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"Kyle!!"
A low roar tore from Bullet's throat. In an instant, his eyes went blood-red.
Almost on instinct, the bandage-wrapped body lunged forward. He flashed behind his opponent, his left arm trembling as his fist clenched tight and swung out with brutal force.
The rush of wind from behind reached Kyle at once.
The corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
"So stubborn."
"I like that."
"Bullet!"
As he spoke, an invisible pressure burst outward from Kyle's body. Every inch of skin and muscle hardened, as if forged from steel.
Iron Body.
Armament Haki.
Stacked together, they turned his body into something unimaginably tough.
Boom!
A dull impact echoed as a shockwave rippled across the entire warship.
Bullet's punch landed squarely on Kyle's left cheek. Yet what truly shook him to the core was this: Kyle hadn't taken so much as a scratch.
"But a loser should look like one."
The cold words followed immediately.
At the same time, Bullet felt a crushing blow slam into his abdomen. His body folded like a shrimp, blood spraying from his mouth as he was hurled backward, smashing into the ship's mast before sliding down to the deck.
Only then did Kyle turn around, eyes fixed on the bloodstained devil's descendant before him.
"Douglas Bullet."
"I like you. Work for me."
Bullet bared his teeth, wiped the blood from his mouth with his left hand, and forced down the roiling pain in his gut as he glared back.
"Who do you think you are?"
"Roger?"
"You're just a Marine. That's not enough to make me bow."
Then he sneered.
"Since I'm in your hands, either kill me or send me to Impel Down."
Kyle didn't get angry. He simply smiled.
"I won't kill you. And I won't send you to Impel Down either."
After a brief pause, his smile turned sharp.
"And who do you think you are, Bullet?"
"Just a defeated opponent under my command. Looking like this, what right do you have to talk big in front of me?"
"If you're unhappy with losing, you're welcome to challenge me again."
"I'll prove one thing to you with facts."
Kyle laughed softly.
"I will conquer you."
The sheer, overbearing confidence of those words left Crocodile speechless. Bullet, however, froze. The rage on his face faded, replaced by a grin.
"I'm starting to find you interesting."
He had to admit it. The man's strength, his confidence, his pride, that domineering presence… it all hit strangely close to home.
In a daze, Bullet recalled the days when he challenged Roger.
That man had been just like this young Marine: confident, powerful, overflowing with charisma.
The only difference was that Roger was a pirate.
This man was a Marine.
For a while after that, Bullet grew much quieter.
But Rosinante felt it clearly. This terrifying presence wasn't holding back. He was waiting for another chance to challenge their commanding officer.
Sure enough, on the third day after waking up, Bullet challenged Kyle again.
He lost quickly. Almost instantly. And this time, his injuries were even worse.
After waking, Bullet quietly recovered, thinking nonstop about how to fight better next time, searching for sharper angles of attack.
This time, he stayed quiet for seven days.
Seven days later, he challenged Kyle again.
He lost again.
Kyle showed no particular reaction. In fact, he welcomed the challenges. He soon realized that sparring purely in physical combat was also pushing his own Six Powers forward.
At the same time, he could clearly feel it: after every defeat, Bullet's mood sank lower and lower.
For someone as proud as Bullet, someone obsessed with becoming the strongest, these repeated losses were devastating. Each one carved a deep mark into his heart.
The more he lost, the taller Kyle's shadow grew in his mind. Until it became impossible to cross. Until surrender became inevitable.
Like breaking a hawk through patience. Like the way Whitebeard would later deal with Ace.
As Bullet's injuries healed and he fully recovered, he challenged Kyle again.
And once more, despair crept deeper into his heart.
Kyle's strength felt untouchable. The shadow he cast in Bullet's mind had already begun to surpass even Roger.
Roger, terminally ill, could no longer carry the crown of the strongest.
But this Marine was still young, about the same age as Bullet himself.
Whenever Bullet thought about that, an indescribable sense of frustration crushed him.
"Same age. So why is he this strong?"
"He's a monster among monsters."
That mindset twisted his heart, turning his resistance into awe.
Half a month after Bullet was brought aboard, just before the warship reached Marineford—
"So," Crocodile asked lightly, cigar in his mouth, "do you still think you can beat him?"
He had watched every single challenge from start to finish. More than anyone, he understood one thing clearly.
Kyle's strength was almost absolute.
Bullet's lips moved. He glanced at Crocodile and fell silent.
There was a kind of strength that felt impossible to overcome.
Whether it was Roger in the past or Kyle now, both felt like mountains blocking his path.
"I know why you've refused to submit all this time," Crocodile said quietly.
"Oh?" Bullet scoffed.
"I'm going to tell you something."
Crocodile exhaled a ring of smoke, lowering his voice.
"What?" Bullet asked.
He was intrigued. And surprised that Crocodile had chosen to submit to a Marine.
If there really was a reason strong enough to convince him, then following someone as powerful as Roger, yet even younger, didn't sound so bad.
"The Celestial Dragon massacre."
Crocodile's voice was barely audible.
As he spoke, he glanced subtly at the figure standing ahead.
Bullet froze. Then understanding struck him like lightning.
"He did it?"
Shock and disbelief surged through him.
"He did something even Roger never did."
"And he did it as a Marine."
Bullet murmured in awe.
"Doesn't that make it more interesting?" Crocodile chuckled.
Bullet suddenly turned, staring hard at the crocodile's smiling face.
After a long moment, he broke into a wide grin and made his decision.
"You're right."
"That really is interesting."
He sprang to his feet and strode behind Kyle, drawing in a deep breath.
"From today on!"
"I'm yours. I'll follow you forward."
"But if one day you no longer have the strength to defeat me—"
Kyle grinned.
"Then I'll turn the tables and make you my subordinate."
"Because I admire you too."
"..."
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