A Narrow Defeat

After his battle with the Navy, Bullet became a legend on the seas. With his current strength and prestige, he could easily have many pirates join his ranks with a wave of his hand.

However, Bullet has remained silent and disappeared without a trace. In recent days, the Brotherhood's headquarters, Fist Island, has seen an increase in people of unknown origin.

Some were drawn by Bullet's reputation, while others were spies from various factions gathering information about Bullet.

The only way to break through is naturally through the Brotherhood.

After all, the Brotherhood is backed by Bullet, and is the only force connected to Bullet.

However, the only one truly connected to the "Heir of the Devil" Hott, the leader of the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood's prestige naturally soared thanks to Bullet's powerful display, but they did not take the opportunity to expand; instead, their influence shrank somewhat.

Hott knew that with Bullet's style, he wouldn't be able to cause trouble for long, and his strength alone was too weak. So at this point, he couldn't be too arrogant.

After all, the Brotherhood's rise to power owes much to Bullet's name, and if something happens to Bullet, the Brotherhood will inevitably face targeting from various forces.

Keeping a low profile is actually a better choice. With the Brotherhood's current strength and influence, even the most powerful seafarers wouldn't easily offend them.

In addition, although he was in charge of the Brotherhood, it was subject to the interests of various factions, a point that Hott had taken into account when he established the Brotherhood.

The enormous profits from the arms trade mean that these forces do not want the Brotherhood to fall and will therefore provide them with support.

However, there are also many forces hostile to the Brotherhood. If something happens to Bullet, the Brotherhood will definitely suffer some impact, but it will be able to get through it smoothly.

Bullet's assistance to the Brotherhood was primarily in its early stages, largely due to Hott's methods and the organizational structure he established.

The fraternity is like a company, with Hott as the chairman, wielding all the power, while the others are shareholders, only entitled to a share of the profits.

The enormous profits involved many forces, and just like the future Doflamingo, there are also those who don't want the Brotherhood to be in trouble.

Hott has already proven with his abilities that the Brotherhood cannot do without him.

Therefore, it is very difficult to destroy the Brotherhood, and those forces will do their best to protect the Brotherhood and Hott.

Once the Brotherhood falls, a large void will appear in the New World's arms trade market, inevitably leading to fierce competition and a redistribution of the market.

Where else can you find such benefits as fraternities, where you can simply offer support and reap enormous rewards?

The Brotherhood is a group with vested interests, and naturally there are other forces outside this group eyeing this huge pie, which will inevitably lead to unrest and conflict.

Hott had already prepared for this, at most he would just share some of the profits.

Countless people are waiting to see who Bullet's next target will be.

Meanwhile, others are watching the Navy and the World Government's actions, and they certainly won't let it go, regardless of the losses caused by Bullet or the threat he poses to the World Government.

Soon, just seven days after that great battle, the "Heir of the Devil" appeared on Whitebeard Pirates' territory, with his sights set on Whitebeard.

Whitebeard, of course, also received news of Bullet's actions. The proud man would not shy away from the situation and chose an uninhabited island as their battlefield.

Bullet has set his sights on Whitebeard has become Bullet's second target.

Many people have been speculating about who Bullet's next opponent will be: Golden Lion Shiki? Whitebeard Newgate the Newgate? Or Marshall D. Teach the Dark Lord?

Or perhaps it was the now-missing "The Crimson Earl" Patrick Redfield.

Some even speculated about World Government.

Few people speculate that Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts, after all, their strength is still somewhat inferior to Whitebeard and Golden Lion. Bullet might not even consider them worthy of his attention, otherwise he wouldn't have challenged Garp directly, but instead started by challenging the weaker Sea Emperor.

Of course, no one knew that Big Mom had not only created a powerful Homie, but had also begun training to improve her own strength.

However, Big Mom's belly remained pregnant throughout this process, but given Big Mom's incredible physique, even the intense battle did not affect her at all.

Kaido, on the other hand, has already embarked on a crazy path of self-destruction, first provoking Dark Emperor and Whitebeard, and now Bullet, one after another.

Aside from the Beasts Pirates, no one knows that Kaido currently in the deep sea, more than 10,000 meters below the surface. He is powerless due to the seawater and struggles to squeeze out strength to crawl through the deep sea.

At the same time, he was also using the terrifying water pressure of the deep sea to train his physique. This kind of hellish training was suggested by Jack, and it was Kaido's first time trying it.

The power of seawater is far beyond Seastone can match; even Kaido would find it difficult to resist.

Under immense pressure, this also serves as a test of willpower, and it is extremely painful for Kaido, as his abilities are sealed.

Although he wouldn't die in the sea, he couldn't have it as easy as Jack, because Jack was Fish-Man who could breathe underwater and also had to endure terrible pressure all the time.

Newcomers are catching up; the current situation is not the same as the original Four Emperors. They reached their peak early on and lost the pressure and motivation to improve.

A stronger emperor, and a powerful overlord with immense potential—Red Hair, the Joker—no one will stop and wait for you; you can only keep getting stronger.

This sense of crisis brought about by different environments is what makes people stronger and drives the improvement of their strength.

The battle between Bullet and Whitebeard once again became a spectacle that captivated the world.

The two fought fiercely for eight days and eight nights on a deserted island, their terrifying strength unmatched.

Even with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard still couldn't gain the upper hand in a direct confrontation; Bullet's overwhelming power was by no means weaker than Whitebeard's.

With their powerful physical skills and Haki, the two fought fiercely, their Conqueror's Haki Haki and intertwining.

It was a perfectly evenly matched battle, and Bullet had not yet entered his "Devil Form".

However, the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit is no joke; the terrifying vibration power caused Bullet far more damage than the injuries Bullet inflicted on Whitebeard.

Even with his formidable physique, Bullet's injuries continued to worsen under the force of the shockwave.

It may not be immediately apparent, but as the disadvantage accumulates, Bullet will gradually fall into a disadvantageous position.

During this process, Bullet also realized one of his shortcomings: he had not yet mastered the internal destruction techniques of Haki, and his offensive power seemed somewhat lacking.

In the previous battle, Bullet had personally experienced the terrifying damage caused by the internal destruction techniques of Haki. If he hadn't used the Armament Haki effect of "Devil Form" to withstand a large part of the internal destruction power, he might not have been a match for Garp.

The Haki internal destruction, which was little known before, is now widely known; it originated from the Combat Pyramid in the Night Sea Domain.

The idea is to infuse the enemy's body with Haki to cause internal damage—that's all there is to it; the rest is entirely up to personal training and understanding.

Internal destruction is a profound Haki technique, and figures like Redfield, Garp, Kong, Rayleigh, and even Roger all mastered the technique of internal destruction with Haki.

They mostly focused on physical skills and swordsmanship. Even Redfield and Kong only ate Devil Fruit after they had reached a high level of strength.

This requires talent, but even more so, it requires time to master. Teach's ability to master this skill in such a short time is due to his already profound Observation Haki, which allows him to precisely control power and even Haki.

Rediat is similar; he doesn't possess Teach's Observation Haki in terms of manipulation, but Rediat does have some of Redfield's memories, as well as "things" that Red gifted to him.

The technique of internal destruction with Haki was naturally passed on to Rediat, allowing Rediat to master it in a short time.

Both Teach and Rediat, aside from their innate talent, are arguably irreplaceable.

One possesses terrifying Observation Haki, coupled with years of training that provide a solid foundation.

One is born with Observation Haki, which will naturally reach its peak as one grows older, and is also a gift from one's father.

Even for Ares Teach, they couldn't offer much guidance; at most, they could let Ares personally experience the destructive effects of Haki.

Whitebeard possessed world-class Haki, but lacked the technique to destroy Haki internally; however, he had the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

The force of the vibration is far greater than the internal destruction caused by the Haki.

While the power of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit is immense, it couldn't offer Bullet much assistance in his battle against Whitebeard unless he used that terrifying killing move.

This is where Bullet is at a disadvantage, and for this reason, on the second day, Bullet entered "Devil Form".

Whitebeard's terrifying attack power inflicted more damage and drain on Bullet than the combined attack of Bullet, Garp other two had on Bullet.

After all, Bullet could basically block attacks from Borsalino and Frieda with Haki.

However, Bullet's Haki was not enough to completely withstand Whitebeard's shockwave.

However, after entering "Devil Form," Bullet's strength becomes even more terrifying, and the damage from the vibration is greatly reduced under the "Armament Haki."

The overall boost to attack power, speed, and even defense instantly changed the situation where Bullet was initially evenly matched but somewhat at a disadvantage. In the constant clashes, Bullet gradually gained the upper hand.

The constant collisions between the two monsters shattered an island, nearly destroying it.

It's obvious that Bullet is faster and more agile than Whitebeard, but his strength is in no way inferior, which is Bullet's advantage.

Boom!

The fist, enveloped in a transparent halo, carried a terrifying vibrational force; the moment it was thrown, cracks appeared in the space around its arm.

The terrifying shockwave caused Bullet's body to tremble as he received the punch.

Faced with Whitebeard's fist, the only way to deal with it was with his own fist. In his "Devil Form," Bullet combined the dark blue Haki of the demonic aura with the Conqueror's Haki, creating a terrifyingly powerful attack.

Black and red Inazuma erupted upon impact. The island was not small, but the two had already fought all the way to the other side, from one side of the island to the other.

Bullet possesses "Armament Haki," and in this state, his Garp Armament Haki far stronger than Garp's, far surpassing Teach's. Only Bullet, who has fused countless elements with his monstrous physique sculpted through long-term training, can withstand the combination of his body and Haki.

This directly achieved Teach's ultimate goal, which he had always dreamed of.

Teach has successfully developed his Armament Haki, but it still needs continuous refinement. At the same time, Teach is also accelerating the process of tempering his body with Haki through various means.

Training under extreme gravity accelerates the tempering of the body with Haki, and similarly, the quality of Teach's Haki also slowly improves during training.

Now, Teach has made this instinctive, just like Wallace's Molten Steel Body Tempering. For Teach, it's just a matter of getting used to it; he can adapt to it completely.

Bullet's terrifying strength even made Whitebeard sigh in admiration, realizing that he was no match for Bullet if he didn't use the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

Whitebeard was world-class in every aspect, but Bullet possessed a "Devil Form," which greatly increased his fighting power.

Bullet is a true all-rounder, with high attack and high defense; there's no weakness in any aspect of his character.

Even Whitebeard's terrifying strength couldn't gain any advantage against Bullet.

However, there are no "what ifs," Tremor-Tremor Fruit was his power.

And now, he cannot fall. For his children, for the Whitebeard Pirates, and even for himself, he must uphold the title of "the World's Strongest."

This battle for the title of "World's Strongest" has entered its climax.

The sky collapsed and the earth cracked. Whitebeard once again used the awakened power of the Tremor-Tremor Devil Fruit Awakening. If he hadn't used it, he might have been defeated.

Whitebeard also noticed that Bullet's defense was now terrifyingly strong, even surpassing Sengoku and Kaido. His shockwave power was not as great as he had imagined in front of Bullet.

Therefore, he needed even greater power. In a short period of time, Whitebeard was forced to use his Awakening power for the second time, something that Roger and Shiki had never been able to do before.

They didn't possess a terrifying technique like Dark Emperor Teach's Star of Ruin that could push Whitebeard to the brink of death, nor did they have a formidable physique like Bullet's that could withstand the power of Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

Of course, Roger and Shiki may have held back, not using their most trump card abilities, just like Whitebeard.

Bullet's Armament Haki can withstand the force of vibration, and its effect is even stronger than Teach's absorption of the Dark-Dark Fruit at the time.

Now that Teach has become more familiar with the power of Awakening, he is naturally no longer in such a sorry state. With a more powerful devouring force, he will definitely be able to hold out for longer.

However, Teach's double pain is a flaw that cannot be changed, and Teach has gotten used to it over the years.

The terrifying force of the shockwaves continued to emanate, and Bullet truly felt just how terrifying the World's Strongest was.

However, Whitebeard's unleashing of his strongest power only excited Bullet even more.

The eight-day, eight-night battle came to an end before the eyes of the world.

Whitebeard, supporting himself with his dagger, knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his body at its limit.

Bullet lay on the ground, his body riddled with holes from the shockwave, unable to continue fighting, or his body would collapse.

But in this situation, Bullet was laughing, though there was no laughter, only panting.

He lost, but why is he so happy?

In the battle between Whitebeard and Bullet narrowly lost, with only a slight difference between the two. Bullet fell, and Whitebeard also had little fighting power left.

Whitebeard successfully defended his title as "the World's Strongest," but in the eyes of the world, Bullet was still the victor.

Whitebeard has reached his peak and may have already begun to decline, while Bullet, at only thirty-one years old, can continue to grow stronger, and surpassing Whitebeard is a foregone conclusion.

501 Narrowly lost