"Three of them."
Bullet slowly rose amid the dust on the beach. That kick had been heavy, but it was nowhere near enough to put him out of action.
"Looks like this escort mission... won't be so boring after all!"
He twisted his neck, producing a teeth-grating crack. There was no anger on his face. Instead, he wore a savage, excited grin bordering on ecstasy.
"The World Government finally let its watchdogs out to bite?"
"Tch." Saint Shepherd Sommers gave a disdainful snort from atop the warship's railing, his long, orange-yellow curls fluttering in the sea breeze.
"A washed-up piece of pirate trash, a failure subdued by Heavenquake, dares run his mouth before the Holy Knights..."
He never finished!
Whoosh!
Bullet abruptly vanished from where he stood.
It was an instantaneous dash powered entirely by his terrifying physical explosiveness!
He moved so fast he left an afterimage behind!
Almost the instant Bullet moved, Saint Sommers reacted, whipping both arms forward!
"Thorns: Thrust!"
Countless sharp, hard, black thorns erupted from beneath his skin, gleaming with Armament Haki!
The thorns grew and intertwined madly, forming an impenetrable wall that shot toward the charging Bullet!
"Sorry..." Bullet's roar arrived at the same time as his fist!
"I don't like watching magic tricks!!!"
Without the slightest attempt to dodge, he clenched his right fist, coated it in dark Armament Haki condensed to its utmost limit, and threw a simple, brutal punch without a trace of flourish!
BOOOOM!!!!!!
The force of his punch erupted!
The instant that incredibly tough forest of Armament Haki-coated thorns met his fist,
it shattered and burst apart inch by inch, starting at the very front!
Shattered thorn fragments flew everywhere amid bolts of Haki lightning!
The punch lost none of its momentum, tearing through the collapsing thorns and slamming squarely