Recruiting the Devil's Descendant

"[Currently deriving Douglas Bullet's Fusion Fruit, 2 hours remaining.]"

"[Currently deriving Douglas Bullet's advanced Armament Haki, 1 hour remaining.]"

"[Currently deriving Big Mom's Iron Balloon Physique, 5 years, 317 days, and 18 hours remaining.]"

These were the abilities Sanders was currently deriving.

Once the first two abilities were successfully derived, it would be time for him to break out—no, to fight his way out of Impel Down.

He refused to believe that the Poison-Poison Fruit, as powerful as it was, could surpass advanced Armament Haki.

The Fusion Fruit was also quite useful. It allowed the rearrangement and combination of organic materials to create all sorts of weapons.

After his escape, Sanders planned to use this ability to create a ship powered by electricity. Vegapunk had already designed an electric battleship for him; it just hadn't been built yet before he was imprisoned in Impel Down.

But he still remembered the blueprints. He could easily use the Fusion Fruit to make one himself.

His relationship with Vegapunk had been decent—they had even collaborated on some experiments.

Big Mom's Iron Balloon Physique was something Sanders had always desired. With it, one could become incredibly strong without even training. In terms of natural talent, Big Mom was likely the most gifted in the entire One Piece world. She had reached vice-admiral-level strength when she was just a child.

If not for her eating disorder and constantly giving birth, it would be hard to say who would hold the title of the world's strongest.

Unfortunately, the time needed to derive the Iron Balloon ability was too long. Sanders had to pause halfway to focus on obtaining the giant's strength from Sanjuan Wolf.

Looking further down the interface, there were several abilities that were paused mid-derivation.

"[Deriving the Super Saiyan bloodline from Dragon Ball, 249 years, 364 days, and 23 hours remaining. Paused.]"

"[Deriving Saitama's Serious Punch from One Punch Man, 199 years, 364 days, and 23 hours remaining. Paused.]"

"[Deriving the Eight Gates from Naruto, 119 years, 364 days, and 23 hours remaining. Paused.]"

...more abilities were listed.

Aside from powers from the One Piece world, all other abilities from different universes had derivation times exceeding 100 years. Even the weakest small skills took this long.

Sanders speculated that the distance between him and those worlds was the reason for the prolonged derivation time. After all, it took him five years to derive the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on Skypiea. Crossing entire universes, making 100 years seem short, was understandable.

Watching the countdown on his abilities decrease, Sanders knew his time in Impel Down was running out.

At that moment, the sound of chains echoed in the sixth level.

Along with the chains, the noise of training also reached Sanders' ears.

Douglas Bullet was doing his usual workout.

After a moment of contemplation, Sanders called out toward Bullet.

"Hey, Bullet!"

Bullet didn't respond.

Sanders smirked slightly, releasing an invisible pressure from his body that began to spread outward. A terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki surged toward Bullet.

Boom!

Faced with Sanders' provocation, Douglas Bullet wasn't about to stand idly by. His own Conqueror's Haki burst forth, colliding with Sanders'.

The intense clash of willpower caused shockwaves in the sixth level, forcing many pirates to bend under the overwhelming pressure.

"Damn it! Not again!"

"Can't you two give it a rest?"

"Damn you, Sanders! Ever since you got here, we haven't had a moment of peace!"

"Shut up, you two escape dreamers!"

The pirates in the sixth level cursed and complained.

While Sanders' steady increase in strength brought him some joy, life in Impel Down's sixth level was still unbearably boring. Using Conqueror's Haki clashes as a form of entertainment had become his only amusement over the past few years.

Unfortunately for the other prisoners, they had to suffer through it as well. At first, it wasn't so bad, as Sanders' Conqueror's Haki wasn't that strong, but as it advanced to a higher level, the disturbances became harder to ignore.

"What do you want? Speak."

Bullet withdrew his Haki and continued his training, speaking softly.

Seeing that Bullet had finally responded, Sanders retracted his Haki and asked:

"Bullet, why don't you join my crew and become my first mate?"

Before Bullet could respond, a voice echoed through the sixth level. It was the corrupt king, Avalo Pizarro.

"Haha! Sanders, are you playing house now?"

"Are you planning to form a pirate crew right here in Impel Down?"

"Captain of the Impel Down Pirate Crew, Sanders the Marine Traitor, bounty: 0 Berries! Hahaha!"

"Still dreaming of escape, huh?"

The other pirates burst into mocking laughter as they joined in:

"That's right! You and Bullet are the only ones still training here. What are you thinking?"

"Give up already! The only reason Golden Lion escaped is because he had the Float-Float Fruit. He didn't need to fight on solid ground."

"To escape, we'd have to cut off our hands and feet, but without them, we'd be nowhere near full strength. How could we fight Magellan?"

"And don't forget, there's an entire naval fleet guarding the prison outside. Just give it up."

"Shut your mouths!"

Sanders, annoyed by their chatter, unleashed a burst of Conqueror's Haki, pressuring the loudest of them into submission.

"Damn Marine brat! Nobody here is afraid of you!"

"Government dog! Who do you think you're bossing around here?"

The pirates weren't intimidated, continuing to shout defiantly. After all, they were in Impel Down, where everyone was imprisoned and equally powerless. So what if Sanders had Conqueror's Haki? They weren't weaklings who could be knocked out by it.

And since Sanders had once been a Marine, the other prisoners naturally viewed him with hostility, giving him no respect.

Ignoring their outbursts, Sanders turned back to Bullet.

"So, Bullet, what's your decision? Do you want to be my first crewmate?"

After breaking out of Impel Down, Sanders knew he would need to form his own crew. With Douglas Bullet's strength being among the top in the world, Sanders definitely wanted him as an ally.

Even though he wasn't too hopeful, he still had to ask.

"I refuse!" Bullet answered without hesitation.

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T/N:

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