Crumbling belief

"Hmph, got your mentality blown? Jack the Ripper?"

Ralph stretched his muscles and casually tore off the tattered fur coat he was wearing.

He sneered at Jack, who stood nearby with a gloomy expression.

Jack didn't even bother to look back at Ralph; his eyes were fixed on Nicholas, who was slowly approaching them. He grunted in response, clearly not interested in engaging in banter with Ralph at the moment.

Nicholas wasn't like the ordinary, run-of-the-mill folks from the first half of the Grand Line. Compared to the extremely tough opponents he had faced before, this guy was like a piece of steel.

In this situation, having an extra-competent ally would be advantageous and harmless.

As for Ralph's mockery, Jack knew it could wait until they settled scores later. After all, this collaborative hunt was initiated by him.

Jack consciously slowed his pace, intending to let Ralph bear the brunt of Nicholas's frontal assault.

For Jack, Ralph, with his robust physique and ability to take hits, was the perfect distraction for Nicholas.

With that thought in mind, Jack's steps became slower, allowing Ralph to take the lead in facing Nicholas's impending attack.

Tack, tack —

As Nicholas approached, Ralph picked up his pace, accelerating towards Nicholas!

Roar!

As he ran, Ralph's muscles underwent a tremendous transformation. Blue and white fur began to sprout from beneath his skin, enlarging his already bear-like frame. His face protruded, his teeth sharpened, and his limbs sprouted claws like razor blades. By now, Ralph had transformed into a true giant bear.

Even strands of lightning streaked across his blue and white fur.

This was why Ralph dared to hunt Nicholas. As a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user with the Ancient Zoan Lightning Bear Form ability, he had a high resistance to lightning, allowing him to even infuse his attacks with a hint of lightning due to his fur's unique properties.

Meanwhile, from a distance, Woodrow once again squeezed the trigger on his gun.

For him, Nicholas, with his back turned, was the prime sniper target.

He would make this guy understand never to expose his back to an outstanding sniper!

Woodrow fired several shots in succession.

The accuracy was impeccable, but despite several shots, there was no success. Bullets either fell a tad short or a tad late, always missing by a hair's breadth.

"It's useless. In the 'time-frame' I see, no matter how accurate your marksmanship is, you cannot hit me," Nicholas muttered to himself. He then turned sideways, using his index and middle fingers, covered in haki, to clamp down on the lead bullets shot from behind.

The bullets, clamped between his fingers, even turned slightly red from the friction.

"No matter what FPS game or reality, snipers are really annoying, aren't they?" Nicholas smiled faintly. He then aimed the lead bullet clamped between his fingers at Woodrow in the distance. In a flash of lightning, the bullet shot out like a meteor.

Swish —

The lead bullet, flying at such speed that it was almost invisible to the naked eye, seemed to have something different about it. Its speed caused it to show signs of melting.

Carrying high temperatures, the lead bullet reached Woodrow's forehead in an instant.

"So fast!" echoed in Woodrow's mind. In his line of sight, he didn't see the bullet but instead saw a scorching line. He even saw a trace of flames due to the bullet's speed, still lingering between Nicholas's fingers.

Thud!

Woodrow's head turned to blood mist, not even a single piece of bone was left from the shoulder above.

"Woodrow!!"

Jack, who had been keeping an eye on the battlefield, watched in horror as Woodrow fell to the ground, hundreds of meters away.

Although he wasn't a gun enthusiast, Jack understood Woodrow's marksmanship and reputation. Woodrow wasn't self-proclaimed "Gun God"; it was a title earned through countless battles since he set sail.

Especially his eagle-like sharp eyes, which not only enhanced his accuracy but even allowed him to see bullets flying at high speeds and evade them effortlessly.

Yet, here he was, effortlessly taken down by a bullet Nicholas shot with his own hands—a bullet whose trajectory he couldn't even see clearly.

How could such a thing be possible?

Jack found it difficult to believe, but soon a wave of fear surged within him. If Nicholas could easily deal with Woodrow, didn't it mean he could also easily deal with Jack, another Supernova like Woodrow?

After all, the difference in strength between Jack and Woodrow wasn't significant. If Jack kept his distance, he was doomed. But if he got close, Woodrow would be doomed!

Yet, in front of Nicholas, it seemed that distance didn't matter. They were both doomed, no matter what. It was terrifying.

As Jack grappled with his fears, Ralph, now fully transformed into a beast, had only one thought in his mind: to crush the little bug before him.

Underneath the tree roots, not far away, Bedeck watched the towering branches with a hint of helplessness. But out of fear of Nicholas, he spat on his hand.

After rubbing his palms together, he began to climb the tree. After all, Woodrow's body was still up there, waiting to be retrieved for the bounty.

When he climbed up, he saw Woodrow's lifeless body.

In the final moments of his consciousness, Woodrow was filled with puzzlement at Nicholas's attack, which he couldn't even track.

Until the end, he couldn't understand. Could a human really produce such an attack?

"Ah, why did you have to provoke him?" Bedeck shook his head, then hoisted Woodrow's body off the tree and prepared to descend.

The diamond parrot landed on Bedeck's head, flapping its wings. In its head, Woodrow was the caretaker, and now that the caretaker was gone, it had to find a new path for itself. And the guy in front of it seemed like a good choice.

Seeing the diamond parrot above his head and then glancing at Woodrow's corpse on his shoulder, Bedeck reached into Woodrow's pocket and rummaged around.

He pulled out a peanut, shoved it into the parrot's mouth, and the parrot's mood immediately improved.

Meanwhile, the crew members of Woodrow's pirate crew, who had retreated to a distance, watched in disbelief as Bedeck retrieved their captain's body from the tree and placed it next to Marley's corpse.

For them, Woodrow was their belief—the one who had made a name for gunners on the high seas. Woodrow's prowess with a gun was unparalleled in the sea, earning him the title of Gun God.

Yet, the top-level fighters on the sea were either Devil Fruit ability users, experts in martial arts, physically powerful, proficient in Haki, or adept in swordsmanship. But there wasn't a top-level gunner!

And now, the sniper prodigy they revered has fallen in the Sabaody Archipelago.

At this moment, their belief crumbled.