Chapter 112: Demon vs Hunter (2)

[Water Seven]

Spandam is petty and cowardly. He is incapable and unfit for his position. However, he isn't an idiot.

"All of you, go in that direction! I'll use you as decoys to escape from this scene and quickly contact Marine for a back-up! And you, you'll stay with me and continue the current mission of guarding me!"

The agents whose eyes were shadowed by hats on their heads, nodded stoically before dashing off into the back alley. Spandam and one remaining agent also began running in the other direction.

Spandam knew that they stood no chance against 'Green Bull' Aramaki. He also knew that 'White Hunter' Smoker and his group did not care about the threats of the World Government and Marine.

'Why are they here anyway!!'

With a trivial thought, Spandam raised his wrist and spoke into the mini Den Den Mushi strapped on it, "Can you hear? Well, I'm assuming that you can! Listen, I need a backup! There's—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a hand suddenly grew out of Spandam's arm and skillfully unstrapped the mini Den Den Mushi. Then, the hand grabbed said mini Den Den Mushi and threw it toward... a teenage girl who came out from the side: Robin.

First and foremost, she ended the call. Then, she, with narrowed eyes, quickly calculated the situation,

'Though I intercepted in the middle, the call has already been sent. However, Cipher Pol is in shortage of force due to the failure of the operation at Foolshout. The likely incoming backup is marines.'

'Aramaki and Senor Pink purposely followed decoys to divert this man, CP9 Chief Spandam's attention. Due to Aramaki's name value, if we are unable to leave before the arrival of backup, they're likely to target Aramaki first.'

Robin reflected on the conversation she had with Smoker beforehand.

<The information that we currently lack, is 'how much' the World Government knows about us.> Smoker said back then, in a thoughtful manner. Then, as if having realized something, he muttered, <...Tom. Water Seven, Spandam.>

Aramaki, Senor Pink, and Robin came here with two goals in mind.

One, put in a request to the shipwright Tom, to build a ship strong enough to survive in the New World. After all, the small number of Marine warships that they stole four years ago are currently in use for worldwide operation after remodeling, and the recent Marine warships that Marine uses today had Vegapunk's newly developed tracking technology implemented.

Smoker said back then, <But the reason for choosing Tom above all is mainly second goal. I bet that World Government will try to do something hinder Tom's work; they view him as a threat, after all.>

And said second goal, therefore, is:

<Capture Spandam if you were to find him on your way.>

"Damn you White Hunter's minions!!!" Spandam shrieked loudly. However, his eyes held confidence as they faced Robin, for she was a girl whose appearance seemed to pose no threat in his perspective.

"You!" Spandam ordered the agent next to him, "It's just a girl! Arrest her, kill her, whatever! Do it quick!!"

Without any words, the agent complied with Spandam's order. The agent crouched his posture, ready to dash at Robin through the operation of Soru. However, he found himself unable to leap from his position, and noticed just then, that a pair of arms that sprouted out of the ground held onto his ankles and prevented his movement.

And unfortunately, the agent—due to being occupied with those two arms—failed to notice a third arm that grew out of his shoulder, which had its index finger pointing at the agent's neck.

What happened next was the swift and sudden operation of Shigan at point-blank range, dealing a deadly blow at the agent who fell, dead. Spandam's eyes widened in terror, and as his mind was busy registering the situation,

PUK!

an arm that grew from his back delivered a chop at his neck, sending him into unconsciousness.

Upon watching their incompetency, Robin couldn't help but think dryly, '...Are these really the same Cipher Pols as 8 years ago?'

__________

__________

[Fish Man island]

Dusts blew as two men faced one another, filled with hostility. There was no doubt—that a harsh fight was ongoing.

"Barororo, how does it feel like to lose everything you hold dear, fish-man?"

Byrnndi World, he had no signs of exhaustion and was barely scathed. In contrast, Fisher Tiger, with multiple wounds across his body, had his breathing quickened.

"I... haven't lost them yet."

Yet, Fisher Tiger gritted his teeth. Yes, he knew that World was fooling around, that he was yet to reveal his full strength. But Fisher Tiger knew that he had no choice. Bullet alone is more than sufficient enough to wreak havoc. If even World were to be set free...

"Or have you?" World snorted as he picked up a rubble nearby his right foot, "Douglas Bullet... you have no idea what that man is capable of."

World's eyes momentarily gazed at the distance, thinking over what he's gone throughout his life. Then, his face wrinkled, expressing a rising anger within him,

"That damn World Government! That damn Marine! Taking everything away from me... the only thing that they deserve is destruction, and there is no one better than Bullet in this aspect." World then laughed maniacally, "BARORORO! Don't you get it, fish-man?! Your family, your friends, consider them gone! Everything that you've been doing for the past few hours... all has been futile!!"

Fisher Tiger's fists clenched, trying to hold his anger. As a veteran, he knew that losing his temper and resorting to rashness against someone stronger than him was a suicidal act.

"..."

"No response?"

World snorted once more,

"How boring."

before throwing the rubble in his hand,

"More More Hundredfold Gun!"

The size of a mere rubble, while maintaining its velocity, abruptly enlarged to a giant boulder that caused Fisher Tiger to grimace. Quickly, Fisher Tiger jumped up to evade said boulder that crashed and generated a huge cloud of dust that covered up the view. Fisher Tiger, knowing that this is just the start, landed on top of a broken boulder and backpedaled—

BOOOM!

—at a quick speed, World suddenly appeared in front of Fisher Tiger and punched him in the stomach, which was possible due to World enhancing his speed with the ability of his More More fruit.

Fisher Tiger vomited blood as he crashed to the ground. His body was slowly running out of strength and he knew that he couldn't go on for longer, however, he stood back up in a wobbly fashion. Snorting, World didn't cease his attack; he blew the floating dust speckles in front of him toward Fisher Tiger,

"More More Tenfold Shotgun!"

The specks of dust became the bullet-sized objects that flew at a speed of a gun. With no strength to dodge, they landed directly on Fisher Tiger and spilled further blood, earning a grunt out of Fisher Tiger.

"I'm not..."

Yet, Fisher Tiger didn't fall. With a clear rage in his eyes, he growled,

"Handing my homeland... to you... scums!!!"

"All bark and no bite, typical signs of losers," Grinned World, "Morals? Friendship? Justice? None of them matter, because they are the values set by the strong ones! That's right! The one and only truth of this world... is that strength dictates everything!!"

"If anything, blame your weakness, fish-man."

Fisher Tiger watched as World took hold of a sword that was lying nearby, which he immediately recognized as the weapon of one of the Red Hair pirates.

"More More Hundredfold, Chop!"

CLANG!

Fisher Tiger's tired eyes widened as he saw the abruptly enlarged sword in World's grasp being blocked by a normal-sized sword held by...

"...You..."

Maynard, one whom Fisher Tiger recognized as the Marine Vice Admiral who has clashed several times with the Sun pirates.

"Why, why, if it isn't the pest that's been following us for a while," Frowned World, evidently annoyed by Maynard's appearance. He applied more pressure on the gigantic blade, to which Maynard, while gritting his teeth, barely let it slide by tilting his sword and moving away to the front of where Fisher Tiger stood.

"You...!"

"...It's a complicated story, but, I'm on the same side as you this time around. Trust me." Maynard then cursed, "Damn it... I swear, devil fruits are ridiculous as always. How the hell did I manage to survive that just now?!"

Fisher Tiger found himself relieved. With no strength remaining in him, his eyes began to close,

"So yeah. Byrnndi World is hella tough. Ain't no way I'm able to beat him alone, so help me out—oi, why are you falling down?! OI!!!"

Fisher Tiger lost consciousness, leaving Maynard just by himself against World.

'...I'm fucked.'

Maynard found a cold sweat on his back as he saw World grinning maliciously at him.

__________

The specks of dust flew. The ground cracked. The vibration affected the nearby Ryugu Palace—which signified just how intense the ongoing battle between Smoker and Bullet was.

BOOM! Bullet wildly threw punch after punch, aiming to destroy his sole opponent who weaved around his attacks, clearly unfazed by their ferocities.

"KAHAHAHA!"

BOOM! The ground burst into several pieces as Bullet's missed punch directly crashed into it. Without any delay, Bullet then swung his other fist at Smoker right in front of him, which was once again evaded by Smoker with a minimal movement of tilting his head.

BOOM!

Just from the sheer pressure of the punch, the bubble dome of Ryugu Palace rippled, which Smoker frowned upon noticing.

BOOM!

Then, as Bullet threw yet another punch with a burning excitement in him, Smoker, instead of dodging this time around, grabbed it with his hand. Bullet's grin flinched, and then a frown of realization came, unable to believe that his punch was blocked so easily.

"I just realized," Smoker then exclaimed, "Why must I fight you when I can throw you to the ocean just outside?"

Bullet's eyes gleamed viciously as he growled, "Because you aren't able to!!"

From Bullet's fist came forth a strong wave of Armament Haki: Emission, intending to destroy the innards of Smoker through the hand that was in contact with his fist.

'Your Conqueror's Haki is quite remarkable, however,' Bullet thought, 'what about the Armament Haki—'

BOOOM!

Bullet found himself caught off-guard as his arm, at the next moment, was suddenly flown backward, powerlessly.

'...What?'

Bullet realized that his Armament Haki: Emission met a strong resistance, one that surpassed the capacity that he could exert. Then, as he stood, dazed,

BOOOM!

Smoker's shoe found its way right onto Bullet's exposed face, sending the gigantic man flying out of Ryugu Palace through the bubble dome, then into the Fish Man island right below.

"Shit," Muttered Smoker as he scratched the back of his head, "I put in too much strength there."

He then proceeded to crouch down before blasting himself out of his position—through the bubble layer, the ocean in-between, and the bubble layer encasing Fish Man island—toward the Fish Man island.

"Ha...!"

Bullet, lying down in the pit that was generated from his crash, expressed disbelief as he watched Smoker's casual arrival at his front.

BOOOM!

Slamming his fists against the ground, Bullet utilized the generated force to lift his body back up. With a wide grin on his face still, he charged at Smoker again, engulfed by the joy of fighting.

"It will be different this time around, White Hunter!!!"

Smoker watched as Bullet's cocked-back hand, in an instant, became reinforced by the floating pieces of metal that came from the ruins nearby. 

CLANK!

Along with the metallic noises of said metals joining together, Bullet threw the gigantic armed fist forth,

"Armada Faust!!"

The size of the armed fist was thrice the size of Bullet's fist. Large enough to cover the entirety of Smoker's size, Smoker watched as the fist flew toward him with intense air pressure, calmly.

Raising his head in this urgent situation, Smoker gazed at the 'sky' of Fish Man island that was encased by the bubble layer. There existed no cloud, meaning that the operation of his fruit ability, to some extent, was limited.

'Not that it matters,' Chuckled Smoker before he clenched his Haki-imbued right hand into a fist,

'Black Blow.'

BOOOM!

Bullet's metallic, Armament Haki: Emission-imbued fist collided against Smoker's black-smoke-covered fist. The black smoke then combusted into the intense fire that charred the metal it was facing. Having learned from the last encounter, Bullet quickly withdrew his fist while assembling the metallic reinforcement in his other hand, and proceeded to throw that fist at Smoker. Smoker, having foreseen the attack, met Bullet's second punch with his own. Then, Bullet's punches began to accelerate, which Smoker met with incredible accuracy,

 BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!

The dust and smoke flew as two pairs of arms moved at a blinding speed. The ground surrounding them broke into numerous pieces as if experiencing an earthquake. Then, the contest of strength abruptly stopped with Smoker swatting Bullet's first fist away with his kick and pulling the latter's second fist toward him. Smoker's left hand, at the same time, was sitting right on Bullet's chest, and before the latter had the time to react,

'Black Impact.'

BOOOOM!

an explosive and penetrating blow was dealt, causing a trickle of blood to drip down from Bullet's agape mouth as his body emitted smoke. Bullet then wobbled before falling to one knee.

"..."

Smoker stared at the downed man impassively. As Bullet quickly tried to stand back up, he simply raised his foot, and,

BOOM!

brought it down to the back of Bullet's head, causing Bullet to kiss the ground.

'Black Impact—'

"U-UNION ARMADA!!!"

Then, before Smoker could injure Bullet any further, Bullet, for the first time, shouted in an urgent tone, before the broken ground around them glowed in dark blue and churned bizarrely. Smoker was forced to move out of the site as the ground, metal, and numerous other objects compiled into dense and hard layers of solid materials that condensed into a gigantic island-sized golem.

"Huff... huff..."

Huffing with a rapidly beating heart inside said golem was Bullet, who wiped the sweat he didn't know he had. He then grinned in a shaky and crazy manner,

"You... you got to be the one, White Hunter!! The one,"

Smoker heard from the outside, the distorted voice of Bullet that was loudly heard as if speaking through a speaker,

"The one who will lead me to an even greater strength!!!"

"Damn," Mumbled Smoker, "That's pretty cool, not gonna lie."

'And at the same time, quite inefficient,' Thought Smoker as he saw the golem's fist began to descend toward him.

"Ultimate," Roared Bullet, "Faust!!!"

'Time to get a little serious.'

Smoker formed a small smile as he held his right hand out,

"Arcane Drive."