A Loving Father and a Dutiful Son

"Do you need a break?" Vidal raised his chin slightly, his eyes full of gentle amusement as he looked at Bullet.

He genuinely regarded Bullet as family, so he was really looking forward to this game between father and son.

Bullet's answer was surprising. "I do. I'll rest for ten minutes!" he said decisively. With that, he turned and walked over to Enel, who was sitting some distance away.

"Big brother, water!" Enel immediately jumped down from the chair, which was rather tall for him, and ran over with a towel and a water bottle.

"Hey!"

At the sight, Bullet's stern expression softened. He scooped Enel up and sat down with him on the chair.

While Enel wiped him down, Bullet unscrewed the cap and tilted his head back for a sip of water. Finally, he let out a slow breath.

Watching the two brothers, Vidal felt as though he had been force-fed a strange variation of dog food.

But he only had himself to blame. Lately, he had been busy meditating to gain insight into Observation Haki and had barely spent any time with Enel.

Well, I'll spend more time with them once we get to Marine Headquarters, he could only think to himself.

But he also knew that starting next year, Enel would have to attend elementary school at Marine Headquarters, while Bullet would go straight into the regular Marine Academy.

Vidal himself would naturally be going to the Zephyr Training Camp, so the three of them actually wouldn't have much time together.

Still, they would all be on the island of Marineford, so they didn't have to worry about being too far apart. They might even get to live together!

After all, surely living in the dorms wasn't mandatory?

Ten minutes passed in a flash, and Bullet returned to the training area amid Enel's cheers.

"Then, let's begin."

At Vidal's quiet announcement, Bullet vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye and began rapidly changing positions around the training area.

He had seen Vidal's fruit power and knew plants could suddenly grow out of the ground, so he absolutely couldn't afford to stay in one place.

But Vidal remained completely unmoved, letting Bullet dart around him as he pleased. He had no intention of using his power to strike first.

Otherwise, what fun would it be?

Before long, Bullet finally lost patience. He flashed behind Vidal, his right hand forming a claw as he quickly grabbed for the Marine cap.

[Smack!]

Without even turning his head, Vidal seized Bullet's wrist just as he was about to touch the back of his head and flung him away with all his might.

Against Vidal's speed and strength, Bullet couldn't even struggle. But his excellent control over his body allowed him to quickly regain his balance in midair and land heavily on the floor.

Seeing that Bullet's expression had grown much graver, Vidal merely smiled, thinking that what he had just felt seemed a little different.

Meanwhile, Bullet was undeterred. After realizing that the man had no intention of using his power at all, he chose to launch a direct assault from the front!

He put the thought of snatching the cap aside for now. Otherwise, having his mind full of that cap would only affect his judgment and movements.

Bullet took a deep breath to compose himself, then tensed every muscle in his body and used Tekkai to harden himself all over.

The next moment, a web of cracks spread across the floor beneath his feet, and he vanished from the spot with a heavy thud.

His body left a blurred afterimage as his fist tore through the air with a piercing sound, blasting toward Vidal with all his might.

It was a blow delivered with all his strength. He didn't even know if he could throw another punch like it!

"Nice attack."

Faced with such an excellent attack, Vidal naturally wouldn't disappoint by dodging. He raised his right hand and jabbed his index finger at the fist like lightning, a bright green light shining at its tip.

"Shigan: Seed Machine Gun!"

[Clang—]

In an instant, Bullet jerked to a halt. From his fist to his entire body, he couldn't advance another inch against that single finger!

In the next instant, reflected in Bullet's pupils, which had contracted to pinpoints, the green light exploded into countless tiny points that rushed toward his face.

Now that was a "machine gun"!

Bullet instinctively tried to dodge, but he was too close to Vidal and was struck head-on by the swarm of lights, which resembled fireflies.

"Aaaaaah!"

After a series of rapid convulsions, he was sent flying backward at high speed by the final strike of the finger, crying out in pain, his training clothes reduced to a net.

"Big brother!!" Enel cried worriedly. Benson, Ogden, and the others watching from the sidelines exchanged looks.

They knew Vidal was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be this strong. Even Bullet couldn't withstand a single move from him.

[Bang!]

The entire floor shook. Bullet rolled across it several times before finally dissipating the force. Half-crouched on the ground, he gritted his teeth and looked at the distinct finger marks all over his body.

That was the result even with Tekkai active. It wasn't hard to imagine what would have happened if Vidal's attack had struck his body in its normal state.

"So strong! He's really so strong!"

Perhaps because his own strength had improved so much, the gap Bullet felt now was even more pronounced than it had been back on the island.

"What's wrong? Is that all?"

Before Vidal had even finished speaking, his three-meter-tall figure suddenly appeared in front of Bullet, giving him no time to react.

Vidal braced his right middle finger against his thumb and flicked it. The tremendous force sent Bullet flying backward, head thrown back, straight toward the wall behind him.

[Bang!]

As a loving father, Vidal naturally wouldn't just stand by and watch. He instantly rushed behind Bullet and kicked him back into the training area.

With no other choice, Bullet rolled another dozen or so times before coming to a stop. This time, however, the agony in his forehead and back left him unable to get up for a while.

Vidal didn't pursue him, instead standing at a distance and giving him time to recover. A moment later, Bullet staggered to his feet, clutching the red mark on his forehead.

"Come on, perk up. It hasn't even been ten minutes yet," Vidal said with a smile.

"Damn it." Bullet's face was full of unwillingness as he shouted, "I'm not done yet! This fight has only just begun!"

With that, he charged at Vidal again. Unless he couldn't move anymore, there was no getting him to stop of his own accord today.

Even if he couldn't win, he still had to fight!

"Good, that's my boy!" Vidal was very pleased. At the same time, he stepped forward and continued fighting fiercely with that one finger.

For a time, figures flashed around the entire training area at high speed, the rapid sounds of impacts ringing in everyone's ears as green points of light flickered briefly into view now and then.

But a moment after they appeared each time, Bullet would cry out in pain and fly backward, only to grit his teeth and charge in again.

Seeing the kid in such a miserable state gave Vincent and Ogden both a measure of satisfaction.

In that respect, Vidal had kept his word to them, giving them a thorough outlet for their resentment.

And Bullet, one of the two sides in the fight—or rather, the one being beaten up in a completely one-sided fight—had long since forgotten all about snatching the cap.

All he could think about now was breaking past that damned finger and landing a vicious hit on Vidal!

"Aaaah! One day I'll surpass you!"

An hour later, the thirteen-year-old boy let out a pleasing roar, and the man gently placed the cap on his head.

"Come on, call me Dad!"

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