"...Such overwhelming force. Seems they share a master with that Hancock woman." Bullet's lips curled into a vicious grin.
"How... intriguing!"
"Ahh, truly living up to your legend, 'Demon Heir' Bullet. As a former Roger Pirate who openly roams these seas, your strength is indeed astonishing."
Stella, floating ethereally in her Cloud Flow: Steel Maiden form, drifted like mist midair.
Yet her eyes burned with fighting spirit.
As Garp's prized disciple, though slightly weaker than Hancock—who had mastered Conqueror's Haki infusion—due to lacking the same kingly ambition...
She was the one who had inherited the most of Garp's true teachings among all his students.
After all, even if Hancock used Conqueror's Haki Coating and went all out... she could only slightly surpass Stella, roughly a six-to-four advantage...
But without Conqueror's Haki Coating...
The odds would be less than two-to-eight.
This shows just how crucial possessing Conqueror's Haki is when pushing the limits.
However...
Conqueror's Haki isn't absolute.
Take Bullet before us...
His most iconic fighting style involves fully merging his Haki with his body, gaining not only hardening and Ryuo properties but also maximizing enhancements to strength and speed.
Though it may seem like mere full-body Armament Haki coverage, it's actually far more profound.
This is also one of the reasons Bullet is known as the "Demon Heir."
Because his entire body turns violet-black, resembling "a devil from hell."
While this application of Armament Haki can't be used on the colossal robot created by his Merge-Merge Fruit due to Haki limitations...
It remains an extremely rare variant of Armament Haki usage.
In fact, aside from Bullet, no one else has ever achieved this level of Armament Haki application.
But everything has its limits...
Possessing what could be called the "only" method of Armament Haki usage...
Yet Bullet never truly mastered Conqueror's Haki Coating...
Even though he was second only to the Pirate King's right-hand man during his time on Roger's crew.
The one who inherited the true legacy... was Red-Haired Shanks.
This could even be called Bullet's inner demon.
"Geniuses... now that just feels like mocking me to my face," Bullet sneered, his hundred-meter-tall merged robot creaking ominously.
"If I were truly a genius, why haven't I become the strongest yet? The word 'genius' is nothing but consolation for failures."
"If someone like you doesn't count as a genius, then what does that make the rest of us?" Crocodile reformed beside Stella.
"Trash?"
Crocodile was probably the one among them who understood Bullet most viscerally.
Because she had once faced the confident, demon-free Bullet of the past...
Though their battle had ended in a draw back then.
Crocodile knew that if it had escalated to a fight to the death...
She would most likely have died by Bullet's hand.
"Whether you're trash or not doesn't matter, understand?" Bullet's voice carried an eerie danger.
"What matters... is that right now, I just want to kill everyone!"
"Do you... know what Awakening is? You must have heard of it or even achieved it yourselves?"
"Well then... let me show you what the strongest fruit truly looks like!"
"To hell with Logias! To hell with Conqueror's Haki Coating!"
"Large Bullet Form! Activate!"
As Bullet's words faded, the "Medium Bullet Form" merged robot at the center began emitting bizarre adhesive substances once more.
And his targets...
Were the countless pirate ships surrounding them—and the seawater itself.
This was the form he'd used when defeated by the Buster Call back then...
But in those days, he hadn't had nearly as much material to merge with.
Now, aside from hundreds of steel warships...
By utilizing the substances secreted by the Union Union Fruit and coating them with Armament Haki, even seawater could be incorporated into the merging process.
This meant... the materials would be endless.
Stella immediately grasped the situation, exchanging a glance with Crocodile before deciding to strike first.
They weren't fools who would sit around waiting for the final boss to complete his transformation.
But...
"You really think I'd let you interfere with Bullet's transformation?"
A crimson figure flashed past, the chilling gleam of a blade forcing Crocodile back in an instant.
Redfield, now transformed into his vampire form, blocked their path at an absurd speed.
Though his body bore the marks of smoldering burns from smoke and charred wounds from lightning strikes... they were healing at a rapid pace.
Moreover, the current Redfield seemed...
Somehow younger than before.
Stella instinctively glanced at Smoker and Enel.
Though they bore few visible injuries...
They had clearly aged significantly.
"The Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire—a Mythical Zoan. It accelerates aging by draining the target's blood... and induces deep slumber," Redfield remarked, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"But your comrades have quite the willpower... To resist both the aging and drowsiness effects enough to barely cling to consciousness..."
Smoker and Enel arrived moments later, lagging behind.
"Sorry... I didn't quite understand his Devil Fruit ability and ended up taking heavy losses by accident."
"But don't let his energetic appearance fool you... he's actually pushing his body to its limits."
Stella nodded at the two of them.
Unexpected situations during battles were completely normal.
However, in the brief time Redfield had bought them, Bullet's awakened Devil Fruit fusion transformation was rapidly progressing, nearly complete.
The newly reassembled colossal monster...
Resembled an island forged from steel and seawater.
And this... was without the amplification from the more more Fruit.
Standing atop the base, Bryndy world had already closed his eyes.
"You people are truly insane..."
"But fortunately, I'm not exactly normal either."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he spoke.
"Multiply... Hundredfold!"
In an instant, it grew with the wind!
Even the sea began to struggle under the weight of this terrifying behemoth.
Yet even as it sank beneath the waves...
Two-thirds of it remained above the surface!
Estimating its total height...
It had already surpassed thirty thousand meters.
Though it hadn't reached the height of Zunesha... it wasn't far off.
"Is this the awe brought by the awakening of two Paramecia-type Devil Fruits?"
Stella gazed up at the towering monstrosity that pierced the clouds...
Only one words remained in her mind...
Cataclysm.
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