"All right, all right."
Roy spread his hands, and the gravity field disappeared. He used his power to keep the ordinary soldiers closing in from a distance outside, so they wouldn't come over and interrupt.
Thud.
Bullet closed in again. A dull thud sounded as his fist struck the cat-masked man's arm. The ground beneath the man's feet cracked inch by inch, and the tremendous force behind the punch sent him skidding backward.
How is that possible... His strength is still increasing! The cat-masked man was horrified. He could feel his Tekkai defense being broken down bit by bit.
Bullet's other fist followed close behind, slamming into the cat-masked Cipher Pol agent's abdomen. Even with the protection of Armament Haki and Tekkai, the blow injured his internal organs, and he spat a mouthful of blood from beneath his mask.
"Shigan: Madara!" Seeing this, the four remaining Cipher Pol members immediately surrounded Bullet. They knew that unless they took him down together, they wouldn't be able to leave either. After all, another mysterious man was waiting for them outside.
Bullet neither dodged nor evaded, covering only his vital spots with Armament Haki.
The Shigan strikes left only a few shallow bloody holes in his body. Instead, he used the force of their impact to grab the cat-masked agent's arm.
"Got you, rat!"
He pulled with both hands, swinging the cat-masked agent like a weapon and smashing him hard into the ground.
The fight didn't last much longer. After the cat-masked agent lost the ability to fight, the other ordinary Cipher Pol members were dealt with one by one by the enraged Bullet, who killed them on the spot.
When the fight was over, Bullet stood in the damaged tent, looking at the bodies of Gray and the Cipher Pol members. His gaze was complicated, filled with anger, relief, and a trace of uncertainty.
He had wanted to win victory for this country. He had never expected the country and superior he had always served to repay him this way.
Roy walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's time to make a decision, Bullet!"
Bullet was silent for a long while. The uncertainty in his eyes faded, and he suddenly turned to stare at Roy with bloodshot eyes.
"If you ever dare betray me too..."
"Hahaha~"
Without waiting for Bullet to finish, Roy laughed happily. He spread his arms and looked at Bullet, leaving himself completely defenseless.
"If that day ever comes... kill me!!!"
Hearing Roy's answer, Bullet felt the man's sincerity for the first time, and a rare hint of a smile appeared on his cold face.
Roy held out his hand, and Bullet likewise extended his right hand. Their palms slapped firmly together.
"Welcome aboard, Heir of the Demon, Douglas Bullet!"
Tesoro and the others happily came forward and exchanged greetings with Bullet.
Next, they made no attempt to hold back as they looted the commander's tent and the valuables on the Cipher Pol members, along with Gray's private collection of treasure.
Bullet led them to a hidden room.
"This is Douglas Gray's private room. If there's any treasure, it should be in here."
"Good work, Bullet."
After all, the most exciting moment after it was over was looting the spoils.
"Boss, there's a safe here."
Savi, who had long been unable to wait, started rummaging everywhere as soon as he entered the room. Sure enough, there was a safe in the wall behind the desk.
Roy stepped forward, took down the oil painting covering the wall, and reached out with his mental power.
With a click, the safe door popped open. Inside were two oddly shaped Devil Fruits and a Devil Fruit encyclopedia. The rest consisted of gold, silver, and other treasures, which didn't interest Roy.
"Oh? An unexpected find!"
Roy picked up one of them. It was dark gray, with raised squares and triangles on its surface, giving off a strange feeling that it could merge all things. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the fruit that originally belonged to Bullet... the Combine-Combine Fruit, right?"
Roy didn't recognize the other one, but since Gray had treasured it so much, he figured it couldn't be a useless fruit.
Seeing Roy examine the fruit closely, Savi curiously came over.
"Boss Roy, what is that?"
Seeing Roy treat the two fruits so seriously, Bullet couldn't help growing curious as well. When he heard Savi's question, he too stepped forward.
Seeing that neither of them had seen a Devil Fruit before, Tesoro, who was putting treasure into a chest nearby, explained, "These are the sea's secret treasures, Devil Fruits. Eating one can give you all sorts of strange powers."
"Boss Roy ate the paramecia-type Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit. You've already seen his powers."
At that, a look of longing flashed in both their eyes. Bullet knew all too well how troublesome Roy's power was.
Before either of them could speak, Tesoro continued, "But the boss said that some fruit powers are strong and others are weak. If you eat a useless fruit, not only will your strength barely improve, you'll also be left with a weakness to seawater."
After gathering the valuables in the room, Roy put the two fruits he had just obtained together with the Devil Fruit he had acquired earlier, placing them in the treasure chest along with the encyclopedia.
"It's time to leave. We made quite a commotion just now, and the Marines should have received word about us by now. We'll talk about the fruits after we leave."
Sensing the chaos in the military camp, Roy knew the commotion here had already drawn attention.
The others agreed, gathered their spoils, and followed Roy toward where the White Dove was docked.
However, not long after they left the camp, three enormous warships cut through the morning mist and slowly docked at the harbor.
At the bow of the main ship, a sleazy-looking man three meters tall and wearing sunglasses was yawning lazily. A stern-faced Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral stood beside him.
Borsalino looked at the smoke and dust rising from the camp on the island and twisted his mouth. "Looks like we're a step too late again. But the ones we're after all seem to be here. How scary~"
Vice Admiral Varmo clenched his fists and raised his right hand. Addressing the two hundred Marine soldiers already lined up on the shore, he called out, "Prepare for battle! We must not let the pirates escape!"
As Roy headed toward the White Dove with his companions, his expression shifted. He sensed a familiar presence approaching rapidly.
Sharp-sensed Bullet noticed the smile on Roy's lips and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Roy? Did you find something?"
"Looks like leaving won't be so easy after all."
Roy took a deep breath, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes, and gave Tesoro and the others a serious order.
"Tesoro, Stella, you two take Little Savi to the White Dove first and get ready to set sail."
Seeing Roy's serious expression, Tesoro said nothing more and nodded. He then grabbed the feet of Stella, who had transformed into a white dove, and took hold of Savi. They flew ahead toward the White Dove.
Only after the three had left did Roy turn to Bullet with a smile.
"Bullet, ready for a big fight? Think of it as a gift for your first voyage!"
"Couldn't ask for more!"