Marine Calendar 1503.
September 18th, 10:43 a.m.
The first half of the Grand Line.
Toward the South Blue, on an uninhabited island with nearly six thousand square kilometers of land.
The sky was thick with dark clouds, and chilly winds swept through the air.
Outside the island, raging waves crashed against the shore one after another.
At the center of the island.
Douglas Bullet and Monkey D. Garp stood over a hundred meters apart, their gazes locked.
The former's eyes were resolute and brimming with fighting spirit. His overwhelming aura became fierce winds swirling around him, making the pitch-black Coat of Justice behind him billow up and down.
The latter bared his teeth in a broad grin, casually swinging his thick arms as the snow-white Coat of Justice rested quietly against his back.
Today.
It was the day of the agreed battle between the Army Headquarters' Demon Shark Admiral and the Marine Headquarters' Iron Fist Admiral.
If Bullet defeated Garp in this battle.
He would earn the right to challenge Imu.
But if he ended in defeat again, as he had in the previous four matches.
He would no longer be permitted to casually challenge Garp, much less qualify to challenge Imu. He would also lose his status as one of the Shichibukai and obediently serve as an ordinary Army General.
Of course, only Imu and Bullet knew about that final condition.
Naturally, Garp was not accepting these challenges for free either.
Every time he accepted Bullet's challenge, he received ten million Beli beforehand, regardless of victory or defeat.
Neither too much nor too little.
If he lost, there was no punishment. If he won, he would receive enough military merit points to exchange for a Legendary-grade secret treasure.
So, Garp had earned quite a bit from Bullet over the