Chapter 223: Then the Price Is...
"I lost..."
This single phrase echoed loudly in Bullet's mind. His absolute, full-power strike couldn't shake the opponent in the slightest, yet the opponent's casual strike left him utterly unable to parry.
This was an undeniable, objective fact, and Bullet admitted it.
It was exactly like when he faced Roger back then—unable to match him, unable to parry him, not even capable of lasting a single exchange.
His brutal training over the past few years had shattered like a fragile illusion. It hadn't worked at all.
"Douglas Bullet, what is your reason for wanting to grow stronger?"
Nereus's voice spoke right beside his ear. Watching the ocean waves wash over his knees, Bullet knew perfectly well that Nereus could kill him effortlessly right now.
Naturally, he didn't like dying; otherwise, he wouldn't have fought so desperately to survive on the battlefield.
But dying at the hands of a man whose raw strength far exceeded his own wasn't a disgrace. Lacking any trace of fear, he responded directly:
"To get stronger... is just to get stronger! What other reason is there?! Aside from yourself, no one is trustworthy! As long as I become the absolute strongest, I won't have to rely on anyone! I can surpass everything and obtain everything with just my own strength!
"I refuse to believe you were born with this kind of power! What did you get stronger for?!"
"Me?" Nereus replied calmly. "There are things I despise on this sea, and things I cherish. Many people are weak, yet they are a part of my life. Protecting those people also requires strength."
"Heh... Comrades, family... this nonsense again..."
An orphan since childhood, Bullet didn't understand what family meant. Having been betrayed repeatedly on the battlefield, he didn't believe in comrades either. No matter who said such things, he would only sneer at them in disgust.
In the past, Roger and the others had tried to counsel him, but Bullet never listened.
And Nereus... had absolutely no intention of gently advising him or acting as his spiritual mentor.
"What?" Nereus looked down at him. "I am stronger than you, therefore you are wrong, and I am right. Is there a problem with that?"
"..."
Bullet suddenly didn't know what to say. He had never encountered a situation like this before. Yet, according to his own unshakeable logic of the strong, he found himself completely unable to refute Nereus.
"You think you're incredibly strong, looking down on everyone except Roger," Nereus continued. "But do you really think your current self is a match for the Golden Lion or Whitebeard?
"Back then on the ship, you fought to a draw with Rayleigh, but what about Scopper Gaban?
"A few years ago, I heard you fought to a standstill with that fledgling rookie, Crocodile. Do you genuinely think Crocodile and Rayleigh are opponents on the exact same level?"
Nereus's words plunged Bullet into deep contemplation. Because of his unsociable nature, Bullet's only target while on Roger's ship had been Roger himself; he rarely participated in the crew's other activities or battles.
Thinking back carefully, during that voyage, rivals like Whitebeard and the Golden Lion had never seemed to pay him any real attention.
His sparring matches with Rayleigh always ended in a draw, yet the Dark King always seemed to have energy to spare...
Gaban didn't engage in those spars, but when they clashed with the God's Knights, both Rayleigh and Gaban would enter the fray and hold the line.
As for Crocodile...
That kind of draw was clearly, fundamentally different from a draw against Rayleigh.
This train of thought didn't linger for long before Bullet forcefully cleared it from his mind.
There was a certain unspoken rule on this sea: sometimes, sheer, pigheaded stubbornness was exactly what allowed a person to continuously grow stronger.
If a conqueror wavered because of self-doubt, they would inevitably begin a downward spiral.
This was especially true for Haki; sometimes, when one's absolute conviction scattered, their Haki could no longer be drawn out.
"I lost this time. I'll concede that you're right for now. But next time..."
"Next time?" Nereus interrupted coldly. "Do you think I'm a guy like Roger? I don't have the mood to wait around 24/7 for you to challenge me. When it comes to an unstable threat, I usually just eradicate it directly.
"You should be thankful that you chose to honestly sit here and wait for my return, rather than trying to force me out by destroying my territory."
An icy, suffocating killing intent enveloped Bullet, though it dissipated just as quickly. This feeling was incredibly familiar to Bullet; back on the battlefield, the enemies who wanted him dead acted exactly like this.
Only now did he realize the greatest difference between Nereus and other powerhouses. Nereus was not like Roger, who adhered to a chivalrous code of "kings fight kings, soldiers fight soldiers."
According to the battle records published by the Marines years ago, Nereus's hands were stained with the blood of countless ordinary soldiers—the kind of weak fodder Bullet wouldn't even bother attacking. Yet Nereus had shown them absolutely no mercy.
Even if they were vastly weaker than him, as long as Nereus deemed them an enemy, he would ruthlessly deliver the killing blow.
"However, right now, I will give you an opportunity," Nereus said. "Every year, I will grant you one chance to challenge me. During that year, I can also offer you some slight guidance."
"And the price?"
For a fanatic desperately seeking to grow stronger, Nereus's offer was incredibly enticing. Being handed a ready-made formula book explaining how to derive the equations was infinitely easier than blindly banging one's head against the wall.
But Bullet didn't believe pies would just drop from the sky. In his eyes, free gifts were just like camaraderie—completely untrustworthy.
Bullet indeed wanted to continue challenging him until he completely surpassed Nereus, and he didn't mind the opponent guiding him, but he needed to know the price upfront.
"Work for me. Just consider it... acting as a mercenary. Given your current situation, if you continue running wild out there, sooner or later you'll become a massive thorn in the side of the Marines and the World Government.
"If you couldn't beat Roger, you naturally can't beat Garp either. Rather than being tossed into Impel Down, it's better to work for me.
"You won't lack opportunities for slaughter. How about it?"
Just as Nereus said, throwing such a powerful combatant into Impel Down was a massive waste. And Bullet's currently solidified personality wasn't going to change easily.
Rather than investing immense effort into reshaping him, it was better to focus that energy on raising his own daughter.
As for Bullet, utilizing his sheer destructive strength and taking what they each needed was more than enough.
"Deal. I just hope you don't regret today's decision later. You'll be molding an opponent you won't be able to defeat!"
"Heh. That's the funniest joke I've heard all day. If you can actually pull it off, then by all means, try. The Ryugu Kingdom has an expansion plan in the New World; it should suit a man like you quite well."
The New World had now plunged into an era of absolute chaos, with rampant and frequent conflicts erupting between pirate factions. The World Government and the Marines chose a laissez-faire approach, perfectly content to sit back and watch the pirates exhaust themselves in internal strife.
Whatever an affiliated nation did to the territories of non-affiliated nations was perfectly legitimate in the eyes of the World Government. They wouldn't care in the slightest about what Nereus conquered in the New World.
They wouldn't even care that Bullet was now acting as Nereus's enforcer.
Although in the original timeline, the Marines launched a Buster Call to deal with a rampaging Bullet... a Buster Call's true threat and political significance far outweighed its practical combat utility.
A lineup of ten warships and five Marine Vice Admirals seemed luxurious and terrifying to the masses, but to a true apex powerhouse, it was merely the equivalent of a speed bump.
If Bullet went on a solo rampage, as the collateral damage expanded, the Marines would naturally be forced to act. But since he was now tied to the Ryugu Kingdom, certain rules of engagement would be handled very differently.
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