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Both Marines and pirates shouted in panic. "A meteor! Move!"
Zoro braced himself. "Nine mountains and eight seas make one world. A thousand worlds make a small cosmos. Three realms bind as one. Nothing escapes my cut. Santoryu Secret Art! One big… three thousand! The Great Thousand Worlds!"
The massive meteor split cleanly in two under his strike.
The halves were still falling fast when another razor-sharp slash carved through the air, shattering the fragments entirely.
Zoro turned toward the direction of the slash. Dracule Mihawk stood there, Yoru already back in hand.
Mihawk sheathed his blade with a soft click. "It seems things have gone far beyond our original agreement."
"Let's go, ghost girl."
Perona snapped back, "Don't order me around! And seriously, if you're gonna tell me to cut a meteor, say it sooner! You scared me to death!"
The Navy had completely surrounded the battlefield now. Marines fired in neat formation toward Douglas Bullet.
Bullet laughed wildly. "So the time's up? The Navy's here at last. Alright then. Time to raise the signal."
His massive body charged straight toward the surrounding Marines.
At that moment, Smoker shot through the air and grabbed the vice admiral commanding this unit. "Get everyone back to the ships now! His goal is to trap us all here!"
Douglas Bullet's voice boomed across the field. "Too late. My ability has awakened. Get ready to taste my strength!"
His giant robot body burst apart in an instant, dissolving into a surge of violet energy that flooded outward.
"Sometimes a Devil Fruit awakens. It starts affecting everything around the user."
The purple wave rushed out like a tidal flood, consuming everything in its path.
"He's targeting the whole fleet!" a Marine shouted.
The energy grew denser and denser until it formed a colossal robot towering over the island. It scooped up the entire island within its massive range. No one could escape now.
A charging vice admiral was swatted away with a single blow.
A heartbeat later, Douglas Bullet's enormous fist was completely coated in Haki.
"Ultimate Giant Cannon!"
His punch crashed into the ground, and the entire island trembled. Dust blasted skyward, swallowing the battlefield. Marines were sent flying. "The island… it's splitting in two!"
Douglas Bullet roared with laughter. "Twenty-four years ago the Navy beat me! I was locked away, and all I did was think. How do I never lose again? How do I gain overwhelming power? How do I surpass Roger? How do I become the strongest man alive? Fleet Admiral, I've got the eternal pointer to the One Piece. If you've got the guts, try beating me again like you did back then!"
The giant born of Bullet's awakened power howled toward the sky.
A vice admiral stared in disbelief. "He absorbed hundreds of warships and pirate ships into his awakened form… And the worst part is his Haki. His entire body is coated in Armament Haki… at that size… that's terrifying."
A soldier rushed up to Kizaru with a transponder snail. "Report! A call from the Fleet Admiral!"
Akainu's voice came through. "So that's how it is. Awakening. No wonder his power jumped this much. Borsalino… the troublesome ones are moving too. For evil, we eliminate it completely. As you wish. Initiate the Buster Call."
The giant born from Douglas Bullet rampaged across the shattered island.
"Unbelievable," he laughed. "Is this all the new Fleet Admiral's Navy can do?"
Marine Headquarters
Garp held up the newspaper reporting on Douglas Bullet and spoke quietly. "When Bullet was a kid, adults betrayed him. Then when he grew up, his friends betrayed him. He's lived in loneliness his whole life. He trusts no one. All he knows is fighting. Roger was the first to defeat him… and the first to accept him. Before long, the one branded a demon's heir inherited Roger's strength. He kept fighting desperately, trying to surpass Roger. But Roger died. He lost his purpose for fighting… and started destroying everything without aim. The duel he wanted with Roger could never happen. He became a lost, mindless monster. We can't just let him run wild. To capture him alone… we authorized a Buster Call."
The battle-worn veteran of the Sengoku era bellowed, "I will not pity him! He wants to ignite a war across the entire world! No matter what, we have to stop him!"
Garp growled, "Yeah! We'll spill blood again if we have to! This time… we must end his life! Is there any way to reach him, like Roger did?"
Amid the smoke and chaos, Usopp stumbled forward, carrying a gravely injured Luffy on his back.
"See that?" he panted. "Luffy! That bastard—he got scared off just by my presence! Let's let him live… for now!"
But both of them were badly hurt. After only a few steps, they collapsed again.
Usopp groaned, clutching Luffy, "Don't die, Luffy! Our adventure… can't… end… here!"
Suddenly, a pillar of fire came crashing down toward them. Usopp threw himself in front of Luffy with every ounce of strength he had left.
"Our adventure… can't end!" he shouted. "Luffy's going to be the King of the Pirates!"
The fiery column slammed against Usopp, but he held his ground. Then more fire rained down. Desperation filled Usopp's eyes.
At that moment, a flash of steel cut through the flames.
"Yomi no Reikaze… Soul-Reaping Sword!"
Every pillar of fire froze instantly.
Chopper and Brook arrived just in time.
"Usopp! You're badly hurt—we have to treat you!" Chopper shouted.
Usopp grabbed Chopper's hand. "Go! Save Luffy! He's bleeding so much!"
Viewers' screens:
Nami: "Way to go, Usopp! That's a real man!"
Luffy: "Usopp's seriously reliable!"
Sanji: "That's my guy, Usopp!"
Shanks: "Luffy, your crew's solid. That's a man you can trust with your life!"
Ace: "Luffy, you've got a good crew. Treasure them!"
Naruto: "So touching! Got me crying again… Usopp and Luffy are true partners. Right, Sasuke?!"
Sasuke: "Ugh, stop asking stupid questions!"
Frieza: "Boring."
Natsu: "Get up, Luffy! Go kick that bastard's ass!"
On the battlefield, Chopper hesitated. "But Usopp, you're—"
Usopp's expression was unwavering. "Please… I've got this."
Chopper met his gaze and nodded. "Got it."
Towering over the battlefield, a monstrous figure roared toward the sky.
"Come forth! Burn everything to ash with the Demon-Slaying Order!"
Across the seas, the Navy's Second Fleet sailed toward the island, their warships cutting through the waves.
"I will crush the Demon-Slaying Order!" the monstrous figure shouted.
"Ascend to the strongest in the world! Then, the Four Emperors… it's your turn! And you, Roger!"
The Navy was in full retreat, chaos spreading through their ranks.
Smoker stood on a cliff, watching. "If we can just take the treasure back from Douglas Bullet… we might be able to stop this reckless, all-out attack!"
"..."
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