Rosen looked at Douglas Bullet, who was lying in the ruins and begging for death. He didn't say anything, but his eyes glowed red.
Observation Haki spread out, constantly reading the other party's emotions and thoughts.
Yes.
As the time spent practicing the Haki Core continued to lengthen, the various abilities of the Haki Seed of Observation were gradually stimulated.
For example, although he did not have innate top-level Observation Haki, through the practice of Observation Haki from the Haki Core, he gradually possessed various abilities of top-level Observation Haki.
One of these was reading inner thoughts.
Although he could not read the vast memories buried deep within a person's mind as freely as Redfield, through Douglas Bullet's thoughts, Rosen could read all his current ideas and emotions. They were presented before his eyes in the form of vivid pictures and sounds.
As the Demon's Heir approached the end of his life, Rosen used his Observation Haki to follow Bullet's thoughts, traveling through time to the country where war had never stopped for decades.
Abandoned by his mother at birth, Bullet was adopted by the enemy's military.
He became a young soldier at the age of eight, leading charges on the battlefield, stepping on landmines, and being treated like a mine rat.
Spending most of his childhood on the battlefield, he won a medal that was awarded only to the most meritorious soldier with his powerful combat ability. However, he was eventually betrayed by his comrades, suffered a near-fatal injury, and the medal that symbolized his honor and status was taken from him.
At the age of thirteen, he killed all the young soldiers who betrayed and harmed him. With his own strength, he became a military hero who dominated the battlefield and ate the Clank-Clank Fruit.
At fourteen, he became a national hero. Just when he was about to be free, he was betrayed by the Admiral who had adopted him and was sentenced to death. In anger, he destroyed the country of Endless War and all its armies. From then on, he went out to sea and was hunted by the World Government.
At fifteen, he wandered the seas and met Gol D. Roger. He challenged Roger and failed, becoming determined to pursue the strongest.
Yet he continued to fight despite repeated failures.
At seventeen, he was known as the Demon's Heir, but Gol D. Roger was suffering from a terminal illness.
At eighteen, he left Roger's Pirate Group to pursue the strongest.
At twenty-one, Gol D. Roger was executed. Bullet lost his goal of becoming the strongest and fell into a rampage due to confusion and anxiety.
At twenty-two, he challenged the Demon-Slaying Order led by Garp and Sengoku, as well as the pirates he had once fought. He eventually exhausted himself, was defeated, and imprisoned in Impel Down.
From then on, he began eight years of prison life in Level 6, with darkness and loneliness as his only companions. Still, he continued to train silently.
Suddenly, as Douglas Bullet reviewed his life, thoughts arose one after another in his mind.
'I received a medal that symbolizes military honor, but was betrayed by my comrades.'
'I became a national hero, but was betrayed by my adopted and only trusted superior.'
'I wanted to pursue the strongest, but had to face the outcome of Roger's illness and death.'
He murmured in his heart:
'Why?'
'I just want a home… or even a goal.'
'The Grand Line is so vast, can't even such a request be met?'
Douglas Bullet's eyes gradually became unfocused, and a complex, incomprehensible expression appeared on his face.
Home?
He wanted it, but lost it.
Companions?
He had them, but was betrayed, and no longer dared to believe in them.
A leader?
He had one too, but was stabbed in the back.
At last, the Demon's Heir became so humble that he only wanted a goal to pursue.
He didn't care whether he succeeded or not—just that he could enjoy the process of chasing it, knowing the goal would always exist.
What could he do?
The strongest man of the past was suffering from a terminal illness, surrendered himself, and was publicly executed.
His heart… was empty.
He seemed to have great strength, but in truth, he had nothing.
"I just want a home."
"Just one goal."
"Is that so?"
Rosen looked at Douglas Bullet deeply, and the red light in his eyes slowly dissipated.
If it had been any other prisoner in Impel Down's Level 6, he wouldn't have even been interested in using his Observation Haki on them—he would have simply killed them without a second thought.
The only exception was Douglas Bullet.
It wasn't because of the Demon's Heir's ability, nor because Bullet had given him a satisfying battle. It was simply because this man was different from other pirates.
In fact, Rosen couldn't find any trace of a pirate in Douglas Bullet.
Self-discipline.
Training.
Firm resolve.
Never giving up.
No greed for money. No lust for pleasure. No obsession with power. A man firmly adhering to his own way.
From his personality to his style, he was completely a soldier.
Perhaps it was because Douglas Bullet had been born a soldier. Even after going to sea, hunted by the World Government and labeled a pirate, he never carried a pirate's aura. Instead, he was filled with the strong presence of a military man.
That was why… he couldn't fit in with Roger's Pirate Group, which was made up entirely of pirates.
Because the entire crew advocated freedom, laxity, recklessness, and having no scruples.
And he couldn't fit into the New World full of pirates either.
Because the New World's main theme was piracy.
But it was precisely Bullet's military style, ingrained deep in his bones, that made Rosen—himself a Navy officer—look at him differently.
Thinking this, the Susanoo armor covering the Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō slowly dissipated.
Then, the Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō , who looked like a black-armored war god, also vanished.
"Aren't you going to do it yet?"
"Do you think I'm unworthy of dying under the blade of your mighty weapon, the Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō ?"
"Rosen!"
After reviewing his life, Douglas Bullet saw Rosen release his war god posture instead of striking. His face turned cold instantly, and he roared, questioning Rosen.
"Let me ask you something, Bullet."
"If you could choose again…"
"Would you want to be a pirate or a soldier?"
Rosen ignored Bullet's roar.
"What kind of bullshit question is that?"
"When was I ever a pirate?"
"It was your World Government that put me on the wanted list, forcibly labeling me as a pirate. Do you think I should have surrendered to the betrayal and siege of the Endless War Nation?"
"Even when I joined Roger's Pirate Group later, I only joined as a challenger—so that I could challenge Roger anytime and anywhere."
Bullet sneered.
"Don't you consider the crew of Roger's Pirate Group as your companions?"
Rosen stared directly into his eyes.
"Who would take those lazy weaklings as companions?"
"They're clearly weak, yet they don't know how to improve themselves. They just slack off all day, only pursuing treasure, freedom, and the like."
"It's completely incomprehensible."
Douglas Bullet held Rosen's gaze.
"There was a moment like that."
"At that time, I had destroyed the Endless War Nation and stayed on Roger's ship for a long time. When I learned Roger was suffering from a terminal illness, I did have a brief conscious desire to protect the crew."
"But later I understood—it was because of anxiety. I was afraid that Roger, dragging his sick body to protect them, would die faster."
"I wasn't trying to protect the people on the ship—I didn't want Roger to die too soon and rob me of my goal. Or maybe I wanted to prove something: if Roger died, I couldn't defeat him in a challenge. So, I could only surpass him in the captain's way."
"In other words, everything stemmed from my goal—to become the strongest."
The corners of his mouth twitched, and then he sighed—a rare thing for him.
For the first time, the Demon's Heir revealed his true feelings to someone.
Maybe it was because he believed he was about to die.
Or maybe it was because Rosen's military aura, mixed with the King's Haki, was so similar to his own that he chose to speak his mind.
...
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