Little Crocodile

Crocodile's eyes stayed fixed on Bullet, trying to discern his true intentions.

Among everyone present,

aside from Buggy, who had once sailed on the same ship as Bullet,

he was probably the one who understood Bullet best.

In Crocodile's impression,

the man before him had always been lawless, never putting anyone in his eyes.

Moreover, he was fierce, battle-hungry, bloodthirsty, and loved challenging the strong.

If Bullet truly went to Marine Headquarters,

then the most likely possibility was that Whitebeard would be the first person he sought out.

Not to form an alliance.

But to challenge Whitebeard.

Anyone Bullet deemed worthy would be forcibly challenged by him, with no room for refusal.

That was how he had earned the title of "Challenger."

And now,

the man before him had spoken words that repeatedly shocked and bewildered Crocodile.

It made Crocodile ponder deeply.

Could someone so stubborn and unyielding really suddenly change his personality?

"Perhaps twenty years in prison changed him."

That was the only explanation Crocodile could come up with.

He was still able to remain calm.

But Jinbe beside him was more agitated than ever.

His breathing grew heavy as he looked eagerly at Bullet.

Jinbe had already experienced just how powerful Bullet was

during their earlier clash.

Fish-Men were born with physiques ten times stronger than humans.

And Jinbe himself was an exceptionally powerful Fish-Man.

It was precisely because of his extraordinary strength that he had received an invitation from the World Government and become one of the Seven Warlords through his own power.

But even so,

compared to Bullet's terrifying, overwhelming strength, Jinbe felt his own weakness for the second time.

The first person to make him feel such helplessness had been the man he respected most: his old man, Whitebeard!

It was an utterly crushing kind of strength.

If...

If a monster like Bullet could truly ally with his old man and fight the Marines together,

then whether or not they could defeat the Marines,

there was at least hope of rescuing Ace and helping the Whitebeard Pirates retreat unscathed.

Thinking of this, Jinbe took a deep breath, looked at Bullet, and said solemnly,

"What do you want?"

"As long as it is something this old man can do, this old man will give it everything he has!"

"As long as you help my old man, even if you want this old man's life, you may take it!"

"Zehahahaha!"

Bullet threw back his head and laughed.

"As expected of Jinbe the Sea Knight, the man who values honor most."

After laughing, Bullet looked at Jinbe. "I do want your life."

"However, what I want is for you to pledge loyalty to me and become my subordinate."

"Become your subordinate?" Jinbe froze.

Bullet nodded.

"That's right."

"If I am going to contend for supremacy on the seas of the New World, then my pirate crew absolutely cannot lack Fish-Men who are skilled in the water and possess powerful underwater combat strength."

"And you, Jinbe, as one of the Seven Warlords, are the strongest among all Fish-Men at present."

"I want you to become my subordinate and train a deep-sea Fish-Man army for me."

"Are you willing?"

Jinbe fell silent.

His gaze flickered. After thinking for several minutes, he said in a deep voice, "I am willing!"

"However, you must keep your word and help my old man at Marine Headquarters!"

"Otherwise, this old man would rather die than submit!"

Bullet nodded, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.

Then he turned to look at Crocodile.

Seeing him look over, Crocodile merely gave him an indifferent glance.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"I am not one of Whitebeard's good sons."

"That condition is useless to me."

"Whitebeard, hmph! I would love for him to die at Marineford. If I get the chance, I would even like to personally send him on his way!"

Jinbe immediately glared at him.

"What did you say, Crocodile? This old man will not let you harm my old man!"

"Hmph! Old man this, old man that."

"Are the Whitebeard Pirates all playing house? How disgusting."

Bullet looked at the mockery on Crocodile's face and found it amusing.

If he had not devoured that soul, he really would have been fooled by Crocodile.

Crocodile was nothing but a stubborn tsundere, saying the opposite of what he meant.

So Bullet looked at him and scoffed.

"Tch."

Crocodile's brow twitched, another vein bulging on his forehead as he glared at Bullet. "What are you laughing at?"

Bullet wore a teasing smile. "Do you really want to kill Whitebeard?"

"Of course! I want to take his head with my own hands!" Crocodile said viciously.

Bullet's smile widened. "Is that so? Then... how about I help you take Whitebeard's head? The condition is that you pledge loyalty to me."

His words stunned not only Crocodile, but Jinbe as well.

Crocodile's brows slowly furrowed.

"Hehehe, helping that old man Whitebeard earns me Jinbe's loyalty. Would killing Whitebeard earn me yours?"

Bullet was laughing.

Everyone could hear the teasing in his voice.

"I will not pledge loyalty to anyone."

"So you still hope that old man gets saved, huh, little crocodile?"

Jinbe looked at Crocodile suspiciously.

Bullet shook his head, rose to his feet, and headed outside.

"Can you still fight? We are about to reach Marineford."

"This old man has no problem!"

Jinbe was the first to follow after him.

Buggy looked around a few times, hesitated for several seconds, then still flew after Bullet.

"Bullet may be terrifying, but he is powerful. Staying here is no better than following him."

"Boss? What about us?" Daz Bones asked softly from behind.

Crocodile brushed off his sleeve and stood up.

"Let's go. Let's witness the pinnacle of this world."

Daz Bones nodded and silently followed behind him.

Inside the cell, Galdino watched everyone leave one after another and immediately grew anxious.

He tugged on Bon Kurei's arm. "Mr. 2, should we go too?"

Bon Kurei shook his head without hesitation. "I'm staying to look after Straw Hat. If you want to go, then go, Mr. 3."

Galdino opened his mouth, took two steps out, then stopped and turned back.

"Forget it. Marine Headquarters is too dangerous. I'd better stay here with you."

"Eh? Wait, aren't we all on the same ship?"

"Ah??"

On the deck, the prisoners stared blankly at Crocodile and Jinbe as they appeared alongside Bullet.

Not far away, Teach was stunned as well.

"The two of them are the Demon God Pirates' newest members from now on," Bullet said casually.

After a brief period of shock, the prisoners became excited once more.

"Whoa! So strong!"

"Two more Seven Warlords actually joined!"

"No, that makes three. Blackbeard Teach is also one of the Seven Warlords!"

"Who said I was joining any Demon God Pirates? Don't make decisions for me!" Crocodile snorted coldly.

The corner of Bullet's mouth curled up. As though he had suddenly remembered something, he turned slightly and asked curiously,

"Oh, right. Revolutionary Army Ivankov seems to have something on you. What was it again?"

"You...!"