Roy, seeing Bullet already itching to act, raised the black sphere on his head.
"Since you're in such a hurry, then let's go."
Bullet grinned, a grin that was downright menacing.
The White Tiger Model was directly unleashed, with white tiger stripes pulsating violently beneath the skin, and the body swirling with Awakening Flame Clouds and black-red, Conqueror's Haki Inazuma.
Without wasting words, he exerted force with his feet, transforming into a white blur as he lunged towards Roy.
The tiger's claw, crackling with Conqueror's Haki Inazuma, slashed down.
Roy did not dodge.
He raised his right hand, and the dark sphere in his palm suddenly rose into the air, followed by a sudden gravitational pull.
Caught off guard, Bullet's body suddenly rose into the air, causing the tiger claw that was originally aimed at Roy's forehead to deviate, and his entire body flew uncontrollably towards the small ball in mid-air.
"What--"
Before Bullet could even react with surprise, Roy had already raised his left hand again.
The same small black ball reappeared in Roy's palm, swirling around Roy as he was drawn to it.
"Interesting!"
Bullet grinned, looking at the small black sphere above that was still emitting a gravitational pull.
"This is your newly developed move?!"
"Hmm! Not bad!"
"Then let's just destroy it!"
Bullet no longer resisted the gravitational pull of the black sphere, and his body suddenly accelerated.
The tiger claw turned and swung fiercely at the black ball. Just as the tiger claw touched the black ball, Bullet suddenly realized something was wrong.
Bullet's attack failed to destroy the black sphere. Instead, the moment he touched it, the gravity suddenly increased, and the black sphere expanded violently, transforming into black mist that instantly enveloped Bullet.
Bullet's Devil Fruit ability was sealed in that instant, and he reverted to human form. Just as Bullet tried to use his speed to escape the black mist's seal...
The black mist that clung to him seemed to have a life of its own, clinging tightly to his body and sealing off his Devil Fruit abilities.
Upon seeing this, Bullet's Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted, unleashing a torrent of black and red Inazuma that finally dispelled the black mist surrounding him.
Sensing the fruit power returning to his body, Bullet then asked Roy:
"What's the name of that move you're using?"
"It doesn't have a name yet."
Roy retracted the black light barrier and flexed his fingers.
What do you think should be called?
"Whispering sound!"
"Who's going to help you with this problem!"
"However, your black ball ability is indeed quite unexpected. But it seems somewhat ineffective against those with Conqueror's Haki."
Roy smiled and shook his head.
"This is just a technique I came up with while developing the Dark-Dark Fruit's power; it's all for the purpose of Awakening the fruit's power faster!"
"As for combat, my greatest reliance is still the Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit."
Just as Roy was about to continue testing other uses of the Dark-Dark Fruit,
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the entrance of the training ground.
A communications soldier rushed in, panting, clutching an urgent intelligence report in his hand, his face ashen as if he had just swallowed a dead rat.
"The ship, the captain—and the patrol personnel near bases G-1 and G-2—have lost contact!"
Roy paused for a moment. "When did this happen?"
This evening.
Two hours had passed since the scheduled contact time, and there was still no response from G-1 and G-2.
We sent patrol boats over to investigate—there was a large presence of the navy at both Marine Base.
The naval flag has also been hoisted back over the base.
Bullet's face instantly darkened.
"The Navy? Have they lost their minds?"
"Continue," Roy said calmly.
"Patrol boats discovered a large number of warship wrecks and signs of battle in the waters surrounding G-1."
Lord Crocodile has already sent people to investigate, and judging from the situation at the scene, at least three Admiral- level combatants attacked simultaneously.
The communications tower was precisely destroyed—the residual energy fluctuations at the scene were flashes of light.
The communications soldier swallowed hard.
"It was Kizaru who made the move."
"Navy."
Bullet gritted his teeth as he forced out the name, then turned and walked out of the training field.
"I'll lead my men and charge over there right now!"
Before they can establish themselves, drive them out of the New World!
"Stop."
Bullet's steps abruptly halted in mid-air.
He turned to look at Roy, his face filled with disbelief:
"You want me to stop? Roy, the New World is our territory. Now the Navy is launching a massive invasion, and you think you can just stop me?"
"G-1 and G-2 are just two small pieces. Losing them is no big deal."
Roy's tone was calm, but every word carried the unquestionable authority of a captain.
"We have now firmly established ourselves in the New World, and our combatants have enjoyed two years of peace. The arrival of the Navy will serve as a perfect whetstone for us!"
"I will have my men attack the two bases in waves; I want to turn those bases into our training grounds."
Bullet's expression softened as he heard Roy's plan.
Roy walked over to Bullet and patted him on the shoulder:
"Don't worry, now that the Navy has entered the New World, you'll never be short of opponents if you want to fight. Isn't that right?"
Roy turned to the communications officer:
"Continue to monitor the movements of G-1 and G-2."
Also, inform Stella that a meeting will be held in the operations room in one hour.
The communications soldier responded and ran off.
Bullet took a deep breath, looked at Roy's calm, almost cold face, and suddenly asked:
"Did you guess that Akainu would make a move?"
Roy did not answer the question.
He simply turned around, looking at the setting sun sinking below the horizon in the distance, a cold glint in his eyes.
"He wants to plant a nail in the New World."
Roy spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with him.
"Then let him rest in peace."
"Now that everything's settled, we'll go collect the rent."
Meanwhile, above the ruins of G-1 Base, naval flags fluttered in the sea breeze.
The battle ended a few hours ago.
Kizaru's Yata Mirror destroyed the communication tower immediately, and the base's defenders didn't even have time to send out a distress signal.
Ryokugyu then landed from the dense forest on the east side of the island; the power of the Woods-Woods Fruit allowed his roots to spread throughout the entire base's underground within minutes.
All the defenders who tried to escape through the underground passage were entangled by the roots and unable to move.
Fujitora advanced from the western port, his Press-Press Fruit powers slowing the defenders' movements several times over.
Several squad leaders attempted to organize a counterattack, but faced with the combined suppression of the three Admiral, the 500-man garrison was like a small fishing boat in a storm, swallowed up before Flower Capital.
Ryokugyu stood in the center of the base ruins, dusting off his hands.
The bodies of Hachinosu's garrison lay scattered around him, and several who were not quite dead were handcuffed with Seastone Handcuffs by naval soldiers and put onto a transport ship.
Five hundred people.
Ryokugyu looked around, a hint of surprise in his voice.
" Hachinosu has only deployed this few troops at its outer outposts? They're really underestimating the navy."
"It's not that I don't take it seriously."
Fujitora closed his eyes, his cane tapping the ground.
"Their main force doesn't need to be stationed here at all."
Any one of the core combatants from Hachinosu could reach any island in the New World in a short time.
For them, the garrison is merely symbolic.
Ryokugyu shrugged and didn't continue the topic.
Akainu stood atop the watchtower, gazing at the distant seas deep within the New World.
Dusk was slowly spreading across the horizon, turning the seawater a deep, dark red.
He knew what lay hidden beneath this red veil—the main island of Hachinosu, Kaido's Wano Country, the remnants of Whitebeard, and countless pirate crews eyeing the Navy with predatory intent.
These two bases will soon become meat grinders for the Navy and pirates.