"!!!"
Bullet's pupils shrank into pinpoints in an instant!
As a former great pirate who had once been defeated during a Buster Call, he knew all too well the meaning behind the four Den Den Mushi in front of him.
A Buster Call!
Four Buster Calls!
Back then, when the Marines tried to capture him, the forces dispatched were nothing more than Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and a dozen massive warships.
But these four Den Den Mushi before his eyes represented the combined will of Marine Headquarters at its highest level!
Once pressed, what would descend...
Was absolute violence strong enough to effortlessly wipe out any nation!!!
"Good!"
A hoarse syllable squeezed out from Bullet's throat.
He stared at Hawke, and in his eyes, a fire called "ambition" ignited.
This young Marine Rear Admiral before him was undoubtedly a future leader whom the Marine higher-ups were sparing no effort to cultivate.
What he said—counted.
But, young men were always young men, forever filled with unrealistic arrogance.
A genius, before truly reaching maturity, was nothing at all!
And yet, he dared to wager on "freedom."
Then let me show you why I was called the "Demon Heir"!
Today, I'm walking out of Impel Down, no matter what!
"Clack—"
Magellan stepped forward, pulling out a ring of keys from his waist.
"Click—" A crisp unlocking sound.
"Creaaak—" The heavy Seastone cell door slowly swung open.
Magellan walked into the cell, and with another key, unlocked the Seastone shackles clasped around Bullet's wrists and ankles.
"Clang!"
The shackles fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.
"!!!"
In Eternal Hell, all the legendary pirates turned their gazes this way.
The slaughter and screams echoing from the upper levels—everyone had sensed them.
But that had nothing to do with them.
They were the Level 6 great pirates, their sins too monstrous to pardon.
The Marines and the World Government wouldn't dare recklessly slaughter them.
Because once the powerful Devil Fruit abilities in their possession reentered the world through new hosts, it would only plunge everything into even greater chaos and disaster.
But...
Not killing them meant... eternal imprisonment!
And now...
There seemed to be a chance to get out!
Everyone fixed their eyes on Hawke, wanting to see clearly...
This Marine Rear Admiral who could lay down four Buster Calls—just what kind of strength did he possess?
"Huff—"
Bullet flexed his wrists, the joints crackling.
He stepped out of the cage. "Come."
"Let me see just how much the Marine's future is worth!"
Bullet shot forward like a cannonball, charging fearlessly at Hawke!
He didn't use his Devil Fruit powers, nor even coat his fist in Armament Haki.
Relying only on the body tempered through twenty years of grueling training, he unleashed a probing punch!
"Good!"
Hawke stood his ground, neither dodging nor flinching.
This was exactly the kind of opponent he needed, exactly the kind of battle he sought.
He raised his right arm, fingers clenched into a fist, and swung head-on to meet Bullet's punch.
"Boom—!!!"
At the instant their fists collided, a visible shockwave exploded outward!
A terrifying blast of air swept violently in all directions, whipping Zoro and Sanji's cloaks into a frenzy.
"This..."
Magellan's pupils shrank violently, the poison behind him surging uncontrollably.
The dust cleared.
"... "
The mockery and testing on Bullet's face vanished without a trace.
In its place was sheer astonishment.
His probing strike—had been brushed aside with casual ease!
This young man...
This Marine Rear Admiral...
His physical strength—was no less than his own?!
"Interesting!"
Bullet's fighting spirit ignited completely.
He suddenly poured in his power, Armament Haki instantly coating his entire arm in black, his strength skyrocketing!
"Come!"
Hawke's eyes remained calm as Armament Haki also surged along his arm.
"Boom—!"
Their second clash erupted with an even more violent burst of force.
Both men were blasted back by the massive recoil.
"Again!"
Bullet let out an excited roar, charging forward once more.
This time, he was dead serious!
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Inside Eternal Hell, their figures blurred into streaks. Every collision ripped the air apart with terrifying shockwaves.
It was a battle of strength against strength!
Physique against physique!
"Oi..."
Watching from the side, Zoro and Sanji's faces were already filled with utter shock.
"You've... got to be kidding..."
Sanji's cigarette had slipped from his mouth without him noticing, and he muttered,
"How do we even catch up to that...?"
He turned sharply toward Zoro, only to see...
Zoro's body trembling slightly.
His hand gripped tightly around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji at his waist, his knuckles white from exertion.
That wasn't fear.
It was the thrill that welled up from deep within the soul when facing an insurmountable chasm!
So this... was Hawke's true strength?!
To clash head-on with a legendary great pirate...
This was the power of the world's very peak?!
The gap—was far too wide!
Hawke's back was already so distant, it was almost impossible to see.
But precisely because of that...
There couldn't be a single pause in their pursuit!
Zoro felt as if a slumbering beast deep in his soul had been roused by the collision of king against king before his eyes.
It opened one eye, casting a savage glare that looked down upon the world.
Get stronger. Stronger still!
Strong enough to always stand behind Hawke, cutting down every obstacle in his path!
"..."
Magellan watched silently. Of everyone still standing, he felt it the clearest.
Thanks to Hannyabal's endless chatter, he was fairly familiar with the story of Rear Admiral Hawke's meteoric rise.
This monstrous young man had been hailed as the Marine's future.
But judging from the power Hawke was displaying right now...
He was only a single step away from the level of an Admiral.
No wonder.
No wonder Fleet Admiral Sengoku had dared to tacitly permit him to bathe Impel Down in blood!
Everything made sense now.
With this level of combat power...
The leader of the new generation, barely past twenty years old, already possessed a terrifying strength on par with the Admirals of Headquarters.
Give him a few more years—no, not even a few. Before long, the fourth Marine Admiral would be born.
And with Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino still in their prime...
A new Admiral, ruthless and iron-blooded in his ways, could completely reshape the balance of the entire sea!
Suddenly, Magellan's eyes shrank once more.
"No... no, that's not right!"
"Rear Admiral Hawke... is progressing?!"
Shiryu, that bloodthirsty jailer—Hawke had said he would leave him to his subordinate Zoro.
That was a whetstone for a swordsman's trial.
But this man before his eyes, once mentioned in the same breath as Rayleigh twenty years ago, now with unfathomable strength—Douglas Bullet, the "Demon Heir"...
He...
He was the whetstone Hawke was using to sharpen himself?!!!
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