False Strength

Bwoom!

Bullet's burly figure vanished.

A blood-red blade light tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

Having missed its target, the blood-red slash flew several hundred meters through the air before crashing viciously into the wall of Scorching Hell.

Crack-crack-crack!

With a tremendous roar, a thick, massive gouge immediately appeared in the hard, solid wall.

"Not bad. You're a cut above those pieces of trash. You should be at the level of an elite vice admiral from Marine Headquarters."

Shiryu, gripping the long blade Raiu, shuddered.

At some point, Bullet had appeared behind him again.

The distance between them was less than an arm's length.

Crunch!

Shiryu gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead as though he had suffered a grave humiliation.

Blood-red killing intent surged skyward from his body like a pillar of tornadoes.

An aura resembling the black currents Teach had unleashed emerged behind him.

Vaguely, a colossal blurred skeleton could be seen opening its sinister maw in a silent roar.

The skeleton wielded a massive weapon similar to Raiu and, together with the enraged Shiryu, flashed past Bullet in a single slash!

"Demonic Aura! Purgatory Asura Slash!"

Shing!

With a crisp sound like leather tearing, Shiryu appeared more than ten meters behind Bullet.

With his sharp eyes, he spotted dark-red blood slowly trickling down Raiu's blade.

"Heh heh heh." The corners of his mouth curled up as he gave a low laugh. "Douglas Barrett, how was that? This is... the price of carelessness!"

Shiryu turned with a savage grin, but the smile on his face abruptly froze.

Bullet's towering, heaven-reaching figure stood right behind him.

He saw the other man's outstretched index finger.

At its tip was a tiny cut in the skin.

Apparently, the blood on Raiu's blade had come from the pad of that finger.

Snap!

Bullet snapped his fingers.

The faint trace of blood clinging to Raiu immediately rose as if alive, stretching into a blood-red thread before flowing back into his fingertip.

"Crack, crack, crack."

Shiryu's teeth ground together, and the fury in his eyes deepened.

"What kind of joke is this?!"

The blood-red long blade sliced through the air, slashing straight at Bullet before him!

"The gap can't possibly be this enormous!! Even Magellan couldn't possibly..."

Clang!!

The sharp blade came to a halt between Bullet's raised right palm.

The murderous look in Shiryu's eyes stiffened for a brief moment.

A layer of invisible, flowing Armament Haki armor blocked the blade he had swung.

Bullet closed his five fingers around Raiu's edge, a blade capable of effortlessly cutting through heavy steel.

He lowered his head and looked down at Shiryu without saying a word.

Yet Shiryu understood the meaning in his eyes.

Bullet was telling him to pull his sword free!

"You...!"

Endless rage surged in his heart. Shiryu gripped Raiu's hilt with both hands and yanked with all his strength!

It did not budge!

He pulled again!

Raiu still could not be pulled free.

"Your strength is too weak. Far too weak."

Bullet looked at Shiryu's humiliated, furious face and spoke in a deep, indifferent voice.

He held Raiu with one hand, every muscle in his body relaxed, without deliberately exerting any force.

Yet even so, Shiryu could not pull his weapon from between Bullet's fingers despite giving it everything he had.

Bullet watched the killing intent that occasionally flashed in Shiryu's eyes, along with his frustration and embarrassment at his own lack of strength.

Then he continued coolly:

"Feeble strength, killing intent with no foundation like duckweed, weak swordsmanship—this is your limit, Shiryu of the Rain."

"In this sunless prison, you slaughter prisoners and guards who cannot resist."

"You have never fought all kinds of powerful opponents across the seas."

"So what if you kill every prisoner in this prison?"

"Kill a hundred thousand, a million pieces of trash, and you still won't become the world's greatest swordsman!"

"But kill Hawk-Eye alone, and you can become the world's strongest swordsman!"

"The desire for slaughter and battle exists to challenge the strong! Not to massacre ants, indulge in the thrill of abuse, and gain false strength!"

Bullet's calm words were like peals of thunder, booming and echoing through Shiryu's mind.

The crimson bloodlust in his eyes gradually faded, and clarity returned to his gaze.

Bullet released Raiu, allowing Shiryu to sheath the long blade.

"You're right."

Holding the long blade in his left hand, Shiryu regained his composure and looked up at Bullet.

"Cut down too much trash, and not only will it taint the blade in your hand, it will turn you into trash as well."

"I want to follow you out and challenge the strong of this world!"

"I don't need companions." Bullet turned and walked toward Teach.

Thud!

A dull impact sounded behind him.

Bullet's steps paused for a moment.

Behind him, like Shot and Devon, Shiryu suddenly dropped heavily to his knees and lowered his once-proud head.

"I will become your subordinate, the blade in your hand!"

Bullet's lips curled. "Then on the island not far from here, a grand war that will draw the world's attention is about to begin. I hope this blade of yours won't break too soon."

A bloodthirsty smile reappeared on Shiryu's face.

He rose to his feet and followed behind Bullet.

"I will keep challenging the strong until I become the world's greatest swordsman."

"Then I'll challenge you! I'll kill you!"

"Heh heh heh heh. If you're afraid, you may as well kill me now."

"No one can kill me except myself!"

Bullet grabbed at empty air with his right hand, activating the Combine-Combine Fruit's power.

Purple light spread across the ground before him like a tide.

The ground turned into countless particles once again.

As his palm lifted, a rushing torrent of particles flowed beneath their feet, separating from the ground and forming a massive platform that carried them rapidly upward.

The ceiling overhead likewise transformed into countless particles, streaming apart to either side and exposing a huge opening.

"What kind of ability is this?"

Shot and Devon were stunned.

The purple radiance spreading from Bullet had nearly swallowed the entire level of Scorching Hell.

Anyone who saw that vast, surging energy could not help but feel their soul tremble.

Teach's body shook.

"This is... the Paramecia Combine-Combine Fruit power. It can freely arrange and combine all objects."

"Moreover, with such astonishing energy output, his Combine-Combine Fruit has definitely been developed to the level of Devil Fruit Awakening!"

"Devil's Heir, Douglas Barrett!"

"When he fought us, he didn't use his full strength at all!"

"This guy, just like Pops, is one of the strongest people on these seas!"