North Blue, Spider Miles Island.
This was a port town filled with stone buildings, cobblestone streets, chimneys, and perpetually shrouded in grayish-white smoke. The island's inhabitants primarily made their living through heavy industry, so the beaches were littered with industrial waste.
Several years ago, this place had been chosen by Doflamingo, who led Vergo, Trebol, Pica, and Diamante to establish a base here.
The island had ready-made facilities and workers capable of mass-producing the firearms, grenades, and other weapons they needed, which were then sold to various kingdoms in the North Blue.
Over the past year, as the family's reputation grew, their business and influence had tentatively begun to spread into the Grand Line.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but today, the seventeen-year-old Doflamingo received some infuriating news.
Vergo, also seventeen, entered the room and spoke gravely to Doflamingo, who was lounging on a red sofa: "Doffy, something's happened on Black Island!"
"Some idiots causing trouble again?"
"Zerham and Elro are there, right? Let them handle it," Doflamingo replied softly, his eyes closed as he lay on the sofa.
"The troublemaker is Douglas Bullet, a former crew member of the Pirate King Roger's crew, known as the 'Demon Heir,'" Vergo continued, his expression unchanged. "As for Zerham and the others, they're probably already dead. I just tried calling them on the Den Den Mushi, but no one answered."
"What?!"
At the mention of Bullet's name, Doflamingo's eyes snapped open, his sharp gaze locking onto Vergo. "It's him? I didn't expect us to be so unlucky as to run into such a disaster. It seems Black Island is done for."
Of course, he had heard about Bullet's recent rampage and killings in the Grand Line, but now that they were actually facing him, it was, frankly, a tough pill to swallow.
Black Island was the first operational base he had established in the Grand Line, intended to serve as a hub to expand the family's business and influence.
With this incident, he knew they would have to wait a few more years before making a move into the Grand Line. In the underworld, failures were hard to overlook.
Since Black Island had been flying the flag of the Donquixote Family, its destruction was a mark of failure. They would have to wait for the impact of this event to fade over time, while also strengthening their own power.
"Should I take some men and go there?" Vergo asked.
In his view, although Bullet was a former member of Roger's crew, he was only twenty-one years old, just four years older than himself. With a few executives, they should be able to take him down together.
"No."
Doflamingo shook his head, rejecting the proposal with a sinister smile. "We don't need to intervene. This monster has caused too much of a stir; someone will deal with him. We just need to offer a little assistance, fufufufufu."
Vergo listened, puzzled, as Doflamingo laughed uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, in the waters near the middle of Route 4 in the Grand Line, a warship adorned with a dog head led a formation of four regular warships as they sailed slowly across the sea.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed as a colonel draped in a "Justice" coat quickly emerged from the cabin, came to a halt, saluted, and then, under the watchful gaze of his aide, Brigadier General Bogart, loudly reported to the tall figure standing with his back turned.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we've just received intel from CP5 confirming the location of Douglas Bullet!"
Upon hearing this, Garp turned around with a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha, really? Finally found him, huh? Those CIPHER POL brats have been doing a decent job lately!"
He had been tracking Bullet for days, but every time he arrived at the scene of an attack, Bullet was nowhere to be found. After all, Bullet operated alone, and his mobility was undoubtedly faster than that of a fleet.
Now, with CP5 tracking Bullet, there was a chance to intercept him! "What are we waiting for? Full speed ahead!" Garp bellowed his command.
"Yes, Vice Admiral!" The colonel quickly turned and ran back into the cabin.
Soon, the entire ship changed course, speeding toward Route Four. It took about two and a half days to reach Black Island.
"What does CP5 say? Is the kid still there?" Garp asked, gazing at the black dot gradually appearing on the horizon. The colonel behind him promptly replied, "Yes, after killing everyone on the island, Bullet seems to be resting there for a few days."
"Resting?"
Garp smirked.
"I think he's deliberately waiting for us. He knows he's gone too far lately, and the Marines are bound to come after him. So, he found an island to recover his strength. But that kid probably didn't expect me to come personally. I'll give him a few good punches later, teaching that rogue crewmate of Roger's a lesson!"
He was right. On Black Island, Bullet stood on a small hill, watching the five Marine Headquarters-class warships approaching.
At his feet lay the ruins of buildings and the gruesome corpses of the dead. Blood flowed everywhere, and the stench of scorched earth and blood was thick in the air, even the sea breeze from the dilapidated port couldn't dispel it.
His sharp sixth sense made him uneasy, but he had fully recovered, his strength restored to its peak.
Now, even if he encountered a Marine Admiral, he would dare to charge head-on!
Ever since he witnessed the public execution of Gol D. Roger at Marineford, Bullet felt that life had lost its purpose, its pursuit. There was no one left in this world worth challenging for a lifetime. With his terrifying talent, apart from Roger, all the other big shots were just incompetents who would be surpassed by him in a few years.
This time, he was deliberately waiting for the Marines to come. Since Roger died at the hands of the Marines, he felt it was only right to sink a few warships and slaughter tens of thousands of Marines!
If he really encountered a Marine Admiral, he thought he might just have a chance to defeat them. "Since the order is for me to face him one-on-one, you all just need to surround the island and make sure no one disturbs us!"
Garp looked at the island less than a kilometer away and could no longer contain his excitement. After enthusiastically giving a reminder, he stomped heavily on the deck, causing the entire dog-headed warship to shudder on the sea.
In an instant, he shot forward like a human-shaped cannonball, breaking through the sound barrier with a sonic boom, leaving behind Bogart, who stood steadily with his long sword, already accustomed to such scenes.
[Whoosh————]
On the island, Bartolomeo noticed the sharp sound of something cutting through the air from the distance. In the blink of an eye, a deafening explosion rang out, and the small town below seemed to be hit by artillery fire, sending up thick clouds of smoke. Several already damaged buildings nearby finally gave way and collapsed.
Moments later, a dark figure emerged from the smoke.
"Well, well, little Bartolomeo, long time no see~" Garp said with a teasing grin as he looked at Bartolomeo on the slope.
On the other side, Bartolomeo, seeing that it was Garp, furrowed his brows and instinctively tensed up, his muscles tightening to the extreme. His guard was immediately raised to the highest level.
He knew this was going to be a tough fight! I am Imu, the King of the World Government, the Master of the Empty Throne, and the ruler of the entire pirate planet. I now have the authority to open a Stargate for you readers, allowing you to enter my world.
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