“I lost…”
Those words echoed through Bullet’s mind. His all-out attack had failed to shake his opponent in the slightest, while he couldn’t even resist a casual strike from the other side.
It was an undeniable fact, and Bullet acknowledged it.
Just like when he had faced Roger back then—unable to match him, unable to defend against him, not even worthy of a single exchange.
All of his efforts over the past few years seemed like nothing more than an illusion. They had achieved absolutely nothing.
“Douglas Bullet, why do you want to become stronger?”
Nereus’s voice sounded beside his ear. Looking at the waves washing around his knees, Bullet knew very well that Nereus could kill him with ease.
Naturally, he did not want to die. Otherwise, he would never have fought so desperately to survive on the battlefield.
But dying at the hands of someone whose strength far surpassed his own was no disgrace. He felt no fear and replied directly:
“Become stronger…? I want strength for the sake of strength itself. Why does there need to be a reason? No one can be trusted except myself. As long as I become the strongest, I won’t have to rely on anyone. I’ll be able to surpass everyone and obtain everything through my own power alone!
I refuse to believe you were born this strong. Why did you… become stronger?”
“Me? There are things in this sea that I hate, and things that I cherish. Many people are weak, yet they’re still part of my life. Protecting those people requires strength as well.”
“Heh… comrades, family, always the same things…”
An orphan since childhood, Bullet had no understanding of family. Having been betrayed time and time again, he did not believe in comrades either. No matter who said such things, he would always dismiss them with contempt.
Roger and the others had tried to persuade him before, but Bullet had never listened.
As for Nereus… he had no intention of patiently persuading Bullet or acting as some kind of spiritual mentor.
“What? I’m stronger than you, so you’re wrong and I’m right. Is there a problem with that?”
“……”
Bullet suddenly did not know what to say. He had never encountered this situation before, but according to his own logic of strength, he seemed unable to refute Nereus.
“You think you’re strong. Other than Roger, you look down on everyone else. Then tell me, do you think the current you is a match for Golden Lion or Whitebeard?
Back then on Roger’s ship, you could fight Rayleigh to a draw. But what about Gaban?
A few years ago, I heard you fought that rookie Crocodile to a draw. Do you really think Crocodile and Rayleigh are opponents of the same level?”
Nereus’s words plunged Bullet into thought. Because he never fit in, Roger had been his only goal during his time on Roger’s ship. He rarely participated in the Roger Pirates’ activities.
Thinking carefully about it, during all those voyages, opponents like Whitebeard and Golden Lion had never seemed to pay any attention to him.
His fights with Rayleigh always ended in draws, yet Rayleigh had always appeared completely at ease…
Gaban never participated in such things either, but when facing members of the Knights of God, both Rayleigh and Gaban would step forward to fight.
As for Crocodile…
That draw was clearly different from the draws he had with Rayleigh.
These thoughts did not linger for long before Bullet forcibly cleared them from his mind.
One characteristic of this sea was that sometimes a certain degree of stubbornness was necessary to keep growing stronger.
If one allowed oneself to waver because of certain things, it could instead lead to decline.
Especially when it came to Haki. Sometimes, once your spirit faltered, your Haki would cease to function as well.
“This time I lost. I’ll concede that you’re right for now. But next time…”
“Next time? Do you think I’m someone like Roger? I have no interest in waiting around for you to challenge me whenever you feel like it. When it comes to unstable elements, I usually eliminate them directly.
You should be grateful that your choice was to wait here obediently for my return instead of trying to force me out through destruction.”
An icy killing intent enveloped Bullet before quickly dissipating. The sensation was familiar to him. Back on the battlefield, his enemies had often done the same.
Only now did he realize the greatest difference between Nereus and other powerful figures. Nereus was not someone like Roger, who believed in kings facing kings and soldiers facing soldiers.
According to the battle records released by the Marines back then, Nereus had the blood of many ordinary soldiers on his hands—the very kind of opponents that Bullet himself would have disdained to fight, yet Nereus showed no mercy.
No matter how much weaker they were, once Nereus identified someone as an enemy, he would kill without hesitation.
“However, right now, I’ll give you an opportunity. Once every year, I can give you a chance to challenge me. During that year, I can also provide you with a bit of guidance.”
“And the price?”
For someone seeking strength, the conditions Nereus offered were extremely attractive. It was like being handed a ready-made formula book that explained exactly how a formula was derived, far easier than trying to figure everything out on your own.
But Bullet did not believe in free lunches. In his eyes, such things were just like friendship and camaraderie—things that could not be trusted.
Bullet truly wanted to continue challenging Nereus until he completely surpassed him, and he did not mind receiving guidance from him either. But he needed to know the price.
“Work for me. Think of it… as being a mercenary. Given your current situation, if you keep causing trouble out there, sooner or later you’ll become a thorn in the side of the Marines and the World Government.
You can’t defeat Roger, which means you can’t defeat Garp either. Rather than getting thrown into Impel Down, you might as well work for me.
There’ll be no shortage of opportunities for battle. What do you say?”
Just as Nereus had said, throwing such a powerful combatant into Impel Down would be a waste. Moreover, Bullet’s personality had already solidified; changing it now would not be easy.
Rather than investing enormous effort into him, it was better to spend that effort on Chloe.
As for Bullet, simply making use of his strength and letting both sides get what they wanted was enough.
“Deal. I hope you won’t regret today’s decision in the future. You’re going to create an opponent you won’t be able to defeat!”
“Heh. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day. If you think you can do it, then go ahead and try. Ryugu Kingdom has expansion plans in the New World. It should suit you quite well.”
New World had already descended into chaos. Conflicts between pirate forces were becoming increasingly frequent, and the World Government and Marines had chosen to let them fight among themselves and wear each other down.
As far as the World Government was concerned, whatever an affiliated nation did to the territory of a non-affiliated nation was perfectly acceptable. They had no intention of interfering with what Nereus was doing in the New World.
They would not even care that Bullet was now working for Nereus. In the original timeline, the Marines had launched a Buster Call against the rampaging Bullet.
But the threat and political significance of a Buster Call far exceeded its actual effectiveness.
A force of ten warships and five Vice Admirals sounded impressive, but to true powerhouses, it was little more than a speed bump.
If Bullet were rampaging on his own, the Marines would naturally act as the damage spread. But once the Ryugu Kingdom became involved, a few things would be different.
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