Bullet had already been renowned across the world for his exceptional martial arts and overwhelming Haki.
Now, with two complementary Devil Fruit powers added to his arsenal, his strength had soared to a terrifying new level. He seemed almost unstoppable on the battlefield.
With every failed attempt to reach Ron, the pressure weighing upon the Marines grew heavier.
Aokiji no longer had any other choice. He had to focus every ounce of his attention on the opponent rampaging before him like a violent hurricane.
The atmosphere across the battlefield had reached its breaking point.
Countless forces collided and intertwined, while murderous tension hung so thickly in the air that it was almost impossible to breathe.
At the heart of the chaotic war, the supreme fighters restrained one another like opposing sides locked in a brutal tug-of-war.
Every attack and defense carried enough power to devastate the world.
Even so, the battlefield remained suspended in a fragile balance created by their constant struggle. The slightest disruption could cause the entire situation to collapse.
Unlike Jozu, who had tried to win Kizaru over through carefully chosen words, Bullet had absolutely no interest in persuading anyone to surrender.
In the world governed by his endless thirst for combat, everything was reduced to its most basic form.
There were only enemies and opponents.
Recruitment and compromise were meaningless.
What Bullet craved was the exhilaration of fists smashing into flesh and power colliding with power without restraint. He wanted the kind of overwhelming confrontation that set his blood boiling and made his soul tremble.
That was the only battle worth pursuing.
The moment former Admiral Aokiji appeared before him, a nearly insane fighting spirit ignited within Bullet's eyes.
To him, Kuzan was nothing less than the perfect punching bag delivered by fate itself.
An opponent this powerful could satisfy every desire he had been suppressing.
'Kuzan… You couldn't have arrived at a better time!'
Bullet laughed wildly inside as his offensive became even more ferocious.
Every punch carried enough force to overturn mountains and seas.
Every step forward shook the ground beneath him.
'Getting beaten around by that monster Jozu was so damned frustrating!'
The memory of their so-called "sparring sessions" inside the distant Divine Kingdom training grounds still filled him with resentment.
After receiving Ron's careful guidance, Jozu had successfully integrated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Glint-Glint Fruit into his combat style, then pushed his Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit all the way to awakening.
He had transformed into an almost flawless combat machine with virtually no weaknesses.
His diamond body provided nearly absolute defense, forming an impregnable fortress capable of withstanding almost any attack.
His speed had reached the realm of light itself, turning his movements into phantoms that seemed to cross space and time.
The devastating vibrations at his command could shake entire areas and make space itself tremble.
On top of all that, he possessed top-tier Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, which combined into an overwhelming presence powerful enough to crush the spirit of anyone nearby.
Against such an opponent, Bullet's prized Clank-Clank Fruit and Magma-Magma Fruit had been unable to gain any real advantage.
Every apparently ordinary "sparring match" had turned into a one-sided beating.
Attacks had poured over him like torrential rain. No matter how fiercely he resisted, he had struggled to defend himself and continuously accumulated new injuries.
After suffering through several such exchanges and repeatedly ending up battered, bruised, and humiliated, Bullet had finally stopped challenging Jozu altogether.
The frustration had been unbearable.
He possessed tremendous strength but could never properly use it. Jozu countered him in nearly every category, leaving the natural-born battle maniac feeling as though he had been bound in heavy chains.
That resentment had remained buried inside him for a long time, accumulating like pressure within a volcano awaiting the perfect opportunity to erupt.
Now, fate had seemingly answered his cries.
Aokiji's arrival perfectly matched Bullet's need for battle.
Kuzan was undeniably powerful. His name carried great weight across the sea, and the Chilly-Chilly Fruit granted him an extremely dangerous ability.
His freezing power could instantly encase everything nearby in ice, transforming the surroundings into a frozen world.
For Bullet, he was the ideal opponent—someone strong enough that he could unleash every ounce of his power without holding back.
More importantly, Bullet's Magma-Magma Fruit naturally opposed Aokiji's freezing ability.
When scorching magma met bitter ice, the result could only be a spectacular and violent collision.
That elemental advantage made Bullet feel as though victory was already within reach.
He could dominate the battle, vent every trace of the frustration that had accumulated within him, and finally recover the thrill and confidence he had been missing.
"Kuzan! Don't even think about running!"
Bullet's eyes widened, flames of madness burning within them as his deafening roar shook the battlefield.
His enormous magma fist, wrapped in raging fire, descended upon Aokiji again and again like a colossal meteor falling from beyond the heavens.
Each blow carried enough force to crush everything beneath it.
...
Every punch carried enough power to devastate heaven and earth.
The air ignited wherever Bullet's fists passed, crackling beneath the unbearable heat.
The solid ice walls Aokiji hurriedly created shattered like sheets of brittle paper beneath the relentless blows.
Scorching magma and freezing shards of ice sprayed through the air and intertwined into a scene of utter chaos, as though the entire world had been dragged into their violent clash.
"I finally found myself a punching bag tough enough to take a beating! You think I'm going to let you run away that easily?!
"Until I've had my fill, you're not getting anywhere near so much as a hair on Ron's head!"
Bullet roared and launched another relentless barrage, determined to keep fighting until every last trace of frustration inside him had been burned away.
His offensive grew increasingly savage.
His eyes burned like raging flames, filled with fury and madness. It was as though he intended to unload every ounce of resentment left over from the beatings Jozu had given him straight onto Aokiji.
At that moment, Bullet resembled some ancient beast driven completely berserk, his entire body radiating a terrifying presence.
He also pushed the Clank-Clank Fruit to its absolute limit.
With each movement of his hands, the surrounding environment seemed to fall under his control.
Metal burst from beneath the earth at his command, twisting and intertwining like living serpents. Rocks answered his summons as well, rumbling in from every direction.
They fused together almost instantly and transformed into enormous, vicious weapons.
Some became spiked clubs as massive as pillars holding up the sky, crashing toward Aokiji amid howling winds.
Others formed airtight cages intended to imprison him.
At the same time, scorching magma erupted from underground like a surging crimson sea.
The sharp smell of sulfur filled the battlefield as the molten tide mercilessly consumed everything it touched.
Its temperature distorted the air and closed tightly around Aokiji, making escape increasingly difficult.
For Bullet, this was no ordinary confrontation.
It carried far too much emotion and anticipation.
This was the feast of combat he had long been denied, as well as the perfect opportunity to reclaim his pride as a fighter.
On this stage, he was the star.
He would use his strength to prove himself and turn every humiliation and frustration he had endured into fuel for his attacks.
Unfortunately for Aokiji, he had become the perfect target.
...
Facing Bullet's endless volcanic assault, Aokiji's mood sank deeper with every passing moment.
Each incoming attack placed tremendous pressure upon him.
The searing magma struck his carefully constructed ice defenses like a demon's breath. Under the intense heat, the ice rapidly melted and evaporated into thick white mist that obscured his vision.
Even worse were the Clank-Clank Fruit's constantly shifting attacks.
One moment, they became sharp blades slicing through his defenses. The next, they transformed into massive hammers battering away at both his body and resolve.
Their unpredictability made them almost impossible to defend against completely.
Aokiji could only rely upon his sharp Observation Haki to anticipate Bullet's next movement while using his Logia transformation to maneuver around the attacks.
Even then, he remained firmly on the defensive, seemingly in danger of being swallowed by the overwhelming assault at any moment.
"These people… Every last one of them is a damned monster!"
Aokiji gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead.
As he cursed inwardly, he gathered his strength and formed an enormous bird of ice.
Bitter cold radiated from its body as it charged toward Bullet with the determination of a final desperate strike.
Aokiji recalled everything that had happened since the battle began.
First, Ron had displayed astonishing power by cutting down Ryokugyu with a single devastating slash.
Now Bullet was suppressing him completely through an unpredictable combination of two Devil Fruit abilities.
The Divine Kingdom's overall strength had far exceeded every estimate the Marines had made before the war.
This battle was going to be far more difficult than any of them had imagined.
A powerful sense of danger suddenly surged through Aokiji like a rising tide.
Every nerve in his body tightened as he fully recognized how severe and perilous the situation had become.
The Marines had remained on the defensive from the beginning.
The enemy's attacks crashed upon them like an endless storm, one wave following another without pause.
At this rate, successfully carrying out their carefully prepared plan to capture and kill Ron was already out of the question.
Even whether Aokiji could survive Bullet's beastlike rampage and withdraw safely had become dangerously uncertain.
His gaze swept across the battlefield, concern weighing heavily upon him.
If the Marines' supreme fighters were defeated, their seemingly impenetrable formation would lose its supporting pillars.
Their entire defensive line would collapse like a chain of falling dominoes, leading to complete and irreversible defeat.
Every effort and sacrifice they had made would become meaningless, and the honor of the Marines would be dragged through the mud.
'Do I really have to use that?'
The thought flashed through his mind like lightning splitting the darkness.
Aokiji's eyes immediately became deep and grave.
His thoughts drifted toward a highly classified project developed in secret by the Marine Science Unit—one of their ultimate trump cards:
The Dark-Dark Fruit Activation Serum.
According to the ingenious theory proposed by Dr. Vegapunk, anyone who consumed the serum would be able to perfectly reproduce the core powers of the Dark-Dark Fruit for thirty minutes.
Like a ravenous black hole, the user could freely devour surrounding energy.
They would also gain the ability to nullify the supernatural powers of other Devil Fruit users, rendering those abilities completely useless.
Most astonishingly, the user would suffer almost no side effects while the serum remained active, as though the overwhelming power had been created specifically for them.
Against fighters who relied heavily upon their Devil Fruits, it was an utterly lethal countermeasure.
However, nothing in the world came without a price.
Power capable of defying the natural order was no exception.