Days later, the sky was clear and bright.
After Fleet Admiral Kong was unable to contact Vice Admiral Zoe for several days, a wave of unease welled up in him, and he dispatched Marine branch bases near the last reported location of Vice Admiral Zoe to search for him.
When Vice Admiral Carroll and Vice Admiral Kissinger discovered the warship floating on the sea and received no response to their contact signals, their hearts sank.
They immediately approached and found that the warship was covered in corpses pecked by birds. The bodies had turned black, were infested with maggots, showed lividity, and emitted a putrid stench.
Many Marines vomited uncontrollably at the sight.
Carroll looked at the black bloodstains on the ground and the headless, dismembered bodies wearing Marine greatcoats with military insignia on their chests. His voice was heavy: "Report to Fleet Admiral Kong. We found Vice Admiral Zoe... the entire ship's crew was annihilated."
...Winter Island.
Kaido's main base.
A year had passed since Bullet and Abel ate their Devil Fruits, and in that year, both had made significant progress in their strength.
Bullet's Yamata no Orochi Fruit, though seemingly having eight heads with different thoughts, allowed Bullet, through numerous attempts, to instantly analyze battle situations and provide optimal solutions during combat.
Furthermore, when Bullet transformed into his human-beast form, he could control the number of heads displayed. After all, having eight heads appear simultaneously carried a much greater risk of being severed when facing powerful opponents.
As for Abel's Hellhound form, its ice and fire attributes elevated Abel's attacks by more than one level.
Coupled with the Lunarian race's extraordinary defense and the Hellhound's regeneration ability, as long as he didn't encounter a strong opponent capable of Haoshoku coating and high-level Armament Haki, it would be difficult to inflict pain on Abel.
To hone their strength, Kaido planned for Bullet, Abel, Law, Hiber, and others to form an expedition team to continuously refine their skills on the battlefield.
However, at this time, Binjack proposed a different plan: "Recently, wars have been continuous in various countries of the New World, with frequent friction. Many resource-rich and economically prosperous countries lack sufficient military strength. Perhaps we can have Bullet and others form a mercenary group to help kingdoms fight and thus reap huge profits..."
Binjack had transformed into his black bear human-beast form, grunting and eating from a honey pot.
"Mercenaries..."
Kaido grinned, his eyes gleaming: "That's quite interesting... The New World is a chaotic place, and the World Government is powerless to intervene. If that's the case, let's give it a try."
Binjack said: "Alright, I'll make the arrangements."
Seeing the current development situation was excellent, Kaido suddenly asked: "Has anything significant happened on the sea recently?"
Binjack wiped the honey from the corner of his mouth, smacked his lips, and said: "Speaking of which, there are two things. One is that Golden Lion Shiki had a conflict with the Marines, with casualties on both sides. It's said an island was sunk. The second is a strange Marine incident on the Grand Line not long ago."
Among the Marines, those who could fight Golden Lion Shiki were none other than Kong, Sengoku, and Garp. Kong was stationed at Marineford, so it was unlikely he would personally take action. Only Sengoku and Garp could have been involved.
It's worth mentioning that Binjack's intelligence department had already achieved initial results, ranking among the top intelligence networks in the pirate world, alongside the current Big Mom Pirates' intelligence network.
As for the other matter, Kaido frowned: "A strange Marine incident?"
Binjack said: "It's said that an entire Marine ship was attacked by some creature, and everyone was killed. The warship drifted at sea for several days before being discovered, with all the flesh and blood devoured by birds and insects."
Kaido was somewhat interested, but not greatly.
His main forces now numbered 15,000, not much less than the Flying Pirates. The nearby deserted islands were all used for developing and smelting steel to manufacture weapons.
In recent years, under the schemes of Wald and Hanafuda, most of their peers had been brought under their command. As for those who refused, they were brutally killed by the two.
Only a small number of illicit weapon-making workshops still existed in the Underworld, but they could no longer affect the Beasts Pirates' arms business.
Recalling his previous life, Kaido's fighting force at this time consisted only of Abel and Queen, with fewer than fifty subordinates.
And now, compared to his previous life, he was hundreds of times stronger... New World, Robert Kingdom.
On the boundless plains, smoke billowed, and cannonballs landed, blasting out large craters.
Bullet wore a black uniform with two neat rows of buttons, his golden hair particularly striking.
He looked at the thousands of armored kingdom warriors in front, hiding behind artillery carts. Further in the distance was a line of stone-built high walls.
"Little ones, charge with me!"
Bullet let out a long roar, pushing off with his legs, sending dirt flying. His body shot forward, precisely dodging hundreds of incoming Bullets and using his Armament Haki to forcefully withstand the cannonball attacks.
"Bullet, are you trying to die? You have abilities, why don't you use them? You insist on taking it head-on with Armament Haki!?"
Abel, who had swooped in to catch up, cursed, his long sword engulfed in blazing flames, sweeping away the overwhelming barrage of Bullets.
Bullet's mouth curved: "If I used my abilities, this kingdom would have been destroyed long ago. Boss Kaido said that while abilities are useful, training in Haki must not be neglected!"
As his words fell, Bullet used Soru to flash in front of an artillery cart, his five fingers clamping down on the cannon barrel. With a 'crack', he crushed the barrel with sheer force.
The kingdom soldiers were terrified, hastily loading Bullets, but then saw Bullet violently lift the artillery cart and smash it onto the heads of the soldiers, crushing them into a pulp.
Bullet was in a frenzy, a cruel grin on his lips. Blood splattered onto his military greatcoat, and his Conqueror's Haki suddenly spread out, causing countless kingdom soldiers to collapse to the ground.
Even the soldiers who could still stand looked unwell, their faces like demons as they gazed at the blood-soaked figure, his hair flying without wind, and the violent aura emanating from his feet, roaring like a ghost!
"A de-devil!!"
The kingdom soldiers were terrified, their mental will forcefully shattered, and they all dropped their weapons and fled in disarray.
Bullet lunged forward, his large fists like hammers, literally caving in the chests of the kingdom soldiers.
Abel, who had caught up, couldn't help but pause for a moment at such a gruesome scene. He had long heard that Bullet was a training fanatic with extremely high talent, but seeing it firsthand still filled him with a sense of dread.
If not for his racial talent, Abel felt that he definitely couldn't defeat this boy, who was two years younger than him and only twelve years old now.
"No wonder Mr. Kaido places such high hopes on him..."
Abel muttered to himself, but as soon as he thought about creating a New World with Mr. Kaido, his eyes instantly became fervent. "I can't lose to you, Bullet!!"
Abel directly transformed into a Hellhound, his fur looking thick and wet, with a dazzling flame burning on his head.
His two side heads opened their mouths, and two distinct forces condensed!
"Hell's Breath!"
"Underworld Ice Bullet!!"
With a loud 'boom', two beams of light, one red and one white, shot towards the fleeing kingdom soldiers. They immediately melted and incinerated some of the soldiers, while others had their feet frozen by the ice Bullets. Ice crystals visibly climbed over their entire bodies, turning them into ice sculptures in the blink of an eye.
"Hey, King! Are you cheating?"
Bullet's neck stiffened, and veins popped on his forehead.
💎 Power Stone Bonus: Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter
🌟 5-Star Review Bonus: Every 5 (5-Star) Reviews = +2 Extra Chapters
💬 Comment Speed-Up: If any chapter reaches +10 Comments = The Next Chapter Will Be Released Faster!
🔥 Want to Read Ahead? If you want to read advanced chapters, check out my buymeacoffee(.)com/Oyunbozan