… is nothing more than that."
"Now that I've said it, if I keep fighting you like this for another day or two, I might actually get slapped in the face."
Rosen exhaled lightly, and a Zanpakutō appeared out of thin air in his hand.
"Well then."
"It's the only way."
"Let me show you what it's like to walk out of Infinite Hell… and what it looks like when I get serious."
He drew the Zanpakutō and pointed it toward Douglas Bullet.
"Are you going to use the power of your Devil Fruit?"
Douglas Bullet stared at the long blade that had materialized in Rosen's hand.
He hadn't forgotten one thing—
Rosen, like himself, was also a Devil Fruit user.
However, from the very start of their battle, Rosen had fought solely with Haki, and had even completely suppressed him when using only Haki and swordsmanship.
It was not until Bullet awakened the Clank-Clank Fruit that he managed to turn the tide, but even then, only just.
Now that Rosen had drawn his Zanpakutō and was using the power of the Arms-Arms Fruit, the balance of the battle would inevitably tip once again.
Douglas Bullet understood this.
But he showed neither fear nor hesitation.
Just like when he had challenged Gol D. Roger—did he not know that the Pirate King was stronger than him?
He knew.
That's exactly why he challenged him.
It was precisely because of repeatedly challenging sea overlords such as Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban that Bullet had stood at the pinnacle of the seas before he was twenty years old.
Emotions like fear or doubt had been discarded back in the endless war country of his childhood.
Not to mention—
Douglas Bullet knew he had no way out.
Either he would defeat Rosen and prove himself the strongest…
Or he would die here and pass the title of strongest to someone else.
"A challenge?"
"Hah… how ironic!"
"A few months ago, I stood on the mountain while he stood at the bottom; a few months later, he is still at the top… but I've fallen to the bottom."
Douglas Bullet suddenly realized—
Before, when facing Rosen in Infinite Hell, he had taken the stance of a victor, waiting for Rosen to challenge him.
He had even told Redfield that he was the one being challenged.
But now!
Unknowingly, he had put himself in the challenger's position.
It was not Rosen challenging him—
It was Douglas Bullet challenging Rosen.
Just like back in the Roger Pirates, when he had challenged Gol D. Roger.
"Bankai!"
Just as Bullet was inwardly laughing at himself for this role reversal that had happened in only a few months, a low voice—like thunder rumbling from beneath the earth—exploded in his ears.
Immediately—
Douglas Bullet felt the light before his eyes dim. Then, to his astonishment, he saw a massive black shadow rising straight into the sky behind Rosen, where moments before there had been only the vast blue sky and the surging sea.
"Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō."
As Rosen spoke,
The black shadow shifted from illusion to reality, undergoing an incredible transformation.
In the blink of an eye,
The massive shadow had taken the form of a Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō with great horns upon his head, clad in heavy black armor and wielding a giant blade. His towering, muscular body stood like a mountain, casting its overwhelming presence across the island.
Just by standing there, an icy, ghostly, oppressive aura swept across both sky and sea like a torrential downpour.
"He dismissed the complete form of Susanoo… only to create this black-armored giant."
"Rosen."
"Are you trying to tell me that this giant is even stronger than Susanoo?"
Douglas Bullet gazed at the Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō standing imposingly before him, then questioned Rosen.
"Your focus is a little off."
"Bullet, let me ask you this—"
"Do you think the Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō can use Susanoo?"
Faced with Bullet's question of which was stronger—the fruit ability's Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō, or the Armament Haki's Complete Susanoo—Rosen didn't answer directly. Instead, he posed a question that made Bullet's eyes widen in horror.
"What…"
Upon hearing this, Douglas Bullet's pupils contracted sharply, his voice carrying a trace of fear.
Though his 'Large Bullet' form made him a towering purple giant whose expression was unreadable, Rosen could clearly sense the violent fluctuations in Bullet's emotions through his Observation Haki.
Before Douglas Bullet could respond, Rosen's voice rang out again—
"The answer… is yes."
...
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