At the same time…
On a desolate, uninhabited island.
A streak of silver tore through the clouds, diving from the sky and slamming into the earth at terrifying speed.
Boom!!
A heavy tremor rippled out from the island's center.
A massive cloud of dust exploded from the impact point, forming tan, concentric ripples across the ground that swallowed the surrounding forest.
The cool sea breeze whistled through and quickly swept away the dust.
Among the tilted trees, a massive crater came into view.
The small metallic vessel was half-buried in the earth, its hull twisted like a pretzel.
"You damn bastard... ever heard of slowing down?"
Bullet rubbed his head as he stepped out from the smoke and dust, cracking his neck with a series of pops, clearly irritated.
"Be grateful I didn't leave you on that island to die. You should go easy on your savior."
Rogers Daren panted as he climbed out of the crater, Senor's arm slung over his shoulder.
As he spoke, he carefully laid the blood-soaked Senor down, making sure not to aggravate his wounds, and propped him gently against the trunk of a large tree.
"Where... am I..."
Senor slowly stirred from unconsciousness, forcing his eyes open. His parched lips moved with difficulty as he tried to speak.
"We made it out."
Daren sat down beside him, pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes without any formality and offered a tired smile.
"I checked your injuries."
"Don't worry—you're not gonna die."
He pulled a cigarette from the pack and handed it over.
"I told you, when you pulled through, we'd sit and share a smoke."
Senor blinked in surprise.
He stared at Daren's blood-smeared face in silence for a moment, then accepted the cigarette.
"Hey, where'd you get that? Give me one too,"
Bullet called out from not far away.
Daren lit a cigarette for both Senor and himself before tossing the lighter to Bullet.
"Found it on one of the pirates' corpses during the prison break," he replied casually.
Bullet clamped the cigarette between his teeth and chuckled.
"You're really starting to act more and more like a pirate."
Phew...
The three of them sat quietly, smoking as they leaned back and looked up through the gaps in the tree canopy at the blue sky and drifting clouds.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The warm sunlight spilled down. The sea breeze brushed their cheeks, light and cool—as if it could wash away all the fatigue and pain.
They squinted into the sky, letting themselves enjoy this brief moment of peace after the chaos.
"Hey Daren, think Kaidou's gonna lose his mind after this?"
Bullet exhaled a long stream of smoke and smirked at Daren.
"We trashed his base, tore up every last one of his weapons production lines."
Daren shrugged, puffing out a smoke ring with a grin.
"Who knows?"
"But I gotta say... I didn't expect we'd actually pull it off, the two of us."
That move—Retsukoku Break—was a combined technique they'd developed during their short time training together in prison.
The inspiration came from Bullet's murderous impulse that once wiped out an entire nation, combined with Daren's understanding of the Giant Tribe's united technique, Hakoku.
By unleashing a surge of Armament Haki in an instant and driving it with their monstrous strength and bodies, they had managed—together—to block Kaidou's full-force strike, even with it infused with Conqueror's Haki.
Granted, Kaidou's power at this point in time hadn't yet reached his peak—but even so, the feat was enough for Daren and Bullet to feel proud.
They'd only just begun cooperating, and their synergy was still rough at best. Retsukoku Break was far from a perfected move.
But based on Daren's calculations, a perfected Retsukoku Break would be no weaker than Hakai, the combined attack used by Kaidou and Big Mom.
In its ideal form, the move lived up to its name—possessing the sheer destructive force to tear a country apart in a single blow.
"Kahahahaha!! Who would've thought that two 'mortal enemies' would end up creating a powerful combat technique together!?"
Bullet burst into laughter, his messy blond hair whipping in the air.
His still-youthful face was streaked with dried blood, yet it exuded a wild, untamed sense of pride and strength.
With practiced ease, he flicked away the ash from his cigarette.
"This world really is ridiculous..."
Daren smiled, took a long drag from his cigarette, and looked up at the sky.
"Yeah... utterly ridiculous."
Senor quietly watched the two of them.
He noticed that both men gradually lowered their heads, their gazes falling to the cigarettes in their hands.
Birds fluttered through the forest canopy, while the glow of the setting sun painted the sky and ocean in warm hues.
And at the very moment the last speck of ash fell to the ground—
Senor's pupils suddenly shrank.
Bang!
A violent gust of wind blasted toward him, sending his hair flying.
His vision blurred, and he instinctively clung to the thick trunk behind him.
Daren and Bullet had suddenly collided, fists slamming together, elbows clashing.
The shockwave from the clash of their Armament Haki flattened trees in every direction for dozens of meters.
In the next instant, near-berserk waves of Conqueror's Haki erupted from both of them with a roar.
Crackling bolts of lightning sparked and fizzled in midair, while all color seemed to drain from the world, leaving only shades of gray.
Senor stared in disbelief.
They were just laughing and talking—and now they were fighting in the blink of an eye!?
But just as quickly as it started, the clash ended.
A muffled boom echoed as Daren and Bullet were knocked back, both sliding across the ground and carving long trenches with their feet.
Dust filled the air.
The two burnt-out cigarette butts slowly descended from above, landing gently on the earth.
Daren and Bullet stared at each other in silence, then both broke into faint smiles.
"If you weren't a Marine... we probably could've been great friends, Daren,"
Bullet said with a smirk.
Daren smiled and shook his head, lighting another cigarette.
"I thought you were the kind of guy who didn't need friends."
Bullet blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Yeah... I really don't."
He turned and walked over to the wrecked metal ark, placing his hand on the warped hull.
Activating the power of the Gasha Gasha no Mi, the ark began to squirm like a living creature, quickly reshaping itself into a compact submarine.
Daren didn't stop him.
He simply watched calmly as Bullet dragged the small sub to the shoreline and pushed it into the sea.
Bullet leapt from the shore, landing on top of the submarine.
The setting sun behind him cast his silhouette in deep red, while the waves shimmered beneath his feet.
"So, Daren..."
Bullet turned and grinned.
"Don't get too weak. If it's too easy to take you down next time, it'll be boring."
Daren waved lazily, chuckling.
"Get lost, before I change my mind."
"Kahahaha!!"
Bullet laughed again, clenched his fist, and dove headfirst into the submarine, disappearing beneath the sea.
Daren remained where he stood, quietly watching the ripples on the ocean's surface, eyes narrowing.
Next time we meet…
It might really be the final battle, Bullet.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake