"Bullett?"
A slightly hoarse voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
Bullett turned to look and saw a man draped in a black cloak, with a golden hook for a left hand, puffing on a thick cigar.
"Hmm? Crocodile? What are you doing here? Didn't you run back to the 'Paradise' crying and wailing after failing to challenge Whitebeard back then?"
Bullett curled his lips into a mocking smile.
"Fufufufu, so it really is Douglas Bullett—the monster known as the Devil's Heir." Doflamingo chuckled strangely.
The surrounding pirates immediately erupted into an uproar.
"The Devil's Heir! Douglas Bullett!"
"That man who's said to be able to fight evenly with Rayleigh—why would he appear in our Beast God Pirates?"
"Idiot! Isn't it obvious? He must have joined us!"
"Woooh! So strong! Another top-tier combatant has joined? Our Beast God Pirates have become even more powerful!"
"Hooray! Long live Captain Caesar! Long live the Beast God Pirates!"
Listening to the chaotic cheers in the plaza, Bullett's smile grew wider and wider, but Crocodile opposite him grew increasingly grim.
Suddenly, his body collapsed, transforming into a Yellow Sand Tornado that shot straight toward Bullett!
From within the yellow sand, three pitch-black giant blades shot out, slashing toward Bullett's head!
"Desert Blade!"
"Hahaha, Crocodile, has your strength deteriorated to this extent?"
Bullett stood motionless, an invisible Armament Haki covering his face like a thick layer of armor.
Whoosh!
Crocodile's Armament Haki-infused sand blades exploded a foot before reaching Bullett's head, scattering into countless grains that retracted back.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
The Yellow Sand Tornado poured massive amounts of yellow sand, washing down from above Bullett's head.
Bullett remained unmoving, allowing Crocodile to attack.
"Is this a move to drain your opponent's Haki? If you had this move during our battle back then, you might have won. But now, even if you grind away for three days and three nights, my Armament Haki recovery speed far outpaces your consumption!"
From within the cascading sand waterfall, Bullett clenched his fist and punched upward!
BOOM!
Amid the tremendous explosion, Crocodile's body was sent flying backward from the yellow sand, landing on his feet and staggering back several steps before steadying himself.
His expression was extremely grim, with a trickle of blood clearly visible at the corner of his mouth.
"What? So powerful! As expected of a monster from Roger's crew, he instantly repelled a Seven Warlord!"
"A former Seven Warlord with a bounty of 1.9 billion berries can't even withstand a single blow from Bullett?"
Hearing the discussions from the crowd, Crocodile's face grew even darker.
He suddenly strode to the table in front of Judge, grabbed five Evolution Potion test tubes with his large hand, and directly poured them into his mouth.
Judge's face changed dramatically.
"Crocodile! You're insane! Each person can only drink one tube! Drinking more will cause your body to explode!"
Caesar also looked over.
At this moment, Crocodile's face contorted, and his entire body began to undergo abnormal development.
Countless muscles bulged out, blood vessels on his body surface ruptured with sizzling sounds, spraying endless blood that dyed him crimson.
The bones inside his body cracked and grew wildly, boundless surging power erupted within him like continuous waves, threatening to crush him!
"Arghhh!"
Blue veins bulged on Crocodile's face, making him look like a demon.
The boundless power caused his aura to rise steadily, and his size rapidly expanded.
Three meters, four meters, five meters, six meters!
"Damn it! Is this bastard Crocodile going to explode?" Doflamingo stared wide-eyed at the growing Crocodile.
"Where's the neutralizing agent? Quickly get it for him to drink! If this continues, he'll die!" Indigo roared frantically at Judge beside him.
Only then did Judge snap out of it, hurriedly taking out several test tubes containing transparent liquid and moving forward to give them to Crocodile.
"That's useless, don't waste your effort." Caesar shook his head and walked directly up to the enraged Crocodile.
His large hand pierced through the wildly swirling Yellow Sand Tornado and directly gripped Crocodile's shoulder.
Buzz!
An overwhelmingly dense Armament Haki surged forth like a tidal wave, completely enveloping Crocodile's body.
In an instant, it suppressed his Logia abilities, forcing him to revert to his physical form.
Bullett's eye twitched violently.
He had believed that no one in this world could surpass the sheer density of his Armament Haki.
But witnessing Caesar effortlessly force Crocodile back to his original form through sheer Armament Haki dominance left him stunned.
'Armament Haki... can it really be used like this? Moreover, the level of this Haki... it might even surpass mine!'
With his hand firmly gripping Crocodile's shoulder, no matter how much Crocodile struggled, he couldn't break free from Caesar's grasp.
Caesar placed his right hand over Crocodile's head, his palm splitting open to reveal a dark, abyssal mouth as an invisible devouring force activated.
"Devour!"
Within seconds of the devouring power being unleashed, Crocodile's struggling ceased, and the bloodshot rage in his eyes faded, replaced by clarity of mind.
Caesar released his grip and withdrew his hand.
"Idiot! Having courage is one thing, but you must weigh the pros and cons!" Caesar shot Crocodile a glance.
Crocodile stood there silently, not uttering a word.
"Fufufufu, Crocodile, your current appearance is truly exaggerated."
Doflamingo approached, looking up at Crocodile, who had grown more than twice his original height, and smirked.
Crocodile now stood over six meters tall, draped in a black cloak, his aura of a formidable leader growing even more profound, like a sea overlord reigning over his domain.
What puzzled Doflamingo, however, was that Crocodile's body hadn't developed excessively terrifying muscles.
He still maintained his original physique, merely scaled up proportionally.
"Is it because of his Logia Devil Fruit? How enviable, fufufufu. Still, I'll wait for the next version of the Evolution Potion. Turning into a muscle-bound monster isn't what I hope for."
Crocodile turned to look at Bullett, and upon realizing he now stood a full head taller, the corners of his mouth curled into an exaggerated grin.
Bullett shot him a disdainful sidelong glance.
"What's the use of being big? You need to be tough!"
With that, Bullett poured the Evolution Potion into his mouth and drank it in one go.
Everyone quickly turned their attention to him.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Time passed, yet Bullett's physique showed no change.
He only felt his blood and energy grow more abundant, the power within his body more active than ever before.
Crocodile and Doflamingo were both surprised and confused.
Indigo rolled his eyes. "What's so strange about that? It's called the Evolution Potion because it's meant to evolve your physique. This guy's body is already at its peak—it can't advance any further. It's not something you physically weaklings can compare to. The potion has little effect on his constitution; at most, it acts as a stimulant!"
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