The atmosphere turned silent.
Strange.
After hearing Crocodile's words, Bullet's mouth twitched slightly. For a moment, he had nothing to say.
He could not refute it.
Who could have expected that the five-year-old brat he had dismissed as small fry would turn out to be such a terrifying monster?
Before this, treating Kai like a random bystander had seemed natural enough.
But now, after Crocodile said it out loud, even Bullet felt a trace of embarrassment.
The brat he called small fry had blocked his Conqueror's Haki.
No.
He had suppressed it.
That was the truly awkward part.
Bullet, who had been full of confidence only moments ago, suddenly found himself in a position where he could not quite save face. And Crocodile's mocking look only made the fire in his chest burn hotter.
"Shut your mouth," Bullet snapped, glaring at Crocodile.
Crocodile laughed, utterly unmoved.
"If even that brat is small fry, then what does that make you?"
His smile widened.
"A smaller fry?"
"Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir, suppressed by someone you called small fry. I've really learned something today."
Crocodile burst into laughter.
He had never liked Bullet. Seeing that arrogant monster eat his own words was far too satisfying.
As for Bullet's anger?
Crocodile did not care.
He was Sir Crocodile.
In the desert, he feared no one.
Enraging Bullet was not enough to make him lower his head.
Bullet looked as if he wanted to tear Crocodile's mouth apart, but he forced himself to hold back.
There was still something he needed to know.
He turned his gaze back toward Kai, who stood a thousand meters away.
"Do you know who that brat is?"
Bullet's voice was low.
"A child who can control Conqueror's Haki at this level… even across hundreds of years of the sea, he should be unprecedented."
"A monster like that can't be nameless."
Crocodile snorted.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
He was not Bullet's subordinate, nor had he ever lost to him. Naturally, he had no intention of speaking politely.
Still, after a brief pause, Crocodile narrowed his eyes and studied the small figure in the distance.
"He's a Marine."
"A five-year-old Marine."
"That narrows it down quite a bit."
His expression grew more serious.
"Recently, the Marines did produce an especially terrifying monster. His name has already spread across the sea."
"So if I'm not mistaken, that brat is the Marine monster everyone has been talking about."
Bullet's eyes sharpened.
"Who?"
"A monster named Kai," Crocodile said.
"A five-year-old Marine who already has his own title. The youngest Marine Headquarters major general in history."
"But that rank doesn't match his real strength. His combat power is at least lieutenant admiral level. Some even say he's approaching the level of an admiral."
"He's known as the strongest genius in the history of the Marines. A freak beyond precedent."
"And pirates across the sea call him one of the most terrifying monsters alive."
Crocodile's intelligence network was clearly not weak.
Though he had been plotting in Alabasta, he still knew about the major events shaking the Grand Line.
And Fist Demon Kai's rise was impossible to ignore.
When Crocodile first received the news, even he had been stunned.
He had even thought, half-jokingly, that if he could recruit such a monster, his future plans would become much easier.
Of course, that was only a passing fantasy.
A Marine prodigy like Kai could not be recruited so easily.
More importantly, Crocodile was not certain he could suppress such a monster at all.
And now, that same monster had appeared in front of him.
"Fist Demon Kai?"
Bullet's pupils shrank.
He had naturally heard the name.
In recent days, anyone sailing the Grand Line could hardly avoid it.
"A five-year-old monster…"
"The strongest genius the Marines have ever produced…"
"The so-called number one genius of this era?"
Bullet's thoughts churned.
After a long moment, he exhaled heavily. His eyes became sharp as he stared at Kai.
Interest.
Battle intent.
Both appeared in his gaze.
Fist Demon Kai.
The new era's number one genius.
And Bullet himself had once been called the old era's number one genius.
Which one was stronger?
Bullet suddenly wanted to know.
"Not now," he thought.
"He still needs time to grow."
"If I fight him now, it would be too boring."
"When he reaches his peak… that will be the time."
A ferocious grin spread across Bullet's face.
He had very few goals in life.
To become the strongest on the sea was one of them.
In the past, he had chased Roger's back.
But Roger was dead.
The target he had spent years pursuing had vanished, and with it, a part of Bullet's purpose had collapsed.
From then on, he decided to crush every strong person on the sea. That way, he could prove he had surpassed Roger.
But now, after seeing Kai, Bullet felt something new.
A spark of anticipation.
He wanted to see how strong this boy would become.
"Fist Demon Kai…"
"I'll wait for you."
Bullet looked deeply at Kai's figure.
At the same time, while Crocodile and Bullet were talking, Kai had already begun walking toward them.
Since he had been discovered, there was no need to keep watching from a distance.
It was time to meet these two top pirates face to face.
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