"Still this weak… even after getting angry?"
Those few words—combined with the crushing sense of helplessness—completely devoured the last shreds of Aramaki's reason.
Rage swallowed everything.
He stopped holding back.
If brute force wasn't enough, then he would unleash something stronger—something overwhelming enough to reclaim his dignity.
"Don't get so full of yourself!! Forbidden Forest: Mori Mori!!"
A surge of immense life energy exploded from Aramaki's body.
His arms slammed violently into the ground.
In the next instant, thick vines and twisted tree trunks burst from the earth like living creatures. They erupted upward, growing wildly as they intertwined and coiled around one another.
At the same time, Aramaki's body rapidly expanded and distorted.
Within seconds—
He transformed into a gigantic tree giant, towering more than a dozen meters tall.
Grotesque wooden structures formed his torso and limbs. His massive body cast a suffocating shadow over the battlefield.
Then—
He raised an enormous wooden fist formed from countless interwoven trunks.
At the same time, the surrounding plants lashed and writhed like frenzied tentacles as he unleashed a crushing assault toward Douglas Bullet.
"CRUSH HIM!!!"
In his tree form, Aramaki lifted a colossal hand made of tangled timber—so vast it seemed to blot out the sky—and slammed it downward toward the now "tiny" figure of Bullet below.
The strike possessed enough force to smash a battleship into splinters.
Yet when facing this terrifying blow—
Bullet didn't even bother using his other hand.
He simply raised one arm casually.
His right hand, coated in dark Armament Haki, opened its fingers and gently pushed upward toward the descending wooden palm.
BOOM!!
A dull thunderous impact exploded.
But the scene everyone expected—Bullet being crushed into the ground—never happened.
Because Aramaki's devastating strike had been stopped…
By one hand.
Bullet held the massive wooden palm suspended in midair with effortless ease.
The tremendous impact hadn't even bent his arm by a single degree.
"Heh… honestly…"
Bullet tilted his head up, looking at Aramaki's horrified face within the massive tree-body.
His tone carried nothing but dull disappointment.
"You're not even… as interesting as that lightning brat who runs around shouting about being a 'god.'"
Aramaki's heart shook violently.
Before he could even process that humiliating comparison—
Bullet's voice sounded again, low and chilling, like a demon whispering into the dark.
"Because…"
Before the sentence even finished—
The fingers of the hand holding the wooden palm suddenly tightened.
CRACK—RUMBLE!!
An ear-grinding sound of splintering wood echoed out.
A massive portion of Aramaki's gigantic wooden hand was crushed apart by Bullet's grip alone.
At the same time—
The ground beneath Bullet's feet exploded.
In a flash he vanished, appearing instantly before the "chest" of the tree-giant Aramaki.
Then the same right fist that had just crushed the wooden palm pulled back—
And fired forward in a simple, direct punch.
No flourish.
No technique.
Just raw power.
BOOOOM!!!!!!!!
The fist slammed directly into the main trunk of Aramaki's tree form.
No Devil Fruit ability.
Just pure physical strength condensed to the extreme, fused with Haki.
"He's a hell of a lot more dangerous than you!!!"
Bullet's roar erupted alongside the impact of his fist.
Crack… crack… KRAAAASH—!!!
Under Aramaki's disbelieving gaze, his wooden body began to fracture.
Starting from the exact point where Bullet's fist struck—
Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the entire structure.
They raced across every branch and limb.
Within seconds, the colossal tree form could no longer sustain itself.
With a violent explosion—
It completely collapsed and disintegrated.
Moments later.
The thick clouds of dust were blown away instantly by the violent Haki radiating from Bullet's body.
As the smoke cleared, the scene became visible.
Bullet was holding Aramaki by the head with one hand.
Like dragging a dead dog, he hauled the defeated man out from the shattered wood debris and massive crater.
Aramaki's face and hair were drenched in blood and dirt.
The arrogant confidence he had displayed earlier had completely vanished.
What remained was nothing but humiliation and ruin.
Seeing this scene—
Ain and Binz, who stood beside Zephyr, both sucked in a sharp breath at the same time.
Their eyes were wide with disbelief.
One punch.
Just one punch.
With nothing but pure strength, Bullet had completely shattered the Logia ability and giant transformation Aramaki had been so proud of.
The gap between their power…
It wasn't merely the difference between heaven and earth.
It was the difference between clouds and mud.
In Ain's mind, an ominous title surfaced instinctively—along with a new understanding of its meaning.
So this is…
One of the strongest combat forces among the direct "Heavenly Disaster" subordinates under Senior Gern…
The true strength of "The Demon" Douglas Bullet?!
Even Binz—who normally possessed strong confidence in his own Moss-Moss Fruit abilities (though he had been crushed by Aramaki earlier)—felt his throat grow dry.
His breathing tightened.
Earlier, he had felt frustrated and humiliated because his powers had been suppressed by Aramaki's superior plant-based Logia ability.
But now…
Standing before a monster like Bullet—whose power crushed everything through sheer force alone—
Whether abilities countered each other or not suddenly seemed meaningless.
After all…
Bullet himself was a Fusion-Fusion Fruit user.
Yet throughout the entire fight, he had used nothing but Armament Haki and pure physical combat.
Dragging Aramaki's limp body behind him like a sack of garbage—
Bullet walked step by step until he stopped in front of Gern Reginald Sigmar.
Without ceremony, he tossed Aramaki onto the ground at Gern's feet like discarded trash.
Then he folded his arms and looked at Gern with a calm expression that clearly said:
Problem solved.
Gern lowered his gaze.
He glanced at the unconscious, blood-covered Aramaki lying at his feet.
His face showed no emotion.
He merely spoke calmly to Bullet.
"Next time, go a little easier."
"After all, he's someone the World Government sent over. Killing him would be troublesome."
Bullet shrugged indifferently.
Gern looked down again at the unconscious man beneath him.
His eyes were calm and still.
After a brief moment of thought, he made a decision.
"Since the World Government forced him in… and his strength is barely passable…"
Gern spoke in a flat tone.
"Give him a codename."
"Call him Green Bull."
He didn't even bother asking Aramaki for his opinion.
The name was decided instantly.
"Then…"
Gern continued issuing orders methodically.
"Send him back to Mary Geoise. Give him a ceremonial post there."
"As for deployment authority…"
He paused slightly.
"Hand it directly to Sakazuki."
"Doesn't he always complain about lacking manpower when clearing pirates in the first half of the Grand Line?"
"When Admiral-level support is required, let this 'Admiral Green Bull' go assist."
The decision landed like a final verdict.
It completely eliminated any possibility of Aramaki remaining within the core power circle of the New World.
"As for the Marine presence in the New World…"
"We don't need him."
"One permanent stationed Admiral is enough."
"Fujitora alone will suffice."
This arrangement squeezed every last drop of value from Aramaki—
While firmly excluding him from the center of power.
A position in Mary Geoise sounded like a promotion, but in reality it was a demotion in disguise.
Giving deployment authority to Akainu meant Aramaki would become a roaming firefighter, sent wherever he was needed.
And his main activity area would be restricted to the first half of the Grand Line.
But the moment this arrangement was announced—
Someone nearby immediately voiced dissatisfaction.
"Ara ara~ Gern-kun…"
Kizaru dragged out the words lazily, his face showing an exaggerated look of "grievance."
"That nice, relaxed job in Mary Geoise, where you can frequently meet important people… that's supposed to be my post."
"How can you casually give it to a newcomer like this?"
"That's not very proper procedure, you know~"
Hearing this, Gern turned his head.
He looked at Kizaru with an expression that clearly said:
Do you think I'm an idiot?
"You can forget about going back to the Holy Land."
Gern rolled his eyes.
"And besides… Senior Borsalino."
"Did you forget your actual responsibilities as an Admiral?"
"If I remember correctly…"
"Besides being a Marine Admiral, your more important role is commander and stationed overseer of the Science Division, isn't it?"
Gern's gaze sharpened.
There was meaning hidden behind his words.
"Egghead Island—Egghead."
"Dr. Vegapunk is urgently in need of someone like you… an 'old acquaintance'… to coordinate matters and keep an eye on things."
He deliberately emphasized the phrase "keep an eye on."
Then he finally revealed the true intent.
His voice wasn't loud.
But it carried undeniable authority.
"After all…"
"Vegapunk…"
"And every single one of his research results…"
"From this moment forward—"
"Will become the most important assets of the Marines."
"They must be firmly held…"
"In our own hands."
When Kizaru heard this, the gaze behind his sunglasses flickered slightly.
The playful smile on his face faded a little.
"Oh~?"
"Gern-kun…"
"Isn't that appetite of yours… a little too greedy?"
Gern clicked his tongue.
"You shouldn't throw around accusations like that."
"How can it be called greedy…"
"When I'm simply taking my own property?"