Recruitment

"Submit, or die?"

On the spacious deck, those cold, murderous words made everyone feel as though they had been plunged into an icy wasteland.

As they watched chunks of flesh and blood rain down from the sky, the prisoners' eyes filled with deep terror.

One punch!

Just one punch!

Rocky Thompson, a man with a bounty of 980 million Berries, who had made a formidable name for himself in the New World and was known as the "Destroyer"—

Had been blown apart in midair!

What a terrifying, overwhelming difference in strength!

Ridiculously, many of the prisoners present had previously harbored the same thoughts as Thompson.

That was—

They were all prisoners from the Infinite Hell. No one was inherently superior to anyone else.

But reality now said otherwise.

The terrifying man before them truly was stronger than everyone else!

Not just by one level.

He was leagues above them.

After a long silence, heads slowly began to lower one after another.

Others, instead of being alarmed, were delighted, their faces revealing even more fanatical excitement.

These people were lawless thugs.

The stronger their leader, Bullet, was, the brighter their future would be.

As for submission—

On the seas of the New World, strength had always been supreme.

In this world where the strong devoured the weak, the lives of the weak should be controlled by the strong!

Thus, after a brief silence—

Frenzied cheers immediately erupted across the deck.

"Long live Captain Bullet!"

"Charge into Marineford! Take Whitebeard's head!"

"By the way, Captain! What is our pirate crew called?"

At that moment, someone asked cautiously.

Bullet pondered for a few seconds before saying in a deep voice, "The Demon God Pirates."

"The... Demon God Pirates?"

Leaving the noisy deck behind, Bullet entered the dark interior of the ship.

The Hell Battleship had a vast interior, which Bullet had deliberately divided into several sections.

Aside from the prison cells, which occupied the most space—

There was also a fuel room, an armory, crew quarters, washrooms, and more.

After walking several hundred meters down a passageway, he came upon a row of identical prison cells.

In several cells on the left were Burgess, Lafitte, Van Augur, Doc Q, and several others who were barely clinging to life.

The cells on the right held Jinbe, Crocodile, Ivankov, Luffy, and the others.

There were also many prison cells beneath Bullet's feet.

Impel Down guards such as Magellan, Hannibal, and Sadi had all been moved down there by Bullet.

He had already sent Shiryu down with several prisoners to shackle them with Sea-Prism Stone.

And, while they were at it, give their injuries some basic treatment.

People like Magellan could not die yet. Bullet needed him alive.

His value was far greater than that of Burgess and the others.

Some people were more useful alive than dead.

When Crocodile and the others in the cells saw Bullet appear, they immediately raised their heads to look at him.

Bullet waved a hand, parting the wall coated in thick Armament Haki, and walked straight inside.

An opening slowly split apart overhead, allowing sunlight to stream down and illuminate the gloomy space.

"Bu... Bullet~!!"

Suddenly, an exaggerated scream rang out inside the cell.

Bullet raised an eyebrow. "It's Buggy. You're still alive."

The one who had screamed was Buggy the Clown, who had just awakened.

The instant Buggy saw Bullet, his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

"Buggy, who is he?" Bon Kurei and Galdino, both wearing blank expressions as they surveyed their surroundings, asked curiously.

Buggy forcibly suppressed the pounding in his chest, shrank back slightly, and looked at Bullet with fear.

"Like me, he was once a member of the Roger Pirates."

"A long time ago, he was already a monster whose strength rivaled Vice Captain Rayleigh's!"

"We called him the 'Challenger,' Douglas Barrett!"

"What? You were a member of the Roger Pirates? Seriously?" Bon Kurei and Galdino's eyes widened.

Even Crocodile and Jinbe could not help glancing at Buggy.

Then, they looked at Bullet standing before them.

"You were crewmates on the same ship, yet the difference between you is truly enormous," Crocodile said blandly.

Buggy flew into a rage. "Hey, hey! Aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?"

Pointing at Bullet, he shouted, "I'm saying this guy is an extremely dangerous person—a monster with unimaginable strength!"

However, Bon Kurei and the others had already run over to Luffy, who was lying on the ground.

Daz Bones, standing behind Crocodile, cautiously glanced at Bullet.

It felt as though a massive boulder were pressing down on his heart.

The aura emanating from the man before him was far too terrifying.

He was practically a storm on the scale of a natural disaster.

He was countless times stronger than his boss, Crocodile.

"What did you come here for?"

As Bullet sat down before them, Crocodile asked coolly.

"To recruit you into my pirate crew."

Bullet did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

His words made Crocodile's body tremble as his pupils contracted slightly.

As if he were seeing him anew, Crocodile scrutinized Bullet for a long while before saying,

"A man like you actually wants to form his own pirate crew? I'm very curious. What changed you?"

Bullet chuckled. "People change, Little Crocodile."

A vein bulged on Crocodile's forehead as he gritted his teeth in anger. "Don't call me Little Crocodile!"

"Alright, Little Crocodile."

"You...!"

"Hmph!" Crocodile snorted heavily. "Then you can get lost. I won't join anyone!"

"This old man feels the same!"

At his side, Jinbe's voice was low and resolute.

Bullet was not at all surprised by their answers.

He merely said calmly,

"We are currently heading toward Marineford."

The auras around Jinbe and Crocodile immediately surged violently.

Bullet smiled and pointed at the blue sky and white clouds above. "Even if I hadn't said it, I'm sure you should have guessed."

Seeing the two fall silent, he pointed at himself again.

"What do you think of Douglas Barrett's strength?"

Crocodile said nothing.

Jinbe stared directly at Bullet. "The title of monster suits you well."

He did not say it outright.

But that answer was already an acknowledgment of Bullet's strength.

"Then..."

Bullet bared his teeth in a grin. "If I stand on Whitebeard's side in this war, do you think the final course of the war can be changed?"

"What did you say?!"

Jinbe's whole body shook as he sprang to his feet.

Even Crocodile, who had remained calm until now, found it difficult to keep his composure.

"Why?"

"That doesn't sound like you at all, Bullet!"