Chapter 178: Volume 2 – Chapter 80: Weapons Shouldn’t Have Freedom

New World, waters near Wano Country.

Prison.

The stifling air condensed into droplets on the jagged stone ceiling, dripping down one after another with a sharp, echoing sound that rang out harshly in the deathly silence of the empty prison.

Two figures, both covered in blood and grime, sat in a darkened cell. Their wounds had mostly stopped bleeding.

"Never thought I, Douglas Bullet, would end up locked in the same prison as a Marine."

Bullet leaned his back against the cold, blood-streaked wall, head slightly tilted up as he stared blankly at the ceiling above.

His long blond hair was a mess, clumped together with dried blood.

Daren gave a weak scoff and rolled his eyes.

The high-purity Seastone shackles drained him, leaving his body weaker than ever before.

"Yeah, well, I never thought I'd be a Marine locked in a pirate's prison either..."

He licked his cracked lips.

"I figured if I ever got locked up, it'd be because I pulled off something earth-shaking—got put on the World Government's most wanted list—and ended up in Impel Down."

Bullet glanced at him.

"Heard Kaidou say you're a 'monster' in the Marines... With someone like you, they'd go all-out to train and raise you. Given time, becoming an Admiral wouldn't be out of reach. How would someone like that get captured by the Marines?"

That brutal battle had left a deep impression on Bullet.

Technically, it was that guy Sakazuki who had fought him head-on.

But Daren's bizarre Devil Fruit powers, his spot-on reading of the battlefield, and his ruthlessness in combat made him even more troublesome to deal with.

People like that tend to thrive in war and military life.

Because Bullet was the same kind of person.

"Who knows?"

Daren grinned faintly.

Whether it was the Mummy Virus still working through his body or just the aftermath of his injuries, his mind felt hazy.

"Weren't you a national hero too? And yet you ended up on the World Government's wanted list... Who can make sense of this world?"

Bullet fell silent at those words.

Daren didn't speak again either, simply leaning against the wall and resting.

"I'm not a deserter."

Bullet suddenly broke the silence.

His voice was hoarse.

"Sakazuki called me a deserter—but I'm not."

His remaining arm clenched into a fist, veins bulging across his hand.

Maybe it was a sense of shared fate, or maybe it was because he knew Kaidou would eventually kill him. Whatever the reason, there was a calmness in his eyes, and he actually started opening up to Daren, the man he'd once fought as an enemy.

"I joined the military at eight years old. Did everything they asked. Achieved countless merits."

"As a soldier, I fought until the last battle, wiped out the enemy alone."

"I won that war for them. I cut down the enemy general and offered his bloody head to our General and our king. I thought I'd earned my freedom."

"But when I stood atop the honors platform, holding the head of the imperial general... I wasn't met with flowers, cheers, or approving glances from the royals or my superiors..."

"All I saw were cold, empty gun barrels aimed straight at me."

A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Bullet's lips.

Whether he was mocking that country's arrogance—or laughing at his own foolishness—was impossible to tell.

"It turns out they never planned to give me freedom. I was just a weapon in their hands."

Daren slowly forced open his heavy eyelids, glanced at him, and said calmly,

"To those so-called elites, weapons aren't supposed to have thoughts—much less freedom."

"Especially powerful weapons... If they can't keep them under control, they'd rather destroy them."

"Because no one knows what might happen if a weapon gains freedom. One day, it might just turn the muzzle back on them."

"Exactly!!" Bullet grinned wildly, eyes flashing with madness.

"So I acted!"

"They finally saw for themselves just how powerful the weapon they created really was!"

He suddenly lifted his arm, dragging the cold, heavy shackles with a loud clatter.

"And then I realized—this so-called mighty empire... was nothing but fragile!"

"Without me, that country was nothing!"

"Kahahahahaha!!"

Bullet laughed with bloodshot eyes, his whole body trembling as tears spilled from his eyes.

Daren said nothing.

He couldn't be sure, but somewhere within Bullet's manic laughter, he seemed to hear a faint trace of sorrow and pain.

To destroy the very nation he once fought for... to butcher comrades he once bled alongside... that couldn't have been easy.

"...Ha ha hah..."

Bullet's laughter gradually quieted.

"What a shame... I was really hoping to see the power of legends like Roger, Whitebeard, and Shiki..."

Daren replied calmly,

"We're not dead yet. Kaidou wants to recruit us."

Bullet snorted and shook his head.

"That's only temporary. I won't bow to him. And once he realizes that, he'll kill me without a second thought."

"'If a powerful weapon can't be controlled, it must be destroyed'... You're the one who said that, right?"

"But you're different. With your potential, the Marines will come for you."

"Me? This is the end of the line."

He murmured hoarsely.

Daren didn't argue.

To Bullet, falling into Kaidou's hands or the Marines' made no difference.

Either way, it meant being imprisoned for life—or executed outright.

Sure, someone like Bullet—former soldier, immensely powerful—could be an asset to the Marines if recruited.

But that was impossible.

Completely unrealistic.

This was a man who slaughtered his own country and comrades. Politically, there was no way the Marines could accept him. Otherwise, their "justice" would be a complete farce.

And someone like Bullet, betrayed by the military once before, would never submit to an institution like the Marines.

"...So Daren, is it true?"

Bullet suddenly looked up and asked,

"You fought Roger... and actually made him suffer? Is that real?"

Meeting Bullet's gaze, Daren gave a small smile.

"Yeah. It's true."

"Was Roger... strong?"

"Strong like a demon. Compared to him, Kaidou's not even worthy of tying his shoes."

A fierce light burst in Bullet's eyes, brimming with fighting spirit as he stared intently at Daren.

"So what kind of loss did you make him suffer?"

Daren blinked.

"I pulled his pants down."

Bullet froze.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

"Kahahahahaha!!!"

His booming laughter echoed through the dark, eerie prison.

...

(70 Chapters Ahead)

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