The ruins of Enies Lobby groaned beneath the weight of history.
What had once been the unshakable pillar of the World Government now lay cracked and bleeding—stone towers shattered, bridges split clean through, smoke rising endlessly into a sky that had not seen night for centuries.
Ice crept across the wreckage, sealing fires mid-burn. The waterfalls roared louder than ever, as if screaming in protest.
At the center of it all—
Three figures stood.
A legend.
A symbol.
And a calamity.
Bullet stood tall amid the destruction, his cloak torn and stained, but his posture relaxed—almost bored.
Around him lay the evidence of his work. Shattered Vice Admiral insignias, broken cannons fused into twisted metal, warships reduced to burning husks drifting helplessly on frozen seas.
Aokiji stepped forward first, hands tucked into his pockets, boots crunching softly against the ice.
"…This place used to mean something," he said quietly, eyes scanning the ruins.
"Justice. Order."
His gaze lifted, settling on Bullet.
"So I'll ask again—"
"What are you doing here?"
Bullet didn't answer.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly, then slowly rolled his neck.
Crack.
Pop.
The sound echoed unnaturally loud across the ruins.
Garp crossed his arms, jaw set, veins standing out against his forearms.
"Don't play dumb," he growled. "You don't level Enies Lobby on a whim."
Bullet exhaled through his nose, finally meeting their eyes.
Then—
He smirked.
"…Bored," he said.
Aokiji blinked. "…What?"
"Bored," Bullet repeated calmly. "I haven't seen real action in a while."
"So I felt like making noise."
The temperature dropped.
Aokiji's expression hardened. "At the cost of thousands of lives?"
Bullet's smile vanished.
The air thickened, pressing down like a suffocating weight.
"Lives?" Bullet echoed, voice low. "You mean the ones you've been throwing away for centuries to keep this world quiet?"
Aokiji's breath caught.
Bullet took a step forward.
Ice cracked beneath his foot.
"You talk about justice," Bullet continued,
"But all you Marines really do is bury the truth."
Black lightning flickered faintly around his body.
"You guard monsters."
"You protect slavers."
"And you call it peace."
The ruins trembled.
"You're nothing more than Celestial Dragon dogs."
Silence.
Even the waterfalls seemed to dull.
Garp clenched his fists. "…Not all Marines bow to them."
Bullet laughed.
A sharp, bitter sound that carried no humor.
"Oh?" he said, turning fully toward Garp. "You mean you?"
That single sentence hit harder than any blow.
Bullet pointed at him.
"Monkey D. Garp."
"The so-called 'Hero of the Marines.'"
His voice sharpened. "You spent your entire life trying to change this rotten system from the inside."
The pressure grew heavier, pressing against bone and will alike.
"And what did you change?"
Garp didn't answer.
Bullet's eyes burned.
"Nothing," he said flatly.
"You saved individuals—"
"But the world stayed broken."
His voice thundered across the ruins.
"While you preached justice—"
"Countries vanished."
"Children were branded."
"Entire histories were erased."
Aokiji lowered his head, jaw tight.
Garp's teeth trembled.
"All because of those Celestial pigs you still protect."
The air cracked violently as Bullet's Conqueror's Haki flared.
Several nearby Marines collapsed instantly.
For a long moment—
Neither Marine spoke.
Then Aokiji lifted his head again, eyes sharp behind his sunglasses.
"…Did Ada send you?" he asked quietly. "Is this her move?"
Bullet paused.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then he scoffed. "…What if she did?"
Garp's eyes widened slightly.
"And if she didn't?" Garp pressed.
Bullet shrugged.
"No," he said casually. "She didn't send me."
He rolled his shoulders once. "I really was just bored. Haven't punched anyone strong in a long time."
The pressure didn't fade.
Garp exhaled slowly, grounding himself.
"…Then you already know how this ends," he said.
He stepped forward, cracking the ice beneath his foot.
"We didn't come here to debate philosophy."
"We came to stop you."
His eyes hardened.
"In the end—"
"You're still a pirate."
Bullet's smirk returned, sharp and unrepentant.
"…Good," he said.
His stance lowered.
"Let's see whose justice survives."
—————————
Aokiji moved first.
"Ice Age."
The temperature plunged instantly.
The sea froze solid in a deafening rush, ice racing outward faster than sight itself. Waves stopped mid-crash. The waterfalls of Enies Lobby locked into frozen arcs, glassy and silent. Ruins halted mid-collapse as frost devoured stone, steel, and flame alike.
The battlefield became a frozen graveyard.
Bullet vanished.
CRASH—
Ice detonated behind Aokiji as Bullet burst through a frozen tower, fist cocked back, muscles coiled like a loaded cannon.
Aokiji didn't flinch.
His body shattered on impact—
Only for ice shards to scatter and reform behind Bullet in an instant.
"Too reckless," Aokiji said calmly, reforming his torso. "You rely too much on force."
He thrust his hand forward.
"Ice Block Partisan!"
A massive spear of compressed ice formed instantly, its surface crackling with frost, and fired point-blank.
Bullet caught it barehanded.
The ice shrieked under pressure—
And shattered.
Fragments rained down like hail.
Bullet stepped in, throwing a brutal straight punch.
Aokiji barely twisted aside, the fist grazing his shoulder and blasting the ice behind him into powder.
"Hah…" Aokiji exhaled. "Fast."
He dropped low, slamming his palm into the ground.
"Ice Time."
The frost surged upward, racing toward Bullet's legs, crawling with murderous speed.
Bullet leapt.
The ice missed him by inches—only for Aokiji to appear above, knee descending like a falling glacier.
BOOM!
Bullet crossed his arms, blocking—but the force drove him straight down, shattering the frozen ground beneath him and sending cracks racing outward.
Aokiji followed instantly.
A flurry of frozen strikes rained down—kicks, elbows, palms—each blow reinforced with chilling force, turning the air brittle with every movement.
Bullet blocked. Parried. Took hits.
The ground cratered beneath them.
"You're slowing down," Aokiji noted calmly.
"Cold drains muscle faster than fire ever could."
Bullet wiped blood from his lip. "…Is that so?"
He stepped forward.
Then vanished.
Aokiji's eyes widened slightly—
Bullet reappeared at his side.
Their fists collided.
BOOM.
Ice and stone exploded outward as shockwaves ripped across the battlefield. Aokiji slid backward across the frozen ground, boots carving trenches through the ice.
Bullet rolled his shoulder.
"…You're tougher than the others," he admitted. "But not enough."
Aokiji straightened, brushing frost from his sleeve.
"You talk like you've already won," he said.
"But I haven't even frozen your blood yet."
The air around him dropped further.
Frost crept up Bullet's arm.
Aokiji lunged, palm glowing white.
"Ice Block—"
Bullet grabbed his wrist mid-attack.
CRACK.
Ice shattered around Aokiji's arm as Bullet twisted and slammed a knee into his abdomen.
Aokiji coughed, skidding backward—but retaliated instantly, swinging his leg in a wide arc.
Bullet ducked.
The kick froze the air where his head had been a second earlier.
They separated, breathing heavy now.
For the first time—
Aokiji adjusted his stance.
"…You're forcing me to go all out," he admitted.
Bullet's eyes darkened. "Good."
Then—
The world screamed.
An overwhelming pressure erupted outward, invisible yet crushing, like the sky itself pressing down. Marines miles away collapsed where they stood. Ships creaked violently. Ice cracked under sheer will alone.
Aokiji staggered, teeth gritting.
"…So that's it," he muttered. "Advanced—"
Black lightning wrapped around Bullet's arm, crackling violently, splitting the air with each pulse.
"Conqueror's coating."
The ice beneath Bullet's feet disintegrated.
He stepped forward.
Aokiji raised both arms, flooding his body with ice, coating himself in layers of reinforced frost.
"Ice Armor," he said. "I won't go down—!"
Bullet punched.
The impact didn't explode.
It erased.
The space between them warped as the fist connected without contact, Conqueror's Haki smashing through Aokiji's defenses before the blow even landed.
The ice armor shattered instantly.
Aokiji was launched across the ruins like a missile, smashing through frozen towers, tearing through walls, crashing deep into the remains of the courthouse.
The ice collapsed.
The building caved inward.
Silence followed.
Steam hissed faintly as the cold receded.
Bullet stood still, arm lowering slowly as the black lightning faded.
In the distance—
Aokiji lay buried beneath rubble and shattered ice.
Unmoving.
Unconscious.
Garp stared at the destruction, eyes wide—not with fear—
But with grim understanding.
"…You've come far," he muttered. "Too far."
The wind howled across the frozen ruins.
And the real fight—
Had only just begun.
————————
The ruins of Enies Lobby trembled.
Ice cracked beneath titanic weight as two legends faced one another across the shattered bridge—one bearing the authority of the Marines, the other the will of chaos itself.
Garp rolled his shoulders once, cloak settling behind him like a banner of war.
"…You really went and did it," he said, eyes scanning the devastation.
"Vice Admirals. Warships. An entire island Even Kuzan lost to you."
Bullet wiped blood from his mouth and straightened.
"…And yet here you are," he replied. "The Hero himself."
The air between them tightened.
Then—
They moved.
No warning.
No technique called.
Just fists.
BOOM.
Their punches collided mid-air, shockwaves detonating outward, pulverizing ice and stone alike. The bridge beneath them shattered instantly, chunks of frozen rock hurled into the sea below.
Bullet skidded back, boots carving trenches through ice.
Garp slid with him—then vanished.
Bullet barely twisted aside as Garp's fist passed where his head had been, the pressure alone splitting a tower behind him clean in half.
"Bwahahaha!" Garp laughed. "Not bad!"
Bullet answered with a brutal hook.
Garp blocked—
And the impact still launched him backward, crashing through a wall of frozen debris.
They reappeared simultaneously.
Fist.
Elbow.
Knee.
Headbutt.
Each strike landed with the sound of cannon fire.
Neither yielded.
Neither retreated.
The frozen sea below them fractured further with every exchange, shockwaves rippling miles outward.
Bullet grinned through blood. "…You hit harder than the records say."
Garp wiped frost from his cheek. "Hah! Don't believe everything you read, brat!"
They clashed again.
Bullet drove a knee into Garp's ribs—Garp responded with a straight punch to Bullet's jaw that sent him flying through a collapsed courthouse wall.
Bullet burst back out mid-air, spinning—
And slammed both fists down.
Garp caught them.
Ice exploded outward as their feet dug into the ground.
For a moment—
They were locked.
Muscle against muscle.
Will against will.
The ground beneath them groaned.
Bullet's eyes narrowed.
"…I can't believe it," he muttered. "An old man like you—"
He twisted violently, breaking the lock and landing a clean punch to Garp's chest.
"—still punches like that."
Garp slid back, boots smoking against ice.
His grin widened. "Bwahahaha…Good."
His aura changed.
Subtle—
But undeniable.
The pressure thickened, heavier than before, like gravity itself had grown angry.
Bullet felt it immediately. "…So you were holding back."
Garp stepped forward.
"I don't like using this unless I have to," he said calmly. "But you've forced my hand."
He vanished.
Bullet barely raised his arms in time.
BOOM.
The punch slammed into him like a falling continent.
Bullet crashed through three frozen structures, skidding across the ice, coughing blood as his vision blurred.
Garp didn't give him time.
Punch after punch rained down—each blow cracking the air, shattering ice, warping space.
Bullet blocked. Took hits. Endured.
Then laughed. "…Heh."
He pushed himself up. "…Guess that means it's my turn."
The world screamed.
Metal tore free from every direction.
Cannons.
Chains.
Ship hulls.
Collapsed bridges.
All of it ripped itself apart and screamed toward Bullet like a metallic storm.
The Clank Clank Fruit awakened.
Bullet's body expanded, metal fusing seamlessly into flesh, plates locking into place with deafening clangs. His silhouette grew—towering, monstrous, overwhelming.
A giant emerged.
A walking weapon.
A living war machine.
The ice beneath him shattered under sheer mass.
Garp cracked his neck, eyes gleaming.
"Bwahahaha…"
"Now that's more like it."
The giant raised its arm.
A fist the size of a building crashed down.
Garp leapt.
The impact obliterated half the bridge, sending molten metal and ice flying skyward.
Bullet swung again—then again—each strike capable of leveling cities.
Garp dodged, weaving between blows, each step cracking the air.
Then—
He vanished.
"Galaxy Divide!"
The sky split.
A single punch cleaved straight through the metal giant's chest, tearing open layers of reinforced steel like paper.
Bullet staggered, metal screeching in protest.
Garp appeared again.
"GALAXY—"
Bullet roared and swung wildly.
Garp ducked beneath the arm.
"—IMPACT!"
The punch landed.
The explosion swallowed Enies Lobby.
Ice shattered for miles.
The sea erupted.
The sky itself seemed to recoil.
When the smoke cleared—
The giant lay shattered.
Metal wreckage littered the battlefield like the bones of fallen gods.
At the center—
Bullet knelt.
Blood poured freely now, dripping onto broken steel.
Garp stood over him, chest heaving, fists steaming in the cold air.
Silence.
Then—
Bullet laughed.
A weak, satisfied sound. "…Heh. Now that was fun"
He looked up at the ruined sky.
"…All according to plan, right… Ada?"
His vision dimmed.
"…Can't believe… I had this much fun."
His body went limp.
Garp exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging.
"…You fought well," he said quietly.
He turned away and pulled out a transponder snail.
"Sengoku," Garp said. "…Bullet is down."
Far away—
The world shifted.
Chains would soon close.
Cells would soon open.
And somewhere in the shadows—
A plan smiled.
—————————
Marineford
Marineford's headquarters shook with noise.
Den Den Mushi cried out from every corner, officers shouting orders, reports overlapping in panicked waves. Maps were dragged across tables, casualty numbers scrawled and rewritten in red ink.
At the center of it all—
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood rigid behind his desk.
"Garp Report," he ordered.
The transponder snail on his desk clicked.
Garp's face filled the screen, battered and grim, cloak torn, blood streaking down one side of his brow.
"…It's over," Garp said. "Bullet has been defeated."
The room exhaled in relief.
But Sengoku didn't smile.
"…Details," he demanded.
Garp looked away for a moment, then back at the screen.
"He defeated Kuzan first," Garp said bluntly.
"Completely."
The room went silent.
Several officers froze mid-step.
Sengoku's eyes widened. "…Aokiji?"
"Yes," Garp confirmed. "He overwhelmed him with advanced Conqueror's Haki—coated his strikes with it."
"Then he used his Devil Fruit awakening."
A pause.
"…I finished the fight," Garp continued.
"But don't misunderstand—"
"That wasn't easy."
Sengoku leaned back slowly, fingers tightening against his desk.
"…So he's reached that level," he muttered.
"How far has that man come…?"
From the shadows beside him, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke.
"…Far enough that execution would be foolish," she said calmly.
Sengoku turned to her.
Tsuru adjusted her glasses, eyes sharp.
"If we execute Bullet," she continued, "his Devil Fruit will simply reincarnate and someone else will inherit that power."
She folded her arms.
"Someone we may not be able to stop."
Sengoku's jaw clenched.
"…You're right."
He straightened. "Bullet is not to be executed."
The officers stared.
"Send him to Impel Down," Sengoku commanded. "…Level 6."
Murmurs spread instantly.
Level 6.
The eternal hell.
Where monsters were buried and erased from history.
Tsuru nodded once.
"That is the correct decision."
Sengoku closed his eyes briefly.
"…The Nyx Pirates are no longer shadows," he said quietly. "They're moving."
He opened his eyes again—burning.
"And this was only the first move."
———————
Far from Marineford—
Seastone cuffs snapped shut around massive wrists.
Bullet was dragged across the deck of a prison ship, chains rattling, marines keeping their distance.
Destination—
Impel Down.
As the gates of the sea swallowed him—
Bullet smiled.
Not in defeat.
In satisfaction.
Because chaos—
Had already begun.
And the world—
Would never be the same again.
————————-
Author's Note
Hey guys! Sorry for disappearing without notice.
I went back to my home province and spent some time with my friends and my girlfriend. I probably enjoyed it a little too much, went around, ate a lot, and just lived life for a bit lol.
I'll be honest too, this chapter and the next chapters were really hard to conceptualize. My creative juices completely ran out, so I decided it was better to take a short break instead of forcing something rushed or low-quality.
But I'm back now and as always, thank you so much for the continued support, patience, and love for this story. It really means a lot to me. Let's keep going 💙