On the other side, at G8—
The entire island was bathed in blinding white and violet light.
Two awakened powers clashed across the base, each vying for dominance.
Every so often, a lucky Marine would be caught in the crossfire of this collision of titans...
Beginning their one-way journey off this mortal coil.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion shook the sky.
In the region Bullet had seized, flecks of white began to pierce through, launched by Doflamingo.
"Ahahahahaha! Fantastic!!"
Bullet burst into hearty laughter as he drew the awakened energy closer to himself.
Even so, his Awakening still lagged a step behind Doflamingo's.
If that's the case, then let's fight it out with fists and fury!
Rumble...!
Earth, stone, buildings, steel, ships—
Everything fused into a raging violet current, surging toward the sky like a tsunami trying to touch the heavens.
The Marines who had retreated to the sea were like helpless insects before this massive wave.
Gulp.
The G8 Base Commander swallowed hard. His palm, still gripping the helm, was soaked in sweat.
Eyes wide, he watched in stunned silence.
"Can... can a human being even do something like this?"
"O-over there!"
The first mate behind him pointed with a trembling hand toward another direction.
The Commander followed his gaze—and his pupils contracted violently.
The valley across had been leveled into flat land. Two towering pillars stood in the sea.
Looking higher, he realized those weren't pillars at all—they were legs.
An enormous white giant loomed, stretching into the clouds.
It stood in complete silence, its sheer size and presence enough to crush the will to resist.
Misty clouds circled its head like a divine halo.
Just the sight of it was enough to make a man crumble inside.
ROAR!!!
A deafening roar echoed out as Bullet adopted his battle stance.
Though his form was slightly smaller than before, it had changed.
His body was now fully cloaked in a deep black coating of Armament Haki.
DOOM!
A blast like a magnitude ten quake erupted beneath his feet.
"Ultimate!!"
Bullet charged.
The ground beneath shattered into rubble.
Waves surged, rising into towering walls of water.
He crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Then, the massive black giant—measured in hundreds of meters—threw a monstrous punch at Doflamingo.
The fist tore through the sky.
Even the air couldn't withstand it—it exploded outward, turning into a shockwave that swept in all directions.
Below, the remaining Marines were flung away by the sheer pressure.
Had that punch landed on G8 directly, the entire island would have been reduced to rubble in an instant.
"Giant Cannon!!!"
BOOM!
A tremendous crash rang out. The white giant's left hand came down first and caught Bullet's punch head-on.
But its right arm was already raised high, like a fully drawn bowstring, and came crashing down.
"This speed and power?!"
Bullet's pupils shrank as he raised his other hundred-meter-long arm to counter.
DOOM!
Black met white in a titanic clash of fists.
Like gods and devils wrestling for control of the world.
CRACK!
A large fracture spread across the back of Bullet's black giant fist.
The black giant staggered two steps back, splitting the sea beneath his feet.
But Bullet wasn't alarmed—he was thrilled.
He pushed his Awakening further, instantly healing the cracks in his arm.
And then—
He struck again.
"Hahaha! How the hell did you do that?!"
They were both Awakened Devil Fruit users. He even had Armament Haki layered over it.
So why—why was he the one showing signs of weakness first?
"Fufufufufu~ Bullet, this is my earth-shattering brilliance!"
Doflamingo burst out laughing, his voice dripping with pride and arrogance.
Piloting his giant, he moved at an absurd speed and charged forward.
Swinging again at Bullet.
"Even if we're both awakened, the gap between us is in a league of its own. I'll carve that truth into your flesh—make you feel it with every bone in your body!!"
Those six months on Skypiea—he hadn't just been growing crops.
Awakening didn't mean it couldn't be stronger!
Even without Judge or Caesar's help...
He would punch and punch until the String-String Fruit became the strongest Devil Fruit in the world!
"Brilliance?"
Bullet's eyes gleamed red, filled with burning intensity.
He wrapped his titanic, warship-sized fist in a swirl of black-and-red Conqueror's Haki.
And struck back even harder, even faster.
"I've survived this long by relying on one thing—power!!!"
It was power that let him crawl out of a land consumed by endless war.
It was because of that power that Doflamingo needed him—chose to fight again and again.
Everything... was because he was strong enough!
"Then think real hard on this—
Why is there such a gap between two creations?"
Doflamingo unleashed his Conqueror's Haki too.
He struck second, but his blow landed first—slamming into Bullet's fist.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!
The black giant fist that stretched between heaven and earth began to crack apart, inch by inch.
Shattered fragments, the size of buildings, flew in every direction.
"Again!"
Bullet growled as he hurled himself forward, another chunk of the island's foundation breaking beneath him.
His severed arm regenerated—and he launched another charge.
...
CRACK!!
The G8 Base Commander struggled to shatter a boulder that had come flying toward the ship.
With a broken arm, he dropped to the deck.
"Commander… can we really survive this...?"
A despairing Marine finally gave voice to what they were all thinking.
Faced with such overwhelming, godlike combat, the pleasure-seeking Marines of G8 had lost all will to fight.
Even their ship was being tossed around by the aftershocks, helpless like a baby in a storm.
They couldn't even escape this sea, let alone fight.
And their bodies—flesh and blood—how could they endure?
"We will!"
The G8 Base Commander bit down on his lower lip and forced the words out—even if he didn't believe them himself.
He could only hope that Marine Headquarters would stop this before it reached other islands.
Directed by: Akainu.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg