...
Bullet's cold evaluation of Whitebeard's fate caused quite a few people in God Valley to twitch at the corners of their mouths.
Especially those who had complicated relationships with Whitebeard or simply admired him as a person.
Whitebeard had indeed died to protect his sons. In Bullet's eyes, this "foolish" sacrifice was utterly contemptible.
"This kid… his view of crewmates is twisted to the extreme."
Roger furrowed his brows tightly, rubbing the stubble on his chin, completely baffled: "If he doesn't believe in crewmates at all and pursues pure, solitary personal strength without relying on anyone, then why did he join my pirate crew back then?
The atmosphere on my ship definitely wasn't like that."
Roger glanced toward Rocks and half-jokingly said, "If he's chasing that kind of ultimate individual power, he should've gone to you instead, Rocks. Isn't your philosophy closer to 'strength is everything'?"
Hearing Roger tease him, Rocks let out a cold snort before looking faintly at Bullet: "Don't lump me together with this kind of obsessive maniac.
The power I want is the kind that can overturn the world and stand above everything—but I don't reject tools or subordinates. This kid… he's more like a pure battle maniac, a monster who's completely sealed off his heart for some reason."
Roger still couldn't figure out the root of Bullet's hatred toward crewmates. He could only temporarily set aside the confusion and turn his gaze back to the light curtain, hoping to find answers in the fragments of the future.
Above in the light curtain, after the shocking declaration, while everyone's thoughts were still in turmoil, Bullet's deafening voice—amplified through the combined giant's broadcast system—once again seized everyone's attention: "Let me tell you dying men the truth…"
Bullet raised high the plain wooden chest he had taken from Usopp and never let go of.
In his palm, the small chest looked utterly insignificant—yet at the same time blindingly conspicuous.
"This is the real treasure Roger left behind! What's inside this chest is…"
Bullet deliberately paused, clearly savoring the moment's shock and spotlight. Then, word by word, with perfect clarity, he uttered the term that drove pirates worldwide mad and kept the World Government sleepless:
"ONE PIECE!"
"BOOM!!!"
The instant those words left his mouth, not only did they cause massive commotion on the battlefield inside the light curtain (even though most pirates were already beaten senseless), but they also unleashed an unprecedented storm in God Valley!
"ONE PIECE?! It really is ONE PIECE?!"
"The thing Roger left behind in the future… is that ultimate secret treasure on Laugh Tale?!"
"How could it fit in such a small chest?!"
"But it's Bullet saying it… he used to be Roger's crewmate!"
In God Valley, Marines, pirates, giants… everyone who heard those words displayed expressions of extreme shock, disbelief, curiosity, and bewilderment.
If the previous "clues" had already been enticing enough, then "ONE PIECE" itself carried meaning and impact on an entirely different level!
But the most intense reaction came from none other than the Five Elders!
Almost the moment Bullet finished speaking, all five of them shot to their feet with a "whoosh"!
Their usually calm, lofty faces were now filled with unconcealed shock, rage, and incredulity!
"ONE PIECE?! That chest contains… the 'thing' left by Joy Boy?!"
Saint Saturn let out a hoarse growl, genuine near-panic flashing in his eyes for the first time!
He knew far more than the other observers. Roger's death flashback had briefly revealed that the end of Laugh Tale seemed to be a "joke" or "message" Joy Boy left for future generations.
They had always assumed "ONE PIECE" might be a symbolic spirit, a piece of historical truth, or some vague promise.
But if… if it really was a physical object?
Some tangible thing Roger had found and deliberately sealed away—something directly connected to Joy Boy?!
This possibility sent a bone-chilling cold through the Five Elders!
They understood better than anyone the taboo and danger carried by the name "Joy Boy"!
It wasn't merely a historical figure—it was a "symbol" that could potentially overturn the current world order!
The Five Elders' focus was completely different from everyone else's.
Ordinary pirates were still guessing what kind of gold and treasure "ONE PIECE" could be, while the Five Elders feared the "truth" it might contain—something that could expose the Void Century and shake the legitimacy of the Celestial Dragons' rule!
"I… what kind of 'surprise' did I leave behind in the future?!"
Roger himself looked utterly dumbfounded and frantic. He scratched his head wildly, completely at a loss: "If I really found some incredible physical object…
Why wouldn't I take it with me? Why leave it behind? And why put it in a special chest? That doesn't sound like me at all!"
What on earth was future-him planning? Roger felt like his brain was about to short-circuit.
Giant King Harald was also stunned by the sudden declaration. He instinctively moved closer to Rocks and asked in a low voice: "Hey, Rocks, what do you think that 'ONE PIECE'… really is?
Why does the atmosphere suddenly feel so… weird? Even the Five Elders couldn't sit still."
Rocks crossed his arms, his pupils locked tightly on the chest in Bullet's hand on the light curtain, his eyes flickering with unprecedented curiosity.
But he remained silent for a long while before finally speaking in a low voice: "I don't know. But it's definitely not ordinary treasure. The earlier light curtain mentioned the final island, Joy Boy, the truth of the world… and now we have a physical 'chest.'
What Roger saw on Laugh Tale in the future probably wasn't just scenery and stories."
Rocks paused, a dangerous curve tugging at his lips.
Even Rocks couldn't accurately predict it—this only deepened the mystery and allure of "ONE PIECE."
On the light curtain battlefield, despairing domination!
After announcing the "true identity" of the chest, Bullet seemed to hold back even less. The combined giant unleashed its full destructive power!
It no longer targeted Luffy specifically but rampaged across the ruined island like a walking natural disaster!
A single punch swung out like a collapsing mountain!
Bege himself was sent flying while coughing blood! Drake's dinosaur form was also blasted away.
Hawkins' demonic statue was crushed in the giant's grip; Apoo's sonic attacks were like tickling!
Kid's resistance appeared pale and powerless in the face of absolute strength and size disparity!
The Supernovas used every trick they had, yet could only flee in disarray, dodging the world-shattering attacks. They couldn't even get close to Bullet's main body—let alone reclaim the chest!
"The weak… will lose everything!"
Bullet's declaration rang out like a final judgment.
The combined giant's iron fist descended with crushing might toward the cluster below—Luffy, Kid, and the other core survivors who had just barely gathered together, all covered in wounds!
Though Luffy gritted his teeth in defiance and Kid desperately defended with his ability, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before that sky-blotting fist!
"BOOM!!!"
A world-shaking roar! Dust and smoke shot skyward, completely engulfing the area!
When the dust finally thinned, Luffy, Kid, and the others lay sprawled at the edge of a massive crater, covered in blood, breaths faint, completely incapacitated.
The only one perhaps still clinging to consciousness was the most stubborn-willed Luffy—but even he could barely move a finger.
The super-gigantic combined Bullet withdrew his fist and looked down at the "hopes of the new era" lying scattered like ants at his feet, the wooden chest containing "ONE PIECE" still tightly clutched in his hand.
He stood like an invincible emperor atop ruins and the defeated.
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