All Four Gates Fall: Bullet's Battle at the East Gate

Early morning. Off the coast of Wano Country, the Void.

As dawn broke, a thin mist drifted across the sea. The Void's five Sea King Cannons gleamed coldly in the morning light, their muzzles pointed towards the Flower Capital.

Lin Yuan stood at the bow, while Kaido leaned against the mast, gnawing on a piece of roasted meat—his breakfast, bigger than his face, oil dripping down his chin. Bullet did his final stretches on the deck, cracking his arms. King stood atop the mast, the golden flames behind him dancing in the morning breeze, like a living lighthouse. Kuma stood silently by the ship's railing, his palms slightly open. Moria huddled in a corner, hugging his shadow, pale-faced—seasick. Inazuma crouched beside him, twirling scissors in his hand.

"Are you seasick?" Inazuma asked.

"I'm not dizzy... just a little nauseous..."

That's seasickness.

"Shut up."

Ginny's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, a hoarse tone that seemed to say, "I haven't slept all night, but you guys are still wide awake: 'The four gate guards have been confirmed. West Gate— Fire Demon, one of our own. East Gate— Drunkard, one of our own. South Gate— Lecher, one of our own. North Gate— Caimi, one of our own. But each gate has a supervisory team planted by Orochi; they're not so easy to fool.'"

"How many people are in the supervisory team?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Each gate costs between fifty and one hundred. They're all Orochi's die-hard loyalists, the kind who won't surrender."

"Then fight them until they surrender."

Ginny turned a page of the ledger—though Lin Yuan couldn't see it, he could imagine it. "Also, there's the Iron Wall Guard in the square in front of the Castle, three hundred men, the most elite unit of the Orochi. The captain is called Tie Gui, Iron Wall's senior brother. You have twenty Armor-Piercing Bullets rounds left, use them sparingly."

Lin Yuan put down his water glass. "Attack from all four gates simultaneously. Whoever's gate breaks first gets the credit."

Kaido tossed the meaty bone into the sea, wiped his greasy hands on his pants, and slung his Iron Club over his shoulder. "I'll attack the front— the Castle's main gate. You can attack the other gates."

"The front isn't a gate, it's a city wall."

"Then let's attack the walls." Kaido grinned. "We're going to smash them anyway."

Sea King Cannons fired in unison.

The five Sea King Cannons fired simultaneously. Five blinding white beams ripped through the sea, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, and crashed into the walls of the Flower Capital.

"Boom--Boom--Boom--Boom--Boom--"

Five large holes were blasted open in the city wall. Debris flew everywhere, bricks flew all over the sky, like a rain of stones. The guards on the city tower were overturned by the blast wave. Some fell into the city and were half-dead, some fell outside the city and crashed into the sea, and some hung on the ruins of the city wall and screamed. Smoke filled the air and dust flew everywhere.

"Land!" Lin Yuan raised his hand and opened a huge door between the Void and the gap in the city wall. The door was ten meters high and eight meters wide. Behind the door was the street of the Flower Capital, where one could smell the smoke of gunpowder and the stench of blood.

Kaido was the first to rush in. Not run, but fly— in his Azure Dragon Form, he flapped his wings and soared out. He flew over the city wall, his dragon claws tearing apart the gate tower, rubble and planks raining down. He landed in the square in front of the Castle, creating a large crater, splattering the Iron Wall Guards with debris. He transformed back into human form, planted his Iron Club rod on the ground, and grinned at the three hundred soldiers in black iron armor in the square.

Good morning. Have you had breakfast yet?

No one answered. Everyone was trembling.

Bullet burst out of the gate and ran towards the east gate. Jhin flew through the air towards the west gate, Kuma strode towards the north gate, and Moria and Inazuma ran towards the south gate. Allied soldiers poured out of the gates, following their respective officers towards their targets.

Ginny's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, broadcasting in a tone like a football commentator. "The East Gate garrison is putting up a fight! Tie Lan is on the tower with her detachment! The Drunkard has been subdued! Bullet is on his way! 300 meters away!"

East Gate.

By the time Bullet arrived, the battle was already at its most intense.

The Drunkard was covered in blood, his left arm hanging limply—dislocated. His dagger was stuck in the wall, the tip broken. He knelt on one knee, panting heavily, the ground in front of him covered in blood. Not from the enemy, but from himself. Tie Lan's whip had shattered his shoulder, broken his collarbone, and every breath felt like being stabbed.

Tie Lan stood in the center of the city tower, looking down from above. She was tall, her entire body encased in iron armor, only her eyes were visible. In her hand she held a six-foot-long iron whip, its blade pitch black, covered with dense barbs, and blood dripping from its tip.

"Drunkard, you've had too much to drink." Tie Lan's voice came coldly from behind the iron mask. "The Orochi has treated you well, and you've turned against him?"

"You've treated me well?" The Drunkard spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "He used my whole family as hostages. My wife is still in the dungeon of the Flower Capital."

That's your honor.

"Honorable you, Mom."

The Drunkard struggled to his feet and drew a spare dagger from his waist. The blade was only the length of a palm, not even able to pierce Tie Lan's armor. But he did not retreat. Not because he was not afraid of death, but because his wife was still in the Orochi's hands; if he died, his wife would not live either.

Tie Lan sneered, whipping out her iron whip with a whooshing sound as it lashed towards the Drunkard's face. The whip was fast and ruthless, drawing an arc in the air as its barbs tore through the air with a sharp whistling sound. The Drunkard's left arm was already useless, and his right-hand short knife was too short for him to dodge—he closed his eyes.

A hand grasped the whip.

Bullet's hand. Armament Haki covered his palm, his five fingers clenched, gripping the whip tightly, as if he were holding a snake by its vital spot.

Tie Lan lashed out with the whip, but couldn't budge it. The whip seemed welded to Bullet's hand.

"Who are you?" Tie Lan narrowed her eyes.

"Bullet. Got it."

Tie Lan's pupils contracted slightly. The devil's heir, Douglas Bullet. Bounty... She remembered reading in the newspapers, five hundred million or six hundred million? No matter how much, this man's fist could shatter a warship. She had seen the battle report— Bullet sank a Marine warship with a single punch, even Vice Admiral couldn't stop him.

But she did not retreat. She released the whip, took two steps back, and her arms began to change.

Her skin turned into scales, her arms stretched out like snakes, her fingers became venomous fangs, and purple liquid dripped from their tips. Her neck lengthened, her head stretched in front of Bullet, and her mouth split to her ears, revealing two rows of barbed fangs. Her lower body remained unchanged, but her entire demeanor transformed from "Ironclad General" to "Viper Banshee."

Zoan, Snake-Snake Fruit, Viper Form.

"And now?" Tie Lan's voice came from the snake's mouth, hissing and crackling with the corrosive sound of venom.

Bullet's eyes lit up. "Interesting."

It wasn't fear. It was the excitement of "finally meeting a worthy opponent."

Tie Lan moved. Her speed was twice as fast as before—the speed of a snake. Instead of a straight charge, she moved in an S-shape, swaying left and right, making it impossible to predict her attack direction. Her serpentine arms simultaneously bit at Bullet from both sides, one to the left and one to the right, blocking all escape routes. Her fangs flashed through the air, leaving purple afterimages.

Bullet didn't dodge. His fighting style was never about dodging. He punched the snake's head on the left.

His fist was covered in jet-black Armament Haki, the hardened layer as thick as armor. The fist slammed into the snake's head with a whooshing sound. "Clang—" The sound of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying. The snake's head was knocked off course, tilted to one side, and crashed into the city wall, shattering the bricks. But it didn't break— Tie Lan's Armament Haki also covered the snake's head, and it was no weaker.

The snake's right head seized the opportunity and bit Bullet's shoulder.

The fangs pierced his skin. Bullet felt a sharp pain, followed by dizziness. The venom was injected faster than he expected; not just a drop or two, but an entire vial of venom was injected into his bloodstream within seconds. In less than two seconds, his vision began to blur, the ground beneath his feet seemed to shake, and sensation in his left hand was rapidly fading.

Tie Lan released the snake's fangs, took a few steps back, and the snake's head transformed back into human form, with blood dripping from the corner of its mouth— Bullet's blood.

"My poison is lethal in three minutes." Tie Lan wiped her mouth. "No matter how strong your Armament Haki is, it can't stop poison. Armament Haki protects against physical attacks, but it can't prevent liquid penetration."

Bullet looked down at the wound on his shoulder. Two bloody holes, the surrounding area already blackened, black blood vessels spreading outwards like a spider web. The venom was spreading, and he could feel it—his left arm was numb, his left shoulder was numb, and the numbness was spreading towards his chest.

He used Armament Haki to force out the venom. The black liquid seeped from the wound, dripping onto the ground and corroding small pits with a hissing sound. But there was too much venom; only half was forced out, while the other half had already seeped into his blood and flowed into his veins.

"Force out the poison?" Tie Lan sneered, her snake arms extending again, the four snake arms dancing in the air—she grew two more snake arms, each hand now having two, the four snake arms resembling four Viper, each finger a fang. "My poison is a mixture, half neurotoxin and half hemotoxin. You can force out the hemotoxin, but not the neurotoxin. Your left hand is already useless, and in three minutes, your heart will stop."

Bullet clenched his left hand. Indeed, his fingers were unresponsive, as if they were covered by a thick glove. He moved his left shoulder; the joints were stiff, like rusty hinges.

"Have you fought in many battles?" Bullet asked.

"Countless." Tie Lan's four serpentine arms crossed in front of him, forming a defensive net, his fangs aimed at Bullet's vitals—throat, heart, temples, and eyes. "You think I'm just a whip-wielder? I've served under the Orochi for fifteen years, and I've killed more people than you've ever seen."

Bullet remained silent for a moment.

Then he laughed. Not a loud laugh, but the kind of laugh that comes from "finally met a worthy opponent." His lips curled up, his eyes gleamed, and his blood seemed to boil—not from the venom, but from the will to fight.

"Fifteen years?" Bullet cracked his neck, his joints popping. "Do you know how many years I've been killing? I went to war at eight, and it's been eleven years now. I've killed more people than you've ever seen."

He bit his tongue, the taste of blood exploding in his mouth, the pain bringing him to his senses for a moment. He gritted his teeth, focusing his Armament Haki on his left arm, forcibly expelling the neurotoxin. Not expelling it from his body, but suppressing it—using Haki to suppress the toxin below his left shoulder, preventing it from spreading to his heart.

His left arm was still unresponsive, but the numbness had stopped spreading.

"Your poison is nothing special." Bullet raised his head, his eyes even fiercer than before. "Three minutes? That's enough."

Tie Lan's expression changed. She had seen people poisoned by her—strong or weak—but none of them could laugh like Bullet after being poisoned.

"You're just putting on a brave face," Tie Lan said. "Your left arm is useless. You only have one hand left."

"One hand is enough to hit you."

Without another word, Tie Lan charged forward, her four snake arms launching an attack simultaneously.

The first snake arm bit at Bullet's throat, the second stabbed at his heart, the third attacked his right rib from the side, and the fourth slammed down on his head. The four snake arms attacked simultaneously from four directions, sealing off all angles. The snake's mouth opened, revealing its fangs, and purple venom gleamed at the tips of its teeth.

This is Tie Lan's signature move – "Four Serpent Devour". In his fifteen years on the battlefield, no one has survived this move. Because no matter which side you block, the other three will bite you. You can block one hand, but you can't block four.

Bullet didn't block.

He charged toward Tie Lan —not to dodge, but to charge head-on. His right fist was clenched, his Armament Haki extremely dense, with faint dark red lightning crackling on his knuckles.

Conqueror's Haki Coating.

Bullet Awakening Conqueror's Haki at God Valley, but he'd never been able to use it consistently. He preferred to solve problems with his fists; Conqueror's Haki was too flashy and impractical. But today was different. Today, his left hand was useless, his right shoulder was poisoned, his stamina was dwindling, and he had only three minutes left. He needed to end the fight with one strike.

Dark red lightning coiled around the fist, not covering it, but entangling it—a sophisticated application of Conqueror's Haki.

Tie Lan's four snake arms simultaneously bit into Bullet's body.

Two fangs bit his right arm, one his waist, and one his right leg. The fangs pierced his skin, injecting venom once more. Bullet's vision blurred for a moment, but he didn't stop.

His right fist had already thrown out.

"Overlord Iron Fist."

The fist slammed into Tie Lan's chest. Not in the face, not on the body—it struck right in the center of his chest, directly above his heart.

Tie Lan heard the sound of her ribs breaking. Not one, but four. Then came the sound of her sternum shattering, like stepping on a dry plank of wood. Her heart stopped beating for a moment—not from being pierced, but from being jolted to a halt by the impact.

She was sent flying. Not knocked back, but thrown like she'd been hit by a truck, flying over the entire city gate, crashing through the wall behind it, and slamming into the street below. Bricks, pebbles, and dust rained down on her, burying her.

Bullet stood still. The four snake arms were still biting him, their fangs embedded in his flesh, their bodies limp and hanging down like four dead snakes. He ripped the snake arms off his body, pulled the fangs out of his flesh, and four jets of blood gushed out. Blood gushed out, but he remained unfazed.

"You... you're not..." Tie Lan struggled to her feet from the rubble, blood streaming from her mouth, a large dent in her chest armor. "How can your fist... have Conqueror's Haki...?"

"Is it strange that I have Conqueror's Haki?" Bullet walked up to her, looking down at her. "I had it back in God Valley."

Tie Lan's pupils contracted. The God Valley —that was where the Celestial Dragons were slaughtered, and also the battlefield where Lin Yuan rose to fame. Bullet was there too? She didn't know.

"You surrender," Bullet said. "I won't kill you."

Tie Lan opened her mouth, as if to say something, but blood gushed from it. Her sternum was shattered, her ribs were broken, and her internal organs were likely injured. She was still alive because Bullet's punch wasn't meant to kill her—if he had, the punch would have landed on her head.

"I..." Tie Lan lowered her head, "I surrender."

The Drunkard came down from the city wall, looked at Tie Lan's disheveled appearance, and then at Bullet standing there covered in blood, and remained silent for a moment.

"Are you alright after being poisoned?"

"Something's wrong." Bullet glanced at the wound on his shoulder, still bleeding black blood, his left arm still unresponsive, and his right arm bearing the marks of venomous fangs. "I'm a little dizzy."

"... Then you can still stand?"

"It has to be possible, even if it's impossible."

The Drunkard shook his head, tied up Tie Lan, and shouted to the guards at the east gate, "Your captain has surrendered! Put down your knives if you want to live!"

The guards at the east gate exchanged bewildered glances. Some lowered their swords, while others hesitated. The remaining members of the supervisory team tried to flee, but were slashed down one by one by the Drunkard's henchmen.

Bullet stood atop the city wall, gazing at the inner city of the Flower Capital. The Orochi's banner still fluttered atop the Castle. He clenched his right fist; the dark red lightning on his knuckles had dissipated.

"Conqueror's Haki... it's still not very stable." He muttered to himself, "I'll practice again next time."

(End of Chapter 80)