More than twenty years ago, the reason Douglas Bullet tore the seas apart wasn't only because he grieved Roger's death.
It was because the desire to destroy everything had always been carved into his bones.
For someone like him, wiping out a world and remaking a new one…
was the perfect dream.
"Hahahaha! So you want to change the world?
If you want me to join, that's not impossible!"
Bullet laughed loudly, staring at Aizen Sōsuke with burning eyes.
"But I have one condition."
Aizen's expression didn't change. It was as if he had expected this.
"What condition?"
Bullet's eyes erupted with endless fighting spirit.
"I want the right to challenge you anytime and anywhere!"
Roger was gone, yet Bullet saw Roger's shadow in Aizen.
In fact, the pressure Aizen gave him was even more terrifying than Roger himself.
Roger was gone…
but Bullet had found someone even better to chase.
Aizen smiled softly.
"Fine. As long as I'm free, you can challenge me whenever you want."
A man aiming for the sky would never care about the roar of a beast on the ground.
Since Bullet wanted it, Aizen didn't mind letting him relive his nightmares over and over.
"Good. Then follow me."
Bullet stepped out of the cell and walked beside Aizen.
Along the way, Bullet noticed something that genuinely shocked him.
Neither the jailers nor the prisoners seemed to see him at all.
At first Bullet whispered to Aizen.
Later he stopped caring entirely, walking to every cell door and openly observing the prisoners.
Yet no one reacted.
He couldn't find any flaw in it.
"What a terrifying Devil Fruit ability…" Bullet thought to himself.
Before he fully understood Aizen's power, Bullet felt he shouldn't challenge him too soon.
Otherwise he might enjoy the fight… only to find out afterward he had been played like a fool.
That would be beyond humiliating.
At the deepest level of Infinite Hell, Garp sat before a cell.
Inside was his beloved grandson, Ace.
"Ace! Why didn't you listen to me! Why did you have to become a pirate!"
Garp… the Marine Hero, the toughest of the tough… was crying his heart out in front of his grandson.
Ace had never seen Garp so fragile before, and for a moment, a flicker of regret crossed his heart.
But it passed quickly.
He may have been born after Roger's death, yet just like his father, he had a heart that longed for freedom.
And Ace had always held one goal.
To surpass the man who gave him life.
Gol D. Roger.
Becoming a pirate had always been both coincidence and destiny.
"Tsk tsk. Garp's grandson turned out to be a pirate. Now that's interesting."
Bullet grinned as he watched Garp cry.
Since Garp couldn't see him, Bullet mocked freely.
Aizen looked at Garp without any change in his expression.
Controlling Garp with Kyōka Suigetsu had cost him some small considerable effort.
The moment someone witnessed the Shikai release of Kyōka Suigetsu, they were plunged into complete hypnosis.
Sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch… every sense fell under Aizen's control.
A frightening ability.
He had walked through all of Impel Down once and hypnotized over ninety percent of the people inside.
"You think if I kill Garp's grandson, he'll go crazy?"
A crimson gleam flashed in Bullet's eyes.
He looked eager to try.
Aizen chuckled softly.
"If you do that, you'll regret it."
"Regret?" Bullet snorted. "Why would I regret killing Garp's grandson?"
Aizen replied, "Because he isn't Garp's biological grandson. Garp adopted him."
He paused, then smiled in a way that made Bullet's skin prickle.
"And besides… the name Ace. Doesn't that sound familiar to you?"
"Huh?"
Bullet froze for a moment.
Then after a long second of thinking, cold sweat dripped down his face.
"Ace… wasn't that Roger's saber? You mean this kid is Roger's…"
Aizen nodded with a light smile.
"Now do you still want to kill him?"
Bullet stiffened.
The dark color of his skin seemed to flush red.
Roger's son.
How could he possibly kill Roger's son?
"No. Impossible. If Roger's son was caught… the World Government will never spare him. We need to get him out!"
He lifted his foot, ready to smash the cell door.
A hand pressed on his shoulder, instantly freezing him in place.
He turned back to see Aizen speaking calmly.
"Don't rush. This is a historic event. If you act recklessly, you'll ruin a lot of people's plans."
Then Aizen briefly explained the upcoming Marineford War.
"Whitebeard will never watch his son die. He'll definitely invade Marineford."
"When that happens, you can do whatever you want. Save Ace or do something else, it's up to you."
But Bullet immediately noticed something off in Aizen's tone.
"You won't help me save Ace?"
Aizen replied evenly.
"I'm in the Marines for my own plans."
"Marineford is a stage I prepared. Ace is not part of my script."
"Remember, my goal is to shape the world into what it should be. I won't expose myself for someone insignificant."
"Of course, if you want to save him, I won't stop you. But you'll be relying on your own strength."
Bullet fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"I understand. I'll figure it out myself."
He had ties with Ace.
Aizen didn't.
He couldn't force Aizen to take action.
Seeing this, Aizen added casually,
"Sabaody Archipelago. Your former vice captain, Rayleigh, lives there now. Maybe he can help you."
Bullet's eyes lit up instantly.
With Rayleigh's help, the chances were much higher.
Garp spent a long time talking to Ace.
Eventually he left Impel Down with exhausted steps.
Bullet hid inside a supply boat and quietly escaped along with the transport team.
Deep inside Infinite Hell, the cell where Bullet had once been held became a forgotten empty space.
No one even remembered he had existed.
When Oguro received Aizen's transmission, he was stunned for a moment.
He had only mentioned that Impel Down might have people worth recruiting or using.
He never imagined Aizen would bring him a surprise like this.
Aizen had recruited Douglas Bullet.
A real, undeniable Emperor-level combat force.
Oguro laughed.
"Roger's old crewmate… Whitebeard… Blackbeard… and us.
Marineford is going to be one hell of a show."
***
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