111 Chapter 110

"So, Koala, why didn't you stay?"

In a calm setting, as the ship containing Hina, Bastille, and Koala sailed toward its destination, Hina softly asked Koala.

"Weren't you anticipating your reunion with everyone?"

Koala, with a wistful smile, said, "I was happy! I wish I could have spent more time with them! But..."

Koala recalled the night before the departure, of eavesdropping on the conversation between Smoker and Robin.

In response to Robin's words, Smoker said back then, <Whether Koala's information is leaked or not, whether that may lead to a danger hometown that's the burden for us bear. Koala... she's been waiting years this moment, and I'm not going take away her—even if it were go against logic.>

The start of this journey was full of recklessness. Simply for the sake of Koala, Smoker threw away the advantage of staying hidden against the World Government.

And so, Koala, at the age of 9, thought about how she could be a help to them. Eventually, she reached an answer. During the reunion with her mother, Koala whispered,

<W-What do you mean by that, Koala...?>

"I was reminded about many friends I made back in our place, and didn't want to leave them!" Koala forced a smile, "So I left!"

In silence, Hina and Bastille looked at each other, stoically. Bastille gently placed his hand over Koala's head and muttered to Hina,

"...Will the world that Smoker pictures truly come-dara?"

"It isn't about whether it can or cannot," Said Hina, firmly, "It is the matter of 'must.'"

Sighing in bittersweetness, Bastille stood up and exited the room in the ship. Hina returned her attention back to Koala and whispered, "It's gotten late into the night, Koala, and you've been through a lot today. Why don't you get a good night's sleep?"

"...Okay!" Koala complied with Hina's words and went to the back of the room where a small wooden bed was prepared. Before Hina blew off the candle that lightened up the dark room, Koala managed to get a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

In the mirror, there was a girl full of tears, forcing a stiff smile on her face.

__________

[Water Seven, Paradise]

Tom, a large cowfish fish-man shipwright. For the act of building the Pirate King's Oro Jackson, he was arrested by the World Government. During his trial, he appealed to the judges that to mend his sin, he would build a magical machinery called 'sea train' in 10 years.

It has been 10 years since. Tom has not accepted a single commission related to ships, and poured the entirety of his 10 years in keeping his promise. And alas, here it was,

"Today, I introduce you," Shouted Tom as he pointed his hand to a train standing on top of a train rail that somehow floated on the water, "The world's first-ever sea train... Puffing Tom!!"

People from all across the world were standing in front of Tom today, excited to learn more about Tom's creation. Amidst the crowd stood a man in a black suit and purple hair—Spamdam, otherwise known as the newly appointed leader of CP9. Crossing his arms and standing in front of other Cipher Pol agents, he seemed to be irked by Tom's success.

And on the other side of the crowd, there stood two men and one woman who were wearing sunglasses and fake mustaches: Aramaki, Senor Pink, and Robin.

"Today's the day that Tom's trial ends," Said Robin, "This means that Tom can start building ships again."

"Fuck yeah," Grinned Aramaki, "I've been friggin tired of weak-ass ones we've been using. Like seriously, how are we supposed to sail when they burst the moment they submerge into the underwater?"

"If only you were a shipwright, things would've been so much easier," Remarked Senor Pink, "You even have the perfect ability for that."

From far away, Tom shouted in excitement, "And now, we'll begin the showcase of Puffing Tom! Iceburg, get the engine started! Franky, move out of that rail if you don't want to get rammed!"

Crossing her arms, Robin said, "Anyhow, don't try to yawn."

"Dat's right, girl," Nodded Senor Pink, "Stay chill, and be ready to clap when that machine thing works."

The steam began to come out of the working Puffing Tom. Aramaki stared at it dully, before mumbling, "It's definitely something new. Yet, why am I not impressed?"

"Because..." Robin, remembering all she's been seeing for the past four years, chuckled, "We've been seeing things much more ridiculous than this—huh?"

In the sky, the papers have begun raining, interrupting Tom's showcase. There was a shout of a man,

"New bounties have arrived!!!"

One particular bounty paper slapped right onto Aramaki's face. Aramaki detached it from his face and took a look at it,

*'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet. Wanted Dead or Alive. 1,800,000,000 Beli.*

"Yuck, why is his face red?" Remarked Aramaki, before throwing the paper away.

__________

[Fish Man island]

Within the span of the past four years, the feats of 'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet spread throughout the world.

The destruction of three kingdoms, seven towns, and countless civilizations that Marine didn't manage to identify. This man wreaked havoc without any shred of humanity in him. A bulldozer, some commented from their safety zone, for Bullet's feats reminded them of a drill grinding through the ground without any resistance.

"It was fun while it lasted, kid."

Red Hair pirates were found unable to combat any further, with each of them having accumulated far too much damage. Fisher Tiger was nowhere to be found, but judging by the ongoing noises from a far distance away, he was still in combat against Byrnndi World. Neptune, his three sons, and the additional merman soldiers—they too were unable to go on any further.

"It's time to finish what I came here for."

Bullet said stoically as he began to march toward the Ryugu Palace above—

—only to find resistance on his ankle; someone was grabbing onto it.

"You..."

"I am... not letting you... go...!" It was Shanks, who glared at Bullet as he mustered every strength he had in every inch of his body.

Bullet frowned, and lifted his foot up,

CRUNCH.

Bullet's deadly stomp landed right on Shanks's left arm that held onto his ankle. Shanks didn't have any Haki remaining in his reserve, and the result was... the splash of blood, followed by the detachment of Shanks's left arm from his body.

"...!!!" Shanks's eyes widened, having met with an intense pain that threatened to knock him unconscious.

"Take my final token of generosity," Growled Bullet, "You'd be better off without an arm than a life, won't you?"

Leaving the bleeding Shanks by himself, Bullet resumed his march—

CLANG!

—before a bullet struck Bullet's Haki-imbued head. In an evident annoyance, Bullet turned around and met the chuckling form of Ben Beckman, the Vice Captain of Red Hair pirates.

Bullet, with a dark expression, lifted his right hand up and clenched it into a fist, "...Flies, they always pester me, generating noises, flying around, and disturbing me overall. And the most annoying thing is, they always escape your grasp and continue to annoy you over and over."

Bullet, turning his way around, began walking toward Beckman.

"What? Are you saying that I'm a fly?" Beckman remarked coolly, before shooting once more,

CLANG!

Bullet swatted bullets away with his hand as he walked. Eventually, he arrived in front of Beckman, and snorted at Beckman's rifle that was pointed right at his forehead, "And what differences are there between you and a fly, except for the fact that you, unlike fly, cannot escape from me?"

Beckman chuckled once more before his eyes sharpened.

'Point-blank range. Throughout the entirety of the battle, none of my shots had an effect on that monster. Thanks to that, his guard is down, and judging by his overall body gestures, he truly views me in the same standard as a fly.

Perfect.'

From the start, Beckman estimated that the chance of victory against Douglas Bullet was extremely slim. The point was to make one single which he believed to have a chance to 'kill' Bullet, which was to have a guard-down Bullet without Armament Haki to protect himself, standing right in front of Beckman himself.

Bullet's lifted-up fist now descended toward Beckman, planning to crush latter into the ground—

BANG!

From Beckman's rifle exited a dense bullet unlike any other that struck right onto the forehead of Bullet. This particular bullet, having been filled up with Armament Haki: Emission from its core all the way to its edges, wasn't something that could be blocked by human flesh without any reinforcement.

From this sudden impact, Bullet's face was knocked back, now facing up to the sky. His descending fist lost its momentum and fell powerlessly to the side.

Not letting his guard down, Beckman fired once more, to Bullet's exposed neck this time around,

CLANG!

only for an abrupt spread of Armament Haki onto Bullet's neck to block Beckman's bullet.

Beckman's eyes widened, and Bullet slowly lowered his head back.

Bullet exhibited a rage unlike any other as a trickle of blood flowed down from his forehead to his face.

Beckman couldn't help but speak hollowly, "...Are you a human?"

BOOOOM!

The ground behind Beckman exploded as Bullet blasted a hard punch right onto Beckman's abdomen. Beckman fell unconscious, and Bullet stood back up,

"...I commend you for that, pirate," Stated Bullet as he touched his forehead and plucked out the bullet, "Unfortunately for you, I've seen bullets far too many times for it to affect me—even if it were to be done right in front of me."

Dusting his hands off, Bullet left the scenery, for this time around, there was no one to stop him.

__________

"...Hongo," Yasopp, with a cold sweat, said seriously, "Get Red Force working. Evacuate everyone from here and escape. I'll try to hold that man down as long as I can!"

"Damn it...!!!" Hongo cursed in helplessness, before storming toward the back.

"Hongo!! W-What is going on?!" Uta screamed in shock as Hongo lifted her up by his shoulder as he hurriedly ran, "What are you doing, Hongo?! Let me go!! Shanks and everyone else are still down there!!"

Ignoring Uta's shout, Hongo cried, "Queen Otohime! Princess Shirahoshi! We have to move; Bullet is on his way to here!!!"

In the now-empty banquet hall, the huge Shirahoshi was found trembling in fear. Otohime, much smaller in terms of size, was trying her best to calm the princess down. Upon Hongo spoke, Otohime said gloomily,

"...Yes, I am aware of the ongoing situation below."

Turning around, Otohime placed her hand over her chest and said resolutely, "If Hongo-san can take princess Shirahoshi to safety, our Fish Man kingdom will forever be in gratitude."

Confused by Otohime's statement, Hongo asked, "What about you, queen?!"

Otohime closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'll... stay here and try to convince Douglas Bullet to stop."

"But—"

"If my king fought till his very end, then isn't it natural for his queen to follow in his footsteps?"

Hongo tried to reason, "Still! Bullet isn't someone whom—"

However, Hongo couldn't finish his words. The doorway into the banquet hall broke, and what flew past Hongo and Uta was the bloody form of Yasopp, whose nose seemed especially injured to an extent where it looked elongated much longer than usual.

""Yasopp!!!"" Hongo and Uta cried, before Hongo's breathing stiffened as he heard an echoing footsteps from below.

"...Shit."

Placing Uta down, Hongo turned around and faced the grinning Douglas Bullet.

Boom.

"Pluton. Poseidon. Uranus. The three ancient weapons are known to possess the strength that can destroy this world," Said Bullet as he locked his eyes onto Shirahoshi, "And... kahahah! Imagine my surprise when I recently came to learn that Poseidon is none other than... a mermaid!"

Gritting his teeth, Hongo snarled, "...What do you plan on doing with princess Shirahoshi?!"

"Why, isn't it obvious?!" Bullet spread his arms out wide and proclaimed, "I will open a war big enough to shake this entire world!! Only the victors, ones proven to be worthy, will survive!!"

A cold sweat slowly dripped down from Hongo's back. Hongo then said with a shaky smile,

"Run, Uta."

Then, Uta saw in her eyes,

BOOOOM!

Hongo getting smashed by the abrupt punch by Bullet, who managed to travel to Hongo's front in the blink of an eye.

"HONGO!!!" / "Hongo-san...!!" Uta and Otohime screamed in horror, but there was nothing that they could do. Bullet snorted at Uta who was tearing up in front of him, and without any care, raised his hand up in an attempt to throw her away from his sight.

There was nothing that Uta could do but close her eyes tight and inwardly shout to Shanks to save her. Then, as Bullet's hand descended,

"AHHHH!!!!"

BOOM!

A man whose size was half of Bullet's—Maynard—suddenly came crashing down from the top, right onto Bullet. Bullet was slammed down to the ground, and Uta unconsciously released a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"SMOKER YOU FUCKER!!!!" Maynard then screamed, causing Uta, Shirahoshi, and Otohime to flinch, "WHY DID YOU THROW ME OUT OF THE BOAT ALL OF A SUDDEN—"

BOOM!

On top of the livid Maynard came crashing down the small boat, effectively shutting the man down. On top of the said boat was Smoker, who had his chin resting on top of his hand.

"Damn, this boat really is a strong one," Smoker exclaimed.

Otohime, with widened eyes, whispered, "Who...?"

In response to it, Smoker directed his eyes at the queen, and while grinning, took out an envelope from his jacket,

"Am I late to the party, queen?"

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