Boom!!
The entire island shook violently as rolling yellow sand and steel debris shot into the sky.
"Kuahaha!! You really are the Demon Heir!!"
Crocodile laughed maniacally, a bright line of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. The wildly twisting, compressed yellow sand condensed in his hand into a miniature storm, which he hurled with all his strength.
The compressed sand expanded rapidly in flight, and in the blink of an eye, it became a towering sandstorm that connected the heavens and the earth, destroying everything in its path as it roared toward Bullet in the distance!
"Don't get cocky!! Crocodile!!"
Bullet, also battered and bloodied, laughed recklessly without a care.
Countless chunks of metal, dirt, and rubble swiftly gathered at his severed arm, forming a giant mechanical limb over ten meters long.
Covered in pitch-black Armament Haki, the massive arm spewed scorching white steam.
Bullet roared with laughter and took a bold step forward, charging head-on into the incoming sandstorm without flinching!
"Unión Armado: Impact Cannon!!"
He threw a punch!!
Boom!!
He threw a punch!!
Boom!!
A torrent of yellow sand erupted skyward like a massive pillar, completely blotting out the view.
In the next moment, a colossal shadow rose behind the sand curtain, then burst through the swirling sands with unstoppable force, roaring toward the sky.
It was a gigantic combined mecha, towering over a hundred meters tall!!
"Unión Armado: Medium Bullet Mode!"
Bullet had used the power of the Gasha Gasha no Mi, gathering vast amounts of metal and stone to transform himself into this iron-blooded war giant!
"Kahahahaha!! Come, Crocodile!! Show me what you've got!!"
A fierce gale swept over the battlefield, whipping Crocodile's black fur coat wildly.
At that moment, a strange red gleam surged deep within his eyes.
As he unleashed his Observation Haki, his gaze pierced through the massive war giant, locking onto Bullet's crazed, grinning figure deep within its head.
An overwhelming sense of pressure, like a tsunami, crashed down on him. Facing the Demon Heir firing on all cylinders, Crocodile felt a suffocating pressure he hadn't experienced since facing that damned Marine Vice Admiral!
No... Bullet now wasn't quite on that level!
"I won't lose again!!"
Crocodile's bloodshot eyes gleamed with fierce battle spirit as he roared.
"Ground Death!!"
The ground, buildings, rocks, streets—everything around them dried up in an instant, and the entire town turned into a vast desert.
With Crocodile's furious cry, an enormous surge of yellow sand flooded upward like a tidal wave, layer upon layer piling up until it took the form of a giant crocodile no smaller than the war giant, its massive bloody jaws snapping open wide.
Crocodile and Bullet locked eyes, and at the same time, unleashed their strongest attacks!
"Ultimate Cannon!!"
"Sables: Giant Crocodile!!"
As their shouts rang out, the war giant that trampled everything and the desert crocodile that devoured all life roared as they collided with earth-shattering force!!
Boom!!
The ground quaked violently, splitting open into deep, bottomless fissures.
A tremendous shockwave blasted outward, raising monstrous waves hundreds of meters high on the nearby sea.
After what felt like a century—or perhaps just a few fleeting seconds—the sea breeze finally swept away the dense smoke.
From the ruins of the leveled town, two figures slowly reappeared.
Crocodile and Bullet lay sprawled across the ground, completely spent, gasping for breath.
Their golden hook and mechanical arm had been blasted away, exposing the clean cuts of their severed arms.
It was a draw.
The world fell silent, broken only by the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore.
"Kahaha!!"
Bullet lay sprawled on the ground, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, but his face was filled with a joyful laugh.
"That feels good!"
"You're a good opponent, Crocodile!"
He turned to Crocodile, who was panting beside him, and their eyes met with a flash of mutual understanding between warriors.
"In this vast sea, who could possibly have the strength to cut off the hand of someone like you?"
Crocodile gritted his teeth.
"Rogers Daren!"
Bullet's face froze.
Crocodile didn't notice his expression and turned to him, curiously asking,
"What about you?"
Bullet's mouth twitched and he said gloomily,
"...Me too."
Crocodile: ...
Bullet said indignantly:
"He only got me because he ambushed me! If he hadn't teamed up with Sakazuki, there's no way he could've beaten me!"
Crocodile glanced at him and suddenly said:
"You probably haven't read the latest newspaper, have you? That guy just killed Shiki."
Bullet: ...
"That's impossible!"
He shouted in disbelief.
Crocodile sighed, his eyes looking a little lonely and defeated.
"When he came to me, he had already mastered Kaidou's 'Indestructible Body'... Since he was able to kill Shiki, even if it was partly luck, it means that he has definitely become stronger than he was back then."
Bullet's pupils contracted and he subconsciously clenched his fists.
"Damn it!"
He stood up with gritted teeth and staggered toward the shore.
"Where are you going?"
Crocodile asked.
Bullet didn't turn around, just said fiercely,
"I can't waste any more time! I'm going to challenge more powerful opponents!"
"That bastard Daren... How did he get so strong so fast?"
Crocodile looked at Bullet's cursing back and felt a sense of sympathy for him, and suddenly laughed.
"Then you'd better work hard, or else I'll kill you the next time we meet."
"Same to you," Bullet said, walking into the submarine and driving away.
...
Far away at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Daren had no idea that Crocodile and Bullet had formed a "revolutionary friendship" because of him. Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't have had time to care.
At that moment, he was facing a terrible dilemma.
"Gion, I'm pregnant, so I may not have as much time to serve my husband. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Amatsuki Toki caressed her slightly rounded belly with one hand and gently held Daren's arm with the other, smiling at Gion in front of her.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Daren couldn't help feeling that he saw a sly, victorious smile flash across Toki's eyes.
"Of course, Toki-neesan, please rest and take care of yourself," Gion said with a fake smile.
Looking at the fake smiles on the two women's faces, Daren felt a chill run down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
"Um... Actually, I don't need anyone to take care of me."
"Shut up!" x2
The two women said in unison.
"Okay, okay."
Daren shrank his neck and twitched the corner of his mouth.