"Urouge, they're the ones who killed people on the island, completely disregarding the Fasting Temple," the monk said to Urouge.
"Urouge?!" Kaidou turned to look at the newcomer upon hearing this, and after careful examination realized it was indeed Urouge - the future captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates, one of the Worst Generation, who would later defeat Charlotte Snack, one of the Sweet Commanders.
"You know me?!" Urouge noticed Kaidou staring at him and spoke up.
Kaidou grinned, revealing his stark white teeth: "You could say that?" He scanned the surroundings and continued: "Urouge, it must be boring staying in this place all the time? With your potential, you could clearly become much stronger, but this small place is just wasting your talent. How about following me to see the vastness of these seas?!"
These words caught the attention of everyone present. King, Bullet, and Queen all turned to look at Urouge, their eyes filled with scrutiny. Anyone personally invited by Kaidou must have exceptional qualities.
Urouge's expression darkened: "You come to our island and kill people, and now upon meeting you immediately want me to become your subordinate? Isn't that going a bit too far?"
"Wororororo..." Kaidou let out his signature laugh, "Too far? I don't think so." His eyes suddenly turned sharp, "Since we've met, you might as well obediently become my underling from now on!"
Before his words faded, a violent surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Kaidou. The surrounding air seemed to solidify as ordinary citizens fell unconscious one after another.
"What?! What is this? What did you do?!" Urouge was also shaken by this domineering aura, but he quickly steadied himself, looking in shock at the collapsed crowd around them.
Kaidou shook his head in disappointment, a flash of contempt in his eyes: "As expected, staying in this small place for too long has narrowed your perspective." He turned to Bullet beside him, his tone casual yet leaving no room for argument: "This guy is yours to handle."
"As you command, Captain!" Bullet grinned excitedly, his knuckles cracking sharply.
The nearly three-meter-tall giant strode steadily toward Urouge, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly. His eyes gleamed with bloodlust, a ferocious smile twisting his lips, his entire body radiating suffocating pressure - the killing intent that could only be tempered through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Urouge fearlessly stepped forward to meet him, the veins on his thick arms bulging: "Looking for a fight? I'll keep you company to the end!" Before his words finished, he had already swung his fist - large as a sand pot - whistling through the air straight toward Bullet's face.
"Boom!"
Two iron fists collided mid-air, erupting in a deafening explosion. Violent shockwaves exploded outward from the two combatants, kicking up clouds of dust.
A cold smile curled Bullet's lips as the muscles in his brawny arms suddenly bulged with veins, terrifying power instantly erupting and actually sending Urouge flying backward.
"Crash!"
Urouge shot like a cannonball into a stone house by the street, the thick brick wall collapsing upon impact, stirring up massive clouds of dust.
But the next second, an angry roar came from the rubble pile as he emerged carrying a roof beam pillar thick enough for two people to embrace, the blood seeping from his forehead adding to his ferocity.
"Die!" Urouge roared, swinging his massive pillar with such force that the resulting gust lifted surrounding rubble into the air.
Bullet threw his head back with a booming laugh: "Hahaha! Perfect timing to test my newly mastered power!" His arms instantly became coated in jet-black Armament Haki, gleaming with a metallic coldness under the sunlight.
"Boom!"
As the colossal pillar came crashing down, Bullet neither dodged nor evaded, instead launching his right fist like a cannonball. The thick beam shattered violently, sending wooden splinters raining in all directions.
Urouge's pupils contracted sharply. Before he could react, Bullet had already materialized before him like a ghost.
"Whoosh!" Urouge hastily hurled the broken pillar at Bullet, but the latter casually swatted it aside. In the next instant, an iron fist imbued with Armament Haki was already at his face.
Urouge urgently threw up a blocking punch, only to feel as if he'd struck solid steel, searing pain shooting through his knuckles.
"Interesting!" Bullet sneered, the veins on his right fist suddenly bulging as terrifying force sent Urouge stumbling back several steps.
The latter staggered but steadied himself, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, yet the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even fiercer: "Don't screw with me! There's no way I'm losing!"
He bellowed and unleashed a torrential onslaught, his fists becoming blurs as they assaulted Bullet. But the battle-hardened Bullet merely defended with ease, each collision producing dull metallic clangs.
Suddenly, Bullet seized an opening, his right leg sweeping out like a battle-axe to connect squarely with Urouge's abdomen.
"Urgh!" Urouge bent over in agony, yet stubbornly withstood the heavy blow. Gritting his teeth, he straightened up, his eyes blazing with unyielding determination. Just as he prepared to counterattack, Bullet's iron fist was already streaking toward him like lightning.
"Thud!"
The punch landed squarely on Urouge's face, sending his burly frame flying over ten meters like a broken kite, plowing a deep trench in the ground. When the dust settled, he lay supine in the rubble, consciousness gradually fading until he succumbed to darkness.
Kaidou watched the fallen Urouge and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad. Being able to withstand a few moves from Bullet shows some real skill."
King folded his arms and remarked coolly: "Still not enough, though."
Queen puffed on his cigar and added with a grin: "He's already quite impressive. And this guy looks about the same age as King, so his future potential is promising."
Bullet shook his fist and grinned widely: "This guy's durability is pretty strong. An ordinary person would've been down after my first punch, but he held on for so long. His potential far surpasses those two, Sebastian and Gavin."
Kaidou strode forward, looking down at the unconscious Urouge: "Take him aboard the ship. We'll have a proper talk when he wakes up."
"Yes, Boss Kaidou!" Queen immediately summoned his subordinates to carry Urouge away.
King glanced at the fallen civilians around them and asked: "What about these people?"
Kaidou waved a dismissive hand: "Leave them be. They're not going to die anyway."
Soon, Kaidou and his crew left the island with Urouge, heading toward their pirate ship.
After a while, the previously unconscious people gradually came to and quickly noticed the disappearance of Kaidou's group and Urouge.
"Lord Urouge... has been taken?" a monk murmured.
"What... what are those people?" another person asked, trembling.
No one could answer their question.