A colossal, blinding pillar of lightning engulfed all five warships in an instant.
At that moment, the lightning's brilliance surpassed everything else, illuminating the entire sea. Even from Reykjavik Island, a hundred nautical miles away, the dazzling light—brighter than the sun itself—was visible.
"Is this your comrade bidding you farewell?"
Bullet turned, a maniacal grin spreading across his face as he looked down at Yemu, who was battered and bruised, trampled beneath his feet.
"Cough... cough..."
The immense pressure of Bullet's foot seemed as if it would crush Yemu's ribcage. Though Yemu had braced himself, his hands covered in Armament Haki to defend, the force was too much to withstand.
Yemu had no idea how much blood he'd already coughed up, but it was clearly no less than the beating he'd taken yesterday.
With Bullet growing more serious, Yemu was completely outmatched—his strength, speed, and Haki all inferior. He was little more than a punching bag, taking the full brunt of Bullet's relentless strikes, just like a sandbag.
Pain surged through his entire body, and his consciousness was beginning to wane. Yet, despite everything, he felt a strange exhilaration...
"This... is truly delightful, hahahahaha... cough, cough..."
Bullet froze as he heard Yemu's loud, defiant laughter despite being crushed beneath his foot. For a moment, the madness in him intensified.
"You're still laughing? Looks like you haven't completely given up yet..."
"Well then, let me help you shut that mouth for good."
With that, Bullet's right leg shot up in a high, brutal kick, aiming to cleave Yemu in two with an axe strike.
But just then, something unexpected happened. Despite being battered like a punching bag, covered in injuries, and seemingly unable to stand, Yemu suddenly vanished from beneath Bullet's feet. At the same time, his fist—covered in Armament Haki—hurled toward Bullet's head with fierce intent.
Bullet's impatience flared even more.
"Why... why... how can you still get back up?"
To Bullet, Yemu's ability to keep rising felt like an insult, a mockery of his so-called path of ultimate strength. Here was a man who clearly stood no chance, yet time and time again, he managed to get back up. It was as if he was a cockroach, impossible to defeat.
"But it doesn't matter. Every time you stand, I'll knock you down. Until you can't get up anymore."
Boom.
Without hesitation, Bullet threw a merciless punch, slamming it directly into Yemu's face. Yemu's body flew backward, like a kite with its string cut, smashing through layers of ice before crashing into the ground, splitting it in two.
Bullet's killing intent surged even more violently. He shouted, his voice filled with a mocking fury.
"Kahahaha... Despair, won't you?"
"You have no hope left. Your strength grows weaker by the moment, your speed is slowing to a crawl, your fists are growing limp..."
"No matter how many times you rise, I can always knock you down with a single punch like this..."
"But that's enough. Now, I'll end your life once and for all..."
"To prove to this world that my path of ultimate strength is the only truth that exists."
As the words fell, Bullet's entire body was enveloped in an overwhelming aura of Haki. The light surrounding him grew darker, his muscles bulging, veins standing out, and a terrifying, ghostly aura radiated from his body.
But at that very moment, within the massive chasm, flames erupted once again—more intense than ever before. Like a volcanic eruption, the surging inferno shot skyward, resembling divine fire falling from the heavens to strike the earth.
The surrounding ice began to melt rapidly, while the sea boiled, sending white steam rising into the air.
"Oh, finally resorting to your Devil Fruit powers?"
Bullet instantly understood what was happening.
"But it won't change anything now..."
"From the start of this battle, you haven't even managed to break my Armament Haki, let alone injure me or defeat me."
"You don't seriously think that activating your Devil Fruit powers now will help you defeat me, do you?"
At that moment, Yemu's voice rang out once more, echoing across the entire island.
"Cough... How would I know without trying?!"
"To be honest, I was really lacking confidence at the start."
"While I was confident I could surpass you someday, facing a terrifying monster like you now... I had absolutely no guarantee..."
"But things are different now..."
"Hmph!?"
Bullet's brows furrowed deeply as he stared intently at Yemu's figure, slowly emerging from the flames. Veins throbbed on his forehead, and his fists clenched tightly.
"You mean you think you can defeat me!?"
In that instant, Bullet felt a deep sense of humiliation. Not only was his ultimate path mocked, but he himself was being underestimated.
As if deliberately taunting him, Yemu continued.
"Of course..."
"You say my strength is weakening, my speed is slowing, and my fists are growing soft—well, aren't you the same?"
"That last punch didn't bring me nearly as much joy as the ones before it!"
"!!!"
Bullet froze, his teeth gritted in fury. But as he watched Yemu—whose blood had vaporized from the scorching flames, gasping for breath as if unable to stand without the help of his Devil Fruit powers—suddenly grin, a twisted smile spread across his face.
"You stubborn bastard. Fine, I'll give you a chance."
"Oh!?"
Bullet clasped his hands in front of his chest, his Armament Haki enveloping his entire body. With confidence, he extended a single finger.
"Ten minutes. Just ten minutes. If you can break through my Armament Haki defense and injure me within that time, I'll spare your life. Otherwise, whether it's you... or your comrades—I'll slaughter every last one of them mercilessly. They'll regret following a useless fool like you."
Yemu's expression darkened for a moment, but then he shook his head.
"Well, thank you for that. But I detest pity more than anything. So, I'm raising the stakes."
As Yemu spoke, he tightened his fist.
The flames created by the Mera Mera no Mi seemed to take on a life of their own in that instant, swirling and coiling around Yemu's body, forming a fiery tornado that connected heaven and earth.
Then, Yemu spread his arms wide...
"Boom..."
With a deafening roar, the fiery vortex spun and contracted rapidly, finally coalescing into a slender crimson fire dragon. Its head roared toward the sky before plunging downward, wrapping around Yemu's fists and being absorbed into them.
"What is this..."
Bullet froze at the sight.
In that moment, even though he didn't want to admit it, he felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
On Yemu's fists and arms, beneath the pitch-black Armament Haki, crimson energy swirled, and a red fire dragon coiled within it.
"Next, I'm going to hit you..."
"With my only fusion technique, the one I actually thought of a name for: Flame Dragon Prison Fire Fist..."
Bullet's excitement surged once more. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny the dangerous aura that surrounded Yemu. It was the kind of feeling he hadn't sensed in a long time, and it made his blood boil.
"Well then, let me see. Can this move of yours truly excite me, or strike me down?"
"As you wish..."